Chapter VIII: PHYSIOLOGY, MEDICINE, ETC.--Histological Methods.--Section (3)

During the process of melting and crystallizing, the selenium is compressed between the metal plate upon which it is melted and another plate of steel or other substance with which it will not combine. Thus by the simultaneous application and action of heat, pressure, chemical affinity, and crystallization, it is formed into a sheet of granular selenium, uniformly polarized throughout, and having its two surfaces in opposite phases as regards its molecular arrangement. The non-adherent plate being removed after the cell has become cool, I then cover that surface with a _transparent conductor of electricity_, which may be a thin film of gold leaf. Platinum, silver, or other suitable material may also be employed. The whole surface of the selenium is therefore covered with a good electrical conductor, yet is practically bare to the light, which passes through the conductor to the selenium underneath.[5] My standard size of cell has about two by two and a half inches of surface, with a thickness of 1/1000 to 5/1000 inch of selenium. But the cells can, of course, be made of any size or form. A great advantage of this arrangement consists in the fact that it enables me to apply the current and the light to the selenium in the same plane or general direction, instead of transversely to each other as heretofore done, so that I can cause the two influences to either coincide in direction and action, or to act upon opposite faces of the selenium and oppose each other, according to the effect desired.

[Footnote 5: The method of constructing the cells was described in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 462, for Nov. 8, 1884, page 7371.]

By virtue of the process and arrangement described, my cells have a number of remarkable properties, among which are the following:

1. _Their sensitiveness to light_ is much greater than ever before known. The most sensitive cell ever produced, previous to my investigations, was one made by Dr. Werner Siemens, which was 14.8 times as conductive in sunlight as in dark. In table A, I give results obtained from a number of my cells.

It will be observed that I have produced one cell which was 337.5 times as conductive in hazy sunlight as in dark. The tremendous change of resistance involved in the expression "337.5 times" may perhaps be more fully realized by saying that 99.704 _per cent_. of the resistance had disappeared temporarily, under the joint action of light and electricity, so that there remained _less than 3/10 of 1 per cent_. of the original resistance of the selenium in dark.

In order to obtain these high results, the cells must be protected from light when not in use. The resistance is first measured while the cell is still in total darkness. It is then exposed to sunlight and again measured. It is also necessary to send the current in at the gold electrode or face, as the cell is much less sensitive to light when the light acts upon one surface of the selenium and the current enters at the opposite surface. When the two influences, the light and the current, act through the gold, in conjunction, their forces are united; and, as every atom of the selenium is affected by the light, owing to the extreme thinness of the plate, we have the full effect shown in the measurements.

TABLE A.

SENSITIVENESS TO LIGHT.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Selenium | Battery | Resistance in | Resistance in |
cell. | power. | dark. | sunlight. | Ratio.
----------+-----------+---------------+---------------+----------
| | ohms. | ohms. |
No. 22 |5 elements.| 39,000 | 340 |114 to 1
" 23[6]|5 " | 14,000 | 170 | 82.3 " "
" 24[7]|5 " | 648,000 | 2,400 |270 " "
" 25 |5 " | 180,000 | 930 |196.5 " "
" 26 |5 " | 135,000 | 710 |190 " "
" 107 |5 " | 118,000 | 740 |159 " "
" 108 |5 " | 200,000 | 900 |222 " "
" 122 |5 " | 56,000 | 220 |254.5 " "
" 129[6]|5 " | 200,000 | 940 |212 " "
" 137 |5 " | 108,000 | 320 |337.5 " "
-----------------------------------------------------------------

[Footnote 6: Cells No. 23 and No. 129 are now in possession of Prof. W. Gryllis Adams, of King's College, London; Dr. Werner Siemens has No. 25, and Prof. George F. Barker, of Philadelphia, has No. 26.]

[Footnote 7: No. 24 was measured with a bridge multiplier of 6 to 1.]

Cells which are sensitive to light improve by being used daily, and their sensitiveness becomes less if they are laid aside and not used for a considerable length of time, especially if allowed to become overheated. They should be kept cool, and exposed to light frequently, whether they are used or not.

_Mode of measuring cells_.--So great is the sensitiveness of these cells to external influences, that it is necessary to adopt some particular system in measuring their resistance and to adhere strictly to that system, as every change in the method of measurement produces a difference in the result, and the different measurements would not be comparable with each other. The reason for this will be explained presently.

The system I have adopted is the Wheatstone's bridge arrangement, with equal sides, never using multipliers except for some experimental purpose. In each multiplier wire I have 500 ohms resistance. When the bridge is balanced, one-half of the current flows through the cell and acts upon the selenium. Between the bridge and the cell is a reversing switch, so that the current can be reversed through the cell without changing its course through the bridge. A Bradley tangent galvanometer is used, employing the coil of 160 ohms resistance. The Leclanche battery is exclusively used in measurements for comparison.

2. _The kind of battery employed_ has a marked effect upon the sensitiveness to light, which is largely reduced or entirely destroyed when the bichromate battery is used. The same cells again become extremely sensitive with the Leclanche battery. We might expect that a change in the current employed would cause a change in the _resistance_ of a cell, but it is not clear how or why it should affect the _sensitiveness of selenium to light_.

