230 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECFS JOURNAL. 



[JULT, 



the valve ; (he rib? are to guKle the valve in its movement np and down. 

 Tile eurfaces of the valve are chilled in the act of casting, and ground » ith 



Fig. 1. Fig. 3. 



^H3M^ 



emery, h h, are portions of two pipes let into the sockets of the cock. For 

 sluice-cocks without moveable buslies. the surface aKainst which the vnlve 

 works is to be cliilled in the act of casting the body of the cock, so us to 

 make it more durable j and afterwards ground true by a revolving tool 

 uad emery. 



LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 



Thomas Russell Cramptok, of Southwark-square, London, engineer, 

 for "Improvements in locomotive engines and railways." — Granted Uct. 6, 

 1845; Enrolled April 6, 184G. 



The firtt claim is for arranging a locomotive engine so as to include the 

 teoder ou the same carriage or frame ; this is etfected as shown in fig. 1 



Fig. I. 



where B is an upright tubular boiler, supported on the same framing that 

 carries the tender T with the coke and water; c the cylinder fixed on the 

 side of the tender, and d the driving wheels ; the stage for the engine driver 

 is between the boiler and tender. The second improvement relates to using 

 external cranks or excentrics for working the slides, as sliown at ee, instead 

 of having tlie excentric on the axle between the wlieels. The tliird im- 

 provement is for forming the shape of the fire box, so as to increase the 

 Fig. 2. length of the tubes and tlie area of 



the fire grate, as shown in lig. 2. The 

 fourth improvement or claisn is for the 

 combination of wooden rails with iron 

 rails ; the wooden rail is fixed on the 

 outside of tile ordin-iiy iron rail, and 

 the top is a' tout one-fnurlh of an inch 

 a'tove the top nf the iron by tiiis ar- 

 rangement the wiiet-ls of the locomo- 

 tive etigine may travel upon the wooden 

 rail, and olitain greater adhesiveness, 

 and the wheels of the carriages run upon the rails as at present. 



ELECTRIC LIGHT. 



Edward Al'gi:8tin King, of Warwick-street, in the county of Middle- 

 sex, ^'enlleman,for '• improiemcnts inobtuiniiif; lif^lit hy elerlricity." iJcing 

 « ciuumunication. Granted November 4, 1S45 ; Enrolled May 4, lS4li. 



This invention consists in the application of continuous metallic and car- 

 bon ciiiiducturs (intensely heated bj the passage of a current of electricity, 

 to the purposes of illuminattuu 



Tlie metal to be used is that which, while it requires a very high tempe- 

 rature for its fusion, has ouly a slight afiinily for oxvgen, and oflVrs a great 

 resistance to the passage ol an electric current. Platinum, though not so 



infusible as iridium, has but little affinity for oxygen, and offers a great re- 

 sistance to the passage of the current, and as it is abundant and easily 

 worked, appears to be preferable to any other metal. It sbould he reduced 

 to very thin sheets known as leaf platinum, sothin that, on liuliling it before 

 a printed page, ihe letters can be distinguished througli il. A strip is lo b» 

 cut from llie platinum leaf of a wiilih proportionate to the quinlity of tho 

 current (wliicli, with Grove's cells, luiving platinum plates three inches 

 long and two inches wide, is about one-fourth of an inch), and of a length 

 proportionate to the in'ensity (which, of course, varies witti the number of 

 eel's) ; care being taken to cut the strip of an equal width throu;;lioul. and 

 with a clean edge, as otherwise it will be uneijually heated, and will bo 

 fused in one part before ttie other parts have attained a sufllcieutly high 

 temperature to produce a brilliant light. 



Fig. 1 



-53 



Fig. 3. 





\ 



/ 



w 



The strip of plalinnm is to be suspended between two forceps in the ap- 

 paratus represeiiled in vertical section at fig. 1, a is a square brass bar 

 lixed on llie wooden sland b, and having a bindingsciew c, at it lower 

 end ; upon this bar two sockets d e, slide, carrying ihearms/g-, which are 

 terminated by broad forceps, lipped with platinum, and opened or closed 

 by milled screws A i. The upper arm/, is fixed at the top of the bar a, by 

 means of the screw j ; and the position of the lower arm g, is adjusted by 

 turning the nuts k k, upou the screwed rod /, which passes through th« 

 arm ^ : the socket e, of the aim ^, is lined with ivory or other noncon- 

 ducting substance, to prevent any metallic communication between that 

 arm and the bar a. in, is the platinum leaf, which is held by the two for- 

 ceps, and is included in the electric circuit by attaching one of ibe wires 

 Irom the battery or other apparatus to the binding-screw c, at the bottom 

 of the bar n. and the other wire lo the binding screw ii, at the Ijotlom of 

 the rod / 'I'he cuirent should be one of considerable iuleusity, and the 

 distance between the forceps should be sufficient to prevent the platinum 

 from being fused, u, is a glass shade, which ser\es to screen the platinum 

 from currents of air, dust, tVc 



M'hen carbon is used, it becomes necessary, on account of the affinity 

 this substance has for oxvgeu at a hi,''li temperature, to exclude air and 

 moisture from it, which is best elftcted by inclosing it in a Torricellian va- 

 cuum. Fig. 2, is a vertical section of the apparatus employed for this 

 puipose. a, is a glass tube, similar to those used for barometers, except 

 that its upper end is enlarged into a cylindrical bulb, and a stout platinum 

 wire sealed in at the top. The upper end of the wire is furnished with a 

 binding screw 6, and the lower end is screwed into the iron piece c, to 

 vihich the forceps i/, is attached ; the piece c, is connected, by a porcelain 

 rod e, with a similar piece /, that carries the forceps g ; and the piece of 

 carbon A, is held betvieen the forceps d, and g- ;— i, is a copper wire which 

 is attached lo the piece/, and extends to the bottom of the lube. Th« 

 tube is tilled with mercury in the same manner as a barometer (the air 

 being carefully expelled, as usual); its length, independent of the bulb, 

 should be about '.hirly inches, so that a vacuum will be formed in the bulb 

 when the tube is inverted in a cup of mercury. I'he instrument is included 

 in the electric circuit by connecting one of the wires from the battery or 

 olher apparatus with the binding-screw ft, and the other with a wire which 

 enters the mercury in the cup at the bottom of the tube. The circuit is 

 thus completed by the column of mercury ; and when it is depressed in tho 

 tube, by the formation of vapour of mercury in the bulb, the connection is 

 lireserved by the wire i. That form of carbon found in coal-gas retorts 

 which have been long used, is well suited for Ihe purposes of this inven- 

 tion, and may be worked into Ihe form of small pencils or thin plates, by 

 the aid of the saw and file. As carbon will bear a very high leniperalore 

 without fusion or volatilization, it may be employed when a very inlens* 

 light is required. 



If an inierinilting light be required, for light-houses or other purposet, 

 t may be obtained by breaking the circuit at intervals by clock-work. 



