SCIENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 89, 8 January 1908, Page 4

SCIENCE NOTES.

' NEW-VIEW OF SATURN

WHY THE PLANET SEEMS TO HAVE LOSr HIS RINQ.

Tho '.'London. Standard'■ iof November -14 states;—Tho planot'Saturn, at' the'present time, is an bbjcct of spccial'interest to'tho astronomer, , as his ring is 'temporarily mvisiblq, 'or".iiearly. so.. the is Saturn's.:special glory jbut its- .disappearance advantage: that tho entire disc'of' tbo planet 'is opento'our scrutiny, and; Saturn shows himself like'ft 'paler and smallor .Jupiter.. Tho ring system was turned: edgeway,.. to. us onv, October 4,'- and 3inco that timo -wo. have bccn".look]ng down upon its northern face. But 'sinco July 26 tho sun lias been shining upon'the southern" siflc of the . rings; consequently, the- side of the ring.plane -upon. wliieh:.we are ,now .looking is tho o,no which is in darkness. ;But'' the ring does not seem to have .entirely disappeared, as the Rev. T: E.; R. Phillips, the well-known planetary : observer, : communicated, on; October) 30, a- paper to' the' British Astronomical Association :!t6 .the effect that on. several .occasion's towards the latter end .of last, nio'nth threads'.' of l : light, in. ; the. position of the' :ring : 'had been distinctly seen' on both sides of the planet: 'The osplanation of those slight gleams of light' is very readily given. .. Clerk ' Maxwell demonstrated nearly forty; yoars ago .'that ' tho rings ' of ' Saturnmust' consist .of immense ■' swarms'. of . very small, separate; bodies,, eaclv moving in its own orbit,.-like ir very .small 'sate!lite,- round the planet.' ■ At 1 ' certain;.' distances' frorn : Saturn these tiny satellites l arei-ntomorous, and",'; consequently, th"e_ rings ,'thero appear to : bo bright;;. At; other 1 distances they arc 'very few in number..or are ,altogether: :wariting;. There' are,thus well "marked divisions in the ring. The chief 'of'those,-known as Cassini's division,.. CQrresponds, to ,a distance from tho planet . where the .period pf; royojution .ivould be just :half the period' the nearest! satellite,-, one-third that of vEnoeladus, ; ;.the , next; satellite,;■ and . one-quarter of-','that."-' of Tetliys, the .'third satellite,.beside, being nite.; fractions.iof. ~the', periods,, 0f..! of, tho, outer,, satellites. This'.'.;'great... ; therefore,; no doubt, owps its, origin; to tho continuous, 'disturbance. ..of satellitesthat ivoro 'revoking, with, that partjculai; speed, 'so. that, little.; by .little,,, ,they |r w.ere';.removed from;>that region. 'But .this broad ,divisioii of .Cassini. will .allow, the suiilight; falling"; on the south side of - the ring, .-to illuminate. portions . of. tho inner ring,' which _are : thus risible, to .us under.' snch conditions that they, conld'not te/seon if ;the:rin!i! system were'a solid j continuous piano, ;; This- optical:p_earaneo;.of iSaturn's ring seems .to' have re-, vived ■ an ,old • fahld •as .to - its , approaching , disintegration:;, Rather - more,; than : 50 years, ago Professpr Otto : Struye. ;in a'-,panor. read, in Novomber, 1851, contended,;that the outerdiameter. of, the ring, -system,-'of»Saturn., "re-„ niained: perceptibly constant, > but that;. th<} inner diametjr, was gradually decreasingjri' other, words, .that the, yhole ringrWas, spreading .inwards,-- and .narrowing- t.ho. space, be- . There werej at that; time,' biit!. few,; measures -of . the ™g ' made, by good instruments .and. 'carefuli ob-. servers;, so 1 that . the. evidence; available": ,was very _ slight;; and; "most. astronomers,.- thoiiglit, it wise,;to. suspend.-.judftmeht 'on-.;tho ,ques- : tion. The, late R,. ; ;A-. Prootor.;.very iwarmly. ; supported ' yrofcsspr ;Stniye's.', conclusion,, and.' ini'consequphco,. secured a wide.'Mpub-, licity for tho th.eory. 'A careful.discussion:of the entire question-was made by Mr. Thomas Lowis, superintendent .of tho Time Department, Roya| Observatory,-. Greenwich, .. just twolvo yeari ago,, in the '.'Observatory,' 1 and he concluded" thatmo-constant-change-can bo detected in :'the .ratio rwhich the '-space. from tho planet to .the ring hears, to; the breadthof the-'Ting', itself; -• so./that• Professor Otto ; Struve's-theoryrmust- certainly bo abandoned. '.The • measures >made:-; by -Sir .John.Herschel ,in-.1828 agreo :almost ; -exactly ■ .with those ;taadeiin'-:-1895. by -Mr-t'Dyson, aiow As-Professor-W.: .W. Campbell -telegraphed . from"- the ; <Lick.»Ob-! semtorjr.avferr^days l ago; "Erominonfeibright" kiiots'fvisible; ■ rings, two 'east,' 1 two: .'west; ' symmetrically- ; placed;";---This observationvlwliich is practjcally the as T.< E. Rr Phillips' and; other';Bnglish. obsdrvors; were- making-jinritbis/country*at.-abdut-'-the:: same time,, affords -. not;, the slightest ground? for.; tho»sensationaL':annouiicemont":that 'has : been .rnhdo: in one orrtwo American publications; ',tha*t-,'.'two.. of--the--:most- ■-important' rings , -;arßpj..;i.disappearing.".'i .'oAs- -..'.Eroc-. tor.; "shdwed sldng 'ago-, :th'oi-fact rthat' tho rings are-. made' up' of ■-multitudes/'of ' inde- : pondently ', moving '.-littlo;' 1 satellites; '.'involves that the, ring system as a- whole ;must- be continually' wrinkled:into waves;;-. All tliat the; recent observations show' is-that the presentpeculiar:.position- of>.tho -planet', has ' thrown' 1 certain of; these' waves, or nodules, 1 into temporary 'prominenco. i k - : '

