THE ELECTRIC ARCS

Artificial Light: Its Influence Upon Civilization by Matthew Luckiesh is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. THE ELECTRIC ARCS

IX. THE ELECTRIC ARCS

Early in 1800 Volta wrote a letter to the President of the Royal Society of London announcing the epochal discovery of a device now known as the voltaic pile. This letter was published in the Transactions and it created great excitement among scientific men, who immediately began active investigations of certain electrical phenomena. Volta showed that all metals could be arranged in a series so that each one would indicate a positive electric potential when in contact with any metal following it in the series. He constructed a pile of metal disks consisting of zinc and copper alternated and separated by wet cloths. At first he believed that mere contact was sufficient, but when, later, it was shown that chemical action took place, rapid progress was made in the construction of voltaic cells. The next step after his pile was constructed was to place pairs of strips of copper and zinc in cups containing water or dilute acid. Volta received many honors for his discovery, which contributed so much to the development of electrical science and art—among them a call to Paris by Bonaparte to exhibit his electrical experiments, and to receive a medal struck in his honor.

While Volta was being showered with honors, various scientific men with great enthusiasm were entering new fields of research, among which was the heating value of electric current and particularly of electric sparks made by breaking a circuit. Late in 1800 Sir Humphrey Davy was the first to use charcoal for the sparking points. In a lecture before the Royal Society in the following year he described and demonstrated that the "spark" passing between two pieces of charcoal was larger and more brilliant than between brass spheres. Apparently, he was producing a feeble arc, rather than a pure spark. In the years which immediately followed many scientific men in England, France, and Germany were publishing the results of their studies of electrical phenomena bordering upon the arc.

By subscription among the members of the Royal Society, a voltaic battery of two thousand cells was obtained and in 1808 Davy exhibited the electric arc on a large scale. It is difficult to judge from the reports of these early investigations who was the first to recognize the difference between the spark and the arc. Certainly the descriptions indicate that the simple spark was not being experimented with, but the source of electric current available at that time was of such high resistance that only feeble arcs could have been produced. In 1809 Davy demonstrated publicly an arc obtained by a current from a Volta pile of one thousand plates. This he described as "a most brilliant flame, of from half an inch to one and a quarter inches in length."

In the library of the Royal Society, Davy's notes made during the years of 1805 and 1812 are available in two large volumes. These were arranged and paged by Faraday, who was destined to contribute greatly to the future development of the science and art of electricity. In one of these volumes is found an account of a lecture-experiment by Davy which certainly is a description of the electric arc. An extract of this account is as follows:

The spark [presumably the arc], the light of which was so intense as to resemble that of the sun, ... produced a discharge through heated air nearly three inches in length, and of a dazzling splendor. Several bodies which had not been fused before were fused by this flame.... Charcoal was made to evaporate, and plumbago appeared to fuse in vacuo. Charcoal was ignited to intense whiteness by it in oxymuriatic acid, and volatilized by it, but without being decomposed.

From a consideration of his source of electricity, a voltaic pile of two thousand plates, it is certain that this could not have been an electric spark. Later in his notes Davy continued:

...the charcoal became ignited to whitness, and by withdrawing the points from each other, a constant discharge took place through the heated air, in a space at least equal to four inches, producing a most brilliant ascending arch of light, broad and conical in form in the middle.

This is surely a description of the electric arc. Apparently the electrodes were in a horizontal position and the arc therefore was horizontal. Owing to the rise of the heated air, the arc tended to rise in the form of an arch. From this appearance the term "arc" evolved and Davy himself in 1820 definitely named the electric flame, the "arc." This name was continued in use even after the two carbons were arranged in a vertical co-axial position and the arc no more "arched." An interesting scientific event of 1820 was the discovery by Arago and by Davy independently that the arc could be deflected by a magnet and that it was similar to a wire carrying current in that there was a magnetic field around it. This has been taken advantage of in certain modern arc-lamps in which inclined carbons are used. In these arcs a magnet keeps the arc in place, for without the magnet the arc would tend to climb up the carbons and go out.

