SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16098, 11 December 1915, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE AND INVENTIONS.

" SOKE COLLECTION BOX." Under this appropriate heading, an American religious weekly gives an account of a unique collection box said to have been invented by an Oklahoma man. If a member of the congregation drops into it a twenty-five cent piece or a coin of larger value there is silence. If he contributes a ten cent piece a bell rings ; a five cent piece sounds a whistle, and a cent fires a blank cartridge. If anyone pretends to be asleep when the box passes it awaxens him with a watchman's rattle, and a kodak takes his portrait. NEW INVENTIONS. Amongst the latest American inventions arc a novel construction of catch ring and locking band for application to an electric lamp and socket in such manner as to prevent the lamp from being stolen ; a fan with folding blades, so that it can collapse with tho umbrella, arranged directly below the canopy, with a suitable motor "battery and switch mechanism for driving the fan, to circulate air under an umbrella; and a number of hollow nest eggs joined in a series by connecting tubes and means for circulating cold water through the eggs to overcome the natural ambition of a sitting hen. GAS PROM SAWDUST. Engineers have taught that wood less than four to six inches diameter -ould not be distilled in gas-making be arise of its tendency to burn up rapidly when the j temperature reaches 275 degrees cent. I Laurence has just shown that even sawj dust can be distilled in gas-making if the retort is heated very slowly up to iOO I degrees Cent., then a litie "more rapidly to 280 degrees Cent., and then stopping the external heating until the temperature reaches a maximum, heating again, and finishing the distillation by laising the temperature as rapidly as possible to 'lOC degrees Cent, or a little over. THE ICE IN KARA SEA. In his recent book. "Through Siberia, the Land of the Future," Or. N'ansen devotes an appendix to a discussion of ice conditions in Kara Sea. the point upon which hinges the successful navigation of the sea route from Europe to Siberia. A history of tile attempts to navigate this sea. and of the conditions found, is given for each year for which any information exists from 1556 down to the present time. This survey shows, says the author, "how remarkably rare it is in more recent times for ships to fail in getting through this sea. when serious attempts have been made.'' In the past 40 vears there have been only four, viz.. lSßj£ 1902, 1903. and 1912. in which the ice prevented all ships from reaching their destinations. Dr. Nanseii has for some time urged that a regular survey of the ice conditions in this sea be maintained every season by the use of aeroplanes and wireless stations, and if this plan should be adopted it is probable that even in the most unfavourable years a passage through the ice could be found. STRANGE WELLS. Some of the wells near Winnebago, in Minnesota, show slight daily variations in. level. The water frequently stands lowest at about ten o'clock in the morning, when the barometric pressure is usually greatest, and highest at about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the pressure is likely to be least. Still greater fluctuations mark the passage of storms, for the water rises materially with the decrease in pressure as they approach, and subsides on the return of fair weather and a high barometer. One artesian well that is 470 ft deep and ends in sandstone, flows, it is said, 25 per cent, more when the wind is northeast—that is, during 6torms—than it does ordinarily. On the approach of storms, the usually clear water in some of the wells of southern Minnesota becomes cloudy or milky; in others it becomes bright veilow or deep red. Among the wells the water of which becomes milky before storms are 'some in a section of Scott County : the wells the water of which oecomes most discoloured are. in the vicinity of Watorville in Lesueur County. The milkiness is owing to silt or clay ; the yellow and red colours are thought to be due to fine particles of iron oxide.

COMBINED WATCH AND COMPASS.

Ihe war has been responsible for many expressions of ingenuity, and among these may be mentioned a combined watch and compass. While the watch itself constitutes the most reliable compass it is possible to desire when one knows how to use it, a separate device to this end is advisable. 'In this particular instance the compass is carried in the end of the watch, and is set at right angles to it. The compass i s small, so as to occupy the minimum of space, the watch-case being belled out at the point to receive it. The combination is applicable to either a wrist or pocket timepiece, although possibly it is most convenient in the wrist form, which is that most favoured by officers and soldiers. In this instance it is only necessary to turn the wrist slightly to ascertain one's bearings. In a war such as is now being waged, where the battlefror.t extends over several hundred miles, ar.d where local engagements are the rule, men are apt to become detached from their regiments and to find themselves in strange country. Knowing the position of their own troops, a compass will serve to tell them whether or not they are moving in the right direction to rejoin their friends. The necessity for .some means of ready guidance was re vealed after a recent engagement. A handful of men became isolated from their regiment, and concealed themselves to await a favourable opportunity to steal back to their own lines. One "and all carried a watch, but not one was aware of the means of utilising it in the manner of a compass. The result was that after several hours of tramping they discovered that they were wandering away from, instead of toward, their own lines; and, although they ultimately regained the desired sanctuary, considerable effort and risk bad been expended needlessly. The possession of a compass of the most primitive character would have put them on thi right track at the moment they decided to make a move. HOLES IN POSTAGE STAMPS. What becomes of the holes in a sheet of postage stamps? Sounds a silly question, doesn't it? But wait a minute. On a. concrete platform outside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, recently, some barrels were being " headed up." They were filled with queer-looking stuff which anybody might have been at a loss to identify." It certainly wasn't a mineral; it didn't look like a vegetable. Many colours—red. blue, green and vellow —seemed to be mixed in small particles of which it was composed. "What on earth is it?" asked a curious passer-by. " Just holes in postage stamps, ' replied the man with the hammer. Then, in ex- ; planation, he grabbed out a handful of the stuff and showed that it was composed of tiny discs of paper, some red, some yellow, some blue, some green, and yet other colours. It appears that the material in question is a by-product of the machines through which the sheets of postage stamps go to be perforated. As the little holes are punched out of them the tiny paper discs fall into baskets beneath, which later on are emptied into barrels. Every week-day in the year the Bureau of En graving turns out in this way a barrel ajid a half of " holes." This means nine barrels in a week, or 468 barrels in 12 months. How many holes make a barrel full? The bureau prints in a year 12,000,000,000 postage stamps. Allowing for the fact that a row of perforations serves for the stamps on both side of it, there are 21 of them for each stamp. This means a total of 252,000,000,000 holes made by the machines. With a total output o 468 barrels of holes for the year, it is plain that the contents of each barrel would amount to about 538,461,538 holes. Now, what becomes of all these holes? Have they any value? The answer to the latter quest-ion is, not the slightest. They are carried off in the barrels to the citydump. As for the hole in a postage stamp, it seems to be a very trifling thing ; yet, as a matter of fact, ft represents an extremely important invention. When stamps were firs*- used they had to be cut apart with scissors, which* was highly inconvenient. It ia said that 10,000 dollars (about £2056) was paid to the man who originated the idea of perforating the sheets, for the privilege of using it. 1