The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

156 THE LOCOMOTIVE. [October.
in amount than that upon which the nineteenth century fed, and grew, and flourished.
Their availability must determine their usefulness, and their development is already the
subject of much experimental research.
The application of electricity to the transmission and to the storage of energy has
quite altered the power problem, and it has been especially important in bringing about
a revival of interest in those long known sources, — the earliest of the non-muscular,
water power and wind power. When it becomes possible to store energy cheaply and to
hold it without loss, wind power will assume a high rank. The total quantity of it is
enormous; in a sense it is "current supply," and not a draft upon a limited stock; it is
more generally distributed than water power, compared to which it possesses many
advantages.
Just now much attention is given to the development of water power, from which
hitherto existing restrictions as to use in the immediate neighborhood of the waterfall
have been removed in large measure by electric transmission. There is every reason to
believe that in the near future economical transmission through hundreds of mile^ of
wire will be possible, and in this way water power may shortly become, as, indeed, it
already is in some degree, an active competitor of fuel.
But even if this be accomplished, it is tolerably certain that the total energy of fall-
ing water will be inadequate to the demands which must be met. The most famous
water power of the world is Niagara Falls, over which about 18,000,000 cubic feet of
water pass every minute, the equivalent horse-power being about 5,000,000. Remember-
ing that this goes on day and night, it is easy to see that this is equal to about
80,000,000 of men working ten hours each day. a number greater than the entire popula-
tion of the United States. Of course, it is very unlikely that any very large proportion
of this power will ever be actually made available; at present about two per cent, of it
is being used, but if it were all consumed it would be equal to only about one-twelfth
of the present power supply from the coal mines of the United States alone. Almost
invariably water power is subject to meteorological conditions to such an extent that it
is, in a way, even more unsteady and unreliable than wind, and some system of storage,
more perfect than any now in use, will lie absolutely essential to the development of its
highest efficiency.
It is almost certain, therefore, that it will be necessary to turn to storehouses of
energy not hitherto made use of, or, if at all, only in a very limited and tentative way.
One of the first of these to be thought of, because oftenest talked about and already
tried in a small way, is the heat received directly from the sun. Many inventors have
been sanguine of success along this line, but thus far little lias been accomplished. The
amount of radiant energy reaching the earth from the sun is enormously large, approximating
a million times the present product of fuel combustion, and it may be expected
to continue without sensible change for a practically indefinite period. But in avail-
ability it ranks very low, being especially affected by geographical localization and
meteorological conditions. It is greatly diffused, and even with ideally perfect collectors
only a very small part of the total amount could ever be converted into work. Under
present conditions it is not worth considering as a possible source of power.
Much more promising is the great tidal movement of the ocean, a species of water
power, although originating in a source very different from that of the ordinary water-
fall. For hundreds of years occasional use of tidal power has been made, but with the
prospect of the exhaustion of fuel supplies, the possibility of electric power transmission,
and especially in view of the rapidly growing demand, its use in a large way must.
before long, be seriously considered.
—