El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-26

/, centuries longer. But before long we
shall not need coal Our cities VIII De
run by electric power derived from l Lle
rivers. Where no natural eatara ...;Ii
are available for the purpose they WI
be created by dams-the Juice Delns
generated at the dam sites and carried
over wires. All the electricity re-
quired for heating and lighting house;
and for other domestic purposes VIII
be brought into il by a single WIRE
The machinery of factories, street-cars,
elevators, etc, will be run by the same
agency.
know that light and electricity are
merely manufactures Of one and tne
same thing. Daylight is an electrical
phenomenon. We shall learn now 70
the ether in motion, and with it We can
flood a building or a city. There VIII
be no more darkness, except when We
choose to shut the light out.
May Utilize the Tides.
There are other available sources OF
power supply. ineXhaustible; one ,,, 81
them, very obvious, is the tides. Inc
problem Of utilizing them is so easy
that the marvel is that it has not al
ready been solved. Indeed, we may
say that it has actually been solved
the theory remains only to be appueQ
What is required for the purpose IS
the construction of large reservoirs. IN
suitable places on the seashore win
turbines so arranged in a concrete
chamber with a double set OF valves
that. whichever way the water flows
in with the rise Of the tide, or out with
the ebb-the mechanism will De
operated. The flow Of the water
(prOper APPARATUS being proVided) will
generate electricity which can be trans
mitted over wires economically for
distance Of 100 miles or more.
Winds May BE Utilized.
Then there are the winds, which
power which is permitted to go to
waste The windmill is a very ancient
invention, but within the last few years
it has undergone a wonderful develop
ment in the form of what is known as
the wind turbine" This is a contr1-
vance by which the improved windmill
is used to generate electricity for use
as power.
Such installations on the European
continent are now used not only Tor
lighting and heating isolated country
houses and farmhouses, but to supply
with electricity whole villages. It IS one
example OF storage Of energy reclaimed
from the air. Some of these Windmills
are even utilized to charge the batteries
of electric automobiles most up-tO-
date idea certainly. The equipment
includes a dynamo and battery Of ac-
Cumulators- The surplus electricity,
when the wind blows, is stored for calm
periods.
SUMS Energy Available.
Undoubtedly we shall learn before
long how to convert solar energy into
electricity for transmission over long
distances. Our available supply Of such
energy is, of course, unlimited. It is
estimated that the sunshine which falls
one one square yard Of the earth's sur
face on an average summer day rep
resents one horsepower.
In the tropics with six hours average
daily sunshine, the sun delivers daily on
one square mile an amount of heat
equal to what is produced by the burn
ing of $500 tons of coal A square area
100 miles on a side receives in a year
at this rate a quantity of heat
000NtOns of coal j. e., nine times the
total of the coal mined in the whole
world in u months.
It is fair to presume that eventually,
with the expected Improvement of ap-
paratus we shall have soIar-electric
batteries capable, even in temperate
latitudes. Of delivering energy equal to
what could be furnished by the burning
Of thousands Of tons of coal per diem.
Could Do without Coal.
Leaving all these possibilities aside,
we may dismiss anxiety in regard to
the Oft-discussed fuel problem. If all
the coal deposits were exhausted today,
we could grow our fuel, just as we
grow our food. The late DR.. Edward
Atkinson estimated that from ten to
Iltteen tons OF sorghum, dry weight
could be produced on an acre of land
at a cost of 81 to $3.50 for planting
And by the use of a cheap press, some
what resembling the kind of cotton
press used for making cylindrical bales,
the sorghum could be converted into
logs three OF four feet long, and 8
inches in diameter.
In the tropics, where there is plenty Of
duce 20 tons of wood per acre annually
in perpetuity. The dry logs heavier