REVOLUTION IN ENGINEERING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14495, 5 January 1918, Page 9

REVOLUTION IN ENGINEERING.

"The electrio ship is no longer a dream but a reality; and I should not be surprised to find, within a few years of the close of the war, every new vessel of any size driven, steered, stopped, reversed, or turned . merely by tljhe pressing of a series .<at buttons on tlie bridge. "The introduction o.f the electrical link between the {turbine ..•and the propeller was first suggested by tbe Electrical Times m 1906, 1" continued the editor of tbat paper m nix. interview with the Daily News. "The" application of this principle 'will enable ships to be run with the highest efficiency .at an even speed, permit marine engineers more speed of design, and yield proportionately gi'eater cargo space -than the present cumbrous form of machinery allows. "No special turbine will be' necessary to reverse a ship, because with the electric drive it; will be able to go quite easily astern without any reversing set. Cables will replace the heavy steam pipes, the long propeller shaft will be unnecessary, ajid^felus, pumps, cheating, lighting, and cooking apparatus, together with scores of other auxiliaries, will be. run by the same"'.plant that drives the ship, '» "Electrical generating sets, moreover, can be distributed throughout the ship m water-tight compartments, so that if one set breaks dpwri^he yefssel pan continue its voyage efficiently^ by over-load-ing the remaining set while) the repairs are being executed at leisure. '" . "Mr. W.P. Dultnall, the:'' English inventor of the 'Paragon' systenO of power transmission, was the first man to design an electrically driven ship. This was built on tlie Clyde,: hut our Admiralty and private shipbuilders looked askance at the new idea at that time. Tlie system was left to American genius to'develop as a commercial proposition, m which form j.t first appeared m the electrically driven coUier .Jupiter." "Press reports from "America, published also m this country, disclose the fact that the system is now being installed m the .battleships and batttecruisers, under construction for the U.fe. NavyV ''„.. "'...?■' '". '''' ''' .-"':