SCIENCE OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20366, 21 September 1929, Page 5 (Supplement)

SCIENCE OF THE DAY.

SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

At the British Association mooting in Capetown in July, one night's sitting wa3 devoted to discussing tho application of scientific discoveries to industry. Sir Thomas Holland, the president, pointed out that on tho whole tho activities of tho Association had been dominantly m comjction with problems of pure scionco, and, indeed, somo of their leaders in the past had shown a ten dency to look with suspicion on researchwork conducted with an industrial, and therefore with a commercial, object in view. ./

Dr. F E. Smith F.R.S., London, dealing with tho mercantilo marine said that tin* marine service called more and more for scientific help, for more knowledge of ship resistance, foi better, lighter, and moro compact engines, for further aids in navigation in order to cope with fog and tho ice fields. Much still remains to bo