MESSIEURS,
You often entertain us with accounts of new discoveries. Permit me to communicate to the public, through your paper, one that has lately been made by myself, and which I conceive may be of great utility.
I was the other evening in a grand company, where the new lamp of Messrs. Quinquet and Lange was introduced, and much admired for its splendour; but a general inquiry was made, whether the oil it consumed was not in proportion to the light it afforded, in which case there would be no saving in the use of it. No one present could satisfy us in that point, which all agreed ought to be known, it being a very desirable thing to lessen, if possible, the expense of lighting our apartments, when every other article of family expense was so much augmented.
I was pleased to see this general concern for economy, for I love economy exceedingly.
I went home, and to bed, three or four hours after midnight, with my head full of the subject. An accidental sudden noise waked me about six in the morning, when I was surprised to find my room filled with light; and I imagined at first, that a number of those lamps had been brought into it; but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occasion of it, when I saw the sun just rising above the horizon, from whence he poured his rays plentifully into my chamber, my domestic having negligently omitted, the preceding evening, to close the shutters.
I looked at my watch, which goes very well, and found that it was but six o'clock; and still thinking it something extraordinary that the sun should rise so early, I looked into the almanac, where I found it to be the hour given for his rising on that day. I looked forward, too, and found he was to rise still earlier every day till towards the end of June; and that at no time in the year he retarded his rising so long as till eight o'clock. Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs of sunshine before noon, and seldom regard the astronomical part of the almanac, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early; and especially when I assure them, that he gives light as soon as he rises. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact. One cannot be more certain of any fact. I saw it with my own eyes. And, having repeated this observation the three following mornings, I found always precisely the same result.
Yet it so happens, that when I speak of this discovery to others, I can easily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expressing it in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a learned natural philosopher, has assured me that I must certainly be mistaken as to the circumstance of the light coming into my room; for it being well known, as he says, that there could be no light abroad at that hour, it follows that none could enter from without; and that of consequence, my windows being accidentally left open, instead of letting in the light, had only served to let out the darkness; and he used many ingenious arguments to show me how I might, by that means, have been deceived. I owned that he puzzled me a little, but he did not satisfy me; and the subsequent observations I made, as above mentioned, confirmed me in my first opinion.
This event has given rise in my mind to several serious and important reflections. I considered that, if I had not been awakened so early in the morning, I should have slept six hours longer by the light of the sun, and in exchange have lived six hours the following night by candle-light; and, the latter being a much more expensive light than the former, my love of economy induced me to muster up what little arithmetic I was master of, and to make some calculations, which I shall give you, after observing that utility is, in my opinion the test of value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied to no use, or is not good for something, is good for nothing.
I took for the basis of my calculation the supposition that there are one hundred thousand families in Paris, and that these families consume in the night half a pound of bougies, or candles, per hour. I think this is a moderate allowance, taking one family with another; for though I believe some consume less, I know that many consume a great deal more. Then estimating seven hours per day as the medium quantity between the time of the sun's rising and ours, he rising during the six following months from six to eight hours before noon, and there being seven hours of course per night in which we burn candles, the account will stand thus;--
In the six months between the 20th of March and the 20th of September, there are
Nights 183
Hours of each night in which we burn candles 7
Multiplication gives for the total number of hours 1,281
These 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000, the number of inhabitants, give 128,100,000
One hundred twenty-eight millions and one hundred thousand hours, spent at Paris by candle-light, which, at half a pound of wax and tallow per hour, gives the weight of 64,050,000
Sixty-four millions and fifty thousand of pounds, which, estimating the whole at-the medium price of thirty sols the pound, makes the sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres tournois 96,075,000
An immense sum! that the city of Paris might save every year, by the economy of using sunshine instead of candles. If it should be said, that people are apt to be obstinately attached to old customs, and that it will be difficult to induce them to rise before noon, consequently my discovery can be of little use; I answer, Nil desperandum. I believe all who have common sense, as soon as they have learnt from this paper that it is daylight when the sun rises, will contrive to rise with him; and, to compel the rest, I would propose the following regulations; First. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is provided with shutters to keep out the light of the sun.
Second. Let the same salutary operation of police be made use of, to prevent our burning candles, that inclined us last winter to be more economical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the shops of the wax and tallow chandlers, and no family be permitted to be supplied with more than one pound of candles per week.
Third. Let guards also be posted to stop all the coaches, &c. that would pass the streets after sunset, except those of physicians, surgeons, and midwives.
Fourth. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing; and if that is not sufficient?, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to see their true interest.
All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity; for, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte. Oblige a man to rise at four in the morning, and it is more than probable he will go willingly to bed at eight in the evening; and, having had eight hours sleep, he will rise more willingly at four in the morning following. But this sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres is not the whole of what may be saved by my economical project. You may observe, that I have calculated upon only one half of the year, and much may be saved in the other, though the days are shorter. Besides, the immense stock of wax and tallow left unconsumed during the summer, will probably make candles much cheaper for the ensuing winter, and continue them cheaper as long as the proposed reformation shall be supported.
