The Paris Electrical Exhibition

Author(s): Gustave Glaser

Source: Science, Vol. 2, No. 63 (Sep. 10, 1881), pp. 430-433
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science
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430

SCIENCE.
THE PARIS ELECTRICAL EXHIBlTION.

him in propelling a little boat. This note will 'give to

your readers exact and correct information regarding the
imeritsand properties of the motor used in the little canoe
which is now seen in the Electrical Exhibition, and I
To Slie Edilor of" SCIENCE."
therefore quote this note verbatim:
This letter leaves Paris somewhat late, considering the
"A motor having a weight of 5 kilogrammes and in
official opening of the Electrical Exhibition took place connection with six elements of a secondary battery of
eight days ago, and that the opening to the public fol- Plant6, which produces a labor of 7 kilogrammeters per
lowed the next day, viz., the iith of August, but in fact second, was placed on the 8th of last April upon a tricythe exhibition is not opened even yet, although the pub- cle, which latter, rider and battery included, had a weight
lic is admitted during some hours of the day to look at of i6o kilogrammes, and gave to the vehicle a celerity of
the half-finished structures and to inspect the dust-cov- I2 kilometers per hour."
ered iinstruments.
" The same motor, used on the 26th of May, in a boat
The daily newspapers and some so-called scientific having a length of 5.50 meters and a breadth of 1.20
papers, which give to their readers sensational articles meters, holding three persons, gave to this boat a celerity
rather than correct information, have been for about ten of 2.50 meters in descending the Seine at Pont-Royale
days crowdedwith descriptionsof the opening and the pro- and of I.50 meter in moving against the current. rhe
gress of the electrical exhibition, but the real good scien- motor obtained its electro-motive power by means of two
tific papers have hitherto only given short notes, because batteries, consisting each of 6 elements of bichromate of
it has, as yet, been impossible to study the value of the potash, and the propeller was furnished with a coil havdifferent instruments in the exhibition building, where ing 3 branches.
everything is still in a half-finished state and wliere the
"On the 26th of June I renewed the experiment upon
noise of hammers and carpenters' instruments are still the quiet waters of the upper lake of the Bois de Bologne,
heard in every corner.
using a coil with 4 branches having diameters of 0.28
Notwithstanding this, I will endeavor to give you in meter and being in connection with I 2 elements of Bunthis letter a description of the actual state of the exhibi- sen with flat plates such as are used in the Ruhmnkorff
tion, which will serve your readers as an introduction to battery. The liquid of these elements consisted of one
the more special articles with which I will furnish your part of hydrochloric-acid, one part of nitric acid, and two
paper weekly.
parts of water in the porous vessel, in order to diminish
When we first enter the Palais de l'Industrie through the disengagement of hypoazotic vapors.
the principal pavilion, which is situated on the side of the
"The celerity of the little boat, which was measured
Champs Elys6es, we observe a series of beautiful statues with an ordinarylog, rose in the commencement to I50
which serve as "candelabres"forlamps of theWerdermann meters within 48 seconds, or a little more than 3 meters
system, and when we approach the entrance to the great per second; but after three hours of working it had
nave our eyes are attracted with two enormous images diminished to I 50 meters during 55 seconds. After five
representing a male and female lion, while we observe hours of working the electricity was still 2.30 meters per
above our head a beautiful chandelier of iron wrought in second."
tasteful style, furnished with Siemens lamps. This
