THE EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1476, 28 February 1880, Page 20

THE EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT.

.Recent accounts regarding the degre< of success attained by Edison in his ex periments on the electric light are con flicting. The following, from th< telegraphic correspondence of the Londoi Timea, dated Philadelphia, Decembe] 28th, seems conclusive up to a certair point : — Spending Saturday and Saturday nigh' at Menlo park with Mr Edison, ] thoroughly examined his inventions' ii electric lighting, comprising four parties lars— generator, lamp, meter, and regulator — and providing, in my opinion, s \ complete substitute for gas. fhe lighi produced will be both cheaper and better than gas, being more regular, and emitting bo little heat that there is no danger of fire. Some of his lights are purposely fixed amid the most inflammable material I tried igniting paper by them, but the paper remaiued unscorched. About 6C lights were burning. On Saturday night ] sawthemburn seven hours. Two have been burning continuously for 10 days without injury to the baked cardboard horseshoe in the little glass globe which furnishes the light. Cardboard seems sufficiently durable, successfully resisting quite rough usage, suoh as dropping, shaking, turning the current on and off thousands of .times, and raiaing the intensity of light to that of 400 candles. All the arrangements are simple. Mr Edison will put about 800 lights at Menlo Park, while the inventions immediately go into practical operation in New York city. ,The globe containing the horseshoe is exhausted to one-millionth of an atmosphere by the Sprengel pump, measured by the M'Leod gauge. By 4 successfully dividing the electric current Mr Edison geta individual lamps of 16-candle power, each lamp having lOOohms resistance. Light is turned on or off, and the current regulated with the same ease as gas is, while tho current can be transmitted on wire as small as No. 36. The central regulator maintains an even current, while the meters accurately measure the supply furnished to each consumer. Mr Edison finds! tnat tue Desfc generators are of five to seven- horse power, each one-horse power maintaining eight lamps. Each lamp costs about Is to manufacture, while a supply equivalent to 10,000 feet of gas can be produced for tenpence or less. Mr Edison calculates the cost of furnishing light thus — the consumption of 31b. of coal in a steam engine will maintain eight to ten lamps one hour. Mr Edison's system also furnishes electric power for small industries such as running sewing machines. Mr Edison's light is bright, clear, mellow, regular, free from flickering or pulsations, while the observer gets more satisfaction from it than from gas. Mr Edison lights at Menlo-park dwellings, offices, desks, street lamps, also laboratory r.nd workshop, making it available for every lighting purpose for which gas is used. I ate my supper and wrote a draft of this telegram by Mr E,di» son's light last night,