PRICE, 36 CENTS. u M A -AND — HIS INVENTIONS INCLUDING THE MANY INCIDENTS, ANECDOTES, AND INTERESTING PARTICULARS Connected with the Life of the Oreat Inventor. — ALSO — ^ Full Explanation of the Telephone, Phonograph, Tasimeter, and all HIS Principal Discoveries, with Copious Illustrations. EoLited. "by T. B. J^cCLTTZSE. CHICAGO: RHODES & McCLURE. iST"©. A. M. WOOD n — Joke on THE Cockroaches — Inventions — The Girls — Sooner or later "coming greatness" is apt to touch at Boston. Boston is a great city — the hub etc. Moody went to Boston. It was there he received that celebrated letter from his sister, charging him to beware of pickpockets, when, alas, he hadn't a nickel in the world. Of course young Edison went to Boston. He had a warm personal friend in the telegraph office in that city, M. F. Adams, who was anxious he should come and was ready to receive him. An expert was wanted in the Boston office to work a heavy New York wire. Several candidates had failed as the New York end was worked by the "York and Erie" operators, who, as a class, had the reputation of writing anything but the "Morse" alphabet. G. F. Milliken, the manager, offered the situation to Edison by telegraph, and he accepted. He started via the Grand Trunk, but the train was snowed in for two days near the bluffs of the St. Lawrence by a violent storm. The passengers nearly perished with cold and hunger. All resources for fuel and food were exhausted; a delegation was sent out to hunt for relief. They were gone so long another expedition was about starting in search of them, when they returned and reported a hotel not far distant where cigars were one cent apiece, and whiskey three cents a glass, and board fifty cents a day. A shout of relief went up from the crowded cars, and they were soon comfortably housed till the storm was over. Edison finally reached Boston all right. His reception at the telegraph office by the young operators was not as cordial as it might have been, owing, no doubt, to jealousy. The table at which he had been placed was in the centre of the room, located there, it is said, for the better enjoyment of his discomfiture. He noticed the arrangement, and says he would have died rathei than make a break. He arrived in Boston in 1868, and in the person of Mr. Milli- ken found the first superior officer who could appreciate hii AND HIS INVENTIONS, 63 character. Mr. Milliken was an accomplished gentleman, a thorough master of his profession, and an inventor of merit. He proved a faithful friend of Mr. Edison and in the secret excitement under which he seemed to labor, recognized the fire of genius. Edison's stay in Boston was congenial. There is a vein of humor running through his character, and he played a practical joke on the cockroaches which infested the office in great numbers. He placed some narrow strips of tin-foil on the wall connect- ing them with the wires from a powerful battery. Then he placed food on them in an attractive manner to tempt them. When these clammy individuals passed from one foil to the other they completed the battery connection, and with a flash were crema- ted, to the delight of the spectators. Edison started a shop in Boston, and gave all his spare time to it. He invented a dial instrument for private line use, and put several into practical op- eration. He made a chemical vote recording apparatus, but failed to get it adopted by a Massachusetts Legislature. He commenced his experiments on vibratory telegraph apparatus, and made trial tests between Boston and Portland. He matured his first private line printer, and put eight into practical opera- tion. From lack of means to pay for quotations his venture was not successful, and he sold out. This patent subsequently came into possession of the Gold and Stock Telegraph Compa- ny, and was considered to have a base or foundation value upon which many subsequent improvements were built. At one time he was invited to explain the operation of the telegraph to what he supposed was a girl's school. He forgot the appointment, and when found was putting up a line on a house- top. He went directly from his work, and was much abashed to find himself ushered into the presence of a room full of finely dressed young ladies. He was actually timid in ladies' presence, but his subject was understood, and the occasion passed pleasant- ly. He was introduced to a number of young ladies, who always recognized him on the street, much to the astonishment of his fel- low-operators not in the secret. 64 THOMAS A. EDISOJSi Edison in New York. Penniless and Hungry — The Supreme Moment — Brains — His Great Success. Before his arrival in New York, in 1870, Mr. Edison, assisted by Mr. F. L. Pope, patent adviser of the Western Union Tele- graph Company, made a trial experiment of his duplex system, which though not fully satisfactory, was sufficiently convincing to engender absolute faith in its ultimate success. He then went to New York. The story of his arrival, remarkable ex- perience, and the supreme moment of final success, in this city, is narrated by one of his most intimate friends as follows : When Mr. Edison arrived in New York from Boston, where he was employed as an operator in the Western Union Telegraph office, he was absolutely penniless. He was unsuccessful in pro- curing work in any of the Tetegraph offices, and there is no doubt he suffered not only for food, but for clothes while he tramped the streets on the look out for a job. After three weeks of unavaihng effort, he by chance stepped into the office of the "Laws Gold Reporting Telegraph Co." The instrument which reported the gold market was out of order, and Mr. Laws the inventor of the system (George Laws, now of St. Louis, Mo.) was in despair, when Mr. Edison told him he thought he could make it work, and was giveih^n opportunity. In a few moments, the instrument was working as usual, and Mr. Edison had a situ- ation. This, it may may be said, was the start towards the name which he has since earned. From that time to the present date he has made by his own efforts and expended, the sum of nearly five hundred thousand dollars. The Indicator Company at once employed Mr. Edison to fill a responsible position and his discouragements were at an end. He immediately began the work of improving the Indicator and very soon invented his Gold Printer. His next advance was a co-partnership with Messrs Pope & Ashley and the introduction of the Pope & Edison Printer. A private line system was put AND HIS INVENTIONS. 