ELECTRICITY DIRECT FROM COAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8163, 23 July 1906, Page 4

ELECTRICITY DIRECT FROM COAL.

Isth<«gt\iit that c.mi'ronU tin- e.-o:. wor; I .Milw-i at Has wiiat K'i. -otJ. . !i" Wizard, prophesied eovih* tnu-'r So it A practical appjjjtus ihat i*iii apparently convert co;tl dißcily in he vuctnc tlnid without the ir.U-rv . ..oil oi boilers, .steam tnginos, and dynamo* has at length been deri-ed and by a man little known to iseien<v.

The solution ot thus problem, if it indeed be solved, has come, not from one of the thousand oi notvd scieutiftts who have been studying it for ye<u*?, but from an unknown and obscure man, so far as the general public L» concerned. A chemist and an expert electrical engineer. has just given to tho world this new marvel. His name is J. H. Keid, and he lives in Newark, Xew Jersey, U.S.A.

The device be calls the dyiielectron. If under the invi«igation of technical experte this remarkable machine, does all that i.s claimed for it, or what it i* capable of doing through short demonstrations, it must be hailed as the_mo»t momentous and astounding invention of the present century. The inventor is a shrewd canny Scotsman. who, when he wont to tho United States as a boy, could only speak Gaelic and Hindoostani. The success which has crowned his efforts has not been reached hy any lucky accident, but by the most systansttic md oirefnl experimentation. In huiilreds of little notes are carefully recorded every experiment he has ever made. Kv.'ry physical phenomena and every eheniie.il reaction has been noted. Tlie final marvel!,Hi- current was found by vear.s of painstaking elimination of elements which would not do.

Now for a ot the machine .illicit is likely to revolutionise tlie eeonumics of electrical energy oi the earth, and give every family of the universe '.vhich can start a fire, light and pewet .or a fraction of its present cost. Mr. Reid sometime speaks of his do-

,-ico as a gas battery, for tho only des:ructive chemical reactions which take .ilace in it ar« the evolution of oxygen and hydrogen. Tho metal element* .vhich are corroded and consumed in tlie ordinary battery are in no way injured in the dynelectron. In fact, all that i--jensumed is .the fuel under the battery jnd water which i« hydrogen and oxygen combined, and air, which is nitrogen and oxygen, and a change is slowly brought about in the original caustic -otash solution with which the jars arc ailed.

The eleme v., which in your telephone jr bell battery are carbon and zinc in :he dynelectron are carbon and sheet ran, the fluid which in one is a Troak .slution of some acid or alkali i« in the ynelectron a very concentrated solution .r caustic potash, which dc<Si not be,cmc fluid until heated above 300 dog. ahrenheit, to which i> added 2 per ent. oi iron oside. The outside jar ontaining receptable is of cast iron. Heat and air have to be added to the lynelectrcn battery as described before t will generate electricity. It must be leatod up to 390 deg. Fahrenheit, anil lir must be pumped through the car>on at 121b pressure. The heat may ,-jry oOdeg. in either direction without erionsly interfering ivith the genertion of the electrical current, but the nstant the air supply is cut off it dies ike a living creature deprived of oxygen.

What wo havo then is a simple iron ,ot in a convenient rectangular shape, round which plays the gentle heat of i flame. Insido the pot hanging in a liution of caustic potash and iron oxdo is a hollow iron .slab 12in. deen. Bin. vide, and lin. thick, from each <;i;le of vliich protrude like the bunches of a >ristle of a huge toothbrush hollow car*>n pencils similar to those used in elccric arc lamps. An air pipe ir> connected to the top of ho iron slab, and air forced into the .o.low slab ha-j 110 nay to eweape except

hiough the porous carbon pencils. Over tiie horizontally projecting seres ol carbons are slipped thin .sheet oil plait l ', which look aliiKfct ill-.' toves, so tilled with round holes aii !i. y. Through e;:cli liole a carlion s. and thj holes are i>;ilficicnlly o kiep it insulated, or to prevent tinon .sheet from making contact with the arbon pencils at any point. Sheet after slieet of this thin iron ii. >ut over the pencik, with s'ight inter-,-als of space between tUoni, until the ayers look like tho blades ot some new orm of meat chopper when they are in mal position. Wo have now tho carbon pencil element, careiuily insulated or separated iom the vertically hanging sheets oi

»on. From the car bu no one wire b> aken, and irmu the iron the other, exciiy as the wires are taken front the .wo poi«s of a battery. Add causitc pot+>l\ ior the lnjuid- solution, heat it to /JOck'g., an J pump air down into the arbon, so that it comes bubbling and piuttering up through the hot alkaline jiud, and you have an active battery, giving off 100 amperes ot current at s-lOth of a volt.

For the sake of the layman, let it bo aid that the ampere repnsente the piauttty of eiectncul current, just a* a Areaiu of water do*.'.?, and the voltage epre ent.s the speed of flow, or better, no procure ot water, sav, in a pipe. A urge pipe might give a very large flow A water duggLahly, or large amperage iiid small voltage or a little pipe mignt the tuuiu quantity oi water .hrough it under high pressure in the arue time, which would be binall auiperigo and high voltage. Quantity uud .r-jssnre. or amperage and voltage together, reprint the amount of work vhich can Ik) done either by a mmrn ,t water or an electrical current. In the Iteid batt<-ry we have a slagcurrent of great uuantitv. Nine-tenths of a volt pre.ssuro is of .ittle value commercially, whatever the quantity may be, for it requires very arge and expensixo copper conductors .o lead it anywhere.

