El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-14

ii
~ history Of invention has main
- tanned such a firm hold on the
minds of the people as that OF perpetual
motion. Despite the fact that all scien-
tific thought has long discredited the
possibility OF producing a machine
which will run indefinitely of itself
there are many who still believe that
such an invention can be perfected. The
patent office at Washington is over
run with those who believe they have
at last solved the problem. as many
as a half dozen applicants appearing
there every week.
Usually the applicant declares that
he has only one part or another lack
ing, but the patent office tells them
that only the submission of a working
model will be accepted, and to date no
such model has been submitted; nor is
there the slightest proba bility that such
a one will be. A circular letter used
to be sent out calling the attention OF
perpetual motion cranks to the futility
of their efforts. and advising them
not to continue trying to solve the prob
lem, but owing to its ineffectiveness
this letter has been discontinued.
Impossible Problem.
A few months ago woman came
into the patent office with a bucket
and chain machine idea In her head,
tlltI SHe lldQ at last QlSCOhcIcu
the principle upon which the universe
is operated. She said she had been
working on it for Is years. during all
of which time she had kept it q pro-
found secret from her husband. She was
told that perpetual motion had been in
vented. but that the Almighty himself
held the original patent.
She was advised to go home and give
up the idea, and told that most OF those
-hn H., ELL ~
motion will O. the wisp landed in an
insane asylum. She, unlike most of her
predecessors. concluded TO do so. other
wise. her case was typical OF thousands
who have tried to solve this Impossible
problem.
The machines that have been devised
20 operate perpetually have used about
all OF the known principles of motion.
In some the loss of equilibrium has
been the motive force: in others. the
specific gravity OF floats and weights
immersed in water OF other liquid
Some inventors have used as the pro-
pelfng power the ascension of recep-
tacles inflated with air or gas under
water. while the compression and sub
sequent expansion of gas has been en-
ployed as the actuating principle in
others.
That the inventors are perfectly SAN
Sullic Ol success Is demonstrated Dy
the humorous fact that many provide
brakes to stop their machine, and 9TH
ers attach governors to keep them from
running away with themselves.
One Near Success
James Cox. of Shoe Lane, London,
came nearer to approximating perpetual
motion than any other inventor in the
worlds history. His invention was a
clock with a selfwinding attachment.
This attachment consisted of a barome-
ter so arranged that whenever the mer-
curry rose or fell it wound the clock.
Slight as changes in atmospheric
pressure are at times, they were always
sufficient to keep the instrument wound
up, and often so great that barometric
change would hare broken the winding
mechanism had he not arranged a spe-
cial device 20 protect il from such
catastrophe The mechanism was
constructed that whenever the weights
had become wound up the winding ap-
of gear. When they had descended
certain distance the mechanism threw
itself into gear again in the same way.
In this particular 1t acted much like
the automatically operated thermome-
tiers which regulate the heat in big OF
flee buildings.
The clock was so arranged that the
power stored through the winding up or
the weights would last Il full year, even
If In all that time there we're not
single fluetuation of the barometer.
The Cox clock was carried from ION
don TO China as a present to the en-
peror- On the trip it was slightly in
jured, and when taken to the clock re-
pairer twas found that the willy Chi
nese prime minister had substituted a
cheap imitation for .it-probabIy with
the idea of gaining imperial favor by
presenting 1t to the emperor himself
What became of 1t has never been
known but some think that even now
II is measuring time in the imperial
palace of Pekin.
Curious Invention.
A French engineer has invented q
machine that gives perpetual motion Of
a kind, though It is confessed that ii
can never be more than curiosity. 1t
consists of a disk with a hole of con-
siderable size through its center, to al
low an axle of wood OF iron to pass
through without touching the disk it
self
This disk is maintained in a perpen-
dicular position with respect to the axis
by IL or Is strings of hemp passing
over its rim like the strings over the
bridge of & violin. The ends of the axis
pivot upon pointed spindles to overcome
friction as much as possible, and the
strings are tied to the supports of the
spindles- The lower part of the disk is
submerged in water, and the absorb
ton keeps the disk turning at the rate