SCIENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 67, 12 December 1907, Page 4

SCIENCE NOTES.

EDISON'S NEW MARVEL. SECRET OF ELECTRIC STORAGE SOLVED. Mr. Thomas A. Edison has announced that he has perfected the .electric storage battery upon which be has beon working for years. If Mr. Edison's enthusiastic predictions aro realised, horsos will bo banished from tho streets of Now York in throe yoars. Ho declares that his new accumulator has been reduced in woight and increased in capacity, so that it now offers the solution of tho great traffic problem. Vehicles of all kinds will ba able to adopt electricity as motive power by using tho Edison accumulator, which will only havo to be re-charged at long intervals. Hitherto it has boon impossible to store electricity in .bulk without involving great weight and consequently - reduced carrying capacity. Three yoars ago Mr. Edison succeeded in constructing an accumulator which drove a motor-car for 150 milos on one chargo, but it was cumbrous as well as costly. Mr. Edison now claims that he has -ovoroomo all obstacles, and that motor-cars will soon be so cheap as to be within tho reach of every man who can now afford to own a horse.

"I have at last succeeded in placing tho electric 'storago battery on' an economical basis," said Mr. Edison. "I am now turning out 300 batteries a week. After experimenting for three yoars I realised that a battery capable of furnishing power for 12,000 miles boforo being re-charged was not ■ superior to' tho horse. Thoreford I made a battery with a -capacity of 50,000 miles before being recharged—so tho horso is doomod. 1 expect to havo the batteries ready for the market by the end'of December."

Mr. Edison has devoted all his time to the perfection of the storago battery. Aluminium is the chief material used. Tho inventor made the first announcement of his success at a meeting of the Amorican Elec-tro-Chemical- Socioty in October.

MISSING ELEMENTS. THE "PERIODIC". ARRANGEMENT. Chomistry reckons up about eighty elements—substances, that is','which, like sulphur; iodine, oxygen, and-the metals, have never been shown to be compounded' of unlike atoms (states a writer in the "Sydney Morning Herald"). . Tlio number is not quite certain, because among tho so-called "rare earths" are a number of substances of which only traces are obtained, and thoir chemical character ' is difficult to determine under those conditions.' Of the 80, about 20 are non-metals, and the ; rest metals; but those whioli bulk really largely in' our tcr--1 restrial economy so far as'it is within our roach: are much fewer; osygen, nitrogen, and, hydrogen make "up tho bulk of our sea and air, while the earth's crust in tho mainis silipon and oxygon, with sulphur, carbon, and a tow metals; iron, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. But Gincc so many more than these are actually known, it is of interest to ask whether wo have yet reached the limit of discovery; or, if not, how many missing elements thero are likely to be.; That there is likely to be a considerable number appears at a glance. Tho discovery of electrolysis at tho •beginning of tho nineteenth, century gave us potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium, the application of the spectroscope later on gave us caesium,' thallium," rubidium, and othors. In our own clay skill m low.temperature research has added helium andftlie raro gases of the atmosphere; while patient and refined, analysis has isolated the' salts of.TadiuhiJ;Liiv this inspect, thoifeiis no r'uidoiiiri to"'suppo£6 finailityJm lia's beon reachod.'.v lint. chemical -vtliopry canwgo fur--ther. Tlfowcsorninjter thcK knoVneelennints in the order of their atomic woiglits, starting with lithium, and ending with uraniumywofind, they fall into well-defined.family groupswhoso menibors, have a distinct likeness to each other, in chemical - behaviour;: but, in such family groups as. the atomic woiglits rise gaps: begin to appear; and. since chemists have learnt to-have the strongest'.pos-.| sible -faith ill this "periodic" arrangement,- 1 they rightly _ oxpeot that those gaps ought t-o bo occupied by missing elements. Mendolcef,.who was one of-tho first to arranged the elements in this way, went so far; as to predict tho properties of the elements which ought to occupy the first throe gaps ; and he had the satisfaction of-living to see his prophecy fulfilled and all three discovered. Tho next such gap comes after the. metal manganeso. It should bo filled by an iron-grey metal with an atomic weight of about 100, ■a specific gravity of about 12, be ''fused with difficulty, and have several oxides. Four other heavy metals arc needed to complete the sub-group, of which manganese is the first member; and similarly wo want two heavy alkali metals, .two metals to follow barium, and spvoral' more at the heavy end of other groups. Thero are no gaps among the lighter, members';of each group,' for .these occur freo.ly within our reach. In this way v.'o mint-'about;-a dozen metals to'fill up. ivoll-defined.groups. Among the known metals there'remains over a not so clearly assorted. set-, among ; which are .iron, cobalt, and nickel, with platinum and the raro. me: t-als like it'; and among these there may bo room for eight or ten more missing elements. . MAN ELECTROCUTES HIMSELF. The story of the most astounding suicide of recent times was related, at an inquest hold at Kingston,(England) recently on Mr. Willkm Jionjamin Brown, .of Albert Road, Norbiton. Mr. Brown went to the powerhouse of tlio Kingston electric light works; and deliberately electrocuted himself. He was a master.carpenter, and had done carpentering at the Kingston electric light works for some years past. He approached tho foreman of the ■ works, and asked to. bo shown tho most dangerous portion of the .switch-board. Thinking that ho had work to do .and that ho wished to avoid danger, tho foreman pointed out tho parts to him and warned liim -to ■bo ■ very careful. Some time afterwards tho foreman heard a man call out "Brown, what aro you doing theref" Ho looked up and saw' 'Mr. Brown standing on the platform of tho main switch-board, and holding the terminals of the main switch and one of tile alternators. He • hurried to disconnect' the current, but before he could do so Mr. Brown fell back dead,-a charge "of 2000 volts having passed through his body.' The terminals were perly -protected and could not have been grasped by accident. A memorandum book, found 'on Mr. Brown's body, contained the following ont-ry"l am going to my Father who made me—a weak child. I shall be better with Him. I am not a coward in body, but I have struggled for some years against my mind. Don't judge mo hardly and say I am a coward. It is either this or Brookwood in the morning." The jury returned a verdict of "Suicide during temporary insanity."