In 1838 Gassiot made the discovery that the temperature of the positive electrode of an electric arc is much greater than that of the negative electrode. This is explained in electronic theory by the bombardment of the positive electrode by negative electrons or corpuscles of electricity. This temperature-difference was later taken into account in designing direct-current arc-lamps, for inasmuch as most of the light from an ordinary arc is emitted by the end of the positive electrode, this was placed above the negative electrode. In this manner most of the light from the arc is directed downward where desired. In the few instances in modern times where the ordinary direct-current arc has been used for indirect lighting, in which case the arc is above an inverted shade, the positive carbon is placed below the negative one. Gassiot first proved that the positive electrode is hotter than the negative one by striking an arc between the ends of two horizontal wires of the same substance and diameter. After the arc operated for some time, the positive wire was melted for such a distance that it bent downward, but the negative remained quite straight.

Charcoal was used for the electrodes in all the early experiments, but owing to the intense heat of the arc, it burned away rapidly. A progressive step was made in 1843 when electrodes were first made by Foucault from the carbon deposited in retorts in which coal was distilled in the production of coal-gas. However, charcoal, owing to its soft porous character, gives a longer arc and a larger flame. In 1877 the "cored" carbons were introduced. These consist of hard molded carbon rods in which there is a core of soft carbon. In these are combined the advantages of charcoal and hard carbon and the core in burning away more rapidly has a tendency to hold the arc in the center. Modern carbons for ordinary arc-lamps are generally made of a mixture of retort-carbon, soot, and coal-tar. This paste is forced through dies and the carbons are baked at a fairly high temperature. A variation in the hardness of the carbons may be obtained as the requirements demand by varying the proportions of soot and retort-carbon. Cored carbons are made by inserting a small rod in the center of the die and the carbons are formed with a hollow core. This may be filled with a softer carbon.

If two carbons connected to a source of electric current are brought together, the circuit is completed and a current flows. If the two carbons are now slightly separated, an arc will be formed. As the arc burns the carbons waste away and in the case of direct current, the positive decreases in length more rapidly than the negative one. This is due largely to the extremely high temperature of the positive tip, where the carbon fairly boils. A crater is formed at the positive tip and this is always characteristic of the positive carbon of the ordinary arc, although it becomes more shallow as the arc-length is increased. The negative tip has a bright spot to which one end of the arc is attached. By wasting away, the length of the arc increases and likewise its resistance, until finally insufficient current will pass to maintain the arc. It then goes out and to start it the carbons must be brought together and separated. The mechanisms of modern arc-lamps perform these functions automatically by the ingenious use of electromagnets.

The interior of the arc is of a violet color and the exterior is a greenish yellow. The white-hot spot on the negative tip is generally surrounded by a fringe of agitated globules which consist of tar and other ingredients of carbons. Often material is deposited from the positive crater upon the negative tip and these accretions may build up a rounded tip. This deposit sometimes interferes with the proper formation of the arc and also with the light from the arc. It is often responsible for the hissing noise, although this hissing occurs with any length of arc when the current is sufficiently increased. The hissing seems to be due to the crater enlarging under excessive current until it passes the confines of the cross-section of the carbon. It thus tends to run up the side, where it comes in contact with oxygen of the air. In this manner the carbon is directly burned instead of being vaporized, as it is when the hot crater is small and is protected from the air by the arc itself. The temperature of the positive crater is in the neighborhood of 6000° to 7000°F. The brightness of the arc under pressure is the greatest produced by artificial means and is very intense. By putting the arc under high pressure, the brightness of the sun may be attained. The temperature of the hottest spot on the negative tip is about a thousand degrees below that of the positive.

