SCIENCE SIFTING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 36, 10 February 1906, Page 10

SCIENCE SIFTING.

NEW COMET. Professor Schaer, of Geneva, announced the discovery of a new comet on Friday week. It was fairly bright, near the pole of the heavens, of magnitude 7_, and plunging almost due south at the rate of eight degrees a day. It can be seen through a small telescope. EGYPTIAN EXCAVATIONS. During the past year several British archaeologists have been busy disinterring the remains of the ancient civilisations of Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. It is reported that Mr. Garstang has found interesting remains of the third dynasty, or earlier, at the site of the ancient Hierakonopolis, and in other places a series of town remains from Hyksos times until the twentieth dynasty. Two remarkable tomb-structures were found of eight or ten chambers on the ground floor, and a staircase leadig up to the first floor, where there was a similar series. The provincial art of Egypt at this period is well illustrated, and further interesting discoveries are anticipated for next year, when the work of excavation will be resumed. "OLD STYLE" TN RUSSIA. The Russian Liberals,' like those of the French Revolution, have found time amid their other preoccupations to think about the reform of the calendar. Russia is the only country which still clings to the Julian Calendar. The Russian Academy of Arts has issued the following statement on this subject:- "The Inter-De-partmental Gommittee appointed in 1899 to examine the question of a change of calendar held only one sitting, as the religious authorities expressed themselves as opposed in principle to the alteration. At the present time, however, on the proposal of the president, the Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovitch, the question of .the reform of the calendar is once more being considered by the academy. On this occasion they are dealing with the subject without reference to other departments." It is to be hoped no one will regard this as an "impious undertaking," as the English mob did when the same change was made here in 1752. FACTS ABOUT VIOLIN STRINGS. Catgut as used in violin strings has the specific scientific interest that it is an elastic solid which is intermediate in its properties between rubber and the metals. An exajnination of its elastic properties has lately been undertaken for the Carnegie Institution by Dr. J. R. Benton, and a preliminary note discloses some interesting results. For example, the E. string of a violin, which was. the example of "catgut used in the experiments, was shown to have a breaking strain equal to 60,000 lb. per square inch. It is therefore nearly as strong as copper wire, and must be classed as one of the strongest organic substances, far exceeding all kinds of wood (less than 20,0001b. to the square inch), leather (5,0001b per square inch), and hemp ropes (15,0001b. per square inch). Musical strings, as sold, are twisted, and tend to untwist when subjected to tension, and to twist up again when tension is removed. In order to study their elasticity the twist had to be removed, which was done by soaking the string in hot water. In these circumstances the string becomes very soft and contracts greatly in length. It then behaves very much like rubber and can be stretched like an elastic band. The tendency of E strings to break in dry weather is well known, and is due, of course, to the tendency of the string to contract with the decrease of moisture. The actual tension required on a violin E string to produce the proper pitch of 640 vibrations a second was computed by Dr. Benton by the well-known formula for the transverse vibrations of Strings. Tt works out at about half the breaking load, so that when a violin E string is striking its proper note it is sustaining a strain equal to about 30 fiOOIb. to the equaxe ______