WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
MCMX
Copyright, 1910, by Harper & Brothers
Published November, 1910.
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
[CHAPTER I]
THE AGE OF ARCHIMEDES
Archimedes the first great inventor.—The battle of Syracuse.—Archimedes' principle.—Inventions of the ancient Greeks Page 1
[CHAPTER II]
THE AGE OF GALILEO
Galileo and the battle for truth.—The pendulum clock.—Galileo's experiment with falling shot.—The telescope.—Galileo's struggle.—Torricelli and the barometer.—Otto von Guericke and the air-pump.—Robert Boyle and the pressure of air and steam.—Pascal and the hydraulic press.—Newton.—Gravitation.—Colors in sunlight Page 9
[CHAPTER III]
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
James Watt and the steam-engine.—The first steam-engine with a piston.—Newcomen's engine.—Watt's engine.—Horse-power of an engine.—The Leyden jar.—Conductors and insulators.—Two kinds of electric charge.—Franklin's kite experiment.—The lightning-rod.—Galvani and the electric current.—Volta and the electric battery Page 34
[CHAPTER IV]
FARADAY AND THE FIRST DYNAMO
Count Rumford.—Count Rumford's experiment with the cannon.—Davy.—Faraday's electrical discoveries.—Oersted and electromagnetism.—Ampère.—Arago.—Faraday's first electric motor.—An electric current produced by a magnet.—Detecting and measuring an electric current.—An electric current produced by the magnetic field of another current.—Faraday's dynamo.—A wonderful law of nature Page 55
[CHAPTER V]
GREAT INVENTIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Electric batteries.—The dry battery.—The storage battery.—The dynamo.—Siemens' dynamo.—The drum armature.—Edison's compound-wound dynamo.—Electric power.—The first electric railway.—Electric lighting.—The telegraph.—Duplex telegraphy.—The telephone.—The phonograph.—Gas-engines.—The steam locomotive.—How a locomotive works.—The turbine Page 88
[CHAPTER VI]
THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY OUTLOOK
Air-ships.—The aeroplane.—How the Wright aeroplane is kept afloat.—Submarines.—Some spinning tops that are useful.—The monorail-car.—Liquid air and the greatest cold.—The electric furnace and the greatest heat.—The wireless telegraph.—The wireless telephone.—Wonders of the alternating current.—X-rays and radium Page 173
[APPENDIX]
Brief notes on important inventions Page 237
[Index] Page 247
ILLUSTRATIONS
| FIG. | PAGE |
| MARCONI WIRELESS-TELEGRAPH STATION, CLIFDEN, IRELAND | [Frontispiece] |
| THE SAME STATION PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAYLIGHT | |
| [1]–THE BATTLE OF SYRACUSE | 3 |
| [2]–GALILEO'S PENDULUM CLOCK | 11 |
| [3]–AN AIR THERMOMETER | 14 |
| [4]–TORRICELLI'S EXPERIMENT | 19 |
| [5]–GUERICKE'S AIR-PUMP | 22 |
| [6]–GUERICKE'S WATER BAROMETER | 24 |
| [7]–A LIFT-PUMP | 25 |
| [8]–A SIMPLE HYDRAULIC PRESS | 26 |
| [9]–HOW AN HYDRAULIC PRESS WORKS | 28 |
| [10]–AN HYDRAULIC PRESS WITH BELT-DRIVEN PUMP | 29 |
| [11]–NEWTON'S EXPERIMENT WITH THE PRISM | 32 |
| [12]–PAPIN'S ENGINE | 36 |
| [13]–THE NEWCOMEN ENGINE, IN REPAIRING WHICH WATT WAS LED TO HIS GREAT DISCOVERIES | 39 |
| [14]–CYLINDER OF WATT'S STEAM-ENGINE | 41 |
| [15]–A FLY-BALL GOVERNOR | 42 |
