OCR Text |
Show I TO FIND ORE BY TELEPHONE Unique Invention of a Salt Lake Man. Believes He Has Sure Way of Detecting Ores in Bnsos Theory, of Operation, on Difference Dif-ference of Electrical Conductivity Where Metals Exist. B. Li. Whlto, an cloctrlciaii at prosont ' in tho employ of Tho Tribune, -with two companions, will Icavo Salt Lako March 1 on a prospecting tour, in tho course of -which ho expects to domonstrato tho valuo of an electrical ore-finder, which ho r Hilda but lately perfected. Ho and his companions com-panions will go dlrcotly to Callcnte. Nov., and will prospect tho country lying1 uc-tween uc-tween that place and Goldflold. Experimented for Tears. Mr. "Whlto has boon experimenting for a number of years with the idea of using oloctrlcity as a means of dctoctlng tho presence of certain mineral ores invlslblo to tho oye, basins: his theory on tho difference dif-ference of tho electrical conductivity of tho earth, duo to tho presenco of metal oro. Copper being: ono of the softest of the known motnls, is, of course, the best conductor. Most other metals, although harder than coppor, also show lcs3 resistance re-sistance than tho earth and rocks in which tho ore Is imbedded. His first experiments woro with a galvanometer gal-vanometer and Whcatstono bridge, which equalizes tho resistance of tho earth to a stated number of volts. Finding that this would not give tho desired result, ho turned his attention to tho Idea of a telephonic tele-phonic transmitter and receiver, which vrould Indicate tho location and tho kind of ore to the operator by registering the different sound-waves of a current passing pass-ing from tho positive to the ncgatlvo pole, the two electrodes (poles) being planted In the ground on either side of the supposed sup-posed lode or tract to bo prospected. First Trial Failed. .Tho first trial of this method wns made last spring in Red Butte canyon, near Fort Douglns. On account of a subterranean subter-ranean stream under tho hills prospected tho trial was productive of no results beyond- demonstrating some technical points regarding tho construction and adaptability adaptabil-ity of the Invention. After a year's ox- nnrlmftnMnr. n-l I Vi iVilu nnnnrnhia nri1 mon,. I failures. M.r. White now hns a machine with which he claims that not only can deposits of ore be located, but tho length nnd depth of the lode can be determined with an accuracy not obtained by any other existing system of prospecting. In describing his invention, tho inventor says: Tells How It Is Done. "In tho White system, thero are two stations, sta-tions, tho transmitting and tho receiving. At the former thero is a battery of six volts, a special form of breakworks and a glass condenser. Tho current Is led through tho primary by an Inductor, a special form of Induction coll having a large core and very heavy winding In tho secondary circuit. Tho current now passes through the secondary condenser to adjustable parallel spark gaps. The electric waves generated by this arrangement arrange-ment are taken to tho earth by means of two iron spikes driven several feet Into In-to the ground. The receiving set comprises com-prises two similar splices connected up to an Induction coil and telephone receiver. re-ceiver. By listening in this receiver the operator detects tho varying sound waves as thoy pass through any oro concealed in the earth." Tho description shows the simple fact that a current generated by an attached battery cither does or does not pass freely free-ly botwecn the two electrodes (or poles) which aro planted In tho ground to bo prospected Whether this current Is impeded im-peded by tho absence of ore, aided by its presence directly between tho electrodes, or broken by tho oro being out of a direct lino between these poles Is clearly and surely Indicated to tho operator In the sounds registered by tho telephonic receiver re-ceiver attached. In speaking of the operation opera-tion of his machlno by others, Mr, Whlto says: I New Field for Engineers. ' "It will, of course, bo necessary to , train mining engineers and prospectors in I tho use of the Instruments and In tho dc-1 dc-1 tectlon of the presenco of tho electrical sound waves. Tho whole outfit Is, however, how-ever, simple and easy to work and any one who has the most ordinary knowledge pf electricity could In a vcrv short tlmo , become entirely familiar with it." Prospecting is, of course, a very Inex-i Inex-i net science In Its present state, and tho . , mining world would certainly welcome with open arms a system of 'oro finding which could bo relied on. If this invention inven-tion proves Its practicability In actual usage, it will go far toward lessening the I great annGal loss entailed in making bor-; bor-; lngs which provo unsuccessful and open-j open-j Ing up lodes that turn out not sufficiently I promising to continue working. I Tho machlno Is at presont in tho hands 1 oi H. Ellis of Bingham, who is prospecting pros-pecting with It In that vicinity. |