So much about M. Trouv6's boat, of which a number
lustre will undoubtedly be very attractive if the arrange- of iminiaturespecimens, in good working order, may be
ments for the light are made as carefully by the French seen in the upper story of the Exposition building.
firm of the well-known house of Siemens, as those in the
At the left-hand side of the nave, nearest to the lightGerman department, where some evenings ago the pre- house, are the exhibitions of Great Britain, Germany and
liminary experiments made with the Siemens lamps the United States. The exhibition of Germany is that
attracted the general admiration of all those who had which has the most imposing appearance and is also that
the privilege to witness them.
which was first completed. Two enormous "candelaIn the centre of the nave a light-house is erected, bres" in forged iron ornament the entrance of the
which is a copy of the light-houses that guard the department, and contain lamps of " Gebrueder Siemens "
coasts of France. It is surrounded by a small of Berlin. Near them stand two trophies crowned with
water-basin, which, although it may be called orna- the Prussian eagle, and behind them, upon a large nummental, is perfectly useless for the purpose for which ber of tables, may be seen a collection of electrical instruit is destined, on account of its limited dimensions ments of all kinds, which we will describe in our reports
and the outlines of its borders, which form a star. This hereafter. At the right-hand side of the department we
basin is intended as a field of exercise for the boat of M. see the busts of five German pioneers in the field of ElecTrouv6, called the Teletko;z, which is driven by an trical Science, viz.: Otto von Guericke, Ohm, Sommerelectric motor, in connection with a Bunsen battery, and ing, Steinheil, and Gauss.
the length of which nearly equals the radius of the cirThe historical collection of instruments in the German
cumference of the basin.
department is of the highest interest in a retrospective
a
I may here say few words about M. Trouv6's boat, way. I will only mention an exact copy of the first
on account of which a good deal of nonsense has been machine for static electricity, constructed in the year
published in European and American papers, one of the i670 by Otto von Guericke, consisting of a sulphur globe,
latter mentioning not long ago that M. Trouve's boat, which was electrified by turning it by means of an axis
with which he experimented upon the Seine, contained and using the hand as a rubber; an electrical egg, soa battery of M. Faure, but M. Trouv6 is too well ac- called, property of Prince Pless, of Germany, and conquainted with the value of scientific instruments to structed at the commencement of the i8th century; an
depreciate the merits of the Plant6 battery and to substi- electro-chemical apparatus for telegraphing, constructed
tute for it Faure's modification, as long as the former by Thomas Sdmmering in Munich in the year I809is better.
the telegraphing with this instrument is done by the
Count Du Moncel, whose name is well-known among decomposition of water. A magneto-electric telegraph
all electricians, on account of his excellent work on the of Gauss and Weber, constructed in I833-this telegraph
" Application of Electricity," which is the most complete was used in I837 in order to keep up a' telegraphic comwork of its kind in existence, and also on account of his munication between the physical laboratoryaud the magother numerous publicationis and inventions relating to netical observatory in the University of G6ttingen; the
this part of Science, presented on the 7th of July last a copy of the first telephone ever constructed, and invented
note to the Academy of Sciences, in which M. Trouve 'in the year i86i by Reis, and a great many other appadescribes in a very precise manner the motor used by ratus of equal interest.
[FROMI OUR PARIS

