"The multiplicator, which may be described in general terms as a series of iron chambers, nearly all of which are of cylindrical form, connected by pipes, and furnished with various cocks and valves, was suspended freely from one of the rafters of the apartment, its bottom being at a distance of about three feet from the floor. The multiplicator complete is about thirty-six inches high, twenty-four inches long, and thirteen inches wide, and of a capacity of seven gallons.
"At a distance of about eight feet from the multiplicator, a cylindrical wrought-iron reservoir, six inches in diameter and forty inches long (which I will term reservoir A), was suspended from another rafter, and was connected with the multiplicator by one-inch pipe.
"It is to be remarked that the dimensions herein given are merely approximate, and are stated only for purposes of general explanation.
"A "standpipe" of brass, about two and a half inches in diameter and three feet high, having a spherical chamber at bottom, made in two parts united by flanges, was connected to the pipe uniting the multiplicator and reservoir A, a short distance from the multiplicator.
"The multiplicator was connected with a register of force, placed at a distance of, say, twelve feet from it, by a pipe of one tenth of an inch inside diameter, said register of force consisting of a piston of one square inch area, pressed down in a cylinder by a lever of the third order.
"A small beam engine, of peculiar construction, and not susceptible of brief description, stood upon trestles, about six feet from the multiplicator, and adjacent to said engine was a cylindrical brass reservoir, about five inches in diameter and twenty-seven inches long, which will be termed reservoir B.
"A hydrant-cock, communicating with the street main, stood over a sink in one corner of the apartment, at a distance of about three feet from the multiplicator.
"The above generally specifies the apparatus with which the experiments were conducted.
"Mr. Keely announced his desire that the apparatus be subjected to such tests as the persons assembled, or either of them, might suggest, in order to vindicate the correctness of his statement of the absence of agents for the production of power, other than his apparatus and air and water.
"The preliminary test applied for this purpose (after determining the pressure of the water on the hydrant, which was shown by a gauge to be 26 1/4 lbs. to the square inch) was to blow air through the several passages and parts of the multiplicator, and then flood it (the multiplicator) with water taken directly from the hydrant, and afterwards withdraw the water, which was done in the following manner,--to wit:
"Mr. Keely blew his breath into the upper cylinder of the multiplicator, and air escaped from the upper and the second cylinder, blowing out a candle when applied to cocks on the respective cylinders.
"The hydrant-cock was then connected with a cock on the top of the spherical drum of the multiplicator by a rubber tube about five-eights of an inch in diameter, and water being admitted to the multiplicator through the same, escaped through three openings in the bottom of the multiplicator, showing a clear circulation of water through the apparatus. These openings were afterwards closed by screw plugs.
"The two halves of the spherical vessel at the base of the stand-pipe being separated, a small rubber spheroid was screwed upon the end of an upward projecting pipe in the lower half, and the upper half and stand- pipe were replaced at 7:50 P.M.
"The cap of stand-pipe was then removed, and water let into the same, until it showed on an overflow pipe at top.
"Water was next let into the multiplicator through the rubber pipe from the hydrant-cock, until it showed at a cock on the second drum of the multiplicator, and was then let off copiously through a discharge cock, the object of this operation being to prove that the apparatus was not charged with any chemicals.
"This charging and discharging operation was repeated, and the discharged water tasted and drank by myself and others; no taste or smell was perceptible.
"A number of weights, aggregating two hundred pounds, were hung upon the long arm of the lever of the force register, to raise which a pressure of 1430 36/100 pounds+ upon its piston, (one square inch area) is required, according to the calculations of Mr. Rutherford, who measured the lever, the length of its arms being, respectively, five, and one-eighth and thirty-five and one- half inches, and the weight on the piston induced by the lever, forty-five pounds (35.5 x 200/5 1/8 + 45 = 1430.36).
"An attachment was made of a tube, for the conduction of the evolved vapor or gas, between the multiplicator and the register of force, the connecting tube being one-tenth of an inch inside diameter.
"Mr. Keely then proceeded to a make an "expulsion"; that is to say, to develop a force or pressure from the multiplicator, sufficient to raise the weight on the force register lever, or, in other words, to exert a pressure of 1430.36+ pounds to the square inch upon the valve register piston, which, as before stated, was connected by a tube of one-tenth of an inch bore with the multiplicator.
"This he did by disconnecting the gutta percha tube which led from the hydrant-cock to the multiplicator, and blowing from his lungs for a very brief time, say thirty seconds, into the nozzle upon the multiplicator to which this gutta percha tube had been connected. He then shut a cock upon the nozzle, which closed its communication with the atmosphere and, re-connecting the gutta percha tube, turned on the water from the hydrant to the multiplicator.
"The operation was completed in about two minutes after the attachment to the hydrant had been made, by simultaneously opening two cocks upon tubes which connected the first and second drums, and the second and lower drums respectively, of the multiplicator, when the lever and weight of the force register were raised by the piston, this operation being coincident with the turning of the two cocks just mentioned, there being, in other words, no measurable interval of time between the turning of the cocks and the raising of the weight. The weight was raised about two and a half inches.
"At 8:25 P.M. five such expulsions had been made, when an additional weight of eighty pounds was hung upon the lever, and at 8:29 P.M. a sixth expulsion was made, the pressure exerted in this instance being 1974.6+ pounds to the square inch (35.5 x 280)/5 1/8 + 45 = 1974.6 .
"At 8:31 P.M., part second of the program prepared by Mr. Keely was commenced, the experiment in this instance being made with reservoir A, which had theretofore been shut off from the multiplicator by a cock.
