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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1902)
f7x"lNCE In a whllo it Is given to tho I I sons of tho rich to rhlo out of tho LmJ ranks nnd to distinguish thcm- IWttffl BU'VCS 1(1 tl,e fle,(1 ot m,e"t- Quito Vmur recently It was young Vnndcrbllt Inventing n locomotive. Just now It Is Cooper Hewitt, giving tho world a now light. Ills caso Is oven more spectacular thnn that of Vnndcrbllt, for tho effects of his Invention will ho moro far-reaching. Tho Interest evoked by such a man cannot bo less than that Inspired by tho far-reaching effects of his work. And to gaugo the Intter let It bo said that ho has succeeded In n field In which our host scientists have as yet produced nothing. It Is now more than four yenrs since Peter Cooper Hewitt hegnn his experiments In Madison Square garden. Ho opened his laboratory In tho tower of tho garden, Just one lloor under tho gilded stntuo of Diana. Tho very protnlncnco of tho situation lent It a ccrtnln obscurity. Ho wished not to bu disturbed and no one would think of looking for tho workshop ot a scientist In tho same building that harbored horso shows, cyclo meets and spectacle plays. Ho labored with that chimera which sooner or later claims tho attention of nil scien tific men tho production of light without heat. He studied tho work of Tcsla, ot Edison, ot Crookes. He followed their lead nnd, hnvlng tested their experiments, ha scon mado up his mind that they had not reached tho uttermost limits of this de partment of electrical research. Ho was young and time was no object. He had abundant means, so money did not count. Occasionally the societies heard of him when ho told of certain progress ho had made. To his friends he was a promising joung scientist, who might do something some day. Generally speaking, however, tho public heard llttlo of tho young In ventor In tho tower. Tho "soino day" camo with tho new year. On tho evening of Friday, January 3, passersby In front of tho meeting hull of tho Now York Society of Mechanical En glnecrs raw what appeared to be a column cf light extending up nnd down tho house front. The light came from a glass tube nnd It made tho street nearly as light ns day for a hundred feet In every direction. It was tho Invention ot Young Peter Cooper Hewitt. Tho meeting hall of tho building was lighted by four tubes similar to tho ono In front nnd tho Inventor was even then within explaining to the society members the naturo of his discovery. Tho four tubes which hung In tho hall illuminated It with n brilliancy equal to COO candlo power nnd photographs of tho assembled members wero taken with tho new light. Tho Hewitt lamp, however, Is so thor oughly adapted to present day conditions that no special wiring is required, no spe cial dynamo Is necessary to operate It. It may bo attached to any Incandescent light circuit now in use and it will glow as roadlly ns an Edison lamp, only with many times tho brilliancy. And yet tho perfected lamp Is such a simple affair that ono won dors somo of tho brainy men of the scien tific world had not hit upon tho idea long ngo. It Is nctually a fact that many ot them not only experimented with this stylo of lamp, but oven tried lamps of tho very size, shapo and contents of thoso used by Mr. Hewitt and, falling to produco tho do rlred effect, discarded the Idea as Impos sible. Tho lamps used by Mr. Hewitt are In tho shape of gloss tubes, from ono to ten feet long nnd from ono to four inches thick. There Is a small amount of mercury in each tubo and tho current acting on the mercury generates a gas which yields nn IntOnsn Wllltn llL'tlt. Tt la nnlv n,.noaaqi. to nttnch n tllhn tn nn rinl Intiru InAfidilna. cent lamp circuit and It will light up. Mr. Howltt encountered tho same difficulties ns tho other scientists. Tho tubes would not light up nt first. Hut ho thought there must bo somo underlying principle which could ho but discover It would solvo tho dlfllculty. Ho finally put It to tho test of mathematics and worked it out algebraic ally Just as Prof. Pupln worked out the prlnclplo of ocean telephony. It took him f 1ANIEL AND WILLIAM HUTCH I lf I IN0S' twln uroth""8 t Sclplo, am., im ni iuui;ii uiinu UlUl Ulliy their wives and children know them apart. A few years ago Daniel Bought r.dmlsslon Into tho Masonic order, but the members, for what they re