6S in active operation, but was soon disposed of to the Gold and Stock Company. From this time on, T. A. Edison has been known and apprecia- ted. His success was hke the opening of a flower, the result of long and stupendous preparations, but blooming, at last, in a single day. For many years he has been retained in the service of the Gold and Stock Company and the Western Union Tele- graph Company at a large salary, they having the first option to purchase his inventions pertaining to telegraphy at prices agreed upon in each case. His inventions pertaining to the Gold and Stock Telegraph room replaced the old apparatus, and that system is interwoven with his inventions and improvements. Mr. Edison's final triumph is a matter of general congratula- tion, not only because his patient labors and long and dubious industries merited reward, but for the grand field it opened from which the world has received some of its best inventions. It has also its distinctive and impressive lessons. Perseverance conquers. Indomitable will is power. Ideas are everything. Deaf to all derision, determined, though often disappointed, decided, though often discharged, Edison went "right along" until the glad hours came. 66 THOMAS A. EDISON Edison in Newark. Soon after the intimate relationship was formed between Mr. Edison and the Gold and Stock Company he removed to New- ark, New Jersey, where he established an immense electrical manufacturing establishment in which he employed over three hundred men. It was divided into three large shops and two laboratories. Electrical experiments were now the order of the day and Mr. Edison, at this time, claimed to be the busiest man in America. It was his grand opportunity. There was nothing to impede. Everything urged him on. His inventions multiplied, and soon he was described by the United States pat- ent commissioner as "the young man who kept the path to the Patent Office hot with his footsteps. " At one time he had forty- five distinct inventions and improvements under way. An idea of his determination and persistence can be gained from the following incident : He had been given an order for $30,000 worth of improved printers. The sample instrument had worked an experimental circuit, but the first instruments for practical use proved a failure. In vain he sought to remedy the defect, till finally, taking four or five of his best men, he went to the top floor of his factory, remarking that they would never come down till the printer worked. They labored continuously for sixty hours, and he was so fortunate as to discover the fault, and made the printers operate perfectly at an expense of $5,000. Such severe and protracted labors are common with him. He says after going without sleep more than the ordinary hours he becomes nervous, and the ideas flow in upon him with great rapidity. His sleep after these eff'orts is correspondingly long, sometimes lasting thirty to thirty-six hours. He knows no such division as day and night in his labors, and, when the in- spiration is upon him, pursues the investigation and experiment to the end. It is doubtful whether there has ever lived just such anothe^ character as Mr, Edison, whose time and energies have been given so devotedly and successfully to the discovery of practical inventions. AND HIS INVENTIONS. 67 Edison's Courtship and Marriage. Edison was now master of the situation. He was the king of inventors, and far removed from dangers originating with su- perintendents, conductors, and such Kke dignitaries. Yet it cannot be said that he was "perfectly secure." In another direc- tion, entirely different, new influences were silently operating that soon demonstrated the young inventor to be not wholly invulnerable. It was trivial at first, but gradually became a serious matter. He was evidently within the influence of a pe- culiar magnetic battery, which he could not fully control. To get beyond the magic power was impossible. The sequel to all this was his marriage in 1873 to Miss Mary Still well, of New- ark, N. J. The medallion on the new silver dollar is pronounced an excellent profile likeness of Mrs. Edison. The story of his love and marriage is briefly told as follows : When he was experimenting, some years ago, with the little automatic telegraph system, he perfected a contrivance for pro- ducing perforations in paper by means of a key-board. Among the young women whom he employed to manipulate these ma- chines, with a view to testing their capacity for speed, was a rather demure young person who attended to her work and never raised her eyes to the incipient genius. One day Edison stood observing her as she drove down one key after another with her plump fingers, until, growing nervous under his prolonged stare, she dropped her hands idly in her lap, and looked up helplessly into his face. A genial smile overspread Edison's face, and he presently inquired rather abruptly: "What do you think of me, Httle girl? Do you like me?" "Why, Mr. Edison, you frighten me. I — that is — I " "Don't be in any hurry about telling me. It doesn't matter much, unless you would like to marry me. " The young woman was disposed to laugh, but Edison went on : "Oh, I mean it. Dont be in a rush, though. Think it over; talk to your mother about it, and let me know soon as conven- ient — Tuesday say. How will Tuesday suit you, next week Tuesday, I mean?" 6S THOMAS A. EDISON Edison's shop was at Newark in those days, and one night a friend of his, employed in the main office of the Western Union Telegraph Company, in New York, returning home by the last train, saw a light in Edison's private laboratory, and climbed the stairs to find his friend in one of his characteristic stupors, half awake and half dozing over some intricate point in electri- cal science which was baffling him. "Halloo Tom?" cried the visitor cheerily, "what are you doing here this late? Aren't you going home?" "What time is it?" inquired Edison, sleepily rubbing his eyes and stretching like a lion suddenly aroused. "Midnight easy enough. Come along." "Is that so?" returned Edison in a dreamy sort of a way. "By George. I must go home, then. I was married to-ddiy." Marriage was an old story with him — he had been wedded to electrical hobbies for years. But,, in spite of his seeming indif- ference on "the most eventful day" in his life, he makes a good husband, and the pretty little woman of the perforating machine smilingly rules domestic destinies at Menlo Park, and proudly looks across the fields where chimneys rise and her husband still works on the problems that made him a truant on his wedding day. A swarm of children pluck her gown to share their mother's smile, and lay in wait to climb into their father's lap and muss his hair with as great a relish as if he were not the greatest genius of his time. The pet names of two of these little ones are "Dot" and "Dash," — after the characters in the Morse alphabet — and a third, only three months old, is called William Leslie. Dot's real name is Mary Estelle, and Dash's, Thomas Alva Edi- son, Jr. AND HIS INVENTIONS. 