The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

THE PHONOSCOPE Batteries With the advent of the phonograph, the necessity of a storage battery adapted to this kind of work and a systematic means of keeping it charged, became apparent. This demand was at once met by the Storage Battery Supply Company, which began business in 1891, taking care of all the batteries used by the New York, New Jersey and later the North American Phonograph Companies, numbering in all over 400 machines. From the first, it was seen that the leakage of batteries then in use must be done away with. Experiments were made and many improvements introduced until now the limit seems to have been reached in their present type of cell. The many difficulties such as leakage, corrosion of connections and consequent loss of power have been done away with entirely. The batteries are hermetically sealed by a clamping device that prevents the leakage of acid yet allows the cover to be removed and replaced with ease. This is a feature of much merit as the entire interior of the cell is readily exposed. The connections are independent of the lead plates, and thus no creeping of acid or corrosion can take place. The plates used in these batteries are of elctrochemical formation, and the greatest durability, efficiency and ligntness are secured. The standard batteries are made up in handsome oak cases and present a different appearance to the leaking, corroded and stained cell sometimes seen. The Storage Battery Supply Company has its own charging plant, with every appliance for handling batteries and a large stock of cells for rental constantly on hand. It has a complete system of delivery by hand and wagon. This company does storage battery work of every description, including repair work. Their batteries for kinetoscope, carriage lighting, medical and general work of all kinds are highly recommended by all those who have used them. * * * Ifmitates tbe J IRinetoscope Novel Little Invention Which Shows Pictures in notion The vitascope, kinetoscope and cinematographe have justly been given a place among the wonders of the century, and they have afforded as wide a range of entertainment to both old and young as any of the remarkable inventions of the decade. Being essentially a fad of the hour, and widely popular, they have had their cheaper imitations It is not likely that there has been made as cheap an imitation of an expensive and intricate machine as the living photograph or minature kinetoscope, which seems to be a never ending source of amusement. Instead of the expensive long celluloid ribbon, with 2,000 or more pictures to every 50 yards, through which the strong incandescent light shines, throwing the pictures on the white canvas as rapidly as the ribbon is run in the larger vitascope, this toy is a collection of about 100 photographs of the same size, 1x1} inches, taken in the same way as the larger one — with the electric camera, which takes 43 photographs a minute — and printed on one end of a cardboard 2} inches long by 1} inches wide. The blank ends are fastened together securely and the picture ends left loose, so that by holding the pack firmly in one hand and drawing the thumb of the other across the top edge the pictures will flash before your eyes so rapidly as to have the appearance of being alive. popular Science How to Dodge Lightning Those who are actually afraid of lightning should place their chair iu the center of the room and get thier feet up off the floor, or place aluminum glass under their chair posts, which is a sure protection from the dangers of lightning stroke. Electricity is Safer Insurance company statistics prove that electric lighting, when the wiring is done in accordance with the rules prepared by them, is the safest of all illuminants. The figures show the following comparative-risks in one large city: Fires in one year from paraffin and kerosene, 259 ; from gas, 110 ; matches used for gas, 35 ; candles, 88 ; arc lights, 7, add incandescent lights, only 1. Stone and Steel An experiment, with a view to ascertaining the relative resistance, under pressure, of the hardest steel and the hardest stone, was recently made in Vienna. Small cubes of corundum and of the finest steel were subjected to the test. The corundum broke under the weight of six tons, but the steel resisted up to forty-two tons. The steel split up with a noise like the report of a gun, breaking into a powder and sending sparks in every direction, which bored their way into the machine like shot. Revolution of the Earth "One of the wonders of the Paris exposition," says a Paris paper, "will be a 300foot tower in which the scientists will experiment with a pendulum to ascertain if it is possible to detect or demonstrate the motion of the earth. A similar experiment was once made by Foucault under the cupalo of the pantheon, but the results were far