THE TRANSIT OF MERCURY. \ Every preparation was made at the Royal Observatory, ..Greenwich, for the, observation 'of. the transit .of- Mercury on --'November, 14, but ,dense-' clouds veiled the suii during the whole time that' the. phenomenon was in progress, except for n brief and - very partial break about eleven -o'clock.--.The little planet was; then-seen for an instant as a'small black' spot.ou the sun's - 'It ;was .then advanced. about' one-tenth-; of 'the solar. radius from the limb; but its image was blurred and . confused by- the passage of the flying scud, and before any!measurements could be madp tho clouds had clos'ed;up again and the sun was. - completely hidden. ■ One photographic plate was,..indeed, ..exposed;. but it was a forlorn iiopo—the sun'was. not'sufficiently clear to' produce any impression. The sky remained . hopelessly i and uniformly covered with, clouds; for the rest of the day, and nothing could be done. A transit or Morcury lias, of. course, nothing, like tho importance. astronomically,- of . a'--.transit ■'of Venus ; but it offers'peculiar advantages fora very, precise determination' of- the positiondiameter of-Mercury; The'transit was in progress .at true noon' at . Greenwich. Consequently,-Mercury was well ,on the disc of the sun when the" sun" was on' the meridian.' It' had been-hoped,, therefore; that -a complete set of observations of both and . the sun , could bo .-made with the meridian instruments—that is-to- say, with the transit-circle ; arid with' tho altazimuth. Tho great refractor, of 2Sin. aperture-—tlie.-largest; refractor .in tho.-British Isleswas to. have been devoted, to . micromet-ric measures of tho .-diameter of -Mercury. The two photpheliographs it was proposed touso for photographs of the sun oil' a scalo of Bin. to tho -solar' diameter. Mercury, on these plates,' would- -have had- a diameter of ono millimetre. The great photographic refractor, of 26in. aperture, gives a solar imacio nearly four times as large, and this was also' to bo used for photographing the transit, especially as : the ■ planet' was entering upon and was leaving the solar disc. Beside these * instruments," some nine telescopes were' assigned for observation of the times of ingress and egress of the planet. " SLEEPING SICKNESS., . : ' With reference to tho -statements attributed tp Professor Koch, that- crocodiles' arc responsible for'tho spread of sleeping sicknoss in East Africa, the diseaso being communicated to tho natives by an insect, the glossina, which normally lives on tho crocodile, a • representative of tho London "Standard" had an interview with Dr. Daniell, tho medical officer in charge of tho London School of Tropical Medieirie. That gentleman was moro than-sceptical on the subject. "Whereas crocodiles aro common," lie said, "all along tho banks of the Nile, sleeping sickness is confined to tho upper readies; they'aro plentiful on 1 the Zambesi, 011 Lake Nyassa, and 011 the River Shire,' districts which have hitherto been immuno. Such a state'of things does'not necessarily acquit the crccodilo, but it makes it most unlikely that he should havo any sltaro' in the dissemination of the disease. The internal evidence of the whole story, however," continued Dr. Daniell, "seems to carry its own refutation: Tho fact that-tho glossina breeds on the'banks of tho lakes and'of tins' streams up to their sources has been known for many 1 years. Again, "tho possibility of certainty in diagnosis is duo, not to Professor Koch,' but rather to Drs;- Dut-ton and Castillini, wliilo the so-called remedy discovered by the Professor, the subcutaneous injection of arsenic, goes back ill principle to the prac-

