SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15807, 2 January 1915, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

TRAIN WIRELESS TELEPHONY, [§fl For many years Mr. F. H. MiOeneTyfl H experimental engineer of the Union Pacific ■'■'"<■ Railway (U.S.A.), has been working <sa§|§||| wireless telephone apparatus for direct communication with moving trains. TT«» -~-"fc announces that his plans have been coro-lgllra pleted and a. satisfactory system has been ' m developed, whereby he is able to taii '. ■with a moving train a hundred miles J® 9 away from the wireless transmitting fta- - % tion. Wireless stations are to he estab- ? %:■ lished at Grand Island and North Platte, "'. f| Neb.. Cheyenne and Green River, Wyo.'' f._ " and Ogden, Utah. " ' -p| 38 i A USEFUL INK. c* 1 In shops where it is dam? or cht-nv'al *I g fumes are present it is usua.lv d :t3cult to . ! cause labels to stick to bottles or cans. 81S An ink for use on such containers - mnde •■' 1 as follows:—Shellac 20 grauiTT»«. Jig.. j* v solve it in a hot solution of rx>r..x outlin- cil ing 50 grammes of borax to - 0 <-■-'..[~ s* t , centimeters of water, filter while :. • -unj S | add a solution made of anil.nc J'.a'k. 8 ? | gramme?, tannin 0.5 gramme, i .-'•■■ acid jr. | 0.1 gramme, and ammonia 15 gra: ■:■-?. a J water 10 jrramm«. It will 1- ;-ur,d .:: | that this ink works nictly and resists ths ""■"/ | usual chemical and corrosive far::-?*. -S I J PARASOL FOR THE HOUSE. ,?; To protect and comfort th- faitMul ' | horst who works all day lons under the "*f:i broiimg sun without a sign of < rripiaint : 'f\\ f a tent has now been deviled n. h ' -iv " | be set up on the shafts of a vat _•.>:-, o\ c ; 3 the body of the horse. A Wzi.X i.-. rie- . I work of steel, clamped to th. >h..::=, 'M holds the shelter in the right posit • -.. \ rigidly above the horse The j< r.r.~ £T over the frame is nothing mort- than a- |r heavy grade of canvas. When onie '•$ \ I tent is adjusted it requires nc - : r tharJ; 1 attention even when hitching the h rse, i" I for the latter simply walks und. -it \ns.-. 1 is buckled fast in the usual mam ■r. Then | the horse proceeds with his w : a Ecel-1 | tered by the equivalent of a pa;as..-l. j I 1 X-RAYS AND SOUNP . - f The theoretical deductions <-•• Tk.-ts- |Lmann and Maxwell on the cor.«t tutior, ofag: gases lead to certain conclusion- r--,->-t~ t' ing the rate of proportion of so<:nd wares " through gases. For the most j art 2&set .* obev thes». theoretical laws, but oxy-ea ..,, presents anomalies. This departure from j% j the normal behaviour of Erases or :'.? of oxvgen was attributed by R chard* to "y;, the neutral ionization oi the .as. and SSg consequently a systematic study Has been fp made "by Kupper on the v.flueoce of vart ; cms ionizators on the velocity of r>usd 0 in various gases. On submitting atrrsrijpheric air. oxygen and nitrogen to the|f!| action of X-rays, the velocity of sound propagation through those gases is erectly increased. The ultra-violet rays from aV. quartz mercury vapour lamp give rise, inthe case of oxygen and of mixtures ?on« at£l taming oxygen" to the formation of ozona and in consequence to a reduction in the velocity of sound. In the case of nitrogen and hydrogen the velocities are acreased, although not to the same extent as when X-rays are employed. The rays *M of radium eieft no appreciable effect, and '£'. neither do i.he variations produced by an ; |ij| alternating electric field. ;" * _____ r JHS

ELECTRICAL CONDITIONS AT SEA. A report on the atmospberic-eteci-I-f observations made during the second |jg| cruise of the Carnegie ii published by C>l W. Hewlett in Terrestrial Magnetism' ||t and Atmospheric Electricity, and con-.|||| stitute an important contribution to the-|||| study of electrical conditions at sea. as vj§| tho observations cover a period of more ||| than two years, and -were made cm tbeagjg Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Combining the results with those ob- '•'< tained by, other observers, it may be instated that the potenti?! gradient is of the same order of* magnitude bv*r the «ea as over the land ; the radioactivity of iha3||| air over the ocean areas far removed r-tMn |pp land is small, compared to that found IK: over land : while the ionization over .. he ; ocean is at least as large as that foua£ E over land- The specific conductivity o! S| tho atmosphere is found to be indepen- J|| dent of its radioactivity. The mean isR value of the specific conductivity given mm by the Carnegie observations ■*■<& mm 3.07* 10-* E.S.U., which is larger than 'S the mean value found over land. jsgg

