Besides, we have been
enabled to put out even eight or ten lights together instantly, while
the remainder burn as before. The features above set forth are
peculiar to the Thomson-Houston system, and have been thoroughly
covered by patents, and cannot therefore be adopted into other
systems.
THE THOMSON ARC LAMP.
This lamp is essentially a series lamp; that is, any number of them
can be put on one circuit wire, but a single lamp, used alone, burns
equally well. It consists of a metal frame supporting at the bottom
the holder for the globe and lower carbon, which is insulated from the
frame.
The annexed figure of the plain lamp will convey an understanding of
its general appearance. The upper carbon is fed downward by the
mechanism contained in the box above, and is carried by a vertical
round rod called the carbon holding rod.
[Illustration: THE THOMSON ARC LAMP.]
In the regulating box of the lamp there exists a simple mechanism, the
result of careful study and experiment to discover the best and
simplest combination of appliances, which would obviate the necessity
for the use of clockwork or dash-pots, from which fluids might be
accidentally spilled, for obtaining a gradual feeding of the carbon as
fast as it is consumed in producing the light, and at the same time to
maintain the arc or space between the carbons in burning, of such
extent as to give a steady, noiseless light, of greatest possible
economy.
The lamp, once adjusted, does not require any readjustment, and, in
fact, is built in such a manner as to avoid the presence of adjusting
devices in it.
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