Faraday to Peter Henry Berthon   7 May 1858

Royal Institution | 7 May 1858.

Sir

I have given much consideration to the letter from Mr. Cope1 to Sir J. Pakington2 (dated 20 April 18583). I cannot find out its meaning i.e I cannot find even a crude idea of the manner in which steam is to be employed in association with a strong light for the service of lighthouses. That steam applied to flame lowers the intensity of the light, and that it much disturbs & ultimately extinguishes it is within my knowledge: but I am not aware of any principle or method by which it can be applied with advantage to increase its light4[.]

I am | Sir | Your Very faithful Servt | M Faraday

P.H. Berthon Esq | &c &c &c | Trinity House

1
Unidentified.
2
John Somerset Pakington (1799-1880, ODNB). Conservative MP for Droitwich, 1837-1874.
3
Cope to Pakington, 20 April 1858, GL MS 30108/2/80, sent with letter 3427.
4
This letter was read to Trinity House By Board, 11 May 1858, GL MS 30010/41, pp.391-2. It was agreed to send a copy to the Board of Trade endorsing Faraday’s opinion.

Please cite as “Faraday3430,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3430