69 In Menlo Park. In his arduous labors at Newark, Mr. Edison was subject to constant annoyance arising from the great tax upon his powers, curiosity seekers, etc., which finally causd him to dispose of his expensive machinery and seek a more retired spot, where he could quietly put into practical shape, his grand ideas connected with various mechanisms. He accordingly removed with his family, in 1876, to Menlo Park, a retired place, on the line of the New York & Philadelphia railroad, two miles north of Metuchin and twenty-four miles from New York. At this point Mr. Edison then erected and fitted up the most extensive labora- tory in the world. Mr. Reid in his Memorial Volume pronoun- ces it "one of the amplest laboratories and the finest array of assisting machinery to be found in connection with scientific inquiry. " Mr. Edison has very recently enlarged his facilities for his line of business by completing a workshop one hundred by thirty-five feet — about the same size of the old one — which is fitted up in the best possible manner with appropriate machinery. The engine in the new building is an eighty horse power, built by Charles Browne and Co., and said to be one of the finest and best made engines in the United States. The boiler is of the latest pattern, sectional, while the lathes, punches, drills, planers, milling machines, etc., are from the best makers. The experimental apparatus is the very finest and has been obtained by Mr. Edison at an expense of $[00,000,00. The facilities for ^^ getting out an invention' are far superior to any other laboratory in the world. It is not an uncommon thing for Mr. Edison to make an invention in the morning, and before night receive the working model for the same, from the hands of his chief assistant. It is in this stupendous and splendid labora- tory that the great professional inventor is. Snow at work, day and night, astonishing the civilized world by the character and number of his discoveries. The interior of this wonderful es- 70 THOMAS A. EDISON tablishment is described in detail in an earlier chapter of this volume. In every well regulated institution of this character there are always a number of faithful co-workers who merit the highest commendations. Mr. Charles Batchelor, who is Mr. Edison's chief assistant, has been with him for the last nine years and has helped him to perfect all his inventions. He is a gentleman of superior ability and integrity. Under his supervision, Mr. Edison keeps eleven of the most skillful machinists and instrument makers to be found in the country — some of whom have been employed for years — and a corps of laboratory assistants. Professor Mclntyre, an accomplished scholar and noted chemist, with two assistants are kept constantly engaged on original research under Mr. Edison's own special direction. The inventor's extensive correspondence is attended to by Mr. L. S. Griffin, his private secretary, a hfe long friend and former tele- graph manager. He also attends to financial and confidential matters. William Carman is book-keeper, and Mr. John Kreuzi master machinist. To all of these faithful co-laborers Mr. Edison pays stated wages in the usual manner, except Mr. Batchelor, to whom he gives an interest in the inventions when perfected. The analysis of labor is so perfect that the whole establishment moves along like clock-work. Each workman is interested in the success ot every important invention and, it is said, daes not care so much for the exact hours of his labors, as is generally done in extensive manufactories. Edison is seen frequently among his men, genial and jovial, but moving through all as the grand master spirit, which he is. AND HIS INVENTIONS. 71 Edison's Principal Inventions. Of the many inventions Mr. Edison has made, the following are the principal: Button Repeater. Gold and Stock Quotation Printer. Private Line Printer. Automatic Telegraph. Etheric Force, (a new discovery.) The Electric Pen and Press. Duplex Telegraph. Quadruplex Telegraph. The Domestic Telegraph System. The Electromotograph, (a new discovery.) The Acoustic Telegraph. The Carbon Speaking Telephone. The Phonograph, (a new discovery.) The Pressure Relay, (a new discovery.) The Megaphone. The Aerophone. Carbon Rheostat. Harmonic Engine. Multiplying copying Ink. Vocal Engine. The Tasimeter or "minute heat measurer." The Sonorous Voltameter. Subdivision, of the Electric Light. To this last Mr. Edison is now giving all his attention. It is an exceedingly difficult problem, comprising as it does the science of steam engineering, light, heat, electricity and magnetism. For the mathematical portion of this work he has lately en- gaged Mr. Francis Upton, a mathematician and electrician of ability who studied under Helmholtz of Berhn. A single invention is sometines covered by from fifteen to 72 THOMAS A, EDISON twenty or more patents, the patent laws not allowing one patent to cover all the essential points. Edison's stock telegraph in- strument is secured by forty patents; his quadruplex telegraph by eleven ; and his automatic system of telegraphy by forty-six. Among the appliances of the electric light which will have to be secured before the light as an entirety can be made known to the public, are the improved dynamo machines, regulators, switches, coolers, etc., besides different portions of the light proper, and the various forms of conductors and lamps to meet the diversity in the want of consumers. This great invention, which so as- siduously engages Mr. Edison's attention at present, will probably require thirty or forty patents to fully protect it. Mr. Edison patents his inventions in Europe as well as in this country. The following story from him illustrates how quickly it may be done : I made a discovery at four o'clock in the afternoon. I got a wire from here (Menlo Park) to Plainfield, where my solicitor lives, and brought him into the telegraph office at that place. I wired him my discovery. He drew up the specifications on the spot, and about nine o'clock that night cabled an application for a patent to London. Before I was out of bed the next morning I received word from London that my application had been filed in the English patent office. The application was filed at noon, and I received my information about seven in the morning, five hours before the filing. The difference between London and New York time explains the thing. Foreigners, scientists, manufacturers and others who visit the extensive labratory and shops at Menlo Park, invaria- bly inquire," what is manufactured here?" and the reply is as invariably given, "nothing." Their surprise is complete upon ascertaining that it is a place for spending money rather than ma- king it, or to state it more properly, it is an experimental shop and labratory, and said to be the only establishment of the kind in the world. AND HIS INVENTIONS. 