No great demand arose for arc-lamps until the development of the Gramme dynamo in 1870, which provided a practicable source of electric current. In 1876 Jablochkov invented his famous "electric candle" consisting of two rods of carbon placed side by side but separated by insulating material. In this country Brush was the pioneer in the development of open arc-lamps. In 1877 he invented an arc-lamp and an efficient form of dynamo to supply the electrical energy. The first arc-lamps were ordinary direct-current open arcs and the carbons were made from high-grade coke, lampblack, and syrup. The upper positive carbon in these lamps is consumed at a rate of one to two inches per hour. Inasmuch as about 85 per cent. of the total light is emitted by the upper (positive) carbon and most of this from the crater, the lower carbon is made as small as possible in order not to obstruct any more light than necessary. The positive carbon of the open arc is often cored and the negative is a smaller one of solid carbon. This combination operates quite satisfactorily, but sometimes solid carbons are used outdoors. The voltage across the arc is about 50 volts.

In 1846 Staite discovered that the carbons of an arc enclosed in a glass vessel into which the air was not freely admitted were consumed less rapidly than when the arc operated in the open air. After the appearance of the dynamo, when increased attention was given to the development of arc-lamps, this principle of enclosing the arcs was again considered. The early attempts in about 1880 were unsuccessful because low voltages were used and it was not until the discovery was made that the negative tip builds up considerably for voltages under 65 volts, that higher voltages were employed. In 1893 marked improvements were consummated and Jandus brought out a successful enclosed arc operating at 80 volts. Marks contributed largely to the success of the enclosed arc by showing that a small current and a high voltage of 80 to 85 volts were the requisites for a satisfactory enclosed arc.

The principle of the enclosed arc is simple. A closely fitting glass globe surrounds the arc, the fit being as close as the feeding of the carbons will permit. When the arc is struck the oxygen is rapidly consumed and the heated gases and the enclosure check the supply of fresh air. The result is that the carbons are consumed about one tenth as rapidly as in the open arc. There is no crater formed on the positive tip and the arc wanders considerably. The efficiency of the enclosed arc as a light-producer is lower than that of the open arc, but it found favor because of its slow rate of consumption of the carbons and consequent decreased attention necessary. This arc operates a hundred hours or more without trimming, and will therefore operate a week or more in street-lighting without attention. When it is considered that open arcs for all-night burning were supplied with two pairs of carbons, the second set going into use automatically when the first were consumed, the value of the enclosed arc is apparent. However, the open arc has served well and has given way to greater improvements. It is rapidly disappearing from use.

The alternating-current arc-lamp was developed after the appearance of the direct-current open-arc and has been widely used. It has no positive or negative carbons, for the alternating current is reversing in direction usually at the rate of 120 times per second; that is, it passes through 60 complete cycles during each second. No marked craters form on the tips and the two carbons are consumed at about the same rate. The average temperature of the carbon tips is lower than that of the positive tip of a direct-current arc, with the result that the luminous efficiency is lower. These arcs have been made of both the open and enclosed type. They are characterized by a humming noise due to the effect of alternating current upon the mechanism and also upon the air near the arc. This humming sound is quite different from the occasional hissing of a direct-current arc. When soft carbons are used, the arc is larger and apparently this mass of vapor reduces the humming considerably. The humming is not very apparent for the enclosed alternating-current arc. The alternating arc can easily be detected by closely observing moving objects. If a pencil or coin be moved rapidly, a number of images appear which are due to the pulsating character of the light. At each reversal of the current, the current reaches zero value and the arc is virtually extinguished. Therefore, there is a maximum brightness midway between the reversals.

Various types of all these arcs have been developed to meet the different requirements of ordinary lighting and to adapt this method of light-production to the needs of projection, stage-equipment, lighthouses, search-lights, and other applications.

Up to this point the ordinary carbon arc has been considered and it has been seen that most of the light is emitted by the glowing end of the positive carbon. In fact, the light from the arc itself is negligible. A logical step in the development of the arc-lamp was to introduce salts in order to obtain a luminous flame. This possibility as applied to ordinary gas-flames had been known for years and it is surprising that it had not been early applied to carbons. Apparently Bremer in 1898 was the first to introduce fluorides of calcium, barium, and strontium. The salts deflagrate and a luminous flame envelops the ordinary feeble arc-flame. From these arcs most of the light is emitted by the arc itself, hence the name "flame-arcs."

