The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
POWER 1rREcr YRoDf coG
Edison, ssys Grsat nessIt L. Ger
tain to De Achieved

Eaiss., ssys Great nessIt L. Ger,
tain 70 Be AeAieves
Thomas A. Edison predicted yesterday
that before many years had passed cleo
tricity would be derived directly from
burning coal for commercial purposes
More than 100 OF the foremost authori
ties on electricity IN this country hat
been working on various processes fbl
achieving this result he said. and sue.
cess VIZ 1T last an absolute certainty
lmore work-it has taken nearly 100 years
to reach the point we have now at
tained." Mr. Edison said.
/ He was seen In his laboratory at Lake
side avenue and Valley road, West
Orange. N. j.. by q Times reporter after
he had finished his afternoon expert.
ments with a light battery for aufomo-
biles. on which he has been working q
long time. Asked IL he was devotins
his personal attention to the problem of
obtaining electricity from coal, the solu-
tion Of which, IL Ia asserted, will make
II possible to produce electricity at a
fraction Of the present cost. Mr.. Edison
said he was interested only from a
scientific viewpoint
Il am getting to be an old man." he
said. and am afraid II VIII remain
for others to give industry this new
method. But it's certainty. that's the
important thing. and no man living can
estimate how vastly It viii affect the
commercial use of electricity in the
future"
The new method, it was explained.
would ultimately eliminate boiler. engine,
and dynamo In the transformation Of the
heat produced by the burning of coal
into electrical power. BY the present
process Of making electricity. in which
these three middle processes must be
used. approximately 30 per cent of the
original power Is lost through the boil
er, 20 per cent Of this is lost through
the engine. and only 80 per cent of the
engine power is finally converted into
kilowatts. More than four-ffths of
the original power is lost through the
Intricate process. and. whereas one
pound Of good coal should produce four
kilowatts for an hour. or five and a
half horsepower. only three-fourths of
a kilowatt hour is derived from It.
II Is on the principle of the thermopile,
thermoelectric battery which has
been long used to detect slight varia-
tions In heat. that most Of the scientists
are basing their experiments at present.
BY this means slight electric current
Is generated when the junction of
circuit of two wires of different metals
Is heated. The small amount Of current
produced is not sufficient to light an
electric bulb, but can be readily de-
tected by a galvanometer. The electric
ity is produced. II was explained yester-
day at the Edison laboratory. by the
rapid movement Of the tiny molecules
of each metal when heated. A German
inventor. Johannes Marschall. of Dres-
den, has recently patented a modifica-
ton OF the principle which he believes
will be of commercial value. 1t con-
sists Of q large furnace containing a
series Of thermopiles made of heat-re-
sisting metals. and is said to deliver q
lighting current for a fuel cost slightly
lower than that under the method in
general use. Mr.. Edison discussed
furnace briefly yesterday aft
ernoon.
1T is not practical for commercial
purposes" he said. but indicates that
the solution to the great problem is
being sought among scientists the world
over BY this method, however, only
per cent of the power of the coal can
be converted into electricity. number
OF Americans are working on methods
somewhat different from this and are
obtaining gratifying results. Already we
have succeeded in converting between q
and per cent Of the coal power into
electricity"
When asked IL il was possible to esti-
mate the percentage of power which
would be saved, Mr.. Edison said that
mat could not be done at present. When
The new process has been perfected to
the extent that more than % per cent
Of the coal power can be made use of.
i will be equal to the present process
and the equipment required for gen.
Grating electricity will be insignificant
nj a rod 70 hA
The possibilities are boundless," he
said. Il can't anticipate them. 1 don't
know much about electricity-nobody
does. We know only one-millionth of
all there Is to be known about it"
A few of those who have made a
close study Of the subject say that when
The new process has been developed to
4 sufficient degree 1t will be possible to
oropel ocean liners by electricity, there
BY saving the present great waste of
power necessary where boilers and en-
yines are used. and making it possible
Tor liners to travel with a much smaller
tonnage of coal
While Mr.. Edison considered the ulti-
nate uses of the new process more or !
ess as conjecture, at present. and be- |
ieved that no conjecture could do them !
Justice. he spoke more confidently of |
he light storage battery he has spent |
20 many years upon
Il have found q method of making |
ltorage batteries of just half the weight |
# those in general use" he said. and ,
I'M now working as hard as I can to re-
lure this weight. 1t has been said that
he light storage battery will make pos
ible the operation Of aeroplanes by cleo
ricity. That Is impossible. Aeroplanes
will never be operated by electricity
The light storage battery. however. will
make IL possible to build a great deal
f power and go long distances without
'eing recharged. That is the sole mis-
ion Of such battery. and it will not
e long before We will have light cleo
ric automobiles that everybody can sf-
ord and anybody can handle
One of the foremen of his laboratory
aid that Mr.. Edison had been working
unusually hard on his storage battery
ately, and had been sleeping with the
regularity for which, he is noted. AL
hough in his sixtyleighth year, Mr..
Olson appeared to be in excellent health.
When asked IL he would take a vaca-
ion this year he reun1ed: Il
Il have been TAXI a vacation ever
ince l returned from my last rest
here's no better or more healthful va
alton imaginable than hard work and
,ts of it; the only trouble is that most
eople don't know IL. They've never
RED to scheme" He said. however. that
e would spend some time in Florida next
inter, and that. with his family, he
'ould take a day on to attend the third
nnual field day of the employees of the
arious Edison plants at Olympic Park.
'ewark, on June 25. The laboratory
nd other plants will be closed on that
ay.-New York Times