SCIENCE NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19221, 9 January 1926, Page 7 (Supplement)

SCIENCE NOTES.

ENGINEERING METALS. METALLURGICAL RESEARCH. A knowledge of the essential properties of tho materials available for engineering work is bocoming more widely recognised as essential to tho modern engineer. There is thus a caso for tho closest co-operation between the metallurgist and tho engineer, who are respectively concerned with tho production and preparation of the metals and their application to manufacture. Tho engineer cannot any longer afford to ba uninformed of the results of modern metallurgical research in so far aa it affects the properties of the material! essential to his industry. On every hand there is evidence of the growing appreciation of its importance. It is seen in the greater attention given to matters metallurgical in the engineering journals, and in the greater support given by the engineer to research in metals and alloys. Tho particular branch of metallurgy which makes the greatest appeal to the engineer is that of physical metallurgy. This may bo defined ha the study of the properties of metals and alloys which are now recognised a3 largely dependent npon conditions which influence structure. Tho presont age is far removed from the timo when tho properties of motals were regarded as in the main dependent upon chemical composition. The investigations by' means of the microscope and by thermal treatment have thrown a flood of light upon die fundamentals of structure and strength, and, more recently, X-rays have been pressed into service as a means of revealing flaws in a mass of metal without recourse iq the destruction of tho part which fs necessarily entailed in microscopic investigations. Tho whole subject needa to bu, Rnd, indeed, is being treated from lihe points of view both of this research laboratory and of tho works, and this desirablo cooperation is being realised through the efforts of institutions which are particularly concerned with the treatment of metals for their application to engineering. WONDER HARVESTER. A harvesting machine used by a Pincher Creek (Alberta) farmer cut and threshed tho crop in one operation. Operated by two men and drawn by eight horses, it covered daily 36 to 40 acres, and affected great economies in labour, twine, and power, amounting, according to the owner, to an average of 3d. per bushsL " SAFETY FIE ST •' BY EADIO. A now safety device which jnay result in a great saving of life and property has been. perfected by an American inventor, Thomas Clark, of Detroit. This appliance, which is coctrolled by wireless, detects any obstruction on the rails some minutes before the train reaches it, £nd flashes a warning to tha driver. If the driver faints, or if for any reason he is unable to control the engine, the brakes are applied automatically and the train is brought to a standstill ' * POISON TO CURE EPILEPSY. Dr. Speransky the famouji Russian scientist, and Professor Pavloff, thp noted physiologist, have announced their discovery of a cure for epilepsy. Dr. Speransky has ascertained by experiments that an animal organism is able to produce a special poison called altotoxin when part of the brains of animals is arti. ficially congealed. This poison causes convulsions and fits, but by inoculating it in a healthy body the body becomes immune to convulsions. Experiments so far carried out on dogs have proved satisfactory, and Dr. Speransky claims that tho same care can be applied to human beings. HEW SOURCES OF HEIIUM. The need for helium is imperative if tho airship is to play a real part in aerial navigation. So far it ban only been obtained from certain sources of natural gas in Texas and elsewhere. Experiments carried out in Berlin have shown a new way of making helium from a by-pro-duct of the Linde oxygen works, and another source recently discovered is the monazite sand used for obtaining thoria for gas mantles. Every pound of this sand, when heated to a sufficiently high temperature, has been found to give off a pint of helium gas. Helium, though heavier than hydrogen, has great lifting powers, and is neither poisoncus nor inflammable. COLLECTING SEEDS IN TONS. A wonderful machine which has been sot up at New Westminster by tho Forestry Department of British Columbia, extracts 3001b of seeds every 24 hours from such trees as the Douglas fir, the Sitka spruce, and the red cedar. Timber is used nowadays on such an immense scale that the seeds for planting forests have (:o bo used by the ton, and immense supplies are needed. The seeds extracted by machinery have been found to germinate very successfully, as much as 65 per cent., and, this year, the British Government has ordored over three tons of fir seed and a ton of spruce. The seeds aro no bigger than a grain of wheat, and are extracted by the machine from the fir cones. CHECK TO THE COURA. Science has conquered snalio-bite, and there is now reason to hope that the 20,000 lives, which are lost every year in'lndia through this cause, may be saved. The new treatment has been tried out successfully in circumstances which must have seemod absolutely hopeleus. An Indian woman was admitted to the King Edward VH. Hospital at Benares six hours after being bitten by a cobra. She was unconscious, and the poison had, of course, completely permeated her system. After tho wound had been cleansed, an injection of strychnine was given, followed by an injection of anti-venomous serum. Three hours later the patient was rather better. The injections were then repeated, and in two hours the woman was able to sit up in bed and talk to her friends. Bho had been completely cured. FORTUNE IN A FLUKE. The rough bath towel that brings a healthy glow to tho skin was an accidental invention. A manufacturer of fine smooth towelling had trouble with his machinery. Instead of the firmly woven material coming through as usual, the threads were loose arid tangled, and, from hte point of view, quite unfit for sale. He set to work to readjust matters, ar.d after much trouble got the machine working smoothly. But in the course of his Work his hands had got coated with oil find grime, and he used a length of the faulty and apparently useless fabric to Wipe off tho grease. He was quick to note that the rough discarded stuff did the work much better than ordinary towelling, and, h«ing always nn the alert for a new idea, he added tough towels to his stock. The new stuff became popular, and the fluffy towels became hia chief output.