"If one kind of battery current destroys its sensitiveness, may we not suppose that another kind might increase its sensitiveness? Although the Leclanche has operated well, some other may operate still better, and by its special fitness for use on selenium cells may intensify their actions, and so bring to light other properties yet unthought of. Is not here a promising field for experiment, in testing the various forms of battery already known, or even devising some new form especially adapted to the needs and peculiarities of selenium cells?"

One year ago I made the foregoing suggestion in a paper on _A New Form of Selenium Cell_, presented before this Association at Minneapolis. I am now at liberty to state that my photo-electric battery, presently to be described, marks an advance in the direction indicated. The current from this battery increases the sensitiveness of the cells to light, and also to reversal of current. One cell whose highest ratio in light was about 83 to 1, with the Leclanche battery, when measured with my battery gave a ratio of 120 to 1. It seems to make the resistance of the cell both higher in dark and lower in sunlight than with the Leclanche battery. But the field is yet open to others, for the discovery of a battery which may be still better for use with selenium cells.

3. _The two surfaces of the selenium act differently toward currents_ sent into them from the contiguous conductors. One surface offers a higher resistance to the current than the other. The former I utilize as the anode surface, as I have found that the cell is more sensitive to light when the current enters at that surface, which is ordinarily the one covered by the gold or other transparent conductor. Some cells have this property but feebly developed; but in one instance the resistance offered to the current by the anode surface was 256 times as high as that offered by the cathode surface to the same current. In the majority of cases, however, the ratio does not exceed ten times. Table B gives some recent results.

TABLE B.

SENSITIVENESS TO REVERSAL OF DIRECTION OF CURRENT.

-----------------------+--------------+------------------+---------
| | Resistance |
No. of cell. | Battery. | "gold | "gold | Ratio
| | anode."|cathode."|
-----------------------+--------------+--------+---------+---------
| | ohms. | ohms. |
3/8 inch square. No. 4 | 5 elements. | 20,000 | 1,000 | 20 to 1
" " " 3 | Se. cell. | 6,500 | 400 | 16.2 "
Full size, No. 13 | 1 element. | 9,000 | 800 | 11.2 "
" " " 14 | 5 " | 2,440 | 130 | 18 "
" " " 15 | 5 " | 4,640 | 210 | 22 "
" " " 27 | 5 " | 6,900 | 440 | 16 "
" " " 126 | 1 " | 5,000 | 330 | 15 "
-----------------------+--------------+--------+---------+---------

The direction of the current is always indicated by stating the position of the gold electrode, by the terms "gold anode" and "gold cathode." The above measurements were made in dark.

4. _Sensitiveness to change of battery power_.--My cells are extremely sensitive to any change in the strength or character of the current flowing through them, which is shown by a corresponding change in the resistance of the cell. I can, therefore, vary the resistance of one of my cells in many ways, and the following may be specified--

(a) By changing the potential or electromotive force of the current through the cell.

(b) By changing the "quantity" of the battery or current.

(c) By putting more or less resistance in the circuit.

(d) By dividing the current, by one or more branch circuits or shunts around the cell.

(e) By varying the resistance in any or all of said circuits.

A cell whose resistance becomes greater as the battery power becomes greater, and _vice versa_, I call an "L B cell" signifying _Like the Battery power_. A "U B cell" is one whose resistance becomes greater as the battery power (or strength of current) becomes less, and _vice versa_, being _Unlike the Battery power_, or current strength.

These changes of resistance are not due to heating of the conductor or the selenium, and the following instance will illustrate this. I have one cell in which the selenium has about one-fourth inch square of surface melted on a brass block one inch thick. This cell measured, with 25 elements of Leclanche, 40,000 ohms. On changing the battery to 5 elements the resistance fell instantly to 30 ohms, and there remained. On again using the current from 25 elements, the resistance instantly returned to 40,000 ohms. Had these results been due in any degree to heating, the resistance would have changed gradually as the heat became communicated to the brass, whereas no such change occurred, the resistances being absolutely steady. Moreover, even the fusion of the selenium would not produce any such change.

The "U B" property does not ordinarily change the resistance of the cell to exceed ten times, i.e., the resistance with a weak current will not be over ten times as high as with a strong one. But I have developed the "L B" property to a far higher degree. Table C gives some recent results obtained with L B cells, including one whose resistance, with 25 elements Leclanche, was 11,381 times as high as with 8 elements, and which, after standing steadily at 123 ohms (and then at 325 ohms with 1 element), on receiving the current from 25 elements again returned to its previous figure of 1,400,000 ohms.

TABLE C.

SENSITIVENESS TO CHANGE OF BATTERY POWER.
-----------------------+------------+------------+-------------
| Resistance | Resistance |
No. of cell. | with 25 | with 5 | Ratio of
| elements. | elements. | Change.
-----------------------+------------+------------+-------------
| ohms. | ohms. |
3/8 inch square, No. 1 | 40,000 | 30 | 1,333 to 1
3/8 " " " 2 | 13,000 | 40 | 325 "
1/4 " " " 1 | 1,400,000 | 123[8] | 11,381 "
1/2 " " " 2 | 500,000 | 62 | 8,064 "
1/2 " " " 5 | 3,500 | 21 | 167 "
Full size, No. 81 | 68,000 | 121 | 561 "
" " " 82 | 9,000 | 64 | 140 "
" " " 83 | 17,300 | 74 | 233 "
" " " 119 | 35,600 | 19 | 1,894 "
-----------------------+------------+------------+-------------

[Footnote 8: This measurement was obtained with 8 elements.]

