SCIENCE NOTES.

Lake County Press, Issue 2635, 8 June 1916, Page 7

SCIENCE NOTES.

MOTION PICTURE STUDIOS. Although the construction of motion picture plants is rendered very costly by the largo areas of glass roofs and « walls that are erected to shelter the daylight studios or stages, it is very seldom indeed that the natural light alone can be employed for photographing scenes. Artificial illumination is necessary even on bright days, for sunlight cannot ho depended upon -the overshadowing of the sun for even a single moment would spoil a strip of film and necessitate retaking the action. At one time the arc lamp was considered the most suitable form of studio lighting, but to-day it has been almost entirely supplanted by the Cooper-Hewitt mercury vapour lamp. As a rule, it is assumed that for proper lighting there should be a current expenditure of 100 watts in the mercury vapour lamps to each square foot of floor space; stages lighted under thq.se conditions having a" floor illumination averaging about 400 foot-candles. However, as in the instance of industrial illumination, no hard and fast rule can bo said to govern the lighting requirements of all studios. SUN MIGHTIER THAN OUR SUN. It is an awe-inspiring conception that our star system has as its centre an immense sun many thousands of times larger and more glorious than our immediate sun, and that this is surrounded by millions of other suns of many sizes, the whole vast group Forming the nucleus of a spiral nebula with the mighty spiral arms coiling about us as the Milky Way. .ret the discovered facts impressively array ed by Mr. H. Spencer Jones, of I the Greenwich Royal Observatory, suggest not only so much, but that this immense system is only one island universe - perhaps a comparatively small one—among thousands or millions of other island universes m space. And still wo marvel at the magnitude of human works, and the hugeness of the dust-speck commotion of agonised Europe! 1 EXPLORATIONS IN BRAZIL. I ’ In a recent letter to Mr. Roosevelt, ' Colonel Rondon, the Brazilian army ' offieei’ who took part in the fa'mous ' expedition that explored the Iviver ot 1 Doubt” (Rio Theodore), reports the 1 completion of the overland telegraph t line with the construction of which lie 1 has been busy for several years, and t which was brought to public notice in ■ connection with the expedition above f mentioned. This remarkable line, hav--1 ing a total length of 972 miles, exs tends from Cuyaba to Santo Antonio, . on the Madeira, and thus intersects e :l vast and littlo-known jungle. A I mad has been built along the route v „f the telegraph, and the pacification a of the Indian tribes has been a li feature of the undertaking. Colonel

ltondon is now preparing an official report of his explorations and maps of the region traversed. Ho states that Lieutenant Marquess do Soua was scirv last February to descend the Anana/ r River, which is supposed to be tho ! source of the upper Aripuana. the latter being ono of the chief affluent! of the Theodoro. ' j r I i CONSUMPTION OF ALUMINIUM.' I I I The consumption of aluminium is constantly expanding, and apart from its use in the manufacture of cooking utensils, it is being employed in the construction of automobile castings and of welded tanks used by brewers, I preserve manufacturers, and fat ren- • derers, and for wire for powertransition lines. Other uses which are i important in their adaptability and ! efficiency, but which absorb only a small portion of the domestic product, are the manufacture of powdered metal used as a paint pigment and in making aluminium foil. Aluminium j foil is gradually displacing tinfoil, j which heretofore has oeen used for ! wrapping cheese, sweets, tobacco, tea, ! and other products.

CURIOUS COLLECTION OF RAZORS. A recent issue of "Hardware and Metal," Toronto, contains an interesting account of the work which has been done throughout Canada in collecting disused razors for the use of the British troops. By the early part of September 15,000 had been received and 10,000 despatched to the Master Cutler of Sheffield. The collection included some curious and interesting specimens. One has a patent detachable blade, which is held or released by the action of a little catch or lever at the back, whereby wornout blades can b c easily replaced. Another has a blade which must have been hammered out of a file, as the file cuts are still distinct. The handle is formed from bird's-eye maple-wood, and put together with rivets and burrs made from old zinc nails and washers. This razor may be regarded as an example of the resourcefulness of the early settler _ in Canada. It came from Lake Superior. Two other razors are made out of old files, and have handles of solid pieces of wood, cut through and held together with a rivet at the joint. There are three fairly modern specimens of blades, but filled-up crude hand-made handles, held together with wire nails. They came from places where it was not possible to have them properly repaired. The owner of an early specimen of handforged razor stated that the instrument had been in the possession of his family more than 75 years. Another, w'-hieh had been used in the Crimean war, must have been costly to buy, as the scales are of tortoiseshell inlaid with silver. Several have embossed handles. Probably the earliest specimen has a shank thinner than the blade, which is the reverse of what razors are now. It follows that the majority of those curiosities •are quite unfit for further service, but they would form valuable and interesting exhibits in a museum or collection of antique cutlery work if any exists, and it is to be hoped that they will be preserved with that object in view. The proportion of freaks among the Canadian gifts is, however, stated to be small. SCIENCE OF NOSES. Nasography reveals the character, habits, and inclinations of people by a simple inspection of noses. According to the system, the nose should be as long as possible, as this is a sign of merit, power, and genius. Examples —Napoleon and Caesar, both of whom had large noses. A straight nose denotes a just, serious, and energetic mind; the Roman nose a propensity for adventure, and a wide nose with open nostrils is a mark of great sensuality. A cleft noso shows benevolence —it was the nose of St. Vincent de Paul. The curved fleshy nose is a mark of domination and cruelty. Catharine de Medici and Elizabeth of England had noses of this kind. The curved thin nose, on the contrary, is a mark of a brilliant mind, but vain and disposed to be ironical; it is the nose of a dreamer, a poet, or a critic. If the line of the nose is re-entrant—that is, if the nose is turned up—it denotes that its owner has a weak mind, sometimes coarse, and generally playful, pleasant, and frolicsome. A pale nose denotes egotism, envy, heartlessness; the quick, passionate, sanguine man has a strongly-coloured noso of uniform shade. QUEEN ELIZABETH'S COAL MONOPOLY. Queen Elizabeth was the first English monarch to realize the value of the coal-mines as a State-owned monopoly. She obtained a lease of al l the Durliam fields for £9O a year, and then proceeded to manipulate a corner in coals with much success. She annexed the private pits of the Percys when they were profitably developing themselves, and only consented after a time to allow them a small percentage of their own stuff. She chartered a company in Newcastle as virtual monopolists in the sale of Northumbrian coal to shippers, and so engineered matters that the Lord Mayor of London formally complained that the Newcastle freemen's rights had been bartered away to a monopoly, and begged for some limitation to the price, which had now been forced up to a pound a chaldron. Coal bad previously been sold in London at four shillings" a chaldron.