Faraday to Royal Commission on Lighthouses   25 February 1860

Reply to Printed enquiries on the Royal Commission of Lights (23 Feby 1860.) – Buoys & beacons 7, Millbank Street S.W1

See the printed form & its numbers.

1. Michael Faraday. Royal Institution. In 1836 I was appointed “Scientific adviser to the Corporation of the Trinity House in experiments on lights[.]” Since then a large part of my attention has been given to the lighthouses in respect of their ventilation their electric arrangements & conductors the impurity & cure of waters - the provision of domestic water the examination of optical apparatus &c the results of which may be seen in various reports to the Trinity house:- but a very large part of my consideration has been given to the numerous propositions of all kind[s] which have been & are presented continually to the Corporation[.] Few of these present any reasonable prospect of practical & useful application and I have been obliged to use my judgment chiefly in checking imperfect & unsafe propositions rather than in forwarding any which could be advanced to a practical result. Hence I cannot give simple answers to the queries beneath and therefore think it better to refer when there is occasion for it to my carefully considered communications to the Trinity house. The Royal Commission may not think it necessary to refer to any or at all events not to many of these papers but as an illustration of my position & duty I will refer in the first instance to a letter of enquiries &c. of the date 8 Feby 1860, relating to Prosser’s2 lime light3[.]

2. Not as yet.

Gurney oxyoil lamp - Reports 15 Feby 1837. - 15 Jany 1838 - 14 June 1838 - 29 Octr 1838 - 12 Aug 18394. great exertions were made to perfect this lamp but its application failed

FitzMaurice lime light. Letters to Mr Berthon of the 21 July 18585 - 20 August 18586

Prosser’s lime light - Letter & inquiries 8 Feby 18607

Watson’s8 Voltaic light - report 15 Aug 18549

Way’s mercurial Electric lamp 27 June 185910.

Holmes Magneto-Electric light His letter 28 April 1857 - My comments 1 May 185711 My report, 29 April 185912 - also 20 Feby 186013

Pyrotechnic mixtures & the association of steam with the lamp have been proposed - to the reports on which I do not refer

3. No.

4. The best at present are the refracting & reflecting apparatus now in use

5. The best at present are the arrangements now in use

6. Blank.

7a Blank

7b 7c Moulded glass. Letter to Trinity house 16 Jany 186014

8 No

9 blank

9b. Propositions as to reddening the light<r>, 12 [sic] July 183715, 17 March 184316, 26 Decr 184517. - 14 Octr 185918.

10a red from white.

10b. White light is more serviceable & penetrating whilst white than if reduced by the intervention of coloured media

11a 11b. Uncertain approximations because of the darkness, the unknown haziness of the atmosphere & the refractions

12a blank

12b. blank

13. Such improvements in Ventilation, or in other points as have occurred to me have been already introduced

14 blank

15a 15b blank

16a 16b blank

16.c. Messrs Brown19 ignited Platinum wire 17 Decr 184720.

17. blank

18. 19 20 diagram 21 22 23 24 25 26

21. Depend[s] upon the locality

22. I think each locality requires special consideration

23. blank

24 blank

25a. blank

25b. blank

Royal Institution | 25, February 1860.

1
This is Faraday in response to the numbered questions of Circular IX issued by the Lighthouse Commission for scientific men and manufacturers. At the end of this letter is printed Faraday’s answers to Circular X. This is not given here as the text is in letter 3750. The texts of the questionnaires are in Parliamentary Papers,1861 [2793] XXV, at the beginning of volume 2.
2
Unidentified.
4
These reports of Faraday are respectively in GL MS 30108/A1, pp.27-42, 43-51, 52-6, 57-75 and 76-92 and will be published in an appendix to volume 6.
8
Joseph John William Watson (d.1886, age 55, GRO). Worked on electrical light; described as a civil enginner in 1871 census, TNA RG10/207, f.8, p.8. See also James (1997), 294.
9
Faraday report to Trinity House, 15 August 1854, letter 2878, volume 4.
15
This report by Faraday is in GL MS 30108/4/128 and will be published in an appendix to volume 6.
16
Faraday to Herbert, 17 March 1843, letter 1479, volume 3.
17
Faraday to Herbert, 26 December 1845, letter 1810, volume 3.
18
Not found.
19
Edward Brown and James Brown. Buoy makers in Preston.
20
Faraday to Brown and Brown, 17 December 1847, and Faraday to Herbert, 17 December 1847, letters 2038 and 2039, volume 3.
21
Not found.
22
Faraday to Herbert, 24 March 1853, letter 2660, volume 4.
23
Faraday to Herbert, 22 September 1853, letter 2733, volume 4.
24
Letters 3340 and 3345.

Bibliography

JAMES, Frank A.J.L. (1997): “Faraday in the pits, Faraday at sea: the role of the Royal Institution in changing the practice of science and technology in nineteenth-century Britain”, Proc. Roy. Inst., 68: 277-301.

Please cite as “Faraday3732,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3732