from satisfactory. In the coming experiment the pendulum will be 350 feet in length, with a steel globe weighing 180 pounds at its end." The experiment was successfully made several years ago iu the old Chicago building. A Chinese Telegram Chinese is the only language that cannot be telegraphed, so a cipher system has been invented, by which message can be sent. The sender of the message need not bother himself about the meaning. He may telegraph all day without the slightest idea of the information he is sending, for he transmits onty numerals. It is very different with the receiver, however. He has a code dictionary at his elbow, and after each message is received he must translate it, writing each literary character iu the place of the numeral that stands for it. Only about an eighth of the words in the written language appear in the code, but there are enough of them for all practical purposes. Electricity Facts The editor of a periodical devoted to the news of electrical development frequently heard during the recent Electrical Exposition some wiseacre remark to the ladies in his escort: "All very wonderful, but still we must remember that electricity is still in its infancy." The editor, therefore, at the close of the exposition, sent letters to a Dumber of gentlemen who have spent a lifetime in the pursuit of electrical science, with the result that he has gathered some statistics that show that electricity is anything but an infant industry. It appears that there are not less than 65,000,000 telegraph messages sent in the United States every year. The number of telephonic conversations is 750,000,000. There are 2,700 central electric light stations and 7,000 isolated electric light plants in buildings of all kinds. These operate about 1,000,000 arc lights and 15,000,000 incandescents, as well as several hundred thousand .electric motors. The electric railways ofr this country reach 1,000, with 12,000 miles of track and 25,000 cars. It is estimated that directly afl<V indirectly some 2,500,000 persons, are interested in electricity as their livelihood and sustenance. Iftew Corporations A new phonograph company has been formed in New York under the title of The Universal Phonograph Company. This concern will evidently do a large business, as they intend to work in a field that has been heretofore neglected. It proposes to manufacture high-class records by celebrated artists of the vaudeville and dramatic stage. The company has already completed arrangements with Miss Lottie Gilson, Bonnie Thornton, Lottie Mortimer, Leona Lewis, Mr. Thornton, Johnny Carroll, Weber and Fields, Fields and Lewis, Sam Bernard, Sam Devere, etc., and as fast as rneritable records of these artists can be obtained they will be offered to the public. This departure is an excellent one as one of the serious drawbacks of the talking machine business has been the limited amount of talent employed. Records of popular successes would simply be more valuable if they were made by the authors themselves. The company has been formed by Jos. W. Stern & Co., who have secured the exclusive services of Mr. Russell Hunting, a genLeman whose record-making ability is known throughout the talking machine world. Jos. W. Stern & Co. are the well-known New York music publishers, who piloted into prominence such successes as "The Honeymoon," "Oriental Echoes," "Handicap" and "King Carnival" Marches , the ' ' Espanita ' ' Waltzes and such song hits as "Lost Child," " My Mother was a Lady," "Kathleen," "Sweet Rosie O'Grady," "His Last Thoughts Were of You," "Benches In the Park," "You Don't Have to Marry the Girl," "Grace O'Moore," " My Own Colleen," " Games We Used to Play," " Down In Poverty Row," " Don't Give Up the Old Love for the New, " " Elsie, From Chelsea," "You're Not the Only Pebble On the Beach," etc., etc. Patrons of the talking machine will surely be benefitted by having the latest metropolitan successes offered to them by the publishers who will furnish them records of celebrities. McDowell, Herrerich Company, of New York City, will manufacture and deal in automatic or coin controlled vending machines. Capital, $25,000. Directors : Charles H. McDowell, Henry W. Gerrerich and William H. Kliuker, New York. The National Fdiphone Company was incorporated at Chicago last month, capital stock, $1,000, to manufacture talking and musical instruments. Incorporators : William II . Hagans, John E. Mathews and Robert S. Miller. The Long Island Mutoscope Company filed articles of incorporation last month. The company is stocked for $500,000 and commenced business with $2,000. The objects of the company are the manufacture and sale of photographic and mutographic implements and appliances. The names and residences of the incorporators are : David W. Pye, Brooklyn; Lysander W. Lawrence, Brooklyn, and Edward Schroeder, Jersey City. Principal Office, Jersey City.