The light proceeds from the
abdomen, and its intensity seems to vary at will. He had also read of
a winged, luminous insect of South America, which emits very brilliant
light from various parts of its body.
When George reflected that under even the most favorable conditions there
was realized in mechanical work of the energy stored in coal only 10%, he
was convinced that the extravagant waste of 90% of energy was in itself
sufficient argument against the present method as being the best
possible. Ever since his graduation, he had believed that the greatest of
all technical problems was the production of cheaper power. That it was
the great desideratum in cities in the production of food, and in food
transportation from farms to trunk lines, on railways and on the ocean.
While in America he had discussed the matter of cheaper power with
Edison, Thompson, Tesla, and others.
George and his father, James Ingram, experimenting with chemical energy,
had already discovered a galvanic element which enabled them to furnish
electrical energy direct from coal and the oxygen of the air, but this
important discovery was kept a secret. The chief object of George
Ingram's visit abroad was to follow the footsteps of other great
scientists and manufacturers to the edge or frontier of their discoveries
and practical workings.
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