The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-05-03
I0IGHT covers the ocean.
gIH A terrific gale sweeps the


nYs@RI waters and through the
l!eEzGgy inky blackness a ship is
struggling slowly to find it's way.
The captain, Drawing the storm, is
on the bridge. He knows that the
vessel and all the lives entrusted to
him are in greatest danger. Not on
ly on account of the gale, but also
because the ship is navigating in
highly dangerous, rocky waters.
At any moment the vessel may be
thrown helpless against a deserted,
uninhabited shore.
No light buoys show her the
way. 1t was found impossible to
place gas light buoys near these
rocks. The gas mantles would not
withstand the shocks of the heavy
waves which rush with terrible
force against the rocky shores.
And who shall keep the gas light
buoys in operation! Who shall
replace here on this deserted coast
the fuel and broken burners? So
the known danger remained to
navigation for many years.
But look! What is this? A red
light suddenly flashes over the roll
ing and laundering waters. 1t dis
appears for moment and then it
flashes up again, and again. And
over there another one in green.
Red and green. Again and again.
The passengers stare with surprise
at the mysterious, silent lights.
They flash and flash. But the Off
GERS on the bridge exchange looks
of relief and satisfaction.
Full Steam Ahead!'' goes the
captains command into the engine
room and the slowly wavering
giant starts again to tremble with
her powerful effort to plOw through
the rough sea. Automatic Elec-
trio Light Buoys" is the succinct
answer the captain gives to inquir-
ing passengers. But the ship is
saved and the passengers free from
danger while the silent, flashing
lights slowly disappear in the far
distance behind.
The Automatic Electric Light
Buoy is one of the latest and most
ingenious inventions of Mr.. H..
Hartman, well-known civil en-
gineer of New York. His new
electric light buoy produces it's
own electric current for illumina-
ton through the motion of the
waves. 1t does this in the most
simple and ingenious way, avoid
ing every complicated mechanism
which might easily get out of Or
der. 1t has no storage battery, no
automatic cut-out, no relay switch
and no flament lamp which would
break through the rocking of the
buoy in heavy seas.
This electric buoy has simply a
vertical shaft, journaled at both
ends in ball bearings, and bracket
which carries heavy weight con.
sisting of an iron ball, which will
always swing by gravity according
to any inclination of the buoy
when the same is rocked by the
waves, turning thereby the verti-
cal shaft more or less. The turn.
ing motion of this shaft is in
creased and transmitted by means
of gears to a special magnetic at a
ratio of say 40 to l., so that the
magnetic would make 40 revolu-
tions for each full revolution of
the vertical shaft or 10 revolutions
for a quarter turn of the same in
either direction.
The alternating current of low
voltage thus produced by the mag
neto passes through the primary
winding of an induction coil, which
transforms the same into a current
of several thousand volts which
would give for instance a spark
/ inch to 2 inches or more. One
pole of the secondary winding o1