SCIENCE and INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16408, 9 December 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE and INVENTIONS.

50,000,000 CANDLE POWER. " Niagara sunlight" is the latest. A 60.000.000 candle-power illumination has been installed on the great American falls and rapids. Diffusing the beams through the cloud of water spray and mists produced by the mighty fall, instead of upon thejn. results in the "nearest approach to sunlight ever devised."

I WHY WATER PIPES BURST. j I When closing a water faucet a dull thud i ,is frequently heard in the adjoining pipe. • ! but lew people give the matter any attenI tion. I ids sound, however. ha« a decided ' significance, for it tell? of a severe pressure ; i and strain put upon the pipe, hie li is \ ; liable to be ruptured unless it is verv j j strong. When a faucet is opened the ■ I water flowing through the pipe acquires j a considerable momentum, and if the valve ; j is closed suddenly this momentum reacts I | on the pipe, its force depending on the ! ; normal pressure and the specif with which | the water flows. With a normal pressuie I of 1251b in the main, and only 201b at the j : faucet, a pressure of 5501b has been en- ; i countered in the pipe immediately behind i the faucet, when the latter is suddenly ' closed, and the pressure in the main increased to 2201b. BOTTLE CLEANING WITH SHOT. | In France, as in England, the war has \ j brought about a scarcity of glass bottles ' of all kinds. In consequence there is a j i very great demand for clean returned emp- j I ties. In that country, as here, shot has ■ j been widely used, for at least two ten- , I tunes, as a means of removing adhering , dirt from the inside of bottles during the ! i process of rinsing. Although undoubtedly • j efficacious, this method should not be used ; • for any bottles which are to contain bever- I ! ages or medicines. Quite often, distinct : and visible particles of lead may be found ' ■ adhering to the sides of the otherwise clean j j bottle, after shot has been well shaken i i with water therein. Invariably, if such ] i bottles are washed out with dilute hydro- j ! chloric reactions for lead. Shot <>houid be I ! prohibited from use in all wine bottles or ' : those which are to contain aerated waters. I I FREAK MOTORCYCLES. The oddest thing yet constructed in the motor-cycle line is a curious mount designed to transport tour passengers, with the foremost man sitting on a spring bucket seat and the other three directly j behind him on regular motor-cycle | saddles. I lie frame ol the machine is a | I double trapezoid. It has the front ami j j rear wheels sprung somewhat on the lines j | of spring forks, with a shock spring above ' and a recoil spring belov.. The wheel- i • base is sixty six inches. The motor, i , which uses petroleum as a propelling fluid. I has two cylinders and is water cooled. I ; Each cylinder has two pistons. There are j ! two crankshafts coupled by means of a , i longitudinal rod having worm gears. This . ! rod drives the camshaft, magneto, and ! ; water "pump. The final drive is by a \ - j | belt to the fropt wheel. Four-inch tyres ! i are used .and band-brakes are fitted to | both wheels. ! NEW PAPER MAKING MATERIAL. NEW PAPER MAKING MATERIAL. i The examination of possible new paperi making materials from within the British | Umpire continues to be carried out sysj ternatically at the Imperial Institute. Some j of the latest results in this connection are ( published in the new number of the letin of the Imperial Institute. One of the materials under investigation has been ' [ bookie, -or ta.mbc.otie, grass, winch i j grows luxuriantly over vast tracts of coun--1 try in the Transvaal, particularly in the ! northern parts. This grass has now been | proved to yield, under the same j Tnore pulp than Algerian esparto grass, but - | a little less than Spanish esparto! " The j yield is high and the pulp of good quality j I and can be easily bleached. Paper-making , trials at the Imperial Institute show that | a satisfactory paper of fairly good strength ; can be made from tambookie grass pulp. , I he. most remunerative use for the grass will probably be to convert it in South Africa into " half-stuff," which can be exI ported to Europe or used for paper-making . locally. Specimens of the grass and of i paper made from it are on view at the i imperial Institute. I I ' I J IMPURITIES IN STEEL. ' The old and vexed question of the in- ; fluence on steel of small percentages oi various constituents which the civil engi--1 neer is disposed to rank as impurities was ; the subject of an important debate at the : autumn meeting of the Iron and Steel In--1 stitute. Of the constituents to which re- ' ference is made phosphorus" and sulphur ; have long bee/i regarded as the chief of--1 fenders, or at least they have been made the scapegoats when material has failed or been rejected for reasons which have not i always been apparent. Moved by the national need of .an immense output of shell ! steel, no less an authority than Dr. .J. I-.. . Stead has come forward to plead for a relaxation of the rigid restrictions a.-- to . ■ j allowable percentages of thee element.-. . Ihe permissible phosphorus and sulphur . content of shell steel has already, on reprc- , ieri tat ions made by Sir Robert Hadfield. . I been somewhat raised, out. Dr. Stead and j those who agree with him claim that t„., j proof has yet been (riven that still higher 1 : percentages might not be permitted with i j out increasing the risk of accident. While i the discussion the iron and Steel InI stitute revealed serious of _ j opinion as to i.it* wisdom of z. revi : n» ; of the specification, it is certain that a case for further experiment as to the rial . influence of phosphorus and sulphur • ; combination with varying percentages of • ; carbon has been made out. and that" nianv ; , engineers as well as steelmakers are- iiiI dined to modify view, which have long . ! been held and rarely challenged. An in- ' I ieresting suggestion was made that the drawing up of the specification for steel for munitions manufacture should be left , to the Engineering Standards Committee ' lather than to Government officials. t ( NEW TYPE CARGO SHIPS. Ihe Milazzo, a new Italian merchant . ; ship. ig said to be the largest steamer ; ever built for cargo carrying. At the same i . time she is built as no other ship has ( ever been built its th» history of the world. . ■ The prime idea cf her —ustruction was . ; that she should he able to carry ] 4,0C0 tons ,; of cargo and 4500 ton . • oil fuel, and dis- . , charge the cargo ,n 48 hours without » ' manual labour. This she lias actually a.5 I complislied The success of this leviathan ' . has been so marked that more of the , : type are to be constructed by the Italian , owners, the Navigazionc (ieneralo Itaiiana, _ ! whose naval architect is Captain Emilio , • Menada. On each side of the bottom of 5 i the vessel there runs a railway with two f I sets of lines in a tunnel with "a A-shaped . roof. This leaves room for similar tunnels j at the sides of the ship, into which the I oil fuel is poured, to be pumped out is ! required ; and in the centre is a further tunnel, which contains the propeller shaft. The greatest novelty, however, is the \- roofed railways and otner compartments mentioned. The effect, is to give the bottom of the vessel a corrugated form, and as the cargo—such as grain and coal—is carried in bulk in the hold, it must graviJ tate into the V's thus formed. Doors, or i hatches, open at regular intervals on the j inside of the railway roofs, and as each is e : opened the cargo tumble? into a little rail ! way car until it is filled. The deck of the ; milazzo is covered with a scries of tall dis- . <ba: L'iig to.vcis. kadi has ;! well that , goes right down to the railway line. Ihe j loaded mr is run to the nearest of these I "'"Us. "lie i if« body is snatched oft the s j wheels anil hoisted up the .•■ell to a plat- ■ form. Here it tips its contents into a •' monster chute which conveys the coal or corn to a barge or rnilvvav truck for transport wherever necessary. The deck of the Miiaazo looks queer, for it is covered with the hoisting towels and other niaehin- , cry. so that, there is very little ordinary deck room, but she has a length of si/ft over all and 65ft extreme beam. When fully loaded she displaces 20.400 tons and - i.,~ „u:_ f„.. i\ *'