ANCIENT SEISMOMETER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18602, 9 January 1924, Page 9

ANCIENT SEISMOMETER.

CHINESE SCIENTIST'S DEVICE-

A correspondent of the London Times states that a very early attempt to rtM cord earthquakes by a mechanical con-* trivanc© was made in China by Chang Ileng, a man well known for his literary; and scientific ability. In <> book of tha third century, the " History of the Later. Han." we read:—

" Again m the first Yang-chia year, (A.D. 132) he made an instrument for? judging the direction'of earth movements, formed of fine cast copper, eight feet in. diameter, fitted with a domed cover, arid in shape like a wine jar. For ornamenti he used the lines of antique characters and the shapes of mountains, turtle.!, birds, and beasts. Irside there was a control 'posit, which would mcfve eidoways in any one of the eight directions, for tho purpose of holding or releasing the mechanism. Outside were eight dragons' heads, each holding a copper ball in. its mouth, and below (each) was a frog with mouth wide open to catch the ball,; The cogged machinery and cunning co&structions were hidden iusi.de the jar* and the cover fitted down closely all round without a crevice.

" If there was an earth movement, then the jar shook, the mechanism of a dragon was released and vomited the ball, rid the frog caught the ball in its mouth. The sound of the shaking was high and loud, and the observer was thus aroused to know (of 'the earthquake). Even though it was the mechanism of orin dragon that was released while the seven heads did not move, yet, according to the point pf the compass (of the dragon, which did move), they knew the position of the shock; and they corroborated it by the supernatural way in which the facts tallied. Judging by the records in. the histories such a thing had never bo-i fore existed.

" On one occasion the mechanism of a, dragon went off, but the earth did rot move perceptibly; and all the learned at the capital mocked at the failure. But several days later a post arrived, and there had really been an earthquake in Lung-hsi (about 400 miles to the west); and upon this everyone admitted tb« mysterious power of the instrument. From this time onward the official historians were ordered to record the direction from which movements of the earth began."