Inventing A Complete System Of Lighting - 2

  Inventing A Complete System Of Lighting - 2

 The lighting system that Edison contemplated in this entirely new departure from

antecedent methods included the generation of electrical energy, or current, on a very

large scale; its distribution throughout extended areas, and its division and subdivision

into small units converted into light at innumerable points in every direction from the

source of supply, each unit to be independent of every oth- er and susceptible to

immediate control by the user.

This was truly an altogether prodigious undertaking. We need not wonder that Professor

Tyndall, in words implying grave doubt as to the possibility of any solution of the various

problems, said publicly that he would much rather have the matter in Edison's hands than

in his own. There were no precedents, nothing upon which to build or improve. The

problems could only be answered by the creation of new devices and methods expressly

worked out for their solution. An electric lamp answering certain specific requirements

would, indeed, be the key to the situation, but its commercial adaptation required a

multifarious variety of apparatus and devices. The word "system" is much abused in

invention, and during the early days of electric lighting its use applied to a mere freakish

lamp or dynamo was often ludicrous. But, after all, nothing short of a complete system

could give real value to the lamp as an invention; nothing short of a system could body

forth the new art to the public. Let us therefore set down briefly a few of the leading

items needed for perfect illumination by electricity, all of which were part of the Edison

programme:

First--To conceive a broad and fundamentally correct method of distributing the current,

satisfactory in a scientific sense and practical commercially in its efficiency and

economy. This meant, ready made, a comprehensive plan analogous to illumination by

gas, with a network of conductors all connected together, so that in any given city area

the lights could be fed with electricity from several directions, thus eliminating any

interruption due to the disturbance on any particular section.

Second--To devise an electric lamp that would give about the same amount of light as a

gas jet, which custom had proven to be a suitable and useful unit. This lamp must possess

the quality of requiring only a small investment in the copper conductors reaching it.

Each lamp must be independent of every other lamp. Each and all the lights must be

produced and operated with sufficient economy to compete on a commercial basis with

gas. The lamp must be durable, capable of being easily and safely handled by the public,

and one that would remain capable of burning at full incandescence and candle-power a

great length of time.

Third--To devise means whereby the amount of electrical energy furnished to each and

every customer could be determined, as in the case of gas, and so that this could be done

cheaply and reliably by a meter at the customer's premises.