"The reservoir was first shown to contain no water, by blowing into a pipe connected to its lower end, when the air escaped with corresponding force from an opening at its top. It was then flooded with water directly from the hydrant through the same pipe into which air had been blown, until the water escaped from the upper opening, and being discharged again at bottom, was tasted by several of the observers, who found in it no perceptible taste or smell.
"The additional weight of eighty pounds having been removed, the multiplicator was again charged, and communication having been opened between the reservoir A and the register of force, two more expulsions were made.
The third part of the program referred to the operation of the small beam engine before mentioned. The engine was lifted off its trestles, and shown to have no connection or communication with them or with any other extraneous object, and the reservoir B, adjacent to the engine, was connected by a tube of one-tenth of an inch bore with the reservoir A.
"A short tube, carrying upon its end a reaction wheel or "Barker's Mill," having two arms of about two and a half inches long each, with their open ends turned in reverse directions, so as to be revolved by the reaction of an escaping fluid; was then screwed upon the end of the reservoir B, and at 9:03 P.M. was put into rotation at a very high velocity, by the manipulation of the two cocks upon the multiplicator, as before explained. The transition from a state of rest to this high rate of speed was practically instantaneous, and while there was no means of calculating the velocity of the reaction wheel, the noise and tremor caused by its motion was so great as to indicate that, from prudential reasons, the supply of operating fluid should be restricted, which was done by a cock on the pipe leading from the reservoir.
"At 9:05 P.M. the reaction wheel was removed, and a connection being made between the reservoir B and the engine, the latter was driven for some minutes at a rate of about four hundred revolutions.
"At 9:08 P.M. the reaction wheel was again rotated, and the engine run at 9:09 P.M.
"A gaseous fluid was then allowed to escape from time to time from the cock upon the reservoir to which the reaction wheel had been connected, and was found to be destitute of taste or smell, and not inflammable or explosive; neither did it extinguish combustion, unless when emitted with sufficient force to blow out the candle which was held at the orifice of the nozzle.
"At 9:15 P.M. the engine was run, slackened, and run again at high speed without being stopped, by the manipulation of cocks upon the multiplicator.
"In the operation of the reaction wheel and engine, a gaseous fluid was exhausted, but no moisture or trace of water was perceptible.
"A 9:17 P.M. the reaction wheel was run again, and at 9:20, the experiments being concluded, the multiplicator was taken apart and inspected by those present.
"There was no heat perceptible in any part of the apparatus or connecting pipes, during the experiments, nor any noise or shock in any part thereof, saving that a slight noise, similar to that of running water, could be heard upon placing the ear close to the multiplicator.
"The following points, as matter of fact, were conclusively established to my mind by the experiments above described.
1st. That the inventor did produce a series of evolutions or "expulsions", of a gaseous or vaporic substance, having an expansive energy of, say, two thousand pounds to the square inch.
2nd. The production of this power, from the time of establishing the water columns in the mechanical structure termed by the inventor his "multiplicator," occupied an inappreciable period of time.
3rd. The passage of this gas or vapor from its point of generation to its point of utilization (in the experiments above referred to, say twelve feet) was also inappreciable.
4th. The development or production of the force was unattended by any appreciable noise.
5th. Before the commencement of the operations, the tests applied to the apparatus, -- to wit, blowing through its several connections, flooding it with water, and discharging the water, -- evidenced that it contained no chemical compounds in unstable equilibrium of which, in the one case, could be disturbed so as to evolve gaseous products, or the explosion of which, in the other case, could be produced by the introduced water.
6th. After the tests referred to in the above paragraph had been applied, it would have been impossible for the inventor or any one, to have introduced chemicals or other substance than water, without detection.
7th. No heat was employed, no electricity, no galvanic action, nor was heat, electricity, or galvanic action, discernible as resultant of the operation, except that electric sparks were observed in the spur gearing of the engine, which was propelled by the vaporic force, such evolution of electricity, which was but slight, being obviously caused by frictional contact of the metallic surfaces of said gearing.
8th. The water which as introduced into the multiplicator, came direct from the hydrant, under a pressure, as indicated by a gauge applied to the hydrant, of twenty-six and a quarter pounds to the square inch.
9th. The water, before its admission to the multiplicator, and after each operation upon its withdrawal from the multiplicator, was drank off by myself and by others of those present, and exhibited no taste nor smell, and manifestly came out of the multiplicator as it went in, free from all substances other than those contained in the water of the Schuylkill River, from which it came.
10th. The vaporic or gaseous production, I, as did others present, smelt of and freely inhaled, and it had neither perceptible smell nor taste. I applied a burning candle to it, and it did not burn, nor did it extinguish the flame of the candle.
11th. After the conclusion of the experiments, the multiplicator was dismantled, and the interior of it examined, and there was no residuum within it indicative of the presence of chemical or explosive compounds, or other substances than air and water.
12th. The operations were conducted in a gas-lighted room, and a lighted candle was held by myself, in close proximity to the multiplicator, during the entire period of the operations.
13th. The inventor, from the first to last, afforded every facility for the closest investigation, and proposed from time to time, to repeat or duplicate, as often as might be desired by any one present, either of the several operations, and afforded also every facility for the determination, to the satisfaction of those present, of the truth of his statement, as contained in his communication addressed to the writer hereof, which accompanies this report, and from which communication I now quote,- to wit; "the non-presence of heat, electricity, galvanism, chemicals, or preparations of any kind," other than his mechanical structure, termed a multiplicator, and air and water."
signed - Charles B. Collier, a report Nov. 13th, 1874
The witnesses present at this experiment were:
Wm. Boekel, Mechanician
Wm. Rutherford, Chief Engineer, USN
J. Snowden Bell, Mechanical Engineer
B. Howard Rand, MD, Professor of Chemistry in Jefferson Medical
College
All of their letters showing agreement to the findings as stated by Charles Collier were appended to the report.