T;iis ditbiuity of low volt-age is over-

~>me in two way® hy connect.ng up tiie MtUTiea in series- carbon pole ot one cli to the iron pole of the next, and tio /ii until au joined and the two wire* thich lead awa) Horn the entire fct ieo ae tue conductors of the electrical cureiit, which boo gained in voltage ac.ortiing to electrical lawo, just a«s ...aiiy .lines there are cells. iiio ajnp-;ag« emaiiis the -same.

The expeiin ental dynelectron ha* 12 .e'is m benes, and, uierelore, givivj a .urrent oi 10.6 volts and IUO amj>erets. inia Will and does light lb incaud«.*s-,-jiit lamps ot l'J candle power each. 'lo .jep ii tiemg loiced to use large conto Uie out.-i<ie eucun rotary

gclid'aiUi a UI\J Uo-d, rtlhtJi ..caii> putting tlie current into a. roi try

.ccinc motor, Mhicu wuucvb a curieui a iiiUCii aigiit-r vultago in clms oi line .ire. lint a» thi» is not an electrical .reatif-e, rtiiiiico to t*ay that tno original ru.til ciJii'vnt can I*j "stepped up to t viral liunin d-> o. even tn<j'i.,andt> oi io>-> oi liio ongm- ■;;» ~u Mi: .i v, i;>- Unl-inc H>r

.'U 11 it' - airl o<ii-:ut;plit.M. tWuit tar. - >.u tnv ita-.i i-. ca- • V l*l.g:v to t jU: »\\ l >--it, iMI <si U'cuilicai to pie«i.-e the uv. ir. .Notiiiiig Ut'oW iiCllVv, nOiNevt-,', J tv T *jt• Ui<lll«'U t . pUJ'Ua <Ji tue • .y. A :i 1. tn..t th«- in id" U i .i.itei'i a:-' iiii'l hi-ii ini!f.;niH'-.i.-v e -■ -'.! it : ' i. -ii:• i h,a!ni.»'ii..iiL-e ol i ; K ' .y <;v. .•»» iii'.r»'are I to moving [• iiu~. lo .>«MI' <>ui MK ! .oun. and L>kii.*.d ,n; 1 »i.c> are hoi req-iii'td to in- m-r uii h.m , and uai.cfii nl. What vuli \Wi-> inven; : .«.a no in !!o induoti .al uorvl ii n )-•> va ;\a-> -»1 a prominent ••ngiiu"; 1 .lie ,\,iv Voi-k " U o; :d i. 11.■ .n-l.ir;tiy that— It ire.int a c«n;i'. !• tv i"Vin app.i«'d tr..;r.ou»K* fit -.•{, it ;;,eai;> ii it .•'ho-vu uuVr **fht.-ifn y tli.it the 'ivm-lec?run only .•M4--Jii ia tiie h'-at or coal :<>a vnv u.-M J to pr< i':/ • > «|Uai (|uain i'.v ~i ;un ' i:ai Uh; Kit--ti i'.*»l Tru.-t w,iii t., ,nil»:"!i> an'i !i.ii*"'»n> in o}»- • !'• f l '-'. v.itl bi-t r!y light to p.e- . . i-r ;i, 1r:-1 ; .on. H i- Ii: (- ' VCT f.-ctory, iutEKfit ;uiy '' 'ny at:ac'.:;.ent "> the ovdu.aiy l"aUiig ,)!■ .ippi.aticr. The .-\>i.c!u do a k ..y mitn the Hiormou !y <-\- j»-'! -I V' • ; (!' .• h "> 1 1 ■! <1 I*l bi 11 ]•: 1] j ground wiiw. It .i J .. v T : 11 - C'ii•l ~ .l.r , 1 I ■. I: W Cl:d rlinilinitf .»• p./.i* r .-tatiou or f;irii.il!, .-i-' i .11. i ;.-Ae li' v, i .'-.ir ! - t : if (h \ if-c lur 1 Jiutornobik s. Hf ■•a;.x ?l:a + it v.v! f*?« t, to build a locomoti/e equal in power tQ thu Brwont £l2,oUo6t«(m loco.

motive. and it will pususs the advantage that traction and driving power can I >e distributed over the entire train by separate motors.

lp to the present moment the.se remarkable batteries have been in operation many inontli.s without showing any ceterioratiou. ih< k c.»rbon pencil*? Bind iron pliitr.s arc in their pristine oon(lition, and nothing has been consumed except air, water, smd. coal gaa, Uiongh irvcaiKkscvnt lamp,-have been burnt out over .ami over again, and motors and ! pumps have had to have their bearings i renewed.

Experts from colleges and from industrial concerns are wmstlmg with the problem, and are testing the new contrivance in every conceivable way known to electrical science, and are almost convinced that tlie era of electricity direct from JK«at has ooinc.