SCIENCE and INVENTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16925, 10 August 1918, Page 3 (Supplement)

SCIENCE and INVENTIONS.

i' < • INJURED OAR WHEELS.., > Tub danger of short turns is the damage | that can be inflicted on the front wheels. When turning too short in soft ground} the drive wheels, of course, are forcing . the, weight of the machine and its load • in tho same stright line as before,' giving the : front wheels the . unusual strain of slipping sideways through the soft ground. ■ This sometimes results in weakening their ' tensile strength. - >• ':,' ' ?UMIOE-3TONX SHIPS, ; _ A company,-having £50,000,000 capital, is reported to be backing -up an experiment in America to construct ships of pumice-stone or lava. The experiment is based on the discovery of a certain chemical compound which binds volcanic ash like concrete, but is lighter in weight. Two model ships have already been construtted, and the tests are said to show equal strength. Thousands of acres of volcanio ash are available. GUMMED PISTONS. When the crankshaft on being turned over shows a steady, but unusual resistance, it very probably means that there is a deposit of gummy substance under the piston rings, and this should be removed. An ounce or two of kerosene injected into the cylinders through the spark plug opening, after which the engine is run with the ignition wire to the particular cylinder under treatment disconnected, will loosen the gum and permit its ejection. * FIREPROOF CELLULOID. ' _ Attempts have been made from time to time to produce a substance having all the valuable qualities of celluloid, but much less inflammable, and costing no more to manufacture. Hitherto little success lias been achieved in this direction; but-lately a Japanese professor has invented a fireproof substitute for celluloid, which is said to be superior to its prototype in several respects. This substance, which has been named , ' satolite,' in honour 6f the inventor, Professor S. Bate, is made from the soya bean, and a,- factory for its manufacture on an extensive, scale is being erected near Tokyo. Soya beans are grown largely in Manchuria and Korea, so that thero will be no lack of cheap raw material; in fact, the cost of production is expected to be considerably lower than that of celluloid. : J ' i , -' ' TJNSINKABLE SHIPS. "".O- ! A year or, more ago inventors were hard at .work devising" appliances tftir .trapping or exploding torpedoes'. before they reached their objective, but, :so far as jtho writer, is . aware, none, of,' veutions. .has proved effective. Efforts are now ' being ■ made to" render .ships' unsinkable..when. struck by—torpedoes or mines, j either by division into numerous watertight compartments or by wringing what may > be termed explosion-chambers along the sides. By the. time this .note' appears in" print 'the ex-Austrian steam' ship Lucia; (now taken over, by the United States) will have made a trip, through the danger zone, where; if.-a-p-hoht lis met with" .she:, may 'have an.'opportunity of "demonstrating, the. effectiveness or otherwise of a novel form of 'provision for making her unsinkable. The' inferior of this vessel is lined along the', sides, and across [the ..watertight .bulkheads with thousands of airtight woodon boxes which are.firmly secured to the steelwork, The Lucia measures four hundred * and ithirty feet in length, -and is x nearly fifty feet in breadth. Before the torpedo protection was put into ; her she ' could carry ten thousand tons, but her cargo-carrying capacity v has - been reduced by about 30 per cent, owing to the Space 1 taken up by; the. boxes. y Watertight bulkheads form an." additional safeguard, the vessel being divided thereby into five cargo-holds, with a . space , for. the machinery. Even ,if all the compartmentis were „ flooded % the ship would not sink," so that the' Huns' have a difficult job before them if they attempt her-destruction.' According to the Scientific American, this method of rendering ships unsinkable has been devised by Mr., William T. Donelly, and it has the approval of the Naval Consulting. Board of 'the United States. f-

MATE, THE SOUTH AMERICAN TEA. .Mr. Oscar Corrlla, vice-consul 'of Brazil in Liverpool, has written a''pamphlet drawing attention to ;mate, of'' Paraguay tea," which has been used in South America for over three centuries. ; -To many there it..takes..the. place of . tea or coffee, and is specially appreciated by farmers, labourers." arid soldiers because of «to refreshing and stimulating* qualities. • The Sanitary Corps of the German' army has 'used -it as a qbstitute' for tea,' and. to sOme extent it has -also been used in the Italian arid French 4 i armies. It is ' recommended "as? temperance beverage p,150,; and ■■ one that is 'safer ,than 'any \ alcoholic drink. #> Brazil produces' about'one hundred i thousand tons of. this product from the leaves and green shoots of a certain species of ' holly." *- Some seventy thousand. tons are _ exported, \; the Argentine ,'and; Uruguay being } large, purchasers. Various testimonies are given. to its '/.virtues in -toning .upland soothing the, nervous 'system, acting '-as a diuretic,. lessening fatigue 'an'-?*- journey, and >in relieving the, pangs of hunger,until food can be got. It "contains. less tannin and more of the active principle characteristic; of such substances ' than ■ either"tea/ or coffee, and is plaaeantly-aromatic, though' many at first may. oars for its flavour, Tie rough leaf is recommended .as the beet for;use as a tea, and may be infused ; in a teapot,, with water hot, but pot. exactly boiling, , and a strainer to keep;'back frag.': ments of leaf. ; The leaves stand a second. or third infusion, and-Uiebevlrflge may be served like tea- in cups with sugar, milk, or cream. -Powdered leaf is the i best, to use' when the beverage is taken without sugar. ; The usual quantity is three or four dessert-spoonfuls,or leaf to about a quart of. water,., or one dessert-spoonful • for' every, three :or four small tea , cups. i, 1 . "■■" £ . /. THE^TLYPIiKfE."- v , [, Many attempts have been made in the past to equip the human body with wings which would enable flights similar to those of birds to be undertaken. Inventors in this field 'were fore-doomed to failure owing to the fact that a man has not enough power to lift his own weight in the air together with that of the necessary apparatus. Moreover, these attempts were based upon the up-and-dowri motion Of the planes, similar to the movement of a bird's wings in flight. Now- that mechanical power in a light form is available, wnile the gliding motion has S roved to be the most efficient, Jhe small ying-machine is a much more hopeful proposition, and what is known as a "flyplane" has recently been devised by an American inventor named Oapps. This .contrivance consists of a very small aeroplane in which the flier is carried in a "sitting' upright" position,! his legs taking the place of the usual wheels for rising and alighting. After the motor has been started, the flier, in order to rise, runs along the ground, and finally "kicks off;" consequently lightness of construction is of the utmost importance. Except for their smallnes.i, the wings and the tail , of the machine are very similar to those of an ordinary aeroplane, each of the wings being double— is; being composed of two planes, one above tin other, as it) now practically universe! The engine is of the lightest type known, and instead of having a revolving crank, the crank is stationary and the cylinders revolve round it. This form of motor requires no flywheel, while , the cylinders are very effectively cooled by their high speed of revolution, and by tie blast of air from the propellor. . Thick asbestos pads protect the aviator from the heat' developed when the engine is running." says Popular Scionce Sittings, and small petrol and oil tanks are arranged around the frame into which the airman is strapped. The wings measure twelve feet from tip to tap, and controls are, of course, provided for stewing 'and working the ailerons (the movable flaps on the wings for directing the tight upwards or down* wards.] The United States Government is said to be taking an interest in this machine with a view to its possibilities lor scouting purposes,. during War-tamo,-.*' '7 ' '