By the introduction of metallic salts into the carbons the possibilities of the arc-lamp were greatly extended. The luminous output of such lamps is much greater than that of an ordinary carbon arc using the same amount of electrical energy. Furthermore, the color or spectral character of the light may be varied through a wide range by the use of various salts. For example, if carbons are impregnated with calcium fluoride, the arc-flame when examined by means of a spectroscope will be seen to contain the characteristic spectrum of calcium, namely, some green, orange, and red rays. These combine to give to this arc a very yellow color. As explained in a previous chapter, the salts for this purpose may be wisely chosen from a knowledge of their fundamental or characteristic flame-spectra.

These lamps have been developed to meet a variety of needs and their luminous efficiencies range from 20 to 40 lumens per watt, being several times that of the ordinary carbon open-arc. The red flame-arc owes its color chiefly to strontium, whose characteristic visible spectrum consists chiefly of red and yellow rays. Barium gives to the arc a fairly white color. The yellow and so-called white flame-arcs have been most commonly used. Flame-arcs have been produced which are close to daylight in color, and powerful blue-white flame-arcs have satisfied the needs of various chemical industries and photographic processes. These arcs are generally operated in a space where the air-supply is restricted similar to the enclosed-arc principle. Inasmuch as poisonous fumes are emitted in large quantities from some flame-arcs, they are not used indoors without rather generous ventilation. In fact, the flame-arcs are such powerful light-sources that they are almost entirely used outdoors or in very large interiors especially of the type of open factory buildings. They are made for both direct and alternating current and the mechanisms have been of several types. The electrodes are consumed rather rapidly so they are made as long as possible. In one type of arc, the carbons are both fed downward, their lower ends forming a narrow V with the arc-flame between their tips. Under these conditions the arc tends to travel vertically and finally to "stretch" itself to extinction. However, the arc is kept in place by means of a magnet above it which repels the arc and holds it at the ends of the carbons.

The chief objection to the early flame-arcs was the necessity for frequent renewal of the carbons. This was overcome to a large extent in the Jandus regenerative lamp in which the arc operates in a glass enclosure surrounded by an opal globe. However, in addition to the inner glass enclosure, two cooling chambers of metal are attached to it. Air enters at the bottom and the fumes from the arc pass upward and into the cooling chambers, where the solid products are deposited. The air on returning to the bottom is thus relieved of these solids and the inner glass enclosure remains fairly clean. The lower carbon is impregnated with salts for producing the luminous flame and the upper carbon is cored. The life of the electrodes is about seventy-five hours.

The next step was the introduction of the so-called "luminous-arc" which is a "flame-arc" with entirely different electrodes. The lower (negative) electrode consists of an iron tube packed chiefly with magnetite (an iron oxide) and titanium oxide in the approximate proportions of three to one respectively. The magnetite is a conductor of electricity which is easily vaporized. The arc-flame is large and the titanium gives it a high brilliancy. The positive electrode, usually the upper one, is a short, thick, solid cylinder of copper, which is consumed very slowly. This lamp, known as the magnetite-arc, has a luminous efficiency of about 20 lumens per watt with a clear glass globe.

The mechanisms which strike the arc and feed the carbons are ingenious devices of many designs depending upon the kind of arc and upon the character of the electric circuit to which it is connected. Late developments in electric incandescent filament lamps have usurped some of the fields in which the arc-lamp reigned supreme for years and its future does not appear as bright now as it did ten years ago. High-intensity arcs have been devised with small carbons for special purposes and considered as a whole a great amount of ingenuity has been expended in the development of arc-lamps. There will be a continued demand for arc-lamps, for scientific developments are opening new fields for them. Their value in photo-engraving, in the moving-picture production studios, in moving-picture projection, and in certain aspects of stage-lighting is firmly established, and it appears that they will find application in certain chemical industries because the arc is a powerful source of radiant energy which is very active in its effects upon chemical reactions.