The results in the table were obtained by changing the strength of current by throwing in more or less of the battery. Like results can be obtained by varying the current through the cell by any of the other methods before specified. The above measurements were in dark.

5. _Dual state of selenium_.--My cells, when first made seem to have two states or conditions. In one, their resistance is very low, in the other it is high. When in the low state they are usually not very sensitive, in any respect. I therefore raise the resistance, by sending an intermittent or an alternating current though the cells, and in their new condition they at once become extremely sensitive to light, currents, and other influences. In some cases they drop to the low state again, and require to be again brought up, until, after a number of such treatments, they remain in the sensitive state. Occasionally a cell will persist in remaining in the insensitive state. The before mentioned treatment raises it up for a moment, but, before the bridge can be balanced and the resistance measured, it again drops into the low or insensitive state. Some cells have been thus stimulated into the high or sensitive state repeatedly, and every means used to make them stay there, but without avail; and they have had to be laid aside as intractable.

In the earlier stages of my investigations, before the discovery of this dual state and the method of changing a cell from the insensitive to the sensitive condition, hundreds of cells were made, finished, and tested, only to be then ruthlessly destroyed and melted over, under the impression that they were worthless. Now, I consider nothing worthless, but expect sooner or later to make every cell useful for one purpose or another.

The most singular part of this phenomenon is the wide difference in the resistance of the cells in the two states. In the low state, it may be a few ohms, or even a few hundredths of an ohm. In the high state, it is the normal working resistance of the cell, usually between 5,000 and 200,000 ohms, but is often up among the millions. The spectacle of a little selenium being stimulated, by a few interruptions of the current through it, into changing its resistance from a fraction of an ohm up to a million or several millions of ohms, and repeatedly and instantly changing back and forth, up and down, through such a wide range, we might almost say changing from zero to infinity, and the reverse, instantly, is one which suggests some very far-reaching inquiries to the electrician and the physicist. What is the nature of electrical conductivity or resistance, and how is it so greatly and so suddenly changed?

6. _Radio-electric current generators_.--My cells can be so treated that will generate a current by simple exposure to light or heat. The light, for instance, passes through the gold and acts upon its junction with the selenium, developing an electromotive force which results in a current proceeding from the metal back, through the external circuit, to the gold in front, thus forming a photo-electric dry pile or battery. It should preferably be protected from overheating, by an alum water cell or other well known means.

The current thus produced is radiant energy converted into electrical energy directly and without chemical action, and flowing in the same direction as the original radiant energy, which thus continues its course, but through a new conducting medium suited to its present form. This current is continuous, constant, and of considerable electromotive force. A number of cells can be arranged in multiple arc or in series, like any other battery. The current appears instantly when the light is thrown upon the cell, and ceases instantly when the light is shut off. If the light is varied properly, by any suitable means, a telephonic or other corresponding current is produced, which can be utilized by any suitable apparatus, thus requiring no battery but the selenium cell itself. The strength of the current varies with the amount of light on the cell, and with the extent of the surface which is lighted.

I produce current not only by exposure to sunlight, but also to dim diffused daylight, to moonlight, and even to lamplight. I use this current for actual working purposes, among others, for measuring the resistance of other selenium cells, with the usual Wheatstone's bridge arrangement, and for telephonic and similar purposes. Its use for photometric purposes and in current regulators will be mentioned further on. It is undoubtedly available for all uses for which other battery currents are employed, and I regard it as the most constant, convenient, lasting, readily used, and easily managed pile or battery of which I have any knowledge. On the commercial scale, it could be produced very cheaply, and its use is attended by no expense, inasmuch as no liquids or chemicals are used, the whole cell being of solid metal with a glass in front, for protection against moisture and dust. It can be transported or carried around as easily and safely as an electro-magnet, and as easily connected in a circuit for use wherever required. The current, if not wanted immediately, can either be "stored" where produced, in storage batteries of improved construction devised by me, or transmitted over suitable conductors to a distance, and there used, or stored as usual till required.

7. _Singing and speaking cells_.--When a current of electricity flowing through one of my selenium cells is rapidly interrupted, a sound is given out by the cell, and that sound is the tone having the same number of air vibrations per second as the number of interruptions in the current. The strength of the sound appears to be independent of the direction of the current through the cell. It is produced on the face of the cell, no sound being audible from the back of the cell. An alternating current also produces a sound corresponding to the number of changes of direction. Experiments also show that, if a telephonically undulating current is passed through the cell, it will give out the speech or other sound corresponding to the undulations of the current--and, furthermore, that the cell will sing or speak in like manner, without the use of a current, if a suitably varied light is thrown upon it while in closed circuit.

My experiments having been devoted especially to those branches of the subject which promised to be more immediately practically valuable, I have not pursued this inquiry very far, and offer it for your consideration as being not only interesting, but possibly worthy of full investigation.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE PROPERTIES OF CELLS.

