In presenting to you these results of my investigation on the subject under consideration,
I have paid only a passing notice to facts upon which I could have dwelt at length, and
among many observations I have selected only those which I thought most likely to
interest you. The field is wide and completely unexplored, and at every step a new truth is
gleaned, a novel fact observed.
How far the results here borne out are capable of practical applications will be decided in
the future. As regards the production of light, some results already reached are
encouraging and make me confident in asserting that the practical solution of the problem
lies in the direction I have endeavoured to indicate. Still, whatever may be the immediate
outcome of these experiments I am hopeful that they will only prove a step in further
developments towards the ideal and final perfection. The possibilities which are opened
by modern research are so vast that even the most reserved must feel sanguine of the
future. Eminent scientists consider the problem of utilizing one kind of radiation without
the others a rational one. In an apparatus designed for the production of light by
conversion from any form of energy into that of light, such a result can never be reached,
for no matter what the process of producing the required vibrations, be it electrical,
chemical or any other, it will not be possible to obtain the higher light vibrations without
going through the lower heat vibrations. It is the problem of imparting to a body a certain velocity without passing through all lower velocities. But there is a possibility of
obtaining energy not only in the form of light, but motive power, and energy of any other
form, in some more direct way from the medium. The time will be when this will be
accomplished, and the time has come when one may utter such words before an
enlightened audience without being considered a visionary. We are whirling through
endless space with an inconceivable speed, all around us everything is spinning,
everything is moving, everywhere is energy. There must be some way of availing
ourselves of this energy more directly. Then, with the light obtained from the medium,
with the power derived from it, with every form of energy obtained without effort, from
the store forever inexhaustible, humanity will advance with giant strides. The mere
contemplation of these magnificent possibilities expands our minds, strengthens our
hopes and fills our hearts with supreme delight.