SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14235, 4 December 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

SELF-ACTING GATE FASTENER. This ' simple ' device is . being introduced by Messrs. i George t Salter \ and Co., of West Bromich. In this improved gate fastener there ;are two loose squareshaped loops so . arranged that as the closing gate strikes the bottom loop the upper ; loop I falls' over *; and i secures the gate head.- • The upper loop .has sufficient play to admit of some amount of sag in the gate or of subsidence on the part of the gatepost. ;» The gate can be opened with the hunting crop or with the hand, and it closes itself automatically. LUCKY INVENTIONS. : r; A writer in a Parts newspaper speculates as to what will ,bo the reward of the inventor of the safety '.'■ hat, pin for .ladies, and suggests it will not. be less than J £40,000. He arrives at ( this sum by comparing the gains of.other successful . inventors. . Fox,, who - superseded ;whalebone ribs for umbrellas'■ by the paragon frame, we are told, netted £240,000. -, The inventor of the shoe tips cleared £200,000. " The hawker who conceived the idea of lead pencils- with an india-rubber tip cleared £20,000, \ and the designer of the piece of round india- \ rubber for shoe heels retired with . a fortune of £160,000. The reviver of Diabolo, a game known under- the Directoire, is said to have made'£l2o,ooo from his 'idea.. '.;;;.'/,■,'. "^.'ivV'V'V',"r ■■'• ■'■'..,'".■,

ELECTRICALLY MADE STEEL. > German iron and steel manufacturers aTe excited over the successful solution of •- the iproblem of making, steel . directly from iron ore© by electricity. This has occurred at Dommeldingen, in the Duchy of Luxemburg, where an electrical furnace has been producing steel for. a short time. Although the ores used are low grade and contain a considerable percentage of phosphorus, the furnace yielded a steel fully equal to the best grade - made from Swedish ores. The success of this invention is expected to have a very far-reaching result. . The electrical furnace used at * Dommeldilngen is the invention of two German engineers named Reuchling and Bodenhauser, and it is produced by one of the great electrical companies of Berlin, which has organised a special company for exploiting it. ADJUSTABLE TEMPLET. This handy tool witi- be found useful, and will save considerable time, in cutting 'wall paper up the rake of a stairway or where any roof slants, allowing the psnerhanger to cut a number of , length of paper on the paste ; board at , once, wnere at present it i r 'only customary to cut one at a time., The ' tool, t says the Scientific American, cart be made of "i sod,' and satisfaction obtained, .although a better toil can be made [from; saw ■ steel. .Each blade is' about three feet . in. length, two of them being furnished with slots, running i almost the full length. i Three .thumbscrews will ;be necessary >to v hold the frame together after the proper adjustment is obtained. The paper should be hung in position on the wall, and one side of the tool > held along the perpendi- . cular edge of , the paper, while < one • of * the other sides of the tool is adjusted to suit the angle of the stairway or slanting roof when the ] screws are tightened up, ; and the frame permanently set. . VIENNA'S ELECTRICAL SUPPLY. For the city of Vienna there is a project being considered for securing a large amount of power for lighting and motor purposes, this to be"had from a hydraulic • plant lying at some distance off. According j to. the present plans, the new turbine plant is situated in .the valley ,of the , Enns. From the turbine station on the stream there will be ! run a power line i about 90 miles in length, which will transmit the current to a sub-station located at Vienna. Only the main lines of the project are to be noted at present, ; and the details are to be drawn up at a i later date. It is thought that the best • plan in this case is to use ; the power of i the Enns stream between Admont and I Weissenbach upon a length of 24 miles • by the use of a series of barrages distrii buted along the stream. at intervals. It t is estimated that the first expenses of I the enterprise. will reach 12,000,00Cd015. i Should the project be carried out there i will be enough power obtained to allow, , of using the current for operating the 1 city railroad lines. ! ARTILLERY TRAIN OUTLOOK/ A novel type of portable outlook for artillery trains has been recently, designed ■ by a German firm, the object being to ' allow men to note the effect of their own > fire. The invention is described by the • Scientific American. The limber pole of 1 a field gun may be used as an observing 1 station. The pole is K hinged so that it " can swing vertically. A special foot sup- ' ports it on the ground. 'Before erecting the pole a rope- ladder with a shield is " .fixed in place. -"' The rope ladder is • tightened automatically as the pole is ) swung into , position. The protective shield, when not in use, is carried in 3 front on the gun limber arms and on the case frame, and at the same time serves as a foot rest for the men seated on the ' limber. All the instruments used for r observation are carried in receptacles be- • low the foot rest as well as in the limber caso itself. The operator is equipped with a strap and hook, by which he at- " taches himself to the pole. The rope r ladder may, be fitted at the top with an additional seat consisting of two rope " ends and a transverse beam on which the f. operator may seat himself. Instead of a rope ladder, the pole may bo provided 8 with lateral rungs which, v> hen out of ' use, aro folded and received in recesses, " thus eliminating any risk of injffiuring the *. "horses. -; :

NOVEL INVENTIONS. ■" ■. The'lnventors' section of the Business Exhibition at Olympia has proved a popular feature, a d a number of interesting "devices not yet on the market are ". to be seen. Since the description of the contrivance for delivering the morning milk through the keyhole, which was among the rejected, the promoters hive* had submitted to them many inventions with the same object. Only one is shown. In this case ,a special hole is made in the door and the milk can suspended just inside.' The milkman has a patent funnel which automatically unlocks the covering of the hole, and the milk is delivered straight into the can. If a forgetful servant omits to hang up the can the milk is delivered on to the floor.

Another promising invention is a safety hatpin. It has '■ the merit of simplicity. The hairpin is thrust through the hat in the usual way, and an extra knob is fastened to the projecting point. An ingenious attachment for a typewriter is shown, which, if successful in practice, should bring its inventor a comfortable fortune. It consists of an adding device, which can be attached to any typewriter. Its particular use is for the typing of invoices. The columns of figures are automatically added, and the total recorded when the invoice is finished. ' "'

Here are some more of the inventions yet unknown to fame, to be seen at the exhibition —Typewriter attachment to record, number of words typed; patent protectors for account-book covers; a waterproofed linen collar which defies the rain, and can .be washed with a sponge j. now calculating machines; new advertising devices ; bread slicer., for making sandwiches ; patent automatic lubrication for.- internal combustion engines.; The lubrication is regulated by the * speed tof the engine, and it is claimed for the invention that it will entirely eradicate the smoke emitted by a motor car due to bad lubrication.