garded as prudential reasons, Insisted that William should Join also, nnd tho twins woro put through together. In their court ship days they are now 53 years old thoy UBcd to spark each other's sweethearts and tho girls did not know tho difference. Senator Kearns ot Utah began life ns a miner and attained to fortune and to In fluence eololy through tho exercise ot an Indomltnblo will and an unconquerable dis position to persovero. Ho knows the value of money bo well that ho declines to wasto tlmo In tho Idle spccu'.ntlons, bo dear to somo men, touching financial propositions which do not exist. Not long ngo somo senators, among whom was Kearns, wero discussing largo fortunes in ono of tho capltol clonk rooms. Kearns took no part In tho talk until some one called attention to the fact that a certain millionaire was reputed to havo received 175,000,000 In cash (or bis share of stock New Hewitt Tube Electric Light A SIDE VIEW OP THE NEW four yenrs, but tho result was triumph, for tho tubo lighted up in tho end. A first visitor to the tower Is surprised by two things tho Intense scientific order that prevails and tho brilliancy ot the Il lumination. Ono of tho tubes projects out ward from tho wall and you notlco that It has a green tint. Looking from tho win dows far over toward Urondway, tho houses and the streets and tho atmosphere appear reddish In hue. That is due to tho color of tho particular lamp which Is lighted. Someono turns it off and you begin to sco things from your accustomed viewpoint or rather hue point. Mr. Howltt comes for ward. Ho Is well favored physically and ono would say about 3.r years of age. In reply to your questions ho plunges at onco Into tho subject of vacuum lamps, but his attltudo Is moro reticent than enthusiastic. "This lamp," said tho Inventor, pointing to a U-shaped tube, which hung by a string from tho celling, "Is not a vacuum lnmp In tho sense that there Is nothing In It. The nlr has been almost exhausted, but there Is, as you may see, somo mercury lu the lower end of tho tube. It would not bo possible to Eond n current of electricity through a complete vacuum. Something must be left to conduct tho curront. In this caso It Is mercury vapor. All sub stances may bo rendered Into a gaseous stato If brought under tho Influence of more or less heat nnd when wo try to pass n cur rent through that tubo enough heat Is gen erated to creato a vapor or gas of mercury which fills tho tube. Tho current passlns through that vapor produces tho Illumina tion you now see." Mr. Hewitt snapped n switch under an other lamp which was attached to tho wall. Immediately UiIb tubo lighted up with n glaro equal ns It seemed to the light of an arc lamp. "That lamp," ho continued, "Is operated on the Incandescent lighting circuit of this Episodes and Incidents in the Lives of Noted People In n great corporation. A senator whoso fortune docs not go beyond tho limits of his salury turned to the representative from Utah nnd said: "What would you do with $76,000,000 In cash?" Kearns looked his Interrogator over for a moment nnd then slowly replied: "Well, that's n lilt, tlo too much money to spend In n tow minutes' conversation. " For three months Andrew Carnegie was "posted" on tho bulletin board of tho St. Androw Golf club, Westchester, N. Y., tjr CO cents. Mr. Carneglo had forgotten that' he had contracted the debt and under tho club rules, which nro Impartially enforced, his namo had to bo added to tho list of delinquents at tho expiration, ot thirty days. When his attention was called to tho notlco on tho bulletin board ho laughed and sent In his check for tho nmount due. Coming east to lloston somo tlmo ago. relates tho Boston Post, Senator Warren of Wyoming traveled on a certain railroad nnd lost his trunk. It contained many valuablo costumes bclbnglng to his wife nnd his own outfit, so that Its loss was no smull matter. Ho struggled for somo time to And a trace of the trunk, but without success, nor could ho secure any reim HEWITT TUIIE L1QHT. building, tho same circuit employed to light tho ordinary lG-candlo power bulb lamps, such as uro everywhere In use. Hut thu Illuminating power Is eight times that ot tho ordinary lamp. I have nmdo lamps with diameter of boro less than one-eighth ot an Inch and as largo ns three Inches, and from less than three Inches lu length up to over ten feet, giving from less