SCIENCE NOTES.

Lake County Press, Issue 2698, 6 September 1917, Page 7

SCIENCE NOTES.

THE LARGEST TELESCOPE. A 72-in. reflecting telescope, tho largest yet completed, lias been finished at Cleveland, Ohio, U.S-, for tbo Dominion Astronomical Observatory, Victoria, British Columbia. Its weight is 55 tons, and will be borne by concrete piers. The devolving dome is (ifift. in diameter, and weighs 120 tons. It lias a double shutter, with an opening 15ft. wide, and all movements, including evolution, operation of shutter and wind shield, and control of the observing bridge, are effected by electric motors.

HEATED GLOVES FOR AVIATORS A British firm has recently introduced electrically-heated gloves for aviators. Cold hands and feet are among the prime discomforts experienced by airmen flying at great altitudes, and it is obvious that numbed hands in particular may lead to disaster. Ordinary gloves, irrespective of their thickness, are of little use. The electrically-heated gloves, on the other hand, maintain the hands at a comfortable temperature. As in the instance of tho electrically-heated gloves for automobile drivers, electrical connection is made between small brass discs on the gloves and metal plates on tho steering wheel of aircraft.

INSIDE A CANNON HOSPITAL. Quito near tho Western Front in Flanders the Germans havo established a miniature Krupp gun factory —a "cannon hospital," as it has been dubbed by the soldiers—where guns worn by constant action, or injured by enemy shells, are treated, retested, and then sent back to the fighting-line. Two hundred and fifty workmen worli in this hospital, an interesting account of which is given by a German jour nalist, who was afforded an oppor tunity of visiting it. He relates how, when looking at tho havoc wrought by enemy shells on the guns, it is difficult to imagine how they can ever be repaired. Very often damage occurs to the wooden parts, especially to tho wheels. In the woodwork department arc stocked all sizes of gun-wheels, so that in case of quick need a sun can be mado serviceable in a very short time at the spot where tho accident occurred. After being lepaired, cleaned, and thoroughly examined, the guns are

I taken to a specially-built provingII ground. Hero the rifling of the gunsi barrels is also looked after, and, if - I necessary, they are reground and re- ' calibred. Hero also guns captured on 3 ■ tlio field are remade for use. ' • ! On machine-guns, for which all I extra parts are made and stored in readiness, the cooling-jackets scorn to ; bo the most vulnerable to lifle-bullots. With oxygen welding apparatus, these 1 repairs and oven whole renewal of the jackets are effected without difficulty* each machine-gun being thoroughly tested at the proving-grounds before it I leaves the hospital. , ARTIFICIAL FEET MADE OF PAPER. According to Horlingske Tidende the Danish physician Svindt, who formerly ; manufactured artificial legs out of j papier macho, now makes artificial feet ! nut of paper pulp. A model of the ' foot is made of wire gauze, and upon ' this is poured the specially-prepared * pulp, the latter entirely filling the inj terstices of the wire gauze. These i paper feet are said to be strong enough for general use; they have, moreover, the advantage of being very cheap. Physicians report that these artificial feet arc very popular with crippled soldiers. CLEARING FOG BY ELECTRICITY The fact was long ago scientifically establshed that all dust and fog particles in the open atmosphere are t electrified and subject to dispersion a or precipitation, but how to clear fog 1 from a street, along a railway, or hj from the neighbourhood of a ship at a sea, and to do it in a manner com- t morcially feasible has been a matter ( > of serious study for many years. Dr. s F. C. Cottrell, who has done so much ‘ towards the practical precipitation of * dust, smoke, and chemical fumes at '' large industrial works, is now on- ~ gaged at the behest of the Smiths©nian Institution, in making some im- y portant investigations on the subject. ?

ARTIFICIAL PEARLS. Large artificial pearls have been made by filling thin glass tubes with a solution of fish scale nacre, and they are very cleveT imitations. An easy way to detect them is to note the spot where the bulb was sealed. Liesegang has now made artificial nearls by another method. The glass bulb is coated on the inside with ton per cent, gelatine solution, allowed to dry only partially, and then a small amount of sodium phosphate added, and the coating dried very slowly. The irridesccnce is an optical phenomenon caused by minute wrinkles, parallel, formed on the gelatine.

LIVING AEROPLANES. It would be a mistake to suppose that the bird’s wings enable it to fly. If wings spelt flying, any of us could attach a pair and soar into the air. The hollow-bones make light bodies, but they are attached to a rigid backbone, which forms the main feature of the bird’s body. This gives the central firmness, and the muscles do the rest. The wings balance their owners, and the tail acts as a rudder for steering. Often enough the bird seems to use its tail as a sort of brake. It is interesting to compare the bird with the product of man’s skill—the aeroplane. To begin with, there is no aeroplane made which copies the up-and-down motion of the bird’s wings, all our machines having fixed wings, or planes. But, naturally, man first tried to copy the living fliers around him. He made wings of feathers, etc., connected them with his shoulders and legs, and found that his muscles could not raise him an inch. The muscles, or motors, which now drive him through the air are as strong as 200 horses, so no wonder he failed at first. Even the bird, with a body so perfectly formed for flight, has flying muscles equal in weight to all its other muscles put together.