| [16]–A LEYDEN JAR | 43 |
| [17]–FRANKLIN'S KITE EXPERIMENT | 47 |
| [18]–VOLTA EXPLAINING HIS ELECTRIC BATTERY TO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE | 52 |
| [19]–THE FIRST ELECTRIC BATTERY | 54 |
| [20]–COUNT RUMFORD'S EXPERIMENT WITH THE CANNON, MAKING WATER BOIL WITHOUT FIRE | 60 |
| [21]–OERSTED'S EXPERIMENT | 66 |
| [22]–A COIL WITH A CURRENT FLOWING THROUGH IT ACTS LIKE A MAGNET | 67 |
| [23]–A BAR OF SOFT IRON WITH A CURRENT FLOWING AROUND IT BECOMES A MAGNET | 67 |
| [24]–TWO COILS WITH CURRENTS FLOWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION ATTRACT EACH OTHER | 68 |
| [25]–TWO COILS WITH CURRENTS FLOWING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS REPEL EACH OTHER | 68 |
| [26]–ARAGO'S EXPERIMENT | 70 |
| [27]–ONE POLE OF A MAGNET SPINS ROUND A WIRE THROUGH WHICH AN ELECTRIC CURRENT FLOWS | 71 |
| [28]–WHEN A MAGNET IS THRUST INTO A COIL OF WIRE IT CAUSES A CURRENT TO FLOW IN THE COIL, BUT THE CURRENT FLOWS ONLY WHILE THE MAGNET IS MOVING | 73 |
| [29]–A COIL OF WIRE AROUND A COMPASS-NEEDLE | 74 |
| [30]–FARADAY'S INDUCTION-COIL | 76 |
| [31]–HISTORICAL APPARATUS OF FARADAY IN THE ROYAL INSTITUTION 77 | |
| [32]–FARADAY'S FIRST DYNAMO | 78 |
| [33]–FARADAY'S LABORATORY, WHERE THE FIRST DYNAMO WAS MADE | 79 |
| [34]–THE FIRST TRANSFORMER | 80 |
| [35]–THE "MAGNETIC FIELD" IS THE SPACE AROUND A MAGNET IN WHICH IT WILL ATTRACT IRON | 81 |
| [36]–MAGNETIC FIELD OF A HORSESHOE MAGNET | 81 |
| [37]–A DANIELL CELL | 90 |
| [38]–A GRAVITY CELL | 91 |
| [39]–SHOWING WHAT IS IN A DRY BATTERY | 92 |
| [40]–A STORAGE BATTERY, SHOWING THE "GRIDS" | 94 |
| [41]–A STORAGE-BATTERY PLATE MADE FROM A SHEET OF LEAD | 95 |
| [42]–STURGEON'S ELECTROMAGNET | 97 |
| [43]–AN ELECTROMAGNET WITH MANY TURNS OF INSULATED WIRE | 98 |
| [44]–AN ELECTROMAGNET LIFTING TWELVE TONS OF IRON | 99 |
| [45]–A DYNAMO WITH SIEMENS' ARMATURE | 101 |
| [46]–RING ARMATURE | 102 |
| [47]–FIRST DYNAMO PATENTED IN THE UNITED STATES | 103 |
| [48]–A DRUM ARMATURE, SHOWING HOW AN ARMATURE OF FOUR COILS IS WOUND | 104 |
| [49]–A SERIES-WOUND DYNAMO | 106 |
| [50]–A SHUNT-WOUND DYNAMO | 107 |
| [51]–A COMPOUND-WOUND DYNAMO | 108 |
| [52]–ONE OF EDISON'S FIRST DYNAMOS | 109 |
| [53]–A DYNAMO MOUNTED ON THE TRUCK OF A RAILWAY CAR | 110 |
| [54]–FIRST ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE | 113 |
| [55]–FIRST EDISON ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE | 115 |
| [56]–EDISON'S FIRST PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE | 117 |
| [57]–FIRST COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC RAILWAY | 119 |
| [58]–EDISON, AMERICA'S GREATEST INVENTOR, AT WORK IN HIS LABORATORY | 122 |
| [59]–EDISON'S FAMOUS HORSESHOE PAPER-FILAMENT LAMP OF 1870 | 123 |
| [60]–FIRST COMMERCIAL EDISON ELECTRIC-LIGHTING PLANT; INSTALLED ON THE STEAMSHIP "COLUMBIA" IN MAY, 1880 | 125 |
| [61]–A TELEGRAPH SOUNDER | 129 |
| [62]–MORSE'S FIRST TELEGRAPH INSTRUMENT | 131 |
| [63]–A TELEGRAPHIC CIRCUIT WITH RELAY AND SOUNDER | 132 |
| [64]–A SIMPLE TELEGRAPHIC CIRCUIT | 133 |
| [65]–FIRST TELEGRAPH INSTRUMENT USED FOR COMMERCIAL WORK | 135 |
| [66]–HOW TWO MESSAGES ARE SENT OVER ONE WIRE AT THE SAME TIME | 137 |