CLOUD MOVEMENT APPARATUS 'H An effective and simple apparatus for •bserving movements of clouds is the taention of a French meteorologist, M. I*--jS Wesson. The nephoscopie " comb" tias f|| jrecisely the form of a magnified rake rith the teeth pointing upward instead of J|| it the side, it being made up of a long sole carrying a. shorter cross pole at- the " op, this latter piece having seven up- t -i ight teeth of about a foot length. A ,-\ jole resembling a telegraph pole serves to '• -"i lold the device in the air by means of "**«§ wo brackets, so that the device is field , rut a foot or two from the telegraph pole •nd parallel to it, and projects into the lir somewhat above it, the base being * nounted to rotate on a bracket shelf at .Js -he lower end and a short distance ii im ||| :he ground. To make an observation |f| ;be experimenter stands at a short uis- J|| ance off, and after sighting tie middle ,j|| joint of the comb against the point on ';§ ihe cload whose movement is to be observed, he pulls on a wrapped cord "=o as w x> turn the whole' about and place the - ine of teeth in the direction of the cloud's ' motion. Oh the lower base is a card with the compass points so as to note the angle and direction, and the speed of S ;loud motion is estimated by taking the ame needed for the cloud to pass from one tooth, to another. pf ELECTRICAL DEATHS. An American writer who recently witnessed an accidental electrical death suggests that many of these incidents could be easily prevented It was the old S story of tie 2000-volt line not being a *2| sufficient distance away from surrounding trees, barns, ' etc. The unfortunate "M victim was caught while engaged in the ;J» work of trimming a tree, the 2000 volt || line being substantially in contact with fl the tree. Apart from these occasional • 1 and too frequent accidents, the writer g| has noticed that there is a grounding at '"j. many points where such wires touch tree jo tops; sparks may often be seen passing.ll between the . wires and the branches of --m the tree. With the knowledge taat* :r higher poles are more expensive and that {& underground conduits are very <-ostly, M the writer suggests that every munici- || pality granting right-of-way for a high If voltage line should require such wires to "$. be separated from all surrounding ch'cts "-M by a distance o* not less than eight or ten ..~j feet. This may mean the us? of higher s|° poles at parts of the line or ev->n lengths of insulated cable, but the cost woi'H be Jj offset by the consequent fieedoru i;onl '-':■. line loss, danger of breaking wire? and instill more, in the saving of v.i'nable ~: civiliao lives. The public ought to * realise that the same wire which may ->J only be three-sixteenths of .in inch in -' diameter end look very innocent -.? cap- | able of transmitting many kihowatts in- M stantaneously to a human body, an."! <x>m- ■; prises, in fact, a high power death deal- | ing electric gun. Two thousand volts at | one ampere is equivalent to the force of j| more than two horse-power ; i ,>lied j electrically to a small portion of a .. Ny j it acts much like a bullet a; far a- its ,| power effect is concerned. The writer has been inform* d by a transr : line % engineer that foolish huntsmen con--, .tute '£ a menace to high tension tr.ir.sr:.>v.on •§ lines. ■ because with the cowarc'- frirery V of non-publicity then- shoot at ai__ hit t; the life and line saving insnl itors- So <% far has this menace proceeded that i-ppcial g steel-clad ballet-proof insulators ha\e had l~ to be designed. The repair •'' -srh &■% high tension line is no child'- play, and M the foreman 'akes consideraTU r-. > f - ?■- % sibility when he sends back word *.o 'ho J poorer-house that the line is ci dr. Should 1 a single lineman remain on the }>ok when, y. the 13,2QC or higher voltage suop'y is || turned on instant death is a probability, JS Again, it should be said, "Re ->«!. Hon tsi fear, electricity, but use every nr«:tutioa J 3 for safety." * It is not safe to have _a|| loaded gun pointed at a good citizen ; ifc|| is no safer to expose him to tae bare org insufficiently insulated "e'.eitre on/* 1 The use oi" electricity is entirely u.i& UM only it is properly transmitted and applied ; misused it has no mercy and speUi^s death-