From the number of different properties possessed by my cells, it might be anticipated that the different combinations of those properties would result in cells having every variety of action. This is found to be the case. As a general rule, the cells are noteworthy in one respect only. Thus, if a cell is extremely sensitive to light, it may not be specially remarkable in other respects. As a matter of fact, however, the cells most sensitive to the light are also "U B cells."

The property of sensitiveness to light is independent of the power to generate current by exposure to light--the best current-generating cells being only very moderately sensitive to light, and some of the most sensitive cells generate scarcely any current at all. Current-generating cells are, almost without exception, "U B cells;" and the best current-generating cells are strongly polarized, showing a considerable change of resistance by reversing the direction of a current through them; and they are also strong "anode cells," i.e., the surface next to the gold offers a higher resistance to a battery current than the other surface of the selenium does. The power to generate a current is temporarily weakened by sending a battery current through the cell while exposed to light, in either direction. The current generated by exposure to light is also weakened by warming the cell, unless the cell is arranged for producing current by exposure to heat.

The properties of sensitiveness to light and to change of battery power are independent of each other, as I have cells which are sensitive to change of current but absolutely insensitive to light--their resistance remaining exactly the same whether the cells are in darkness or in sunlight. I also have cells which are sensitive to light, but are unaffected by change of battery power, or by reversing the direction of the current through them.

The sensitiveness to change of battery power is also independent of the sensitiveness to reversal of direction of the current. Among the best "L B cells," some are "anode cells" and others are "cathode cells," while still others are absolutely insensitive to reversal of current or to the action of light.

_Constancy of the resistance_.--A noticeable point in my cells is the remarkable constancy of the resistance in sunlight. Allowing for differences in the temperature, the currents, and the light, at different times, the resistance of a cell in sunlight will remain practically constant during months of use and experiments, although during that time the treatments received may have varied the resistance in dark hundreds of thousands of ohms--sometimes carrying it up, and at others carrying it down again, perhaps scores of times, until it is "matured," or reaches the condition in which its resistance becomes constant.

As has already been stated, the sensitiveness of a cell to light is increased by proper usage. This increased sensitiveness is shown, not by a lowered resistance in light, but by an increased resistance in dark. This change in the cells goes on, more or less rapidly, according as it is retarded or favored by the treatment it receives, until a maximum is reached, after which the resistance remains practically constant in both light and dark, and the cell is then "matured," or finished. The resistance in dark may now be 50 or even 100 times as high as when the cell was first made, yet, whenever exposed to sunlight it promptly shows the same resistance that it did in the beginning. The various treatments, and even accidents, through which it has passed in the mean time, seem not to have stirred its molecular arrangement under the action of light, but to have expended their forces in modifying the positions which the molecules must normally assume in darkness.

_Practical applications_.--There are many peculiarities of action occasionally found, and the causes of such actions are not always discernible. In practice, I have been accustomed to find the peculiarities and weaknesses of each cell by trial, developing its strongest properties and avoiding its weaknesses, until, when the cell is finished, it has a definite and known character, and is fitted for certain uses and a certain line of treatment, which should not be departed from, as it will be at the risk of temporarily disabling it. In consequence of the time and labor expended in making cells, in the small way, testing, repairing damages done during experiments, etc., the cost of the cells now is unavoidably rather high. But if made in a commercial way, all this would be reduced to a system, and the cost would be small. I may say here that I do not make cells for sale.

The applications or uses for these cells are almost innumerable, embracing every branch of electrical science, especially telegraphy, telephony, and electric lighting, but I refrain from naming them. I may be permitted, however, to lay before you two applications, because they are of such general scientific interest. The first is my

_Photometer_.--The light to be measured is caused to shine upon a photo-electric current-generating cell, and the current thus produced flows through a galvano-metric coil in circuit, whose index indicates upon its scale the intensity of the light. The scale may be calibrated by means of standard candles, and the deflections of the index will then give absolute readings showing the candle power of the light being tested. Or, the current produced by that light and that produced by the standard candle may be compared, according to any of the known ways of arranging and comparing different lights--the cell being lastly exposed alternately to the two lights, to see if the index gives exactly the same deflection with each light.

This arrangement leaves untouched the old difficulty in photometry, that arising from the different _colors_ of different lights. I propose to obviate that difficulty in the following manner. As is well known, gold transmits the green rays, silver the blue rays, and so on; therefore, a cell faced with gold will be acted upon by the green rays, one faced with silver by the blue rays, etc. Now, if we construct three cells (or any other number), so faced that the three, collectively, will be acted upon by all the colors, and arrange them around the light to be tested, at equal distances therefrom, each cell will produce a current corresponding to the colored rays suited to it, and all together will produce a current corresponding to all the rays emitted by the light, no matter what the proportions of the different colors may be. The three currents may act upon the same index, but each should have its own coil, not only for the sake of being able to join or to isolate their influences upon the index, but also to avoid the resistances of the other cells. If a solid transparent conductor of electricity could be found which could be thick enough for practical use and yet would transmit all the rays perfectly, i.e., transmit white light unchanged, that would be still better. I have not yet found a satisfactory conductor of that kind, but I think the plan stated will answer the same purpose. This portion of my system I have not practically tested, but it appears to me to give good promise of removing the color stumbling-block, which has so long defied all efforts to remove it, and I therefore offer it for your consideration.