For the great benefit of this discovery, thus freely communicated and bestowed by me on the public, I demand neither place, pension, exclusive privilege, nor any other reward whatever. I expect only to have the honour of it. And yet I know there are little, envious minds, who will, as usual, deny me this and say, that my invention was known to the ancients, and perhaps they may bring passages out of the old books in proof of it. I will not dispute with these people, that the ancients knew not the sun would rise at certain hours; they possibly had, as we have, almanacs that predicted it; but it does not follow thence, that they knew he gave light as soon as he rose. This is what I claim as my discovery. If the ancients knew it, it might have been long since forgotten; for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at least to the Parisians, which to prove, I need use but one plain simple argument. They are as well instructed judicious, and prudent a people as exist anywhere in the world all professing, like myself, to be lovers of economy; and,from the many heavy taxes required from them by the necessitities of the state, have surely an abundant reason to be economical. I say it is impossible that so sensible a people, under such circumstances, should have lived so long by the smoky, unwholesome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known, that they might have had as much pure light of the sun for nothing. I am, &c.
A SUBSCRIBER
Letter to the Editor of the Journal of Paris, 1784
written by Bejamin Franklin
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Waste of Daylight
William Willett
Sloane Square, London, July, 1907
Sloane Square, London, July, 1907
Everyone appreciates the long light evenings. Everyone laments their shrinkage as the days grow shorter, and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the clear bright light of early mornings, during Spring and Summer months, is so seldom seen or used.
Nevertheless, standard time remains so fixed, that for nearly half the year the sun shines upon the land for several hours each day while we are asleep, and is rapidly nearing the horizon, having already passed its western limit, when we reach home after the work of the day is over. Under the most favourable circumstances, there then remains only a brief spell of declining daylight in which to spend the short period of leisure at our disposal.
Now, if some of the hours of wasted sunlight could be withdrawn from the beginning and added to the end of the day, how many advantages would be gained by all, and in particular by those who spend in the open air, when light permits them to do so, whatever time they have at their command after the duties of the day have been discharged.
By a simple expedient these advantages can be secured. If we will reduce the length of four Sundays by 20 minutes, a loss of which practically no one would be conscious, we shall have 8o minutes more daylight after 6 p.m. every day during May, June, July and August, and an avenge of 45 minutes more every day during April and September.
I therefore venture to propose that at 2 a.m. on each of four Sunday mornings in April, standard time shall advance 20 minutes; and on each of four Sundays in September, shall recede 20 minutes, or in other words that for eight Sundays of 24 hours each, we shall substitute four, each 20 minutes less than 24 hours, and four each 20 minutes more than 24 hours. (Another means of arriving at approximately the same end would be to alter the clock thirty minutes on only two or three Sundays.) This is the whole cost of the scheme. We lose nothing, and gain substantially. Having made up our minds to be satisfied, on four occasions, with a Sunday of 23 hours and 40 minutes, the advantages aimed at follow automatically without any trouble whatever; everything will go on just as it does now, except that as the later hours of the day come round, they will bring more light with them. Those who have travelled by sea east or west, will remember how easily they accommodated themselves to the frequent alterations of time on board ship. They simply adjusted their watches, attended to the engagements of the day in correspondence therewith, and quickly dismissed from their minds all recollection of the alterations which had been made. If this can take place at sea day after day for several weeks without discomfort, may not a similar operation be possible on land?
It is possible, and has already taken place. For instance, in order to meet the general convenience of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, standard time in the last mentioned colony was, in '895, advanced 20 minutes, and for a similar reason in Cape Colony standard time was, in 1892, advanced 16 minutes, and again in 1903, a further 30 minutes. If standard time can be altered for the public convenience in Australia and South Africa, may it not be altered in Great Britain?
To wind up a clock or watch requires more effort than to move the hands once a week, four times in April, and four times in September, yet no more than this is needed in order to secure during nearly five months in the year the equivalent of a whole holiday every week; for 8o minutes a day amount in a week to 9 hours and 20 minutes, which is about the average time that can advantageously be spent in exercise in the open air, on any holiday.
Now every hour so spent makes for health and strength of body and mind. With 9 hours and 20 minutes every week, of additional opportunity, the value of existing opportunities for exercise and recreation will be more than proportionately increased. The brief period of daylight now at our disposal is frequently insufficient for most forms of outdoor recreation, but the daily addition of i hour and zo minutes after 6 p.m. will multiply several times the usefulness of that which we already have. The benefits afforded by parks and open spaces will be doubled, and the nation may some day have cause to be thankful that by this means opportunities for rifle practice will have been created, which under existing conditions cannot be contemplated.
We shall not rob ourselves off sleep. On the contrary, we may sleep better, for 8o minutes more daylight in our waking hours will leave 8o minutes more darkness for our sleeping hours. By those who do not retire to rest until the early hours of the morning, land by those who sleep with open windows, the advantage of not being aroused by the sun so early, as they frequently now are, will mot be unappreciated.