CORRESPONDENT.1

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SCIENCE.

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432

SCIENCE.

Amongst the other electrical instruments in the front as well as on account of the great distance which sepapart of the department,especially worthy of attention, are rates their country from Europe.
some of the most important instruments used in the
Among the apparatus, which are already installed, may
physiological institution of Berlin andl mostly due to the be mentioned the Bell telephone, the automatic timegenius of the celebrated German professor " Dubois- register and alarm, the Dolbear telephone, of which -yoa
Reymond-" of Berlin. These instruments will be used in have already given a long description in your paper, and
experiments before the French Academy of Sciences and which is now exhibited in a neat little pavilion erected
the Electric Congress, by Professor Arthur ChristianY,of by Mr. Buck and Mr. Stetson, who, by their industry, set
the Medical Faculty of the Berlin University, who has an example to the tardy French workmen; and the exbeen sent for this purpose to Paris and arrived here a hibition of. the United States Signal Service, which confew days ago.
tains an ingeniously constructed distance-barometer,
A large space in the German departinent is occupied anemoscope and anemometer, invented by Mr. Eccard.
by the extensive exhibitions of the firm of Siemens & The display of the other exhibitors are not yet finished,
Halske of Berlin, and there may be also seen the first and I reserve that of Mr. Edison's unLil it is more comelectro-locomotive constructed by this firm in the year plete, as it promises to be the most interesting and valuI867 and the first machine of that renowned type, which able one in the building, and will demand a special
was invented at nearly the same time by Mr. Wheat- report to do it justice.
stone in England and Mr. Siemens in Berlin.
If we continue our walk through the Exhibition toThe exhibit of.Mr. Siemens is, in my opinion,one of the wards the East Entrance, we come to the department of
most important of all the exhibits in the whole building Belgium and Austria. That of Belgium offers a very
of the Palais de 1' Industrie,and the excellent instruments beautiful aspect, and is displayed in two fine pavilions,
and apparatus manufactured by this firm, which oc- which are furnishedwith several crystal cases ornamentcupy a large place in the German, French and English ed by copper posts. The galvano-plastic exhibits in this
departments of the exhibition create general admiration. department are worthy of the greatest attention, but sciI shall endeavor, during the following week, to furnish entifically, the most interesting exhibit is that of the
you with an explicit description of some of the more im- meteorological station of Brussels. Austria has contribportant instruments of the Siemens exhibition and your uted a great many apparatuswhich serve for the security
readers will then be able to judge for themselves of of railways.
their value.
The pavilion of Italy, which we next enter, is
The exhibition of Great Britazi is still far frowm a beautiful oblong building, and attracts much attenbeing comlplete, and this is very easily explained, by the tion. Until yesterday it was nearly empty, but the
fact that the Eng-lish government, although after a very instruments begin now to be installed, and within a few
long hesitation, finallv hoving taking part in the exhibi- days the visitors of the Exhibition will have the privilege
tion has not consented to contribute anything for the ex- of seeing the ingenious instruments that Volta, Gulvani
penses, and it is marvellous-that under such circum- and Nobili constructed with their own hands, and to read
stances the English exhibitors have been able to con- the original letters in which these great scientists pubtribute so much as they have. The only portion of the lished their first ideas regarding their new and wonderful
English exposition which is nearly complete is that of discoveries. This Italian pavilion,in connectionwith the
Siemens Brothers, who, among other things, exhibit a post office pavilion of England and the retrosp.ectivecolgreat number of apparatus for submarine telegraphy lection of the Germans,form together the material for the
which are displaved on several large tables, and of which three most important chapters in the history of electhe most conspicuous is a full sized buoy ornamented tricity.
The exhibition of HIolland offers, so to say, an appenwith a flag. One fact which I must not forget to mention, is, that the pavilion of the British post-office is un- dix to them, and the instruments for static electricitythere
doubtedly erected in excellent taste and is not only,the shown, excel, perhaps not in quality, but at least in granmost conspicuous but also the most beautiful in the ex- deur all other instruments of this kind. The enormous
hibition (with the exception of the pavilions of the Ital- machine and battery of Leyden-bottles of Van Marum,
ians). This pavilion is divided into two parts, the one of which we have all heard when we were school boys,
containing a historical collection which is very remark- form the most interesting part of this exhibition, and the
able and consists of the first instruments of telegraphy, whole, including the enormous natural magnets, makes
among others that ingenious telegraph apparatus of upon the visitor an impression that he is visiting an exCook and Wheatstone, which was used with several hibition of the Scientists of the land of the pyramids.
Passing the departmentsof Spain and Switzerland, and
wires and which now, after the invention of duplex,
quadruplexand multiplexsystems seems rather primitive, leaving at the left the exhibition of Russia and Norway,
while the other part consists of a collection of all the which have all contributed in an appreciable manner to
modern instruments of telegraphy which can only be ap- the interesting show of apparatus, we arrive at the enpreciated by a more minute description, and a great help trance station of the Siemens' electrical railway which is
to the study of these instruments is their excellent ar- not yet completed on account of several modifications
which his construction had to undergo. It will be runrangement, which is due to the labors of Mr. Preece.
The exhibition of the United States is Inotat all what ning, however, within a fewvdays.
Returning now again to the centre of the nave, and
it should be, an-dit is greatly to be regretted that Europeans will receive a very wrong impression of the pro- entering the western half of the building, we see before
ductiveness of your country if they judge by the scanty us the French portion of the exhibition.
At the left hand side viewed from the light-house, is a
exhibits which America has sent to the Paris exhibipavilion in very good taste filled with the shining silver
tion.
Most of the Americans to whom I have spoken seem and gold exhibits, and with the highly artistic galvanoto recognize this fact very fully, and it is generally re- plastic reproductions of the renowned firm of Christofle
gretted that many of the beautiful electrical inventions of & Co., and on the right hand side from the light-house
the United States cannot be displayed here, where they in a pavilion corresponding exactly in style with. the
would certainlycreate a sensation. But it seems that the former, we see the exhibits of the Jablochkoff Electric
United States Governimentwas too interested in politics Light Company. This department contains a complete
to care for a worthy representation at the electrical ex- collection of all the differentkinds of apparatus used by
hibition, and the more intelligent class of the French this company, and amongst others a new dynamo-electric
ptublicknow how to appreciate the difficultieswith which machine of Jablochkoff, which is of excellent conthe Almericanexhibitors had to contend on this account, sttiron9