73 The Quadruplex. A Wonderful Invention — Four Different Messages Sent at Same Time Over a Single Wire — How It Is Done. If we were writing a volume on science, under this caption we should give a page to the wonders of electricity. But this is not our aim and therefore the reader must simply accept it as a won- derful fact that by Edison's quadruplex system, four separate and distinct messages, two in each direction, may pass simultaneously over a single wire, Mr. Reid well remarks in his "Memorial Volume," that "the chief product of Mr. Edison's genius has been the quadruplex system of telegraphy, by which already the equivalent of fifty thousand miles of wire have been added to the capacity of the lines of the Western Union Telegraph Company." If Mr. Edison had perfected no other mechanism, this alone would rank him among the greatest of public bene- factors. It was duriug the summer of 1874, at Newark, N. J., while engaged in conjunction with Mr. Prescott, of New York, in ex- perimenting upon Stearns' duplex apparatus with a view of in- troducing certain modifications that Mr. Edison discovered the basis of the quadruplex system. The distinguishing feature of this method of telegraphy con- sists in combining at two terminal stations, two distinct and un- like methods of single transmission, in such a manner that they may be carried on independently upon the same wire, and at the same time, without interfering with each other. One of these methods of single transmission is known as the double current system, and the other is the single current or open circuit system. In the double current system the battery remains constantly in connection with the line at the sending stations, its polarity being completely reversed at the beginning, and at the end of every signal, without breaking the circuit. The receiving relay is provided with a polarized or permanently magnetic armature, but has no adjusting spring, and its action depends solely upon 74 THOMAS A. EDISON the reversal or polarity upon the line, without reference to the strength of the current. In the single current system, the transmission is effected by increasing and decreasing the current, while the relay may have a neutral soft iron armature, provided with a retracting spring. A more desirable form, however, for long circuits, is that of the polarized relay, especially adopted to prevent interferences from the reversals sent into the line to operate the double current system. The action, therefore in this system, depends solely upon the strength of the current, its polarity being a matter of indifference. By making use of these two methods, viz., polarity and strength, combined with the duplex principle of simultaneous transmission in opposite directions, four sets of instruments may be operated at the same time, on the same wire. |ll»l'P-||.I.|.l.l.l.I.I.P H'1'H'I'H'1»-H'H' The Quadruplex. D T, Double Transmitter; S T, Second or Single Transmitter; P, Polar- ized Relay; C R, Common Relay; C, Condenser; G, Ground, x and 3 Batteries. AND HIS INVENTIONS, n Phonograph in Operation. The Phonograph. The Edison and Faber "Talking Machines" — Phonograph Fully Explained — Its Fidelity in Re-producing Sound — What We May Expect From It. No invention in the world's history has engendered more curi- osity than the Phonograph. And yet of all, it may be considered among the most simple as well as singular. Efforts were made long ago to produce a "talking machine, " but they were attended with no great degree of success. The organs of speech were well imitated by excellent mechanisms and vibrations were pro- duced which gave out a sound similar to the human voice, but it was after all only a species of the pipe organ, and too compli- cated and expensive to be of any practical value. By an entirely different principle, in which the vibrations of the voice are com- municated at once upon a metalic surface, becoming thereby 76 THOMAS A. EDISON fixed, as so many indentations representing exactly the words spo- ken, Mr. Edison has developed a simple mechanism that repro- duces with wonderful exactness the human voice in all its possible variations. Professor Faber, in developing his machine, worked at the source of articulate sounds, and built up an artificial organ of speech, whose parts, as nearly as possible, perform the same functions as corresponding organs in our vocal apparatus. A vi- brating ivory reed, of variable pitch, forms its vocal chords. There is an oral cavity whose size and shape can be rapidly changed by depressing the keys on a key-board. A rubber tongue and lips make the consonants; a little windmill, turning in its throat, rolls the letter r, and a tube is attached to its nose when it speaks French. This is the anatomy of Faber's won- derful piece of mechanism. Faber attacked the problem on its physiological side. Quite differently works Mr. Edison : he attacks the problem, not at the source of origin of the vibrations which make articulate speech : but considering these vibrations as already made, it matters not how, he makes these vibrations impress themselves on a sheet of metallic foil, and then reproduces from these im- pressions the sonorous vibrations which made them. Faber solved the problem by reproducing the mechanical causes of the vibrations making voice and speech; Edison solved it by taking the mechanical effects of these vibrations. Faber reproduced the movements of our vocal organs; Edison reproduced the motions which the drum-skin of the ear has when this organ is acted on by the vibrations caused by the movements of the vocal organs. The simplicity of Mr. Edison's mechanism and its fidelity in reproducing sound, enthrone the phonograph as king in the realm of wonderful inventions. Geo. B. Prescott, a friend of Mr. Edi- son, and electrician of the Western Union Telegraph Company at New York says that "certainly, within a dozen years, some of the great singers will be induced to sing into the ear of the phonograph, and the stereotyped cylinders thence obtained will AND HIS INVENTIONS, 77 be put into the hand organs of the streets, and we shall hear the actual voice of Christine Nilsson or Miss Gary ground out at every corner. In public exhibitions, also, we shall have re- productions of the sounds of nature, and of noises famihar and unfamiliar. Nothing will be easier than to catch the sounds of the waves on the beach, the roar of Niagara, the discords of the street, the voice of animals, the puffing and rush of the rail- road, the rolling thunder, or even the tumult of a battle. " "In its simplest form, the speaking phonograph" says Mr. Prescott, "consists of a mounted diaphragm, so arranged as to operate a small steel stylus or needle point, placed just below and opposite its center, and a brass cylinder, six or more inches long by three or four in diameter, which is mounted on a horizontal axis extending each way beyond its ends for a distance about equal to its own length. A spiral groove is cut in the circumference of the cylinder, from one end to the other, each spiral of the groove being separated from its neighbor by about one-tenth of an inch. The shaft or axis is also cut by a screw thread corresponding to the spiral groove of the cylinder, and works in screw bearings, consequently when the cylinder is caused to revolve, by means of a crank that is fitted to the axis for this purpose, it receives a forward or backward movement of about one-tenth of an inch for every turn of the same, the di- rection, of