tico of the Frondi. Jesuits, jwho made manr • discoveries in medicine over in. hundred vearV ; '■ ' ago In its wlcrn application, the disco- »' very originates with the expei imental work of tho.Livorpool School :of,Tiropical ; Mcdicrao, ; ■ while it was first used 111 treatnig Imman pa- ' ' : ' iionts ill 1005,' at -tho .Lcndon Tropical >. ji: " . School. •••• Thcro is; in fact, .'nothing, new-in' ;! tli.i account published' 111 the papers •:boyond ]■' ■ • tho statement: that crocodiles, furniah , tho principal food','of the glossi:na; »nd•'■•'.'••v know that tho • insect - is able ito T fced v bn.othcfv :>l f' hosts, thero is .no. published, i|videnco.;to' shair M /■ that it; is in any way indebted- to 1 tljo. oroco*~::;^l-• :;V dilo. .The only, novelty consults m having : : tributed so'mueh of tho work that- has Xectty; Ik . dono to tho researches of Professor 1 Koch;" i 1 ,!p - i'. AN EMINENT PSYCHOLOGIST. 1' :■ Speaking at a service in■ Cheltenham* Col- V logo Chapel, at .whiclra memorial 1 to tholatfc:'" • . Ficdenck My.crsj < tho .omino)lt ? psychologist, ' • yi as. dedicated, Sir • OUrer.Lodgo !!rrS nt * ers ) took For, his .subject, * 4ho Communion of Saints,' winch ho d©*'finocl a fellowship of all the Vho w help and lo\o cach other, «omo of 'them 1 known to us, ■. others at pres&nt' unknown; • - Somo of thoso,.hG';saidj \vcrO 'On earth, others w cro not, but >, friendships ancl faCultv ♦ lyQuld l s survive bodily death and affection bridge the chasm. > Death, was a naturfl.l step of trail-"*'■ sition .from. a. more to a lessmaterial:*stfogb • of oxistenco, - and should" bo neither -hastened nor feared. • .It could • result" in.\ , actual ,; ''On-- >~- '-Mr». •: largemont of.memory and personal conscious ncss. : Myers's grasp and clear-sighted' " prehensiOp :of. cssentiiil ; features 'in"thc 'ma» '"- •tonal .and largqr universe .were-oxtfaord!-"- ' .nary, and his appreciation ofi tbo'-valuo and* | privilege of. existence* was so; keen that 4h*e - ,v r idea of cessation was to him utterly mt&ler- 1 a^e .V.j9 fc ' at ono timo to his>sceptical mind' ■ ilation .seemed tho probable- doom s, both^" * ; ' ??4°, and of-the rico; r and it'was -'•11 « his mstinctivo rebellion- against -''any such v .ghastly conclusion that constituted' tho mo. tive power- which .so influenced" his k work—work which had prolnhlv left" an im- > 1 press upon the world for all timd 1 It b£ carao his life-study to find- scientific fcrOof r of v the immortality of the. soul, aiid/thus-to vfn- v ' dieato.' tho-meaning and intention lof the ureator.' /Such a proof he ultimately found. il]G manifold activities whi(:h -at 'present ■ strangely ' interacted with"matter and api 1 pealed to'our boihly sense 3 We'e not nothing nor ; would they rner 1 vanish into nothmrncss or cease, toba They were as eternal 4s tho Godhead" itself, and'm 'tho Eternal Beiiiffthey would (endure for ever • ROYAL COMMISSION ! 0!N COAST EROSION ' < - _ On October ,25 tho. Epyal.,.OommiM!on,.oii . Loast Erosion lesumed its sidings m London,: after .having visited yarjeus portions of itne-coast. . Evidonco-.was.given Bor« -" ley, representing tho Marjnei Biological Socictv. of tho .United Kingdom, ?ho said that the .freedom of ,tho Dogger Bank from /Silt ap- • f ■ • -it ■ .peared...to-.show that oiinthat bank wave ac- < tion. ocourred at tho sea .botton|A Trituration ai might, therefore bo ln^progreiis'down, to : 20 ' fathoms; SirnF Dixon-Hartlaijd, MP, said that botween Middleton and Bugnor-the tids'' swept round from, Selsey Bill,-and. it was '- difficult to protect i, any,,, part' /of. :.tha't . coast! \ Personally ■. lie : had s^ent-£2OOO. on -groynes ■ ;in -recent' years, • and had -lost i two; acres of > V land., The -.parish !church .at!'Middleton %ha4''. ; ; - boon'submerged and a new-churchihad had to ■: bo-built... The Duko of Richmond's land ad-.'' ■; v joining; was '.'still'being - 'whera ;?.■ 1 i;' groynes t had'i b.eeri .-laid > at., a ; cfepti {o£i-14ft. iM '■'' ■ the - sea undermined them;. and- : ;tkex.AwM« ' ■ ,■ ■ swept'.away';.:;:'As 'far as '.the /land wasjepncernedtit-was-cKeiperr'to: allow,''-it-to' ' 1 go than 'to spend money.\upon it.'. Tho;-urban- '■ areas were'generally-well enough oftito. take!care -of their own' coast: Tho obligation of the:_ Government-,to, "assist; should .be, confined -i to rural;district's -and poor.ports. ' 'With re- ! gard'to':private individuals, >e'rerybodyj-.whoi■ had'. got" sea shbre should be iwilling to bo taxed: a- certain amount thehshorb