thuu 10-candlo power up to fully 3,000. Lamps of tnuumerablu shapes ami dimensions have been constructed nnd great variation of candlo power for vnrlous diameters obtained and there appears to bu nu reason why lamps may nut be mado of any size and of nny desired candle power, the only limi tation being that of softening the gloss, when too many candlo power per Inch Is produced, "In tho Incandescent lamp the carbon filament Is highly resistant to tho electric current nnd the passage of the cur rent heats tho filament so that light la generated. In tho now lamp tho mercury vapor lakes tho place of tho filament. Its resistance, however, is very much greater than the rcslstnnco ot tho carbon, anil when sufficient current Is passed :i much innru brilliant light Is produced. It was thought to bo impossible to use tho constant cur rent becuuso tiio very lesistonco of tho vupor kept this current from pnsalng through. "1 discovered a peculiar fact, howover, and working therefrom solved tho problem. I found that tho resistance of the mercury vapor was only, as It wero, momentnry. That Is, tho moment any current nt all wns pntsed through tho tubo the current Itself seemed gradually to break down tho ro slstnncu until nt last the resistance became so sin ill that even a coustnnt or Incan descent current would light tho tube. At present I usu n small spark or Induction coll to open the path Immediately for tho current. In short, It tho current Is turned bursement. Ills method of getting even wns unique. Upon returning to Choyenno ho plnced a wntchninn In the railroad yards with In structions to report tho arrival of tho first freight cor bearing the name of tho road upon which ho had traveled. In a day or two tho watchman gavo tho necessary In formation. Senator Warren at onco wont before n local mnglstrato and sued out an attachment upon tho freight cnr. Then ho wired to tho railroad officials stating what ho had done, nnd awaited results. In less than threo hours camo n dlBpateh saying that n check for tho value of tho missing trunk hnd been forwarded to him, and asking him to lot tho freight ear pro coed upon Its way. Then tho suit wnB with drawn. Tho statement was mado tho olhor day In tho Now York Trlbuno that, In aplto of his advancing years, Colonel Henry Wnttcr son ot Louisville gots to his nfllco every morning at 7 o'clock, which necessitates very early rising, as ho lives twenty miles from Louisville, and drives to his nlllco behind a spirited pair of Kentucky mnres. This has elicited from n correspondent tho following: "Tho Information hero given bbbbbbbbbLH bBTwbbbbHbbbbbbbiI bLLI BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBMCf "fiFVPBBH BBBBBBbT NO MOKE API'AUATUS IS ItEQUIRED TH Into tho tube, ordinarily It will not light until a spark from tho coll Is first driven through to brenk down the resistance, to blazo n way, bo to speak, for tho current. Ot course, tho wholo operation 1b Instan taneous." One of tho spark colls was attached to thu lamp on tho wall nnd when Mr. Hewitt turned on tho switch to light tho lamp tho snapping of tho parlB could bu heard. The intense whiteness of tho light beenmo tho subject of comment. It has always been said that tubo lighting would bo undesirable bornura of tho absence of rl rays. Mr. Howltt was asked about this. Ho replied: "The light produced by pure mercury gim comprises ornngo-yollow, lemon-yellow, green, blue, blue-vlolet nnd violet, nnd al though all Hhadcs of theso colors mny not bo present their nbsenco would not bo so seriously felt wero It not for tho absence of tho red. For somo purpose tho lack of red In tho spectrum Is objectionable, but for many uses It Is n positive advantage. For shopwork, draughting, reading nnd other work whero tho eyo Is called on for continued strain tho nbsenco of red Is nn ndvontngo, for I havo found light without tho red much less tiring to the oyo than with It. It Is posslblo to transform Borne wnvcB of this light, especially tho yellow light, Into red light, and thus In n mcasuru to overcome this defect whero required for general Indoor Illumination, A moderate amount of ordinary incandescent light In terspersed with tho mercury vnpor elec trically nerves to supply thu deficiency, nnd ,tho mixture may bo mndo most satisfactory. "For street lighting purposes tho mer cury Is nvallahlo oven without tho red and It should bo noticed that this light has very great penetrating power and seems to bo effective through grentcr dlstnncos thnn nn equivalent amount of measured cnndlo power from tho ordlnnry Incnu desccnt lamp. This mny bo duo to tho fnct should hnvu eomo under n 'Now Fiction' heading. 