_Photo-electric regulator_.--My regulator consists of a current-generating cell arranged in front of a light, say an electric lamp, whose light represents the varying strength of the current which supports it. The current produced in the cell by this light flows through an electro-magnetic apparatus by means of which mechanical movement is produced, and this motion is utilized for changing resistances, actuating a valve, rotating brushes, moving switches, levers, or other devices. This has been constructed on a small scale, and operates well, and I think it is destined to be largely used, as a most sensitive, simple, and perfect regulator for currents, lights, dynamos, motors, etc., etc., whether large or small.

In conclusion, I would say that the investigation of the physical properties of selenium still offers a rare opportunity for making very important discoveries. But candor compels me to add that whoever undertakes the work will find it neither an easy nor a short one. My own experience would enable me to describe to you scores of curious experiments and still more curious and suggestive results, but lack of time prevents my giving more than this very incomplete outline of my discoveries.

* * * * *

ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO THE MANUFACTURE OF VARNISH.

Messrs. Müthel & Lütche, of Berlin, recommend the following process for the manufacture of varnish: The oils are treated by gases or gaseous mixtures that have previously been submitted to the action of electric discharges. The strongly oxidized oxygenated compounds that are formed under such circumstances give rise, at a proper elevation of temperature, to compounds less rich in oxygen, and the oxygen that is set free acts upon the fatty acid that it is proposed to treat. A mixture of equal parts of chlorine and steam may be very advantageously employed, as well as anhydrous sulphuric acid and water, or oxygen, anhydrous sulphuric acid and protoxide of nitrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, protoxide of nitrogen and air, or oxygen, and so on.

The apparatus is shown in section in the accompanying engraving; a is a steam-pipe running from the boiler to the motor. From this pipe branch conduits, b, that enter the vessels, B, in which the treatment is effected, and that run spirally through the oil. At the lower part of the vessel, B, there is tube wound into a flat spiral, and containing a large number of exceedingly small apertures.

The oxidizing apparatus is shown at p. The gaseous mixture enters through the tube, n, traverses the apparatus, p, and enters the vessel, B, through the tubes, g and D. Fig. 2 gives the details of the oxidizing apparatus, which consists of two concentric glass tubes, A and F, soldered at x. A is closed beneath and held in a cylinder, C; F contains a small aperture through which passes a tube, E. The gaseous mixture enters through the latter, traverses the annular space between the tubes, A and F, and then makes its exit through H, whence it goes to a similar apparatus placed alongside of the other. The shaded parts of the engraving represent bodies that are good conductors of electricity and that communicate with the two poles of any electrice source whatever.

The operation is as follows: After opening the tube, e, linseed oil is introduced into the vessel, B, until the latter is half full, and, after this, e is closed and the worm, S, is allowed to raise the temperature to between 60° and 80°. Then the cock of the tube, d, which communicates with an air pump, is opened, and the pressure is diminished to about 730 mm. of mercury. At this moment the oxidizing apparatus are put in communication with an induction bobbin that is interposed in the circuit of a dynamo, while through the tube, n, there is made to enter a mixture of equal parts (in volume) of sulphurous acid, oxygen, and air. At the same time, the cock of the tube, g, is opened, while the stirrer, T, is set in motion. In this way we obtain, in a much shorter time than by ordinary processes, a very liquid, transparent varnish, which, when exposed to the air, quickly hardens. It is possible, with the same process, to employ a mixture (in volumes) of two parts of protoxide of nitrogen with one and a half parts of atmospheric air, or even protoxide of nitrogen alone.

When it is judged that the operation is finished, the tube, g, is opened, the stirrer is stopped, and the tube, c, is opened after d has been closed. The steam then forces the varnish to pass through the tube, f, and traverse the washing apparatus, which is filled half full of water, that is slightly ammoniacal, and is heated by a circulation of steam, S. Finally, the product, washed and free from every trace of acid is collected upon making its exit from the tube, h.--_La Lumiere Electrique._

* * * * *

NAGLO BROTHERS' TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

We borrow from the _Elektrotechnische Zeitung_ the following details in regard to the telephonic installations made by the Brothers Naglo at Berlin. Fig. 1 gives the general arrangement of a station, where J is an inductor set in motion through a winch, K, and a pair of friction rollers; W, a polarized call; U, an ordinary two-direction commutator; B, a lightning protector; and L and T, the two terminals of the apparatus, one of them connecting with the line and the other with the earth. The interesting point of this system is the automatic communication which occurs when the inductor, J, is moved. At the same moment that the winch, K, is being moved, the disk, P, is carried from right to left and brought into contact with the spring, f_{2}. As soon as the winch is left to itself a counter-spring forces the disk, P, to return to a contact with the spring, f_{1}. Figs. 2 and 3 show the details of such communication. The winch, K, is keyed to one of the extremities of a sleeve that carries the disk, P, at its other extremity. This sleeve is fixed upon the axle of the first friction roller, that is to say, upon the axle that controls the motion of the inductor, and is provided at the center with two helicoidal grooves, e, at right angles with one another. In these grooves slides a tappet, n, connected with the axle.