course, depending upon the way the crank is turned. The diaphragm is supported by an upright casting capable of ad- justment, and so arranged that it may be removed altogether when necessary. When in use, however, it is clamped in a fixed position above or in front of the cylinder, thus bringing the stylus always opposite the groove as the cylinder is turned. A small, flat spring attached to the casting extends underneath the diaphragm as far as its center and carries the stylus, and between the diaphragm and spring a small piece of india rubber is placed to modify the action, it having been found that better results are obtained by this means than when the stylus is rigidly attached to the diaphragm itself. The action of the apparatus will now be readily understood f8 THOMAS A. EDISON from what follows. The cylinder is first very smoothly covered with tin-foil, and the diaphragm securely fastened in place by clamping its support to the base of the instrument. When this has been properly done, the stylus should lightly press against that part of the foil over the groove. The crank is now turned, while, at the same time, some one speaks into the mouth-piece of the instrument, which will cause the diaphragm to vibrate, and as the vibrations of the latter correspond with the move- ments of the air producing them, the soft and yielding foil will The Phonograph, become marked along the line of the groove by a series of in- dentations of different depths, varying with the amplitude of the vibrations of the diaphragm; or, in other words, with the in- flections or modulations of the speaker's voice. These inflec- tions may therefore be looked upon as a sort of visible speech, which, in fact, they really are. If now the diaphragm is re- moved, by loosening the clamp, and the cylinder then turned back to the starting point, we have only to replace the dia- phragm and turn in the same direction as at first, to hear re- peated all that has been spoken into the mouth-piece of the apparatus; the stylus, by this means, being caused to traverse its former path, and consequently, rising and falling with the de- pressions in the foil, its motion is communicated to the dia- phragm, and thence through the intervening air to the ear, where the sensation of sound is produced. AND HIS INVENTIONS, 79 As the faithful reproduction of a sound is in reality nothing more than a reproduction of similar aucoustic vibrations in a given time, it at once becomes evident that the cylinder should be made to revolve with absolute uniformity at all times, other- wise a difference more or less marked between the original sound -^nd the reproduction will become manifest. To secure this uni- formity of motion, and produce a practically working machine for recording speeches, vocal and instrumental music, and per- fectly reproducing the same, the inventor has devised an appa- ratus in which a plate replaces the cylinder. This plate which is ten inches in diameter, has a volute spiral groove cut in its sur- face on both sides from its center to within one inch of its outer edge; an arm guided by the spiral upon the under side of the plate carries a diaphragm and mouthpiece at its extreme end. If the arm be placed near the center of the plate and the latter rotated, the motion will cause the arm to follow the spiral out- ward to the edge. A spring and train of wheel-work regulated by a friction governor serves to give uniform motion to the plate. The sheet upon which the record is made is of tin-foil. This is fastened to a paper frame, made by cutting a nine-inch disk from a square piece of paper of the same dimensions as the plate. Four pins upon the plate pass through corresponding eyelet-holes punched in the four corners of the paper, when the latter is laid upon it, and thus secure accurate registration while a clamping-frame hinged to the plate, fastens the foil and its paper frame securely to the latter. The mechanism is so ar- ranged that the plate may be started and stopped instantly or its motion reversed at will, thus giving the greatest convenience to both speaker and copyist. The sheet of tin-foil or other plastic material receiving the impressions of sound, may be stereotyped or electrotyped so as to be multiplied and made durable; or the cylinder may be made of material plastic when used, and hardening afterward. Thin sheets oi papier mache, or of various substances which soften by heat would be of this character. Having provided thus for the durability of the phonograph plate, it will be very easy to make 8o THOMAS A, EDISON it separable from the cylinder producing it, and attaching it to a corresponding cylinder anywhere and at any time. There will doubtless be a standard of diameter and pitch of screw for pho- nograph cylinders. Friends at a distance will then send to each other phonograph letters, which will talk at any time in the friend's voice when put upon the instrument. How startling also it will be to reproduce and hear at pleasure the voice of the dead ! All of these things are to be common, every-day expe- riences within a few years. Possibilities of the Phonograph. A Short Hand Reporter — Elocutionist — Opera Singer — Teacher OF Languages — Its Medical Possibilities. In speaking of the various purposes for which the phonograph may be utilized, Mr. Edison says : ^ First, — For dictating it will take the place of short-hand re- porters, as thus : A man who has many letters to write will talk them to the phonograph, and send the sheets directly to his cor- respondents, who will lay them on the phonograph and hear what they have to say. Such letters as go to people who have no phonographs will be copied from the machine by the office boy. ^Second. — For reading. A first-class elocutionist will read one of Dickens* novels into the phonograph. It can all be printed on a sheet ten inches square, and these can be multi- plied by the million copies by a cheap process of electrotyping. These sheets will be sold for, say, twenty-five cents. A man is tired, and his wife's eyes are failing, and so they sit around and hear the phonograph read from this sheet the whole novel with all the expression of a first-class reader. See? A company for printing these is already organized in New York. " Third. — It will sing in the very voice of Patti and Kellogg, so that every family can have an opera any evening. ^Fourth. — It may be used as a musical composer. When singing some favorite airs backward it hits some lovely airs, and AND HIS INVENTIONS, 8i I believe a musician could get one popular melody every day by experimenting in that way. "Fifth. — It may be used to read to inmates of blind asylums, or to the ignorant, who have never learned to read. "Sixth. — It may be used to teach languages, and I have al- ready sold the right to use it to teach children the alphabet. Suppose Stanley had had one and thus obtained for the world all the dialects of Central Africa! "Seventh. — It will be used to make toys talk. A company has