. Bulletin. Science. Leon Foucault initiated progress toward a solution in 1844 with his photometric studies on the radiation from a carbon arc. He discovered that an electrode that was consumed more uniformly and more slowly than charcoal could be made from the hard carbo- naceous deposit formed in coke retorts. He then set to work to devise an automatic regulator for the arc, but, in 1848, he was surprised to read that W. Edward Staite of London had applied for a patent on a regu- lator that appeared to be based on the same principle as his.^ Upon invitation by Foucault, a committee from the
. Bulletin. Science. Leon Foucault initiated progress toward a solution in 1844 with his photometric studies on the radiation from a carbon arc. He discovered that an electrode that was consumed more uniformly and more slowly than charcoal could be made from the hard carbo- naceous deposit formed in coke retorts. He then set to work to devise an automatic regulator for the arc, but, in 1848, he was surprised to read that W. Edward Staite of London had applied for a patent on a regu- lator that appeared to be based on the same principle as his.^ Upon invitation by Foucault, a committee from the Academic des Sciences examined his laboratory and verified that his work was independent of Staite's. However, Foucault's automatic regulator (fig. 2) for the arc was too delicate and too complicated for use even in the laboratory, and it found little application until it was modified by Duboscq. Staite had begun his work by demonstrating an automatic arc light in a hotel at Sunderland, Durham, in 1847. This light (figs. 3, 4) had finally worked so well that it is said to have remained in use for several years. Public exhibitions in 1848 and 1849 led to what one might consider the first commercial success of the electric light. In May 1849 a ballet called "Electra," especially composed for the purpose, intro- duced the arc light to the public at Her Majesty's Theater in London (fig. 5). The ballet was an instant hit, and a command performance was given for Queen Victoria a few weeks later. A similar application appeared about the same time across the Channel, where Foucault's arc lamp was used to simulate the rising sun in Meyerbeer's latest opera, "Le ; " Staite constantly improved his apparatus. In 1849 the average time for continuous operation was 45 minutes; two years later his arc light could run with- out interruption for 5 hours. He even demonstrated it to the Queen and to her court at the palace. Then he obtained a request in 1852 that
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Keywords: ., bookauthorunitedstatesdepto, bookcentury1900, booksubjectscience
