SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14223, 20 November 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

' WARMER THAN THE SUN. A rAVER read before the Academy of Science, Paris, stated that by experiments with an instrument called a stellar barometer, M. Nermann has discovered that our sun is by no means the warmest member of the stellar system. The heat of the sun is only 5990deg., while that of the Pole Star (which sounds a good deal colder) is 9800deg., and the heat of Aldebaran, in the constellation of the Bull, is 60,000 degrees. :,"■'. ■ » " v ~,.,.,.''.!.> ■■ — ' , a* '* TOAST IN A TRICE.

The troublesome preparation of toast when time is a factor to be considered oft precludes the enjoyment of same. However a new device which has been placed on the" market, " The Rapid Toaster," does a deal to overcoming these obstacles, toasting four slices at the same time. It can be used oh a gas stove, gas ring, or oil stove. An adaptation of the • same idea is also used for an iron heater, the sides of the apparatus being plain instead of perforated; the top of the ,arrangement being available for a £fth heating iron. VALUED AT £480,000 PER OUNCE. A certain amount of the 154 grains of radium chloride (equivalent to 15* grains of pure radium), which represents the output of 18 months from the works at bfc. Joachimsthal, in Bohemia, is to be put on the market by the Austrian Government. The Viennese hospitals and scientific insttutions will first be supplied free of cost, and the rest will be offered for sale at the price of £15,000 a gramme (15.4 grams).. The precious store, the largest quantity of radium that exists in one mass in the world, is at present in a burglar-proof sale at St. Joachimsthal, guarded day and night by armed watchmen., For conveyance to Vienna the radium will be packed in a lead capsule, and a number of responsible officials will have charge of the tiny parcel. THE CAMERA'S EYE. f? I The camera, which can divide time into thousandths of a second and record the impressions of each, makes permanent. pictures of events which pass too quickly for the dull human retina to recognise. It is only through the camera that the motion of "the wings of flying birds and of the lees of swift running animals has been analysed. To. the camera, the fuzzy drivers of swiftly speeding locomotives stand out. clear cut and stationary, while, each flying drop of rain in the driven storm is distinct and seems to be frozen in its place. Often the eve of the camera will decipher documents* of which the writing has been substantially obliterated by age, and Mr. A. W. Dimock tells us he has successfully copied with the camera the utterly faded photograph of a schoolmate of 40 years ago, and has thereby been enablea to present to a grizzled veteran a likeness of his curlyhaired youth. Changes in the pigment of the skin, undiscoverable by the eye, appear with distinctness on the sensitive, plate, and ample warning of approaching disease has been given thereby. By means of the invisible rays .beyond the violet of the spectrum, objects may be photographed in, darkness, and, with the aid of the so-called X-rays, through substances otherwise opaque. When from the darkness of night and storm the forked lightning flashes, the camera makes a., vivid and permanent picture of each fiery .trail.. Creatures that tarvel by night.: can be " caught" in the brief blaze of a magnesiurrhcharged pistol, the flash of which is of too short duration for the pilgrim to move, or the human eye to recognise the creature's form. '" __

''SELF-WINDING CLOCKS.

Considerable stir was recently made by the announcement of the perfection of a clock that, would go for: 1000 days with a s'njzle winding. At first sight this ;, appears a remarkable horological achievement, but as a matter of fact there are clocks on the market which do not require any winding at ail-that is, in the ordinary sense of the word—and will go for years without attention. These timepieces are electrically driven, and can be connected to the ordinary house-lighting system ; or should such not be available, fourvolt batteries are in every way as serviceable. ' The winding mechanism < is very inK enious, and successfully guards against the possibility of overwinding or, straining the mechanism by this operation, which is the general cause of timepieces stopping or becoming deranged. There is a small motor carried in the clock which is automatic in its action. When the clock runs down the current is. switched on and the spring rewound up to a certain predetermined limit, when the current is switched off, this cycle of operations being repeated continuously and without any attention whatever. Even breakdowns in the electrical supply are provided against. Such contingencies, though now reduced to the minimum, are unavoidable even in the best-regulated electric generating works. When the current is drawn from the house-Ughtmg system it first winds an auxiliary spring before winding up the clock-spring proper. Should an accident'occur to the supply, this/reserve spring is brought into action, and it is sufficient to drive the clock for 48 hours, which in the majority of cases is ample to tide over repair, of a breakdown. With a battery svstem such a provision is unnecessary. 'The consumption of electrical energy "is insignificant, a unit of energy, representing from fourpence to sixpence, being sufficient for a period of about ten years. The automatic winding system is distinctly advantageous, for it serves to keep the timepiece regulated to a very precise degree, and spring fatigue is not experienced. The system is applicable to small clocks with a dial of some three inches designed for the mantelpiece as efficiently as For clocks having a dial measuring several feet across.

MOTOR-BOAT DEVELOPMENT. The craze for speed in boats propelled by petrol or other explosion engines has brought about a remarkable development in the design of such craft which will probably be* far-reaching in its results. Hitherto the general practice has been to crowd heavy, high-powered motors into as.light and • frail a boat as possible—mere eggshells, in fact—and many have been the fiascos attending the -racing of such freaks. Sir John I. Thornycroft, F.R.S., however, thought, that the true solution of speed lay in the alteration of the design of the hull, and to determine this point carried out a series of elaborate experiments with small models following the lines of skimmers or hydroplanes. These < proved highly valuable and aroused considerable attention in motor-boat and shipbuilding circles. He followed up these investigations with a,, full-sized motor-boat upon the lines of the model which gave the most'promising results, and the preliminary trials mm this crait have served to substantiate the points emphasised in the trials with the model. Above the water-line the boat does not differ materially in its appearance from the general craft of this type, except that it is whale-backed and somewhat broad, but beneath the water-line there is a very wide divergence • from existing practice. Under the keel, at the prow, is a vertical fin plate carrying at right angles a horizontal plane. As the-speed of the boat increases the prow rises, until at last, when a speed of 20 miles per hour is gained, the keel lifts clear of the water, being supported in front only by the plane which skims or glides along the surface of the water, while the stern, which is of special design, drops. In this manner the boat skims over the water with but little resistance from the latter, throwing only a little spray and scarcely any wash. The higher -the speed the more steadilv the boat rides, but in choppy water a quick, seesaw motion is observed, this being attributed to the extraordinary position of the centre of gravity. The speeds so far obtained, upwards of 30 miles per hour; have been marvellous, and ; could not be anywhere approached, by a craft of the orthodox style with engines of the same power. Evidently, we are on the dawn of a new era in motor-boat design, at least so far as racing vessels are concerned. In. fact, if the speed were carried to a certain point, such a ' vessel would leave the water altogether and travel through the au\ :