already organized to make speaking dolls. They will speak in a little girl's voice and will never lose the gift any more than a little girl. "Eighth. — It will be used by actors to learn the right readings of passages. In fact, its utility will be endless. " A leading medical journal asserts that the phonograph opens up a vista of medical possibilities delightful to contemplate: Who can fail to make the nice distinctions between every form of bronchial and pulmonary rale, percussion, succussion, and friction sounds, surgical crepitus, faetal and placental murmurs, and arterial and aneurismal bruit, when each can be produced at will, amplified to any desired extent, in the study, the ampi- theatre, the office, and the hospital ? The lecturer of the future will teach more effectively with this instrument than by the mouth. The phonograph will record the frequency and charc- teristics of respiratory and muscular movements, decide as to the age and sex of the faetus in utero, and differentiate pneu- monia from phthisis. It will reproduce the sob of hysteria, the sigh of melancholia, the singultus of collapse, the cry of the puerperal women in the different stages of labor. It will inter- pret for the speechless infant, the moans and cries of tubercular meningitis, ear-ache, and intestinal colic. It will furnish the ring of whooping-cough and the hack of the consumptive. It will be an expert in insanity, distinguishing between the laugh of the maniac and the drivel of the idiot. It will classify dys- phasic derangements, such as ataxic, amnesic, paraphasic and ataphasic aphasia. 6 82 THOMAS A, EDISON It will recount, in the voice and words of the patient, the ago- nies of neuralgia and renal calculus, and the horrors of delirium tremens. It will give the burden of the story of the old lady who recounts all the ills of her ancestors before proceeding to the era of her own. More than this, it will accomplish this feat in the ante-room, while the physician is supposed to be busying himself with his last patient. Last, but not least, it will simultaneously furnish to the med- ical philosopher the grateful praises and promises of him who is convalescent from dangerous illness, together with the chilling accents, in which, later, the doctor is told that he must wait for his remuneration till the butcher and the baker have been paid. The Phonograph's Arrival '*Out West." It Visits Chicago — Is Interviewed by a Reporter — A Modern Miracle — How It Talked— What It Had To Say. While the phonograph is a great traveler, and has already vis- ited most of the civilized world, conversing with kings and queens, and attending great expositions, etc., yet its trip out West will always remain among the most remarkable of its ear- liest adventures. Wherever exhibited, it proved an object of the greatest interest. Its arrival in Chicago was heralded as the "Modern Miracle," and the whole occasion is described by an intelligent spectator as follows : The phonograph has come. It was interviewed this morning. The creature was found screwed up in a box and manifested no unruly tendencies. It does not stand on its hind legs at the sight of visitors, and is apparently perfectly safe for children to approach and even handle, but there is no denying that it does perform some most remarkable capers. At these the Western pub- lic will soon be accorded the privilege of wondering with open- mouthed amazement. The instrument, or instruments — for there are three of them — are in the possession of Mr. Geo. H. Bliss, General Manager of the Western Electric Manufacturing AND HIS INVENTIONS. %z Company, a friend of Edison, the inventor, who has been awarded the privilege of exhibiting the modern miracle in Illinois. They arrived yesterday afternoon, and were enclosed in an apartment of the Methodist Church Block, from which it was deemed prob- able that they would be unable to effect an escape. Th^y are the very first of their genus that have ever been brought to this part of the country, and, of course, their keeper is very careful of them. This morning, when the cover was carefully removed from the box, the reporter drew near and cautiously looked in, but imme- diately started back, expecting the thing to jump. "Don't be afraid," said Mr. BHss; "it won't bite." Whereupon Mr. Chase, a friend of Mr. Bliss, and the reporter were sufficiently re-assured to allow Mr. Bliss to remove the ma- chine from its lair, and place it on the table. An inspection of it, conducted with increasing boldness, as it was observed to be entirely harmless, served to show that it consisted of an iron cylinder, about five inches in diameter and six in length, into which was cut an ordinary screw-thread, running from end to end. This cylinder was swung on an axle, projecting at each end about the length of the cylinder, and also circled by a screw thread corresponding to that on the cylinder. To the end of the axle was attached a small crank, by means of which the cyl- inder could be revolved, so as to work end-for-end on the axle- supports. The mouth-piece is a small round disk of thin tin, having a concave surface calculated to catch the sound, sup- ported by a moveable rest, so that it can be swung close to or away from the cylinder. Fixed to the under side of this mouth- piece, by means of cement, is a minute chisel-shaped needle which, when the rest is brought close to the cylinder, would im- pinge into the screw-thread thereon. This was the simple con- trivance. Now in order to make it speak, all that was necessary was to wind the cylinder with a piece of smooth tin foil, fasten- ing the ends c^ the sheet with cement. The crank is then turned so that the cylinder is run clear to one end of the frame, and the mouth-piece is brought close to the cylinder, the little 84 THOMAS A. EDISON needle being very nicely adjusted against the tin foil. Then, as the words are spoken into the mouth-piece, the cylinder is slowly revolved; the plate to which the needle is attached vi- brates to correspond with the voices and the needle gently in- dents the tin foil, striking each indentation into the groove of the screw so that it is clear cut and visible, though very small. The speaking having been concluded, the mouth-piece is swung away, and the cylinder is screwed back to where it began. A large tin funnel is then attached to the mouth-piece, which is swung back to the cylinder. This funnel is designed to garner and send out the sounds as they come from the instrument; the crank is turned, and, as the cylinder moves back over its former course, the little needle strikes into the indentations first made, thus vibrating the tin plate of the mouth-piece precisely as it was vibrated by the voice and — lo and behold, the creature speaks ! That is all there is to it. Its voice is a little metalHc, but a listener can recognize a friend's eccentricity of speech. The instrument receives a tenor or treble voice much more readily than a bass. Last evening the instrument, interviewed this morning, was put into operation in the auditorium of the First Methodist Church. " Hurrah for Grant ! " screamed Mr. Bliss, forgetful of the an- tiquity of that sentiment. "Hurrah for Grant!" returned the instrument: but somebody had laughed at Mr. Bliss' patriotic exclamation. So the machine laughed while getting out the sentence, in such a manner as would not have sounded really flattering to the ex-President. It repeated with the real spirit and twang such expressions as "What d'ye soye?" "Does yer mother know yer out?" and num- berless other Americanisms, and, at length, after the company had been speaking very loud, under the impression that the thing had to be very emphatically addressed, the little daughter of the sexton of the church was brought into requisition. As it happened, she was bashful and could only be gotten to speak very low. But she repeated "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and presently the instrument ground out the familiar lines. The AND HIS INVENTIONS. 