. HEAT AND LIGHT. The rays.of heat and light, aro quite independent of each other in their ability to penetrate different substances. For illustration, glass allows I,he sun's heat to pass through as readily as it does the rays of light, and that without heating the ' glass too. If the glass be coated with lampblack, howevor, tho rayc of light are arrested, hut. tho heat passes through as before, not a single dogree|s difference in tho latter phenomenon being noticeable. Then, again, both heat and light pass through water, provided it is clear. One of the oddities in this connection is this: Although the heat and light pass through ths water in its normal state, the addition of a little powdered alum, which readily dissolves without leaving the least murkiness, will arrest the lays of heat to such, an extent as to almost immediately raise the temperature of tho water, to n perceptible, degree, yet the light continues to pass through as bofore. Ico, like glass, also transmits both heat and light. Several pieces of granite wore once found deeply imbedded in ice without ally communication's with outsido 1 air. These were all surrounded with what might be termed an atmosphere of water. The explanation of such an oddity is this: The heat passing through

the loc had been absorbed by the stones until their temperature had been raised to a' degree sufficient to molt the ico around' them. CLOCKS STOPPING DEATH. " A remarkable story is related in a communication from Buda-Pest. .A . young actor, named Viszary, who was fulfilling an engagement at the National Theatre in the Hungarian' capital, suddenly awoke from sleep, and as he had to rise very early, ho consulted his watch, only to discover, that it had stopped at 2 o'clock. Fearing that ho might bo late for his appointment, lie roused his housekeeper, and asked her the time, but learned that her watch had> stopped also at ' 2 o'clock. Threo other clocks placed in different rooms had also stopped at precisely the samo hour. Viszary was much surprised at this strange simultaneous stopping of no fower than fivo timekeepers, and told several friends of tho occurrence. Later on he learned that at 2 o'clock that morning his wife had died at a hotel in Vonico, wher<sho had been staying for several days.—» "Soience Sittings." FAILURE OP EARTH'S AVATER PREDICTED. That tbo earth is gradually drying up it the conclusion reachod by tho French geologist, M. Martel; Ho has made careful obi solvations of subterranean caverns. They, contain, lie says, not only tho secret of prohistoric lifo, inasmuch as they were the homes of men, of the remotest age. M..! Martel has found proof of a steady fall in the level of the water in these subterranean depths, and from this fact he concludes thai" . tbe world will eventually bcconie dtpfipu*-, lated through tho failure of the water sup ply, and, finally, become a dried-up planet. A'LAKE THAT TURNS RED. One. of the natural curiosities of Switzerland is Lake Morat, which turnß blood red every tenth year. For centuries this freak was regarded by the Swiss with suporstitious dread, and.not until scientists turned their attention to the matter was the belief ib. tho ' supernatural- partly removed. Even now' some of .tho more ignorant persist in regarding the omen as. one of evil import. Tho reddish colour is>given the water, by a minute ])lant closely related to the red snow. Every tenth year this plant begins to propagate, and so quieklv does it grow that in a short' time the wholo lake is. a crimson tide." Thi plant is so minute as not to bo perceptible without tho aid of a microscope, and there ; was some fonndation for the early belief thaf ■ the lake had turned into a sea of blood; ' i THE LATEST THING IN HOUSES: "... The latest form of Mr. Edison's inventive:' genius is a proposal to give working men concrete house of eleven rooms, which; shall he as comfortable, as a mansion in Fifth ;? Avenue, for a-sum-of £200. At his factory •>' in New Jorsey the inventor showed aniintor- l • viewer a specimen of one of these houses, ■ which, ho said, could be put up in half... a- day.'; Mr. Edison, is also prepared to supply, from the same factory cast iron frames of houses •. with nickel-plated facings. Speakingir'of his. proposal, Mr. Edison said:—"Wo can build ' any number.of houses. A hollow wall.of iron., frames is erected on vacant ground, and concrete is irampsd in from the top., "In six: days tbo iron framo is removed, and in 15 days the concrete has hardened and: tho house is ready. Very, little woodwork ',will he uspd. The furnaces 3nd bath, tubs aro cast with the walls. Thero will be np plumb- ■ ing and no need of insurance, fnr nothing : used is capable of being burned. ■ I•• have ■ done this for. the working'man who is doing his best to bring up. a family. I got tbe idea from going through the East side.;,which is only a mess of brick boxes. I havo • patented the house, but. any one may have the rights provided ho uses the riaht kind of concrete, properly reinforced with i: rods,-,/ and makes an; artistic.-, product. . 4n • Me»'.; conies easily: that-does, not take ono per',cent, of i)iy, j tirnp M l)ut, thc details mean plug, j, plog, plug^qras . ■ 'ITEMS OF'/INTERKST. 1 " ' . ! Thero was a, sort of impression that) the dentist's ~w.ork, began;, witn tho ! toothache, -; said Sir -Frederick iii K distri-.'i buting .prizes rn London to dental students. As a'matter of-fact, he added, the sufferingindividual consulted, tho dentist- when- .thou trouble was practically, at ai) end.- Ho ro-,, minded, his hewers that this,', was an age, of'.-, crazes. Everybody was on a diet. •If -people. wore a little more careful about their teeth thoy would not be so careful about their,. • diet-...

