SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14145, 21 August 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

SEASONED TIMBEB.

Experiments by the United States Forest Service have demonstrated that thoroughly air-dried timber has about double the strength of green timber. Moreover, in order effectively to apply p- eservative agents to timber it must first be seasoned, because it is very difficult to inject antiseptics into green"wood. The loss of weight by seasoned timber is quite surprising. Western pine loses half its weight after three to five months' seasoning. NEW USE FOR DIAMONDS. A new and peculiar use ha been found for diamonds, namely, assisting marksmen in their shooting. According to the Horological Journal the diamonds arc fixed in the front and back sights, and it is said they enable the marksman to take a quick and correct aim, even in a bad light. The brilliants are so fitted that immediately the piece is brought to the shoulder the rays in the gems assist the alignment, and the eye takes aim without the least hesitation.

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN. The penny-in-the-slot machine is not by any means a moflern invention. In the old Egyptian temples devices of this kind were employed for automatically dispensing ,the purifying water. A coin of rive drachmae dropped into a slot hi a vase set a simple piece of mechanism like a well-sweep in motion ; a valve was opened for an instant, and a portion of the water permitted to escape. This apparatus was described by Heron of Alexandria, who lived 200 years before the Christian era.

ELECTRIC PROPULSION FOR SHIPS.

The Institute of Marine Engineers in London recently discussed this subject, and Mr. H. A. Mavor, of Glasgow, said that the prospect for electric propulsion for ships is very hopeful. Leading shipbuilders have been considering the subject for some time. Mr. W. P. Durtnall said that in the allelectric Paragon method of driving vessels, the electric motors are coupled direct to the propellers, and run at equally high efficiency in either direction. Since the steam turbine can run in only one direction the new method saves the expense of a reversible turbine. VALUABLE METALLIC ALLOY. Monel metal, of which about 500,000 square feet have been used on the roof of the Pennsylvania railroad station in New York, is attracting much attention on account of its remarkable Qualities, as it is practically untarnishable, has a strength comparable to that of some grades of steel, and in rolled sheets is as malleable and flexible as copper. It is a silver- alloy, containing essentially about 70 per cent, of nickel and 30 of copper, although small quantities of iron, sulphur carbon, silicon, etc., are'usually present. It can be rolled hard or soft, has been made into castings up to three tons, and at present is cast in two grades very similar to hard and medium cast steel.

NOVEL TELEPHONE ATTACHMENT.

The telephone is undoubtedly one of the greatest time-savers in connection with commercial, transactions, but its utility is often negatived by the absence of facilities to take down a message when requisite, Then there is a wild scramble for any handy piece of paper, which often is subsequently mislaid. To overcome this a handy little desk has been devised. It carries a continuous roll of paper, the end of which, coming under a guide-bar, presents a smooth, flat writing surface upon the deck of the attachment. The whole is so small that it comfortably fits upon the telephone-desk, and one can write down a message as it is received without the slightest inconvenience. When the message has been committed to paper it is only necessary to tear the paper off at the guide-bar at the bottom of the desk, and a new, clean, flat area of paper is presented ready for the next call. This little desk is one of those simple devices which serve to systematise business, since it is always at hand and is applicable to either a wall or pedestal instrument with equal facility. RAPID CUTTING THROUGH IRON AND STEEL. A very ingenious method of rapidly cutting through an iron or steel plate has recently come into use. It is based upon the i fact that when iron at a high temperature is acted upon by a fine jet of oxygen the resulting iron oxide is more fusible than the iron itself and passing away exposes a fresh surface of the metal to the attack of the gas, so that a cut is produced along the line of action. In the early attempts to utilise this method in practice the metal was first heated to the required temperature in an oxyhydrogen flame, and then subjected to the action of the oxygen jet. Now, however, the heating and oxidation are done at the same time, and the resulting cut is much sharper. In one form of apparatus used for this process the metal is heated by means of an oxyocetylene flame, from the centre of which issues a jet of oxygen. In illustration of the rapidity with which the process works, some experiments of M. L. Guillet may be cited. For instance, an armour plate" 6iin thick and 3|ft in length was cut in two in 10 minutes, while manholes could be cut in plates fin to l£in in thickness in four to five minutes. In parallel experiments upon the same piece of metal, a groove l£in to 2£iu deep was cut by the oxygen process in seven minutes, whereas with a pneumatic chisel a groove of about the same length, but only one-quarter as deep, took an hour to cut. The new method has also given very satisfactory results in the rapid removal of the heads of rivets when plating has to bo separated, only a few seconds' treatment being necessary for fusing off the head of a rivet gin in thickness. With regard to the effect of the oxygen upon the metal adjoining the cut, experiments have shown that the depreciation is but slight. A WONDERFUL CLOCK. Perpetual motion has not been discovered, but a clock has been made, says the Daily Telegraph, which, with an electric battery that can be purchased at a shilling, will, it is claimed, keep accurate time for nearly three years without further attention after once it has been properly started. Externally, it has the appearance of the ordinary timepiece. It can be made in dimensions largo or small, _ adorned by ornament or plain; neither size nor character of design has any influence on its moving parts. They are the same in all cases. There is no pendulum, and no winding is necessary. Two short wires are connected with the small cell battery, which can be placed inside a carriage clock as well as behind a 14in dial. When, at the end of a thousand days, a fresh battery may be necessary, the two wires, it is pointed out, can be attached to the new cell with such facility that there need be no cessation of movement. There is no tick to emphasise the passing seconds—noiselessly the clock, known as the Eureka, does its work. Position makes no difference to its action ; be it upside down, it continues to mark time. The simplicity of the clock, when its mechanism is compared with that of the old timepiece, is remarkable. The movement is caused by a direct electrical impulse, and from the balance wheel is a lever connected with the hands. By the use of ball-bear-ings friction is reduced to a minimum. This is the invention that Mr. Sigismund Kutnow had recently the honour of submitting to the King for His Majesty's inspection. The result of the invention has been the opening of a factory by a British company for a fresh industry in London, where, among other employees, lads from,orphanages are learning and applying the science connected with the Eureka clock. The cost of one of the new timepieces will depend much on the character of its case. As already explained, there will be no difference .in the " works," whether they be encased in cheap or costly material. The intention of the company, it is stated, is to cater for all clases, and in a few weeks the first 1000 clocks made according to the new invention will issue from the factory.