Under the influence of the counter-spring at the left of the disk, P, the latter constantly tends to occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, which is that of rest. As soon as the winch, K, is revolved, whatever be the direction of the motion, the axle can only be carried along when the tappet, n, has come to occupy the position shown in Fig. 3, that is to say, when the disk has moved from right to left a distance corresponding to the fraction of the helix formed in the sleeve.

This stated, it is easy to understand the travel of the currents. Fig. 1 shows the station at rest. The current that arrives through L passes through the lightning protector, the body of the commutator, U, the terminal, v, and the call, W, bifurcates at P, and is closed by the earth. The inductor is in circuit, but, as it is in derivation, upon a very feeble resistance, v, nearly the whole of the current passes through the latter. When it is the station that is calling, the call, W, is put in derivation upon the circuit, f_{2} p, h, so that the portion of the circuit that passes through q W v is exceedingly feeble, and incapable of operating the bell of the post that is calling.

Finally, when the telephone is unhooked, the inductor, J, and the bell, W, are thrown out of circuit, and the telephone is interposed between d and i, that is, between L and T.--_La Lumiere Electrique_.

* * * * *

THE GERARD ELECTRIC LAMP.

In the Gerard incandescent lamp the carbons have the form of a V. They are obtained by agglomerating very finely powdered carbon, and passing it through a draw plate. At their extremity they are cemented together with a small quantity of carbon paste, and their connection with the platinum conducting wires is effected by means of a cylinder of the same paste surmounted by a cone. These couplings secure a good contact, and, by their dimensions, prevent the attachments from becoming hot and consequently injuring the carbon at this point. The cone forms a connection of decreasing section, and prevents the carbon from getting broken during carriage.

This process of manufacture permits of obtaining lamps of all intensities, from 3 candles up. The following, according to Mr. Gerard, are the consumptions of energy in each size of lamp:

Candles. Volts. Amperes.
No. 0. 10 16 1.5
" 1. 25 25 2
" 2. 50 30 2.5

It will be seen that these lamps require a relatively intense current with much less fall of potential than the Swan, for example--this being due to the diameter of the filament. But, what is an inconvenience as regards mounting, if we wish to supply them by ordinary machines (for they must be mounted in series of 3 on each derived circuit if the machine gives, as most frequently the case, 100 volts), is an advantage as regards the quality and steadiness of the light and the duration of the lamps.

The part in which the energy is expended is homogeneous, as might be supposed from the mode of manufacture, and as may be ascertained from a microscopical examination, and it is exempt from those variations in composition that are found in carbons of a vegetable nature, like the Edison. Besides, being of relatively large diameter, the lamp is capable of supporting a very great increase of temperature.

The process employed for fixing the lamps is as simple as can be. Each platinum wire is soldered to a piece of copper that surrounds the base of the lamp and that is fixed to the glass with a special cement. These two armatures intertwine, but at a sufficient distance apart to prevent contact. They carry a longitudinal projection and an inflation that fit by hard friction into two copper springs connected electrically with the circuit. It is only necessary to lift the lamp in order to remove it from the support; and the contrary operation is just as easy.--_Le Genie Civil_.

* * * * *

A NEW REFLECTING GALVANOMETER.

Fig. 1 shows an elevation of the instrument and a horizontal section of the bobbins. Two pairs of bobbins, cc, cc, are so arranged that the axes of each pair are parallel and in the same vertical plane. Each pair is supported by a vertical brass plate, and the two plates make an angle of about 106° with each other, so that the planes containing the axes of the bobbins make an angle of about 74°. Two horseshoe magnets, m m, made of 1/25 inch steel wire, are connected by a very light piece of aluminum and placed at such a distance from each other that, on being suspended, the two branches of each of the magnets shall freely enter the respective bores of the two bobbins fixed upon the same plate, and, when the whole system is in equilibrium and the bobbins free from current, the two branches of each of the magnets shall nearly coincide with the axes of such bores. The magnets are not plane, but are curved so as to form portions of a vertical cylinder whose axis coincides with the direction of the suspension wire, and to which the axes of the bobbins are tangent at their center, approximately to the points where the poles of the magnets are situated.

The needles have been given this form so that their extremities shall not touch the sides of the bore during considerable deflections.

In the instrument which the inventors, Messrs. T. & A. Gray, used in their experiments upon the resistance of glass, the needles were arranged so that their poles of contrary name were opposite.

The system of needles is suspended from the extremity of a screw, p, which passes into a nut, n, movable between two stationary pieces. On revolving the nut, we cause the screw to rise or lower, along with the entire suspended part, without twisting the thread.