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SCIENCE.

433

Hall ii has Jablochkoff light and will also exhibit the

The pavilion of the Cziy of Paris contains instruments
for the distributionof time and electrical instruments for apparatus used for photographing by electric light.
Hall 12 will be lighted by the Spanish society of electhe service of the fire companies. This pavilion is surrounded by the exhibitions-of different French railroad tricity which employs Gramme's lamps.
Hall i3 serves for the display of Siemens' differential
lines, which contain an enormous amount of apparatus
too complicated and too numerous to mention in this lamps and contains an excellent collection of instruments
of precision and of Geissler tubes.
short review.
Hall 14 contains machines of the system Wilde and
Onieof the most interesting parts of the French exhibition is the pavilion of the Ministry of Posts and Tele- Alliance, it will be lighted by means of Wilde's candles,
graphs, which contains a complete collection of all the furnished by the Parisian Company of Wilde's light.
Hall C contains cables, telephones, and telegraph inmodern apparatus employed in the telegraph service of
France. This pavilion is bounded on its North, South struments and will be lighted by incandesceint lamps of
and East sides by highly interesting collections of Maxim furnished by the Unitecl States Electric Lighting
different French firms, while on its West side the great Companiy.
Hall IS has, among other things, a nice collection of
staircase leads to the upper stories. Of the exhibits
in the upper story I will give only a general catalogue lightninig-rocts ancl containis Jaspar's light.
Hall i6 has lamps of M. Anatole Gerard.
because the installments are as yet too unfinished to
Hall I7 contains electro-chemnical instruments, appararender it possible to give any detailed description of them,
and the experiments with the electric lights and tele- tus for galvano-plastics, etc., and lamps of the Gramme
phones, to which this portion of the palace is mostly de- system.
Hall i8 contains a highlv interesting mruseumm
of histordicated, will not commence before eight days.
Hall A, immediately opposite to the grand staircase, is ical instruments of electricity. The light is furnished by
a beautifully furnished drawing room called the "Salon Messrs. Mignon and Rouart.
Hall I 9 will be lightecl by a company from Lyons, display
du President" and will be lighted by the Werdermann
ing the processes of Lontin, Bertin ancl Mersanne, and also
light.
Hall I contains a gallery of paintings but it is to be contains the electro-pneumatic clocks of Mr. Mayrhofer,
hoped that the light of the " Lampe-Soleil " which is here which form one of the most interesting parts of the elecexhibited will be better than the pictures, which are trical exhibition.
Hall 20 contains a retrospective museumii and a library
wretchedly bad.
Hall 2 contains a stage which once figured in the, so- of works on electricity; the light in the former will be
called, "1Athenaum," in the " Rue des Martyrs." This furnished by Mr. James Fyfe, that in the latter by Mr.
stage will be used for showing stage effects produced by Daft.
Hall 2I serves as a restaurant and is ornamented by a
electric lights, and the light will be furnished by the
large chanclelier containing Swan's incanclescent lamps.
Werdermann Company.
Hall 22 serves as a reading-room and will be lightecl by
Hall 3 is a tastefully furnished dining-room,with table
temptingly set, in which the Werdermann light will also the Brush system.
Hall D is the place where the Congress will meet, and
be displayed.
Hall 4 is an apartment consisting of vestibule, kitchen halls 23 and 24 contain the exhibition of Edison, of which
