104 TKAXSACTIONS OF THE [mAR. 9, 



Every day brings to light some new application, and its use 

 develops with increasing rapidity. A few years ago we depend- 

 ed upon the galvanic battery for our electricity. For telegraphy 

 and electro-chemistry this answered, at that time, the purpose. 

 It was costly and troublesome, and many attempts had been made 

 to substitute mechanical generators for the production of elec- 

 tricity by the motion of coils of wire in a magnetic field; it was 

 not until some time after the discovery of Faraday in 1833 that 

 mechanical motion was applied to the i^roduction of electric 

 currents. 



The electric industry has been born and carried to its present 

 state of development within the past ten years. At no time in 

 the history of the world have such rapid strides been made in 

 any of the applied sciences. This is due largely to the marvel- 

 lous skill and competition of inventors, manufacturers, and 

 users of so important a commodity; and now, for the first time 

 in the history of the world, electricity has become the subject of 

 commercial contracts, is bought and sold as a commodity of 

 every-day use, recorded and charged for in terms of energy it- 

 self, used at the pleasure and convenience of the consumer for 

 lighting, heating, mechanical, and chemical purposes. 



Electricians should be congratulated for giving us a commo- 

 dity that is not capable of adulteration — for a given strength and 

 electromotive force is perfectly defined, no matter how it maybe 

 generated or what machine produces it, and with these two mea- 

 sures we can calculate the energy consumed. For by multiply- 

 ing the volts by the amperes we get the value expressed in watts, 

 746 of which are equivalent to one horse power. ... I need 

 hardly tell you that at the present time the most important ap- 

 plications of electricity are for light and power. 



As regards the illumination of large spaces by the arc light, 

 and the further subdivision for domestic uses of the incandescent 

 light, the problem may be considered solved. It has been used 

 lor lantern projection to a limited extent, but I hope to see a 

 general adoption of the arc light for this purpose; and having 

 devoted some time to the subject, following it up from the days 

 in which the current was produced from batteries, until to-day 

 when we have on tap a current of electricity as we have gas and 

 water supply, it seems most fitting that my experience should be 

 given to the members of this Society, and my object in inviting 

 jou here this evening is to give you some experimental facts, 

 and to ask your verdict as to its application for lantern projec- 

 tions. 



For lantern projections the usual method is to make use of 

 incandescent lime; this was a great advance over the oil lam}). 