The four bobbins are grouped for tension, and have a total resistance of 30,220 ohms. They contain 16,000 feet of No. 50 copper wire, forming 62,939 revolutions, nearly equally divided between the four bobbins. When a current is passing through the bobbins, the poles of one of the horseshoe magnets are attracted toward the interior of the corresponding bobbins, while those of the other are repelled toward the exterior by the two other bobbins. We thus have a couple which tends to cause the system to revolve around the suspension axis. A mirror, which is fixed upon a vertical piece of aluminum, a, gives, in the usual manner, a reflected image upon a scale, thus allowing the deflections to be read. A compensating magnet, M, is supported by a vertical column fixed to the case, above the needles. This magnet may be placed in the different azimuths by means of a tangential screw, t. The extremities of the bobbin wires are connected with three terminals, T, T¹, T², and the instrument may, by a proper arrangement, became differential. These terminals, as well as the communicating wires, are insulated with ebonite.

Thus arranged, the instrument is capable of making a deflection of one division of 1/50 inch upon a scale placed at a distance of a little more than a yard, with the current produced by one daniell of 10 ohms. This is a degree of sensitiveness that cannot be obtained with any of the astatic instruments known up to the present. By regulating the needles properly, a greater degree of sensitiveness may be attained, but then the duration of the needles' oscillation becomes too great. The sensitiveness of the instrument is sufficiently great to allow it to be used in many cases, even with a moderate duration of oscillation.

In their experiments upon the resistance of glass, the inventors employed an instrument that was not arranged for giving great sensitiveness, and one with which resistances of from 10^{4} to 10^{5} megohms could be measured by the use of a pile of 120 daniells.

The instrument can be given another form. The four bobbins may be arranged symmetrically in the same plane, and the two horseshoe magnets be supported by an S-shaped aluminum bar. The latter traverses the plate that supports the bobbins, in such a way that one of the magnets enters one of the bobbins that correspond to it on one side of the plate, and the other on the other side, as shown in Fig. 2. The bobbins are so connected that, when they are traversed by a current, both magnets are at the same time attracted toward the interior or repelled toward the exterior of the bobbins. Such a form of the instrument has the advantage of being more easily constructed, while the regulation of the magnets with respect to the bore of the bobbins is easier.

The chief advantage of the instrument results from the fact that, owing to the arrangement of the magnets and bobbins, a large portion of the wires of the latter is situated very near the poles of the magnets, and in a position very favorable for electro-magnetic action. The instrument presents no difficulties as regards construction, and costs no more than an ordinary one.

We might even arrange a single horseshoe magnet, or an S-shaped one, horizontally, and employ but a single pair of bobbins, and thus have a non-astatic apparatus based upon the same principle. But in astatic instruments it is better to place the magnets in such a way that the two branches shall be in the same vertical plane.

Were the line that joins the two poles vertical, the system would be perfectly astatic in a uniform field, since each magnet in particular would then be perfectly astatic. A pair of horseshoe magnets may thus be regulated in such a way as to form a perfectly astatic system in a uniform field and to preserve an almost invariable zero, this being something that it is very difficult to obtain with the ordinary arrangement of needles, especially when a compensating magnet is used; for, in such a case, one of the needles becomes more or less magnetized, while the other becomes demagnetized, according to the position of the compensating magnet.--_La Lumiere Electrique_.

* * * * *

HISTOLOGICAL METHODS.

A cat, dog, rabbit, or Guinea pig will furnish parts from which sections can be cut for the study of histology. Whichever animal is selected should be young and well developed. Put it under influence of chloroform, and open into the cavity of the chest; make an incision into the right ventricle, and allow the animal to bleed to death; cut the trachea and inject the lungs with a solution of one and a half drachms of chromic acid in one quart of water, care being taken not to overdistend the lung. Tie the severed end to prevent the escape of the fluid, and carefully remove the lung. It is a difficult thing to do this without rupturing it, but with care and patience it can be done. Place the lungs in a solution of the same strength as used for injecting; after fifteen or twenty hours change it to a fresh solution, and allow it to remain for about a month, and then change it to rectified spirits, in which it may remain until required.

Cut the tongue into several transverse and longitudinal pieces, also the small intestines, and put them into a solution of fifteen and one-half grains chromic acid, thirty grammes bichromate of potash, and three pints of water; change the solution the next day, and let them remain two weeks and then place in spirits. Cut longitudinal and transverse portions of the stomach and large intestines, wash in a weak solution of salt and water, and put them in the same solution as used for the lungs, and treat similarly.

Cut the kidneys longitudinally and transversely, and put them in a solution of six and one-half drachms bichromate of potash, two and one-half drachms sodium sulphate, one quart of water; change the solution the next day, and at the end of four weeks transfer to alcohol. Wash the inner surface of the bladder with salt and water, and after cutting it longitudinally and transversely, put the sections in a solution of three drachms bichromate of potash in a quart of water. Cut the liver into small parts, and place in the same solution as used for the kidneys; change the solution after a day, and let them remain four or five weeks, then change to spirits. The spleen and portions of the thin abdominal muscles may be placed in a solution of three drachms chromic acid to one quart of water, and transferred to alcohol after three or four weeks. Carefully remove an eye and divide it behind the crystalline lens, put the posterior portion in a solution made by dissolving fifteen grs. chromic acid in five drachms water, and slowly adding five and one-half ounces alcohol; change to spirits in two weeks. The lens should be put in the same solution, but should remain a few days longer. Open the head, remove the brain, and place transverse and longitudinal sections of it in spirits for eighteen hours, then transfer to a solution of one drachm chromic acid in a quart of water, and let it remain until hard enough to cut. Place the uterus in a solution of one and one-half drachms chromic acid in one quart of water, change to a new solution the next day, and at the end of a month transfer to alcohol.