taken care of-by some; system 'directed by a v central board.. Anothor 'witness"expressed a- 1 fear lost the Islo of Wight should be cut in' two by encroachments oftho sea. - • '■<» NEW WIRELESS INVENTOR ; A beardless, youth of Hoboken;- Walter :Wi\lenborg from New York in the London "Daily Mail"), appears.before the; public'as' tlip' author 'of' a • now'syst'eni'-bf thfi 1 presence' of a 'the' "Now'' ; • Yofk' Times,"''"the* youjig"invontor*afc Hobo^ l ken; repeatedly ■. picked, ,up "■ MarconF-messages from pljfden 'as .well Moneiii"; He will',' establish'' 'a : station'; ill' : and as': • the. result .of ;* experiments/already -concluded '* he is.'positiyo of his-ability .'to send\and_ receive messages .direct,'between' New- York and; • the';.principal cities/'. The .capital.'-; necessary, has already been subscribed;,';^ Among 'other ' things, !,.Willenborghas ' invented. 'a . ■ pocket wireless'j'apparatus. which':is,attached; ;to his overcoat .collar.,and.runs to .a': belt at* his, waist; .■■ With this- the' . "New Yqrk,.Tim9B-r ? .'t»stifieS,.ho has sent .and-; received 'messages .'oyer, a .distance .of. eight ; - miles -wliilp.i .the streets ,of Hobokeri. ... s .- - A COLOSSAL LIZARD^ The" most iniportaht' '!disc6very ever made • in the great fossil 'beds ,r at' 'Wyoming is; the ■ skeleton of .an' 1 animal' 'bf ;'the lizafii' type,'-' rti " cently found, which, showir/a. length'of'3l4ft; <. •It. is by far,' the largest prehwtoric animal yet'/, discovered.. jis'.'; in v ,& .perfect.'; stato of :preserval;ibn7..evoVj >^iorie, 'secming to '• have been, in', place' wHen\' l pntnficati*'i wt'-.j?;;*; 15 lies in; the side o|- 'a hill of shale and has- not, / been, entirely .torn 'from the ! imbedded, but,the Vliole' lerigts.cah'be seeii'..\ One vertebra',, ■.'which.';.-, has, beeri removed, . weighed.more than 1000Jbs/ t The, Skeleton will . bo placed in.'.th'e ; ,Wyoming $t'ate .'JJniyersity, which has the;.greatpst.colkctiori'of fossils in tho"world, : ;but them approach:., this. : terrifi'c .monster,,fj}r,.si«e^ 6 -" ;