'Marto Henry's' cilice hours aro more nearly 12 to 1 ovcry other Wednes day, nnd on tho plko, with tho ruins ovor n pnlr of spirited mares, Cod savo tho other vehicles!" Tho London Academy reprints from Charles Stewart's recently Issued nulnblog raphy, "Heiiilnlsconccs of Legal and Social Life In Edinburgh and Ixindon, 1850-1000," tho following remlnlsccnco ot Tennyson: "With Alfred Tennyson In his latter years I hnd rather frequont opportunities ot meeting, both In London and at his country homo. Personal Intimacy with grcut authors Ih n dangerous oxporlment, nnd especially with great poets, for their Imnglimtlvo writings have (stimulated ono's Ideas about their personality till ono foolishly half ex pects in find their genius displaying Itself In ovory word nnd notion of their dally llfo. Tennyson fulfilled such nn unreasonable Idciil perhapa as well as any man could, for his personal nppearanco, with which ovory ono Is familiar, wus, of course, magnificent and his manners and habits of llfo wero dignified, If n little poetically eccentric. Hut tho adulation which ho received from his family and friends wns somowbnt sati AN FOR THE OK 1)1 N A It Y lll'LIt LH1IIT. that tho waves ot thu red light are less penetrating than thoso waves which nre present In tho mercury light, nnd hcuco the least valuable portion ot tho spectrum having such Illuminating effects Is omitted and tho energy Is practically ex pended In tho more useful portions of tho spectrum. 1 have mado lamps In which this color objection has been overcome, sacri ficing on some occasions tho extremely high light elllclency nbtnlucd In this particular lamp. Without doubt lamps of this typo will bo produced whoso light will bo even moro beautiful thuu this light Is objection able. Thu fact that different gases or vapors produco different colors opens tho way for experimentation In this line. 1 havo produced lamps of unions colors, Hy drogen gas gives a largo amount of red rays; so does nitrogen. I havo mndo blue lamps ami yulliiw. TIiIh feature of the color rays will bo Improved with time. There Is a precedent In tho WolBbach lamp, which was very bluu when If Van first. used, and In tho Nernst lamp, which' has also been Improved, Even tho Edison In candescent lump was defective in Us color quality when first Invented." in the opinions of many scientific men, tho Invention of tho Hewitt lump Is tin greatest electric lighting achievement since tho Kdlson lamp was given to tho world. Tho cost of running the new light Is now but one-eighth of that of tho Edison lamp, power for power. It must, therefore, bo more economical than gns, even ns cheap oh kcroeone, Thu dnrkcHt parts of eltloH could bo lighted iih well and even mora economically than their main streets. Lighthouses will bo nblo to shed their luy.i many moru miles out to sen than thoy do at preaont. Tho danger of collision between steamships will bo minimized. In short there Is almost no department of public, or private life that would not bu benefited by such an llluinlnant. ating, I hnvu seen Mr a. (iroville, a woman herself of tho most brilliant talent, nctually urctdiatu herself mi thu llcor before him, Just as I havo Been ladles of rank mid tal ent literally sitting nt the feet or Sir Henry Irving, Tennyson would havo been more than human If ho hail restated thu urfect or this hero worship. "A llttlo niece of mine was ono day Standing beside his chair; ho lifted her up nnd placed her on his kneo for half a mlii uto nnd then he put her down, saying , 'Now, you can say you havo sat on Tenny son's kneo.' It was kindly meant, but thero was n self-cotiHclousucBs In tho word nnd In tho net which wan not Infrequently In bo observed In tho poet." Frederick Ilussoll Ilurnhnm, upon whom King Edward hns conferred tho Distin guished Sorvlco Order, In consideration or his work ns scout In South Africa, Is a natlvo of California nnd n resident of Pasadena. Ho wont to Join Lord Hoborts In tho Hour war In tho spring of 1900. Ilurnhnm hns n wldo reputation for his ability ob n scout. Iloforo going to South Africa ho had been spending somo tlmo In Alaska.