TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 787 



The greatest development of the electric liofht lias taken place on l)oard ship. 

 Our Admiralty have been foremost in this work. All our warships are gradually- 

 receiving their equipment. Our ocean-going passenger ships are also now so illu- 

 mined, and perhaps it is here that the comfort, security, and true blessedness of 

 the electric light are experienced. 



Railway trains are also being rapidly fitted up. The express trains to Brighton 

 have for a long time been so lighted, and now several northern railways, notably 

 the Midland, are following suit. Our roclsy coasts and prominent landfalls are also 

 having their lighthouses fitted with brilliant arc lamps, the last being St. Kathe- 

 rine's Point on the Isle of Wight, where 60,000 caudles throw their bright beams 

 over the English Channel, causing many an anxious mariner to proceed on his way 

 rejoicing. 



Fontaine showed in Vienna, in 1873, that a dynamo was reversible ; that is, if 

 rotated by the energy of a moving machine, it would produce electric currents ; or, if 

 rotated by electric currents, it would move machinery. An electric current is one 

 form of energy. If we have at one place the energy of i'alliug water, we can, by 

 means of a turbine and a dynamo, convert a certain portion of the energy of this 

 falling water into an electric current. We transmit this current through proper 

 conductors to any other place we like, and we can again, by means of a motor, convert 

 the energy of the current into mechanical energy to do work by moving machinery, 

 drawing tramcars, or in any other way. AVe can in this way transmit and utilise 

 50 per cent, of the energy of the fallmg water wherever we like. The waste forces 

 of Nature are thus within our reach. The waterfalls of Wales may be utilised in 

 London ; the torrents of the Highlands may work the tramways of Edinburgh ; the 

 wasted horse-power of Niagara may light up New York. The falls of Bushmills 

 actually do work the tramway from Portrush to the Giant's Causeway, and those of 

 Bessbrook the Hue from Newry to Bessbrook. 



The practicability of the transmission of energy by currents is assured, and the 

 economy of doing this is a mere matter of calculation. It is a question of the rela- 

 tive cost of the transmission of fuel in bulk, or of the transmission of energy by 

 wire. Coal can be delivered in London for 12s. per ton. The mere cost of the up- 

 keep of a wire between ^^^ales and London to deliver the same amount of energy 

 would exceed this sum tenfold. For long distances the transmission of energy ■& 

 at present out of the question. There can be no doubt, however, that for many 

 purposes within limited areas the transmission of energy by electricity would be very 

 economical and effective. Pumps are worked in the mines of the Forest of Dean, 

 cranes are moved in the works of Easton and Anderson at Erith, lifts are raised in 

 banks in London ; water is pumped up from wells to cisterns in the house of Sir 

 Francis Truscott, near East Grinstead: ventilation is eflected and temperature 

 lowered in collieries ; goods, minerals, and fuel can be transmitted by telpherage. 



The transmission of power by electricity is thus within the range of practice. 

 It can be distributed during the day by the same mains which supply currents for 

 light by night. Small industries, such as printing, watch-making, tailoring, boot- 

 making, can be cheaply supplied with power. It is thus brought into direct 

 competition with the distribution of power by steam as in America, or by air- 

 pressure as in Paris, or by high-pressure water as in London ; and the relative advan- 

 tages and economies of each system are simple questions of calculation. When 

 that evil day arrives that our supply of natural fuel ceases, then we may look to 

 electricity to bring to our aid the waste energies of Nature — the heat of the sun, 

 the tidal wave of the ocean, the flowing river, the roaring falls, and the raging 

 storm. 



There is a mode of transport which is likely to create a revolution in the 

 method of working tramways. A tramcar carries a set of accumulators which 

 supplies a current to work a motor geared to a pair of wheels of the car. The 

 weight, price, day's work, and life of the accumulator is curiously the same as the 

 weight, price, day's work, and life of horseflesh ; but the cost of maintenance, the 

 liability to accident, and the chances of failure are much less. Although very great 

 improvements in batteries have been made, and they are now really practical 

 things, sufficient experience in tramcar working has not yet been obtained to say 



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