DEVELOPMENTS OF ELECTRICITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5762, 5 January 1897, Page 2

DEVELOPMENTS OF ELECTRICITY.

The New York correspondent of the Daily Telegraph has succeeded in interviewing Mr Edison, the "Wizard of the West," regarding the probahle future developments of electricity for locomotive, domestic and commercial purposes. The conversation began with the subject of the propulsion of motor cars. For these, at present, he considers that the best form of motor lies between steam and the gas engine. The advantage might at any moment change to electricity, but such an occurrence depended wholly upon the discovery of some more efficient, and stable system of storage batteries. Excessive weight, cumbrousness, and other drawbacks stand in the way of stored electricity as a motive power. Flying machines, he also believes, are on the point of being practically developed. The first steps will apparently be made by military experts. He himself had instituted some experiments, mainly with a view to ascertaining preliminary data. This problem and many others would be solved if we could derive electricity from the direct oxygenation of coal, without the intervention of furnaces, boilers and steam. Mr Edison did not approve of electricity for heating purposes. It was dearer than gas or steam. Eighty-five pe* cent of the fuel was lost in the process of conversion into current, while not more than 15 per cent was actually effective for cooking. The various suggested sources of power when at some distant period the coal-mines should be exhausted, were also discussed. Mr Edison has always believed in the practicability of John Ericsson's idea for the conversion of solar heat in tropical countries into electric power, but remarked that civilisation and sun power do not go together. Ericsson's parabolic reflector would, within the tropics, produce heat enough to raise steam to any extent, but here, again, cheap light and storage were needed. Even if ihose were secured, it was hard yet to see how accumulated electricity could be transferred from one country to another.