The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-30
ARC LAMPS HAD
MANY REVISIONS
First Crude Light Was Made
by Davy in 1909, Says
T. K. Stuart.
EXPENSIVE EXPERIMENT
Scores of Methods Tried Out Before
Initial Brush Series Was Erected
in Cleveland in 1879.

IT the Orient could behold the mar
wells OF this country's electric cities. the
Americanizing OF the light. heat and
power Of the East would not be half
the task It is declared T. K. Stuart.
an electrical engineer who recently re-
turned from the Orient, where he has
been supervising the installation Of
eighteen electric power plants.
Speaking Of the growth Of electric uses
Engineer Stuart said:
THE history OF electric lighting is an
interesting one. Sir Humphrey Davy,
! ! In electric lighting with any definite OBJ
ject in view. In 1909 he demonstrated
the first crude light Davy constructed
a battery of 20oo cells to the terminals
Of which he attached pieces Of charcoal.
When these crude carbons were brought
near to each other bright spark was
produced and more than half the volumn
OF charcoal became ignited to wilderness
and by Withdrawing the points from each
other constant discharge took place
drought the heated air, producing a
brilliant arc of light.
Unit the discovery of the dynamo,
thirty years later, this arc light was
an expensive experiment. The first
steady and continuous light was discov-
cred In 1874 by Foucault. a French scien-
fist, who hit upon the plan of using the
charcoal The first practical use of the
new light was made In the Paris Opera
House during a performance of the
opera Moses" when an electric sun"
was used.
The first outdoor illumination was
used by Deleuil when he placed a lamp
upon the knees OF a statue of a woman
representing the spirit OF the town of
Lille. England's first lamp exhibition
da Ix-E L
1876. Thomas Wright, OF London. de-
vised a lamp in which the carbons were
automatically adjusted. In his lamps
the carbons were cut in discs revolved
slowly by clockwork.
Lighting Has Rapid Advance.
z T. Gramme. a Belgian inventor.
living in Paris in 1870, obtained his
first patent on dynamo electric ma
chimes in 1870, and exhibited his work
to the Academy OF Sciences in 1871.
He is credited with being the father
of the modern arc lighting. although
arc lighting had been accomplished
before the day OF Gramme. william
Slemans and Sir Charles Whea tstone
of England. improved the dynamo in
1867 by doing away with the perma-
nent magnets and substituting coils
OF wire about a soft iron core Prof.
tor. living in Salem, Mass, obtained
the same results In 1856
EARLY electric lighting was accom-
plished by direct current, and alter
nating current did not come into use
until a score of years later. Light
houses in the straits OF Dover were
equipped with arc lights in 1865 ano
1852. and similar work was accom-
pIished at La Havre, France, in 1868
t., E~F L.,
mechanism which advanced arc lighting
considerable distance. His invention
consisted OF two vertical sticks OF carbon
separated slightly by an insulating ma
terial which was consumed at the same
time as the carbons. These lamps soon
were lighting the streets here and
abroad.
"A short time later Charles F Brush
and Edward Weston developed methods
OF series arc lighting and their systems
were soon in general use.
The first series Brush arc lamps were
erected in the public squares OF CIeve-
land. Ohio, in 1879. The first central sta
ton operating arc lamps was installed by
the California Electric Light Company
of San Francisco in 1879.
"On an early date. William WALLACE
of Ansonia, Conn. and Prof Moses G.
Farmer, of Salem, Mass. were building
dynamos and experimenting in the field
of electric illumination. The successful
development OF arc lamps was in nc
small degree the results of their cx-
periments. Their dynamo was exhib-
tied at Philadelphia during the Centen-
NAL Exposition in lS76. where 1t was the
only dynamo supplying electric current
Mr.. Wallace has the distinction of be-
ing the first inventor to use the round
carbon pencil still in use In arc lamps
"Since the appearance OF the Thomas
Houston system In 1881. when the frs.
twenty-five arc lighting machines were
lighting the streets, the development In
the field of illumination has been rapidly
advancing until today II has reached the
nearest approach possible to sunlight"