SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS, ETC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13355, 8 December 1906, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS, ETC.

TANTALUM TENS. A- NEW pen has. recently come upon- the market ,in Europe for .which considerable success is predicted, These pens are made of tantalum in substitution for steel. They are more flexible than gold peris and more durable than those of steel, since they resist corrosion, and can with difficulty be spotted with'ink. At the same time their, points are exceedingly hard. .^

LIQUID METAL POLISH. . Take eight ounces of Spanish whiting, which must be perfectly tree from grit, and put in one quart of gasoline. Shake up the whiting and gasoline thoroughly. You will notice the whiting settles immediately, leaving the liquid as clear as water. To remedy this, and further to make it a better polishing agent, add to each quart of the mixture thirty-two drops of oleic acidno more, no less; shake again and the whiting will not settle. Apply to gold, silver, nickel, brass, glass, or any kind of metallic surface with a piece of cotton flannel, rubbing well. Polish with a piece of same cloth. :

- MOTORING. IN .THE AIR; :; Successful experiments with a new type of flying machine worked by a two-horse power motor have been made at Liseaux, France, by the inventor, M ; . Cornu, and his son. The inventors have been working in secret on the machine for some years. Their ■ apparatus consists: of two helices, two and a-half yards in diameter, which turn in different directions. The body is made of steel tube l£in in diameter, bound with wires. The helices and . the aerial planes are made of linen stretched across fine steel stays. The motor is fixed horizontally in order to lessen the vibration. The experiments, which have been very successful, were directed by means of an arrangement winch prevented the apparatus' from rising more than three and a-half yards above the ground, and drove it in a circle of 30 yards in circumference.

, MECHANICAL HOUSEMAID. ;: A demonstration was given 'at:353," Ox-ford-street, the other day with the " Aspirator," the latest labour reducer, which is a French invention, and is meant, so its promoters anticipate, to supersede the housemaid. - " "

* It consists of a neat oak box, containing a f species of bellows which when in operation suck up dirt and dust through a long flexible steel -pipe -with a flat nozzle at the end. This pipe can be manipulated in exactly the same way as an ordinary hose, thus enabling curtains, etc., to be cleaned without displacement. " 4«The chief feature '"■ of * the " Aspirator" is that it can be used by anyone, the motive power being supplied either by. a small battery or by the turning of a wheel. The machine when not in use is very compact, and its price is comparatively small.

EYESIGHT AND MARKSMANSHIP. . Some curious researches have recently been made' by i French army surgeons on the; relationship between good : eyesight and good target practice. At first glance. one would say that the two things must invariably depend the one upon the other. But the facts lead to a different conclusion. At least, they show that one may have very defective eyesight and yet be a very accurate' marksman. Astigmatism, myopia, and' other defects :of vision may exist in a, marked degree without destroying the ability to aim and shoot straight.. In the French and German armies soldiers are permitted to shoot from the right or. leftshoulder, according to their own preference, which ,-, is . often guided by the superiority of one eye over the other. Accuracy of judgment counts for as much as acuteness of vision with the' good marks-, mam' ■'■''. \:'; '' "• '