1 The perfect turquoise should be of a deep sky-blue colour and ■of conical shape; , Tho slightest tingo of green renders it praotically valueless; yet one sees constantly in tho windows of 'eminent London jewellers absolutely green turquoises magnificently set in diamonds; many of these no doubt wcro originally of good colour,'but after a time faded or assumed a green tingo; Sometimes a mere speck on the gem will develop into a largo ■ blur and spoil it. —"Windsor Magazine."

The close of tho recent Tay salmon angling season was marked by the capture of an enormous salmon, scaling the'largest' salmon, it is said, with rod on this river for oyer 30 years. Mr, T. Stewart, of Perth, was the fortunate angler, and. ho caught tho fine fish with a worm about on« and a half railed below Perth. The head,, which weighs 23111;., is' being'set up foi Perth Museum.

According lo the. "Central v News,"- Mr. Edison laughs at Sir Hiram Maxim's prediction that, with the aid of clectric wayea goiierated by tho whole power of Niagara it may jet he possible to signal to Mars. "Sir Hiram is fond of lotting off a littio enthusiastic hot air like this now aud again," lit added. .

The moose-deor has tho largest horns of #ny animals. They often weigh- from fiftj to sixty pounds.

One of the most curious incidonts recorded in natural history has occurred at Diss, Nor folk, where a couple of ferrets have hatchcc, out duckliiigs. The owner of the eggs, think' ing thorn useless for hatching, gave .them'to his ferrets. Instead of sucking tho .eggs, tho forrots hatched them. The curious foster parents continued excellent friends with th< ducklings. ....

Romo lizards are -able to walk on their hind legs, of which the most remarkable example is the frilled lizard - of. Australia,. a powerful form, which-attains a length of about throe feet. Should danger threaten, it scuttles off on : its hind limbs with considerable speed for as far as thirty or forty feet in a lialf-crouching attitude, with the fore limbs hanging dqwn and tho remarkable frill folded up.

The Fathers of tho Holy Ghost have ,suo- v ceoded in acclimating at Thies all the tree's useful in tropical countries. They established thero "trial gardens." It was Father Klaine who. introduced the vanilla treo in Gallon, which has furnished plants for all the vanilla plantations in that rogion.' Father Duparquet, who died Prefect Apostolic of Cimbebasia, sent animals hitherto unknown and seeds of remarkable herbs to Europe. He found a great many new-plants ; aS aid also Father Berthelot ill fclic region of Cuucne. Father Duss has shown its tho flora of tho Antilles. Fathers Trillcs and Sobiro must also be mcntiohed. The. works of tho " latter have earned many distinctions for him. In French Guinea Father- Uainbanlt discovered a plant which appears to lie a powerful remedy in bilious- lever and blood vomiting; it is called "Combretum llaimbaulti." :■

The caterpillar spends his time trying to keep out of everybody's way. Some specie? hide on tho nildcr surface of leaves, otlieri on tho stems or 'blades of which servo them as food; others again build little nests for concealment- or else tlinv li« snugly hidden between the curled edges nf leaves, wliicl they draw close together until the opposite, edges meet. The caterpillar is a sociablr. creature in his own family. Ho knows thai there is safety in numbers, ami you will tind whole companies feeding siil>' by side while keeping n sharp look-out for their bird enemies, but when a caterpillar is bv himself he scarcely dares to more for fear of attracting attention. Kvrn wlmi'. he is obliged to change his skin In- i!/»wh't vcntnro to leave his old eon) lying srtnind. Tho moment that be takes it, •>'? V-<i it. Tho caterpillars that iivo iu rvjnjpxvio* «hod their skin boldly. Only the \iont solitai-r follows fool forcod to sirallos their old clothos.