85 poem being encored, Mr. Bliss' Clerk essayed to say it, but the man at the crank turned the cylinder with increasing speed, so that when the verses were returned, the tones went scaling up in rapidly ascending pitch, until at last, like Elaine's wailings, it "scaled high on the last line" — awful high. In the frequent repetitions of this idyl, it was not observed that the instrument ever once attempted any of the numerous parodies which have been perpetrated, but every time adhered to the true words and meter, from which it may be inferred that it will be a truthful recorder. Phonographic Records under the Microscope. How THE Letters Look — BelIeved by Edison to be Legible— The Deepest Indentations Made by Consonants. Microscopic examination of the indentations made in the tin foil by the phonograph when spoken to, shows that each letter has a definite form, though there is a great variation, resulting from the intensity and difference of voice. Long E (or ay) on the tin foil looks like two Indian clubs with the handles together. The same general resemblance is observed in E short except that as in A short, the volume of sound being less, the intensity is less, or (what is the measure of intensity) the path of the needle- point is shorter, and it seldom entirely clears the foil, the conse- quence being a continuous groove of irregular, but normally' ir- regular width. I long and I short are much alike in general form, as also are O long and O short, the coupling of the pairs of the latter being the most striking feature. U long and U short best show the difference in shape produced by less intensities, the short being drawn out, and more acicular. 01 is very interesting. The dipthong consists of short O and short I, and the very molds which characterize their sounds are to be observed. OW presents a composite character, but its derivation has not S6 THOMAS A. EDISON yet been made out. Evidently each letter has a definite form. It has been a question of serious consideration and one of great importance with Mr. Edison whether the indentations in the tin foil could be read with the eye. Want of time has kept him from making extensive experiments, but he is of the opinion that careful study will enable experts to decipher the characters. Profs. Fleming Jenkin and M. Ewing, of the University of Glas- gow, Scotland, have spent much time in examining the phono- graphic records, and have been partially successful in their attempts to read them. The method employed by the Pro- fessors was to repeat each of the vowel and consonant sounds a number of times, and then examine the record to determine if the indentation had any regular or characteristic shapes which would serve to identify the sounds. The result shows that the record of any single sound repeated is very irregular — one series of indentation differing widely from another. It was claimed, however, that despite this irregularity the record of any one sound could be distinguished from that of another sound. Mr. Edison has repeated some of the experiments made by Profs. Jenkin and Ewing. Knowing beforehand what sounds had produced the records, he could tell the sounds by the inden- tations and also count the number of times a sound had been repeated. He found it impossible, however, to recognize similar sounds which had been repeated to the phonograph by another person. The shapes of the indentations were found by experi- ments to differ for the same sound, according to the speed with which the cylinder of the phonograph was turned, the force with which the sound was uttered, and the distance of the mouth from the diaphragm. Even by placing his hand against his cheek while repeating the sound, Mr. Edison says he can change the shape of the phonetic characters. The depest indentations are made by consonant sounds, on account of the explosive force with which these sounds are uttered. Words beginning with P can be recognized more easily than any others by the deep in- dentations which begin the records. One difficulty in recog- nizing records of words is found in the length of these records. AND HIS INVENTIONS. 87 The clearness of the phonograph's articulation, Mr. Edison says, depends considerable upon the size and shape of the open- ing in the mouth-piece. When words are spoken against the whole diaphragm, the hissing sounds, as in shall, fleece, etc., are lost. These sounds are rendered clearly, when the hole is small and provided with sharp edges, or when made in the form of a slot surrounded by artificial teeth. Besides tinfoil, other metals have been used. Impressions have been made upon sheets of copper, and even upon soft iron. With the copper foil the instrument spoke with sufficient force to be heard at a distance of two hundred and seventy-five feet in the open air. ^ft ' <1I]J) «I!li ^^ ffi> 1 <=> THOMAS A. EDISON and difficulties the demonstration was successful. A graphic description of the first great trial of the tasimeter appeared at the time in a New York journal, from which we give the fol- lowing extract : ♦ But a new evil soon became manifest. A strong wind began blowing the frail pine structures used for observatories. These commenced to rock. Edison's observatory, which, in its normal condition, is a hen-house, was particularly susceptible. He hun-ied toward it only to find his sensitively-adjusted apparatus in an extreme state of commotion. Every vibration threw the tasimeter into a new condition of adjustment. To remedy the evil was far from easy, as the time was then so short and precious it was too late to remove the apparatus, and seemingly impossi- ble to break the force of the wind, which was gradually increas- into a tornado. Hatless and coatless he ran to a neighboring lumber-yard, and in a moment a dozen stalwart men were car- rying boards with which to prop up the structure and erect a temporary fence at its side. This completed, the chronometer indicated half-past one o'clock. At thirteen minutes past 2 the moon began to make her first appearance between the sun and earth. Again Edison adjusted his tasimeter, but only to find that the gale continued to sway his projecting telescope so violently that a satisfactory result was almost impossible. A rigging of wire and ropes soon partially overcame the difficulty, and once more the instruments were ready for work. In a few moments there came Dr. Draper and the announcement, "There she goes," and the crowd of specta- tors immediately leveled their smoked glasses at the sun. The moon had just made her appearance. At half-past i p. m. one quarter of the sun's disc was darkened with slow but steady pace. The progress of the moon continued. In the observatory of Dr. Draper the fall of a pin could be heard; outside almost equal quiet reigned. The only place of disorder was in that frail structure of Edison's. Notwithstand- ing his efforts the wind continued to give him trouble. In vain he adjusted and readjusted. At 3 o'clock three-quarters ot the AND HIS INVENTIONS. 