IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GENERATION AND PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER TO BE APPLIED GENERALLY, AND IN ITS SPECIAL APPLICATION TO THE PROPULSION OF VESSELS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Moody and Edward Toms
Moody at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 5th September 1863.
We, THOMAS MOODY, of Wincanton, in the County of Somerset, Gentleman,
and EDWARD TOMS MOODY, of Chelsea Villas, West Brompton, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GENERATION AND PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE
POWER TO BE APPLIED GENERALLY, AND IN ITS SPECIAL APPLICATION TO THE PROPULSION
OF VESSELS," to be as follows:-
We propose by means of a magneto-electrical apparatus, constructed as.
herein-after described, to decompose water into its elementary constituents,
using the gases so evolved as a motive power. Firstly, our generating
apparatus will consist of one or more pairs of permanent horse-shoe magnets
built up of any number of bars, arranged symmetrically around a vertical
axis. The inner cylindrical space included around such vertical axis will be
cased with sulphur or other body, so as to cause the space so inclosed to be
water-tight and able to contain water or other fluid. In this space will be
introduced vertically a modification of the reaction engine or machine known
as "Barkers' mill," the lower or cylindrical portion of such mill being furnished
with a series of vulcanized rubber, or other suitable valves, opening inwards,
and allowing free ingress into such cylindrical portion of the water or other
fluid contained in the space enclosed by the magnets, and cased by the
sulphur. Above this cylindrical portion, and by preference on a level with the
poles of the permanent magnets, will be an exploding chamber with an

page_text: apparatus for recombining the gases therein and forming part of such
modification of "Barker' mill;" further, such mill will carry at its top
extremity a series of electro-magnets corresponding to the number of of the
permanent magnets fixed to and revolving with the mill, and furnished with
the means of conveying the electricity so obtained into suitable receivers or
voltometers, where it will be employed to decompose water or other fluid
either pure or holding other substances in solution. Secondly, of the gases so
evolved one portion goes to supply the explosive chamber of the "mill" with
sufficient energy to supply the place of the head of water usual to such
reaction engines, the other into a reservoir ready to be applied in the
production of motive power, no matter in what manner such motive power may
be transmitted or applied. Thirdly, in applying such power to the propulsion
of vessels in the space usually occupied by the engine in vessels propelled by
steam we place one or more of the generating apparatuses described in firstly
of this Specification, and in sailing vessels or boats by preference in the
midship section of such vessel or boat, together with one or more exploding
chambers, each communicating with a tubo or enclosed space open at its
extremity and running the whole length of the vessel from stem to stérn in a
line perpendicular to the vertical, passing by preference through the centre of
buoyancy of the vessel, such chambers to communicate with the reservoir
alluded to in secondly of this Specification, the supply of gas admitted to the
chambers being regulated and governed by appliances similar to those now
supplying the ordinary marine engines, with this addition that at convenient
intervals safety.valves will be introduced to cut off communication with the
gases in the reservoir, and that each chamber will be furnished with appliances
for recombining the gases so introduced.