The bones from one of the legs should be carefully cleaned of its muscles, cut into several pieces, and placed in a solution of fifteen and one-half grains chromic acid, one-half drachm nitric acid, and six ounces water. Change the fluid frequently until the bones are sufficiently softened, and then change to alcohol.

_Section cutting_ machines for cutting sections can be procured of the dealers, but a very simple and effective one can be easily made if one does not wish to go to the expense of buying an instrument.

A strip of wood twelve or fourteen inches long and about two inches wide has attached to its center a bridge-shaped piece of wood, a, Fig. 1. This is covered with a brass plate, c, pierced with a hole one-half of an inch in diameter. This hole extends through the wood, and is fitted with a piston. Two long narrow inclined planes of nearly equal inclination, b, b, grooved to slide on each other, are placed under the bridge; the lower is to be fastened to the board; the end of the piston rests on the upper one. The object from which we desire to cut a section is placed in the hole, in the piston. If the upper plane be pushed in, the piston will be forced upward, and with it the object. As the inclination of the plane is very gradual, the vertical motion will be very slight as compared with the horizontal.

When the object is raised a little above the brass plate, a keen edged razor, thoroughly wet, is pushed over the hole, cutting the object. This gives the section a smooth surface, and even with the plate; now push the plane forward one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch, and cut again; this will give a thin section of the object. The thickness of the section depends, of course, on the distance the wedge is pushed.

With a little practice, much better sections can be cut by the hand than by any machine; this does not apply of course to large sections. A razor of good steel, with a blade thin and hard, are the most essential points in an instrument for hand cutting. For ordinary purposes it is not necessary to have the blade ground flat on one side, although many prefer it. The knife should always be thoroughly wet, in order that the cut tissue may float over its surface. Water, alcohol or salt and water may be used for this purpose.

_To out a section by hand_, hold the object between the thumb and first two fingers of the left hand, supporting the back of the knife by the forefinger. The knife is to be held firmly in the right hand, and in cutting should never be pushed, but drawn from heel to point obliquely through the tissue. The section should be removed from the knife by a camel's hair brush.

When the object is too small to hold, it is usually _embedded_ in some convenient substance. A carrot is sometimes very useful for this purpose. A hole rather smaller than the object is cut out of the middle. Put whatever is to be cut into this, and cut a thin section of the whole. The carrot does not cling to either the knife or the section, and the knife is wetted at every slice by it.

Paraffin is the agent usually employed for embedding purposes. Melt it, and add a little lard to soften it; the addition of a little clove oil renders it less adhesive.

Melt the paraffin at as low a temperature as possible, and pour it into a paper cone. Dip the object into this and remove immediately; as soon as the layer of paraffin surrounding it becomes hardened, replace it in the paraffin; this prevents overheating the tissues.

Where the tissues are too soft to be cut, they may be soaked in a solution of gum arabic and dried; in this condition they can be readily cut, after which the gum can be dissolved off. This is an extremely useful method for cutting the lung or other organs where an interstitial support is needed. For a very thin object, a cork fitting any kind of a tube is to be split, and the object placed between the two parts; the cork is then thrust into the tube, and a sufficient degree of firmness will be obtained to allow cutting. The sections should always be manipulated with camel's hair brushes.

Much practice will be required before dexterity is attained.

_Methods of preserving the tissues_.--All water must be removed from the tissue, either by drying or by immersing it in rectified spirits, and then in absolute alcohol, and the alcohol driven off by floating it upon oil of clove or turpentine. The substances used to preserve the tissues are Canada balsam, Dammar balsam, glycerine, Farrant's solution, potassium acetate, spirits, naphtha, and creosote.

The section is to be floated on to the slide or placed in position with a camel's hair brush. It should be spread out, and then examined under the microscope for the purpose of improving its position if necessary, or of removing any foreign particles. A drop of the preserving medium is then placed upon it, and another placed on the cover and allowed to spread out. The cover is then taken by a pair of pincers and inverted over the object, and one edge brought to touch the slide at one part of its margin. The cover is then gently lowered, and the whole space beneath the cover filled and the tissue completely saturated. If air bubbles show themselves, raise the cover at one corner and deposit a further quantity of the medium.

The slide should be set aside for a few days. First, the excess of the medium must be removed; if it is glycerine, much of it can be removed by a piece of blotting paper, but the cover must not be touched, for it is easily displaced; that near the cover can be replaced by a camel's hair brush. A narrow ring of glycerine jelly should be placed around the edge of the cover, to fix it before the cement is applied. When this has set, a narrow strip of cement is to be put on, just slightly overlapping the edge of the cover and outside the margin of the jelly. Until it has been perfectly secured, a slide carrying glycerine must never be placed in an inclined position, as its cover will slide off.

_Preservative media_.--Canada balsam may be prepared as follows: Place some pure Canada balsam in a saucer, and cover with paper to exclude dust; dry it in an oven at a temperature of 150°; when it cools, it will become hard and crystalline. Dissolve this in benzole, and use in the same way as glycerine.