and bathing-room, which will be lighted by incandescent I shall not now speak in detail, reserving a description for
lamps fed from reservoirs consisting of Faure's secondarv a special letter, when I will attemspt to do justice to this
GUSTAVE GLASER, Ph. D.
battery and furnished by "La Societ6 de la Force, et la interesting exhibit.
PARIs, Azieast I7, i88I.
Lumiere."
I have made it a special object to study the value of
the Faure-battery in regard to which so much has been
THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY.
said pro and contra, and propose to furnish your excellent paper with impartial reports on this subject as
The first meeting of the American Chemical Society,
soon as any definite knowledge of it can be obtained.
after the summer vacation, was held on Friday evening,
Halls 5 and 6, which are united in one, will display September 2, with Vice-President Leeds in the chair.
lights of the " Systeme-Jamin " and contain a collection The minutes of the previous meeting were duly passed
of Gramme-machinesmodified by M. Jamin.
on and Dr. H. Endemann elected to the position of
Hall B contains a collection of smaller electrical ap- Editor of the Journal. The first paper presented to the
paratus, of electrical toys and also an exhibition of Jab- Society was "On the Detection of Oleomargarine," by
lochkoff candles.
Mr. P. Casamajor. This methocl is based on the differHalls 7 and 8 are dedicated to telephone experiments, ences between the density of butter and oleomargarine.
hall 7, being lighted by " La Societe de la Force et la A clrop of the suspected fat is melted and poured into
Lumiere" while the light of hall 8, is furnished by Mr. alcohol at i50C; if it is butter, on account of its greater
Brush. The preliminaryexperiments with the telephones specific gravity, it immediately sinks to the bottom of
in these halls have been exceedingly satisfactory, the music the vessel, while if it is oleomargarine it remains on the
of the Grand Opera and the words spoken in the surface.
"Th6atre-Francais " (both of these buildings being conMr. Casamajor followed by a second paper on the
nected by telephone-wires with halls) can be so plainly "Detection of Sugar House Syrups from Starch Sugar
heard that one may really imagine himself to be one of Syrups." The author found that by dissolving the given
the audience present, instead of being several kilometers sample (IOC.c. are taken) in three times its volume of
distant from the places of performance. A person, who methylic alcohol, the orclinarysugar syrup will become
has irever witnessed these telephone experiments can entirely clissolved, while the starch sugar syrup becomes
have no idleaof the value of the microphone and tele- precipitated under the same conditions. Partially disphone, and the public, before which these experiments solving indicates, of course, a mixture of both.
" A Short Table for Testing Sugar by Inversion " was
will be made in about cight days, will be greatly astonished to see those reports verified which it has hitherto the title of the third paper. It was also by Mr. Casataken for exaggerated descriptions of sanguine wvriters. major. Assuming that D the first deviation in a
Hall 9 contains chiefly electrical apparatus devoted to reading of a polariscope and D' the second, substractmedical purposes, and will be lighted by M6ritens, who ing them we have D + D'.
also has there exhibited the most of his special apparatus.
t = the temperature.
Hall io is dedicated to the exhibition and the light of
When a solution of pure sugar is ioo, the sum of the
the firm of " Sautter et Lemonnier"
two readings. will equal. I44. Making A equal to the

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