One of the most powerful attractions of this scheme is that with one exception all trains will run in accordance with existing time tables. That is to say -- every train which now starts at 8 a.m. will continue to start at 8 a.m., the 9 a.m. at 9 a.m., and so on; there will be no alteration.
On Sunday at 2 a.m., the hour at which the hands of official clocks will be advanced, very few trains are running. Such as are then running will merely arrive 20 minutes late on four Sunday mornings in April only and this will be known to both passengers and officials before each journey is commenced. For Continental trains only will special time tables be required, one for April, a second for May, June, July and August, and a third for September. For any trouble in which this may involve them, Railway Companies will not only find ample compensation in reduced expenditure on artificial light on stations and in carriages, but as people are more ready to travel before than after sunset, increased passenger traffic, and consequent profit, must also accrue to them.
Nor is this feature of the project confined, to Railway Companies. Everyone,, rich and poor alike, will find their ordinary expenditure on electric light, gas, oil and candles considerably reduced for nearly six months in every year.
This consideration brings into view the National financial aspect of the scheme. Assuming the cost of artificial light, for each unit of the population, averages only, one-tenth of a penny per head, per hour, the figures with which I conclude this paper show that 210 additional available hours of daylight can be gained and at least £2,500,000 a year can be saved to the people of Great Britain and Irelaind. That is to say, by moving the hands of the clock three or four times in Spring and Autumn, we can secure not only great physical advantages, but in addition, a permanent economy equivalent to a reduction of the National Debt by at least one hundred million pounds sterling; to be followed by the honour of bringing similar blessings within easier reach of a great proportion of mankind.
For a year or two some inconvenience from the variation between time in England and other countries may be experienced, but it will be slight, for a loss of convenience in one direction will be balanced by a gain of convenience in another. Any inconvenience that may be found can exist for only half the year and will disappear when the advantages we shall have gained lead other nations to follow our example. Light is one of the great gifts of the Creator. While daylight surrounds us, cheerfulness reigns, anxieties press less heavily, and courage is bred for the struggle of life. Against our ever-besieging enemy, disease, light and fresh air act as guards in our defence, and when the conflict is close, supply us with most effective weapons with which to overcome the invader. Even the blind keenly realise the difference between daylight and darkness. They are always cheered by the former, but depressed by the latter.
Can any words be comprehensive enough to represent the cumulative effect of the 210 additional available hours of daylight (an average of 1 hour and 10 minutes every day for six months), which are within our reach, to be had not only without price, but accompanied by a large saving in current expenditure year after year?
It is futile to say these can be secured by early rising. The exceptional exercise of this virtue usually calls forth more sarcasm than admiration or imitation. Leisure must follow, not precede, work, and compulsory earlier business hours are quite unattainable. If my proposal be adopted the man who now leaves off work at 5 p.m. will take with him the light we now have at 3.40; he who leaves off at 6 o'clock, the light we now have at 4.40 and so on. Most striking is the advantage to be gained on Saturdays. Those whose half-holiday commences at 12, 1 or 2 o'clock will have at their disposal as much daylight as if it now commenced at 10.40, 11.40, or 12.40 respectively. Consider what this yearly gain of 210 hours of daylight means to succeeding generations On reaching the age of 28 (without counting anything for 6 years of childhood), a man will have gained a whole year of daylight. At 50 he will have gained 2 years, at 72, 3 years.
That so many as 210 hours of daylight are to all intents and purposes wasted every year, is a defect in our civilisation. Let England recognise and remedy it. Let us not be so faint-hearted as to hesitate to make the effort when the cost is to trifling and the reward so great. If any better method than that I have suggested can be devised let it be produced, but somehow or other let us secure these 210 hours. To obtain them everyone who wants them must do something. Out of nothing nothing comes. Let every man and woman, and every youth in particular, see to it that every voter who is willing that the scheme should be tried for six months communicates his wish to his Member of Parliament. This may be done by means of a postcard, giving the name, address and qualification of the voter. If postcards are sent in considerable numbers, there ought to be no insuperable difficulty in obtaining an Act for six months' experiment to be made.
According to Whitaker the population of Great Britain and Ireland is 43,660,000. The number of hours during which the cost of artificial light will be saved will be:
| During April | 23 hours |
| During May, June, July and August | 164 hours |
| During September | 23 hours |
| 210 hours | |
| 210 hours at 1/10th of a penny per hour | 1s. 9d. |
| 43,660,000 at 1s. 9d | £3,820,250 |
| Deduct, to meet all possible objections, including loss of profit to producers of artificial light, 1/3rd | 1,273,416 |
| £2,546,834 |
| The following table shows the times at which the sun sets during the present year (1907) at Greenwich, and the times by the clock at which it would have set if the arrangement first herein proposed had been in force: | The following table shows the times at which the sun sets during the present year (1907) at Greenwich, and the times by the clock at which it would have set if the arrangement second herein proposed had been in force: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WM. WILLETT. SLOANE SQUARE, LONDON, July, 1907. Copyright.
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