SCIENCE SIFTINGS

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 249, 17 October 1908, Page 16

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

WHISTLING NINETY MILES. Three naval officers, acting on behalf of the French Admiralty, succeeded on August 5 and 0 in telephoning without wire between Paris and Dieppe, a distance of about ninety miles. The experiment intiuded an ordinary conversation, calls, songs, and whistling, all of wnich were heard perfectly clearly. The experiment h."s been kept a secret until recently, ✓ad no details of the apparatus havi yet transpired. BEES AND THEIR WORK. The organisation of bee-life is a fascinating study. The workers in a beehive n.ay be divided, says the "University Correspondent." into (1) harvesters, ulio bring in honey and pollen from lljwers, wax from buds of pines and poplars, water Co mix with pollen and honey to the pasty food for the ] larvae; (2) scavengers, who in early horning carry out debris, including dead, sick, or injured workers: (.i) ventilators, who stand erect and keep their wings in continual movement in order to ventilate the hive: (4) guards, who defend the hives from wasps, robber bees, iuid other enemies. KK.MARIvABLE SURGICAL FEAT. The physicians of the Washington Emergency Hospital resuscitated a boy of twelve years, who had apparently succumbed to an anaesthetic, by massaging his heart. The lad was brought to the hospital suffering from blood-poisoning, and it was decided to operate on his knee. The anaesthetic w«s applied, but, before the operation could be completed, respiration ceased and the pulse stopped. ' Artificial respiration was tried for six minutes, but the body became rigitf and cold. The physicians decided to open the body and massage the heart. This was done for seven minutes, and then breath returned. In eleven minutes more the heart pulsated, and the lad was reviving, when the blood-poisoning caused his death. CARNIVOROUS PLANT. Captain S. Musgrave, who was in j charge of Lord Roberts' armoured train in South Africa during the Boer War, i<as returned to England after v. twenty months.' mule trip through Colombia. Ecsides numerous specimens of plants, infects, and skins of animals, the captain has brought home a live ant-eater, which during the voyage to England was fed on bananas, rice, and milk. Captain Musgrave says that he has been on a zoological expedition, and had been successful in getting several line specimens. I!e had. he said, discovered a specimen of a carnivorous plant which had a ■ bruin, digestive organs, and a nervous : system like a human being. 800 MILES a:K HOUR. Astronomers are endeavouring to discern markings on the planet Saturn— more picturesque in form than any other orb of the solar system—giving evidence of extraordinary atmospheric currents. The winds on the planet's equator appear to move swifter than those in the :iorth-temperate /.one, the difference of ] velocity amounting to about 800 miles ' |,cr hour. The planet Jupiter exhibits j similar conditions, fur the spots on its equator travel about "270 miles per hour faster than those in temperate latitudes. As against such remarkable velocity, it is interesting to note that a hurricane A 100 miles an hour on this earth is '"ogarded as very remarkable. IMPROVED TELESCOPE. Professor Wood, of John Hopkins Uni- ! versity, has designed a new type of astronomical telescope. The mirror of I Professor Wood's telescope is a basin of ! mercury, which ia set spinning by means jof an electric motor. As the speed of rotation increases the mercury assumes i a more and more concave form, while the ; surface is smoother and brighter than , any ordinary reflector. By varying the. ;-peod it is possible to alter the focal length of the instrument at will. Pro-K-sE-or Wood has been able, to eliminate the vibration of the machine to such an extent as to preserve the perfect surface of the mercury. lie is having a telescope, constructed with a Tin. reflector from which he expects great results. If he gets them, he declares that he will construct a giant instrument on. the ■ oi.ijic lines. 1 SHIPS THAT CANNOT SINK. ; These are the invention of Gen. E. E. • Goulacff, of London. They are much [' broader than they have been or are at I pjesent, with their length the same or • i even somewhat longer. This form and \ construction provides treble broadside < corridors, running lengthwise. These t'urr rendered possible by the extra ■ ; breadth of the vessel and are intended 'I to reduce to a minimum the quantity ( i of water that may enter through in|uries or openings made in the under- , j water skin. I The increase of breadth is made at the ] expense of draft of water, so much so ; that the ratio is 4:5 instead of the usual M'-:3. In the wide treble side there are • j safety longitudinal corridors surround- ? ing nearly the whole length of the yes- • s=l. ' So far as practicable there are to be ' no other watertight or other kind of 5 door*, but only the smallest possible, permanently closed manholes for the purpose of giving access to the cellular ' compartments along the corridors from 1 the top. The double bottom and double sides of ! vessels introduced in the '60s by Sir Edj ward Reed were well enough in ante- . j torpedo days. But now something difJ terent is needed. Gen. Goulaeff has it !in his cellular side corridors, which he . purposes to make about eighteen feet j in width. Thanks to this, all the internal vital parts of the ship, especially ;• Close liable to explosion like the steam , I bojiers, magazines, shot and shell rooms, i etc.. are removed from the outer skin 1 for a distance of about eighteen feet ine I ward on each side toward the centre of ' ■ the vessel, tnus efficiently securing their " ' protection from outside explosion or any sI of her mode of attack. 'J I In larger ships a distance of twenty feet is proposed for- the corridor width. The old objection that a vessel of this great beam would be slow Is met and c answered by recent experiments indicate ing that at high speeds the horse powei '■ : needed to drive such a boat is really les. c I than for the ordinary kind, owing to the c : lessened draft. The smaller draft is con ' sidered by the inventor a distinct ad 11 ! vantage. The broad beam vessel wotih Jj be practically unsinkable and uncapsiz f I able. Her rolling wotiTd be heavy, nol J jerky. j Gen. GoulaefT asserts that he has hac ~ j offers to build an armour clad of hi? „ j type. together with a floating dock large il 1 tr.nugh to hold it. for the cost of j n I vessel of the same tonnage of the ordin j ary model.