The luminous efficiencies of arc-lamps depend upon so many conditions that it is difficult to present a concise comparison; however, the following may suffice to show the ranges of luminous output per watt under actual conditions of usage. These efficiencies, of course, are less than the efficiencies of the arc alone, because the losses in the mechanism, globes, etc., are included.

Another lamp differing widely in appearance from the preceding arcs may be described here because it is known as the mercury-arc. In this lamp mercury is confined in a transparent tube and an arc is started by making and breaking a mercury connection between the two electrodes. The arc may be maintained of a length of several feet. Perhaps the first mercury-arc was produced in 1860 by Way, who permitted a fine jet of mercury to fall from a reservoir into a vessel, the reservoir and receiver being connected to the poles of a battery. The electric current scattered the jet and between the drops arcs were formed. He exhibited this novel light-source on the mast of a yacht and it received great attention. Later, various investigators experimented on the production of a mercury-arc and the first successful ones were made in the form of an inverted U-tube with the ends filled with mercury and the remainder of the tube exhausted.

Cooper Hewitt was a successful pioneer in the production of practicable mercury-arcs. He made them chiefly in the form of straight tubes of glass up to several feet in length, with enlarged ends to facilitate cooling. The tubes are inclined so that the mercury vapor which condenses will run back into the enlarged end, where a pool of mercury forms the negative electrode. The arc may be started by tilting the tube so that a mercury thread runs down the side and connects with the positive electrode of iron. The heat of the arc volatilizes the mercury so that an arc of considerable length is maintained. The tilting is done by electromagnets. Starting has also been accomplished by means of a heating coil and also by an electric spark. The lamps are stabilized by resistance and inductance coils.

One of the defects of the light emitted by the incandescent vapor of mercury is its paucity of spectral colors. Its visible spectrum consists chiefly of violet, blue, green, and yellow rays. It emits virtually no red rays, and, therefore, red objects appear devoid of red. The human face appears ghastly under this light and it distorts colors in general. However, it possesses the advantages of high efficiency, of reasonably low brightness, of high actinic value, and of revealing detail clearly. Various attempts have been made to improve the color of the light by adding red rays. Reflectors of a fluorescent red dye have been used with some success, but such a method reduces the luminous efficiency of the lamp considerably. The dye fluoresces red under the illumination of ultra-violet, violet, and blue rays; that is, it has the property of converting radiation of these wave-lengths into radiant energy of longer wave-lengths. By the use of electric incandescent filament lamps in conjunction with mercury-arcs, a fairly satisfactory light is obtained. Many experiments have been made by adding other substances to the mercury, such as zinc, with the hope that the spectrum of the other substance would compensate the defects in the mercury spectrum. However no success has been reached in this direction.

By the use of a quartz tube which can withstand a much higher temperature than glass, the current density can be greatly increased. Thus a small quartz tube of incandescent mercury vapor will emit as much light as a long glass tube. The quartz mercury-arc produces a light which is almost white, but the actual spectrum is very different from that of white sunlight. Although some red rays are emitted by the quartz arc, its spectrum is essentially the same as that of the glass-tube arc. Quartz transmits ultra-violet radiation, which is harmful to the eyes, and inasmuch as the mercury vapor emits such rays, a glass globe should be used to enclose the quartz tube when the lamp is used for ordinary lighting purposes.

It is fortunate that such radically different kinds of light-sources are available, for in the complex activities of the present time all are in demand. The quartz mercury-arc finds many isolated uses, owing to its wealth of ultra-violet radiation. It is valuable as a source of ultra-violet for exciting phosphorescence, for examining the transmission of glasses for this radiation, for sterilizing water, for medical purposes, and for photography.

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