The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-05-18
MYSTERY OF LIGHT
Some Luminosity So Intense the
, Eyes Cannot See II.
THE RIDDLE OF THE FREELY.
So Far II Has 5sf7ed Science, but
When II Is Solved, as II Eventually
viii Be. We Shall Have Light With
out Heat and the Perfect Lamp.


out Heat and the Perfect Lamp.
The scientist set down a small black
box and impatently pushed aside the
powerful microscope and the delicate
bolometer. 1T is most discouraging,'
be muttered. ito have such a treasure
before ones eyes and still be unable
10 grasp IT,"
l looked in the little box, surprised
20 find nothing but few brilliant fire
flies. The scientist began 10 explain.
In that box is the most efficient H.
luminant known 10 man. The radiant
output from one Of those insects cor
responds 10 nearly fifty watts a can
die. while our very best artificial illu-
minant. the flaming arc lamp. gives
only two or three watts TO the candle.
The light from those insects. as re-
corded by the bOlOmeter, radiates little
If any heat. while the very best mean
descent lamps waste more than 90 per
cent Of the electrical energy in useless
heat. II | could read this secret OF
the insect world and make a lamp aft
er its pattern could produce 3S4 can
I die power from the same current that
! gives sixteen candle power today. SomS
/ day the secret viii be read"
The source Of all light Except the
l Hight from frefles and their kim is
/ substance raised to temperature suf-
\ ficient TO set up waves In the sur
rounding ether. which. when falling
upon the eye. produce the sensation
we know as light Light waves vary
I In length between one thirty-three-
usand-four-hundredth and one six
I ty-fye-thousandth Of an inch. the first
being extreme red and the second ex-
IRENE violet. Rays OF white light
have a length Of one forty-hve-thou.
sandth Of an inch. The sun is a great
mass Of white hot matter. 1t is the at
mosphere that enables us TO see light,
and outside of our atmosphere II is abb
solute darkness. as dark as the interior
OF Mammoth cave. In an arc lamp 1t
is the white hot particles Of carbon
floating between the two electrodes
that produce light. In the incandes
cent lamp 1t is the hairpin filament in
side the glass globe that, when heated
by electricity, gives Off light waves.
In gas and oil lamps light is produced
by the heated particles Of carbon in the
flames above the wick or mantle.
The eye can stand without firing a
brilliance of about five candle power
TO the square inch Of surface. The or
binary candle flame gives only two or
three candle power to the square inch,
while the sun at zenith gives 100000.
The arc light ranks next TO sunlight,
with 10000 candle power an inch, and
the best tungsten filament incandes-
cents give 1000 candle power. This
means that If the sun could be chang
ed into a ball of tungsten It would
throw off only 1000 candle power OF
light from every square inch of its
surface, when the world would be
practically dark and we should freeze
TO death in a week.
The prism shows that white light is
composed Of a happy blend OF all col
ors Of the spectrum. The sun gives
the only pure white light, with the arc
lamps a close second and the metal
filament incandescents taking third
place. Sky light, such as comes from
the north on a clear day, is blush
white. Gas nantes give greenish
light, open fame yellow light and kero-
sene orange light.
By the laws OF evolution the human
eye has become accustomed TO sun
sight, or sky light, coming obiquely
from above, and our eyes resent light
coming from any other source. Snow
blindness, distress from white sand or
water, is the result Of violating this
rule. The upper eyelid is adapted to
shade the eye from q strong light
from above. The lower lid cannot per-
form this Office, so when a strong light
Is reflected up into the eyes it blinds
us.
The Y ray has proved beyond doubt
that there are light rays which move
too fast for human eyes to register.
This light penetrates books, wood, pa
per and even human flesh. With the
Horoscope TO assist our eyes we can
see the bones In our arm without both
ering TO remove coat or shirt. But a
man with X ray eyes would be sadly
handicapped i'm this world for he
could see nothing but solids, such as
earths and metals. and would be I'M
able to see board fence at all. Be
yond doubt there is light so bright |
that the eyes cannot see IL, and to us
all Is darkness beyond what our eyes
will register.
Light rays themselves are invisible. |
When they move through the ether
alone our eyes cannot see them, conse
quently all Is total darkness. But |
when they meet with the resistance of |
our atmosphere, producing heat. they |
register on the retiBa and-behold, we |
can see! AS the atmosphere thins
rapidly as we go upward. so I'm pro-
portion the air resistance dlmlnishes,
and consequently the heat OF the sun
seems to grow less This explains |
why the tops Of high mountains are
always covered with snow.
Many wonderful discoveries have
been recorded In the Illuminating field
of late. and It is safe TO say that this
branch OF science affords one Of the
greatest fields for research and inven-
ton. Each year our artificial illuini-
nants are improved. but they nre far
from being perfect. Not until the sc.