' 'i ' : -rt:v.; ' ' ITEMS or INTEREST ' If tlie muscles in tho 0 arm 1 of tho average man were'"put' together'and'"a; nervous'%i-puiso-passed. into them', o .'thJir -.'contraccioh- . would lift a weight-; of., .'.two -hundred 1 :anlT l tweiity-four pounds from.tTjo gJ-oiiridf'; cles have tho, uiiique power/'whfeh _ stimulated;-'-impulse, of contracting, somewhat ' as rubber' bands ;might'"do. if;'- thiiy could-' squeeze themselves'-up 5 ; shorter?"- They-.are, in fact,' tho ■'reverse >of ruhbofv for contract only,-and cannot stretch . ' _ A' new gem has by prospectors ■in ■ San Boriito County,. £&).. . 'It .is aescribed-as a clear, oluo.stono : with 1 violet, tints- in the deeper £qlqnred poi> ._ tion. It surpasses the sapphir.e in (jfijliancy - and rivals ■ it in: colour, though .it,-,'A, not,'so ~ hard ; being-about as hard as. chrysolite and.. harder than moonstone or opal.- : XJudcr heut it turns'a .bright/red,; but .onjwoliijg'glumes •: its normal colour., It has been given iho.name ■ of-Benito, 'from tho' county in was fonnd. . , ; >>.-nn.tiiq vr : Teu tram-tickets, placed in sterilinedn en" volopes as soon as roceivccl froftt ductor, wero analysed recently hy- ... quet, of Bordeaux. Each showed a healthy, though different'colony of microbes. UlThe cultures wero administered tp ten white mice. According to the "Chemist eight of tho mice il.ied, but thp •o'Chci'f t\Vb survived. . ... - Tho now coloured wood of a is produced by forcing -tho .sip' gjesis logs and injecting dyes. The treated- yppd,; has increased durability, will- not bo polished in tho usual,manner,. and,3iios!iri of the colours aro claimed to bo as st-ible,asa that of mahogany. Tho material is suitablo for .furniture.. . . ..

: An ordinary steam locomotivc can draw its':' own weight up a fivo per cent.' rise: ■ - 4 »'Che - locomotivo for the new I'uy do Domo'rbid,-! fitted with tlio Ha-nscotto systom of adher-"-etiee wheels pressing against a midcllo rail.fis expccted to tako threo loaded trailers up' a '■ 12 per cent, rise at 74 miles per. hour. 1

While not fond of tho water, T.ibbits, can. swim if .they aro forced to. They havo i swimming position all. their owu and look queer enonght in. tho water. They keep their heads and tails highland dry, while tlio front part of tho body- sinks deep in tin water.- ~ . . .

In thoi'manufacturo of pcrfnmwy, it is estimated that 1860 tons of orango blossoms aro used every year,. togothor with 931) tons of roses, ICO tons each of'jasmino and violets, 75 tons of-tube-tosps, 30 tons of'cassia, and 15 tons of jonquils, ' ■ 7 '