131 sun's disc was obscured, and darkness began to fall upon the surrounding region. The hills around were all alive with people watching for the moment of totality. In Dr. Draper's observa- tory everything was proceeding excellently. The force of the wind had been broken. Edison's difficulty seemed to increase as the precious moments of total eclipse drew near. At five minutes past 3 o'clock, the sun's disc was seven-eighths covered, and the country around was shrouded in a pale grayish light, resembling early dawn. At a quarter past 3 darkness was upon the face of the earth. The few moments for which the astronomers had traveled thou- sands of miles had arrived. Still Edison's tasimeter was out of adjustment. All the other instruments were in excellent working order. Totality had brought with it a marked cessation in the force of the wind. Edison worked assiduously, but the tasimeter would not come to a proper condition. At last, just as the chronometer indicated that but one minute remained of total eclipse, he succeeded in concentrating the light from the corona upon the small opening of the instrument. Instantly the fire ray of light on his graduating scale swept along to the right, clear- ing its boundaries. Edison was overjoyed. The experiment has shown the existence of about fifteen times more heat in the corona than that obtained from the star Arcturus the previous night. Edison's tasimeter showed its power to measure the corona's heat. It, however, was adjusted ten times too sensitively. Never having used it before for a similar purpose, he had no means of telling the degree of sensitiveness necessary. The heat from the corona threw the ray of light entirely off the scale, and before he could make the second test the eclipse had passed away. The experiment demonstrated that, compared to some of the fixed stars, the corona's heat was much greater. 132 THOMAS A. EDISON Basis of the Tasimeter. The tasimeter is a modification of the micro-tasimeter which is the outcome of Mr. Edison's experiments with his carbon telephone. Having experimented with diaphragms of various thicknesses, he ascertained that the best results were secured by using the thicker diaphragms. At this stage he experienced a new difficulty. So sensitive was the carbon button to the changes of condition, that the expansion of the rubber telephone handle rendered the instrument inarticulate, and finally inopera- tive. Iron handles were substituted with a similar result, but with the additional feature of musical and creaky tones distinct- ly audible in the receiving instrument. These sounds Mr. Edison attributes to the movement of the molecules of iron among themselves during expansion. He calls them "molecular music." To avoid these disturbances in the telephone, the handle was dispensed with; but it had done a great ser- vice in revealing the extreme sensitiveness of the carbon button, and this discovery opened the way for the invention of this new and wonderful instrument. The micro-tasimeter is represented in perspective in fig, 12, in section in fig. 13, and the plan upon which it is arranged in the electric circuit is shown in fig. 14. The instrument consists essentially in a rigid iron frame for holding the carbon button, which is placed between two plati- num surfaces, one of which is fixed and the other moveable, and in a device for holding the object to be tested, so that the pres- sure resulting from the expansion of the object acts upon the carbon button. Two stout posts A, B, project from the rigid base piece, c A vulcanite disc d, is secured to the post a, by the platinum-headed screw E, the head of which rests in the bottom of a shallow circular cavity in the centre of the disc. In this cavity, and in contact with the head of the screw e, the carbon button r, is placed. Upon the outer face of the button there is a disc of platinum foil, which is in electrical communication with the AND HIS INVENTIONS, 133 battery. A metalic cupc, is placed in contact with the platinum disc to receive one end of the strip of whatever material is em- ployed to operate the instrument. The post B, is about four inches from the post a, and contains Fig 13. Fig. 14. a screw-acted follower h, that carries a cup i, between which and the cup g, is placed a strip of any substance whose expansi- bility it is desired to exhibit. The post a, is in electrical com- munication wnth a galvanometer, and the galvanometer is 134 THOMAS A. EDISON connected with the battery. The strip of the substance to be tested is put under a small initial pressure, which deflects the galvanometer needle a few degrees from the needle point. When the needle comes to rest, its position is noted. The slightest subsequent expansion or contraction of the strip will *be indicated by the movement of the galvanometer needle. A thin strip of hard rubber, placed in the instrument, exhibits extreme sensi- tiveness, being expanded by heat from the hand, so as to move through several degrees the needle of a very ordinary galvanom- eter, which is not effected in the slightest degree by a thermopile facing and near a red hot iron. The hand, in this experiment, is held a few inches from the rubber strip. A strip of mica is sensibly affected by the heat of the hand, and a strip of gelatin, placed in the instrument, is instantly expanded by moisture from a dampened piece of paper held two or three inches away. For these experiments the instrument is arranged as in fig. 1 2, but for more delicate operations it is connected with a Thom- son's reflecting galvanometer, and the current is regulated by a Wheatstone's bridge and a rheostat, so that the reistance on both sides of the galvanometer is equal, and the light-pencil from the reflector falls on 0° of the scale. The principle of this arrangement is illustrated by the diagram, fig. 14. Here the galvanometer is at g^ and the instrument which is at /, is ad- justed, say, for example, to ten ohms resistance. At «, h, and