| [67]–HOW TWO MESSAGES ARE SENT OVER ONE WIRE AT THE SAME TIME. BRIDGE METHOD | 139 |
| [68]–FIRST BELL TELEPHONE RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER | 142 |
| [69]–A TELEPHONE RECEIVER | 143 |
| [70]–TWO RECEIVERS USED AS A COMPLETE TELEPHONE | 145 |
| [71]–CARBON-DUST TRANSMITTER | 146 |
| [72]–THE PHONAUTOGRAPH, A FORERUNNER OF THE PHONOGRAPH | 149 |
| [73]–EDISON'S FIRST PHONOGRAPH AND A MODERN INSTRUMENT | 150 |
| [74 to 77]–THE FOUR-CYCLE GAS-ENGINE | 152 |
| [78]–TWO-CYCLE GAS-ENGINE. CRANK AND CONNECTING-ROD ARE ENCLOSED WITH THE PISTON | 154 |
| [79]–SELDEN "EXPLOSION BUGGY," FORERUNNER OF THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE | 155 |
| [80]–SOME EARLY LOCOMOTIVES | 158 |
| [81]–HOW A LOCOMOTIVE WORKS | 161 |
| [82]–HERO'S ENGINE | 164 |
| [83]–AN UNDERSHOT WATER-WHEEL WITH CURVED BLADES | 165 |
| [84]–AN OVERSHOT WATER-WHEEL | 166 |
| [85]–DE LAVAL STEAM-TURBINE | 167 |
| [86]–A MODERN STEAM-TURBINE WITH TOP CASING RAISED SHOWING BLADES | 168 |
| [87]–DIAGRAM OF TURBINE SHOWN IN FIG. 86 | 169 |
| [88]–A STEAM-TURBINE THAT RUNS A DYNAMO GENERATING 14,000 ELECTRICAL HORSE-POWER | 170 |
| [89]–BRITISH ARMY AIR-SHIP "NULLI SECUNDUS" READY FOR FLIGHT | 176 |
| [90]–BASKET, MOTOR, AND PROPELLER OF THE BRITISH ARMY AIR-SHIP "NULLI SECUNDUS" | 178 |
| [91]–A ZEPPELIN AIR-SHIP | 181 |
| [92]–COUNT ZEPPELIN'S "DEUTSCHLAND," THE FIRST AIR-SHIP IN REGULAR PASSENGER SERVICE | 182 |
| [93]–THE BALDWIN AIR-SHIP USED IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY | 183 |
| [94]–IN FULL FLIGHT | 185 |
| [95]–WRIGHT AIR-SHIP IN FLIGHT | 187 |
| [96]–HOW THE WRIGHT AIR-SHIP IS KEPT AFLOAT | 189 |
| [97]–THE SEAT AND MOTOR OF THE WRIGHT AEROPLANE | 191 |
| [98]–THE BLÉRIOT MONOPLANE | 192 |
| [99]–THE "PLUNGER" | 195 |
| [100]–U. S. SUBMARINE "SHARK" READY FOR A DIVE | 197 |
| [101]–FIRST SUBMARINE CONSTRUCTED IN THE UNITED STATES. IT WENT TO THE BOTTOM WITH SEVEN MEN, WHO WERE DROWNED | 198 |
| [102]–HOW MEN IN A SUBMARINE SEE WHEN UNDER THE WATER | 199 |
| [103]–A TOP THAT SPINS ON A STRING | 200 |
| [104]–A CAR THAT RUNS ON ONE RAIL | 202 |
| [105]–MANUFACTURING DIAMONDS—FIRST OPERATION | 207 |
| [106]–MANUFACTURING DIAMONDS—SECOND OPERATION | 209 |
| [107]–MANUFACTURING DIAMONDS—THIRD OPERATION | 211 |
| [108]–MARCONI AND HIS WIRELESS-TELEGRAPH SENDING AND RECEIVING INSTRUMENTS | 215 |
| [109]–DIAGRAM OF WIRELESS-TELEGRAPH SENDING APPARATUS | 217 |
| [110]–DIAGRAM OF MARCONI WIRELESS-TELEGRAPH RECEIVING APPARATUS | 218 |
| [111]–RECEIVER OF BELL'S PHOTOPHONE | 223 |
| [112]–A GAS FLAME IS SENSITIVE TO ELECTRIC WAVES | 224 |
| [113]–CAPTAIN INGERSOLL ON BOARD THE U. S. BATTLE-SHIP "CONNECTICUT" USING THE WIRELESS TELEPHONE | 226 |
| [114]–INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP LIGHTED THOUGH NOT CONNECTED TO ANY BATTERY OR DYNAMO | 229 |
| [115]–AN ELECTRIC DISCHARGE AT A PRESSURE OF 12,000,000 VOLTS, A CURRENT OF 800 AMPERES IN THE SECONDARY COIL | 230 |
| [116]–AN ELECTRIC DISCHARGE SIXTY-FIVE FEET IN LENGTH | 231 |
| [117]–A PHYSICIAN EXAMINING THE BONES OF THE ARM BY MEANS OF X-RAYS | 233 |
| [118]–X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EYE | 234 |
| [119]–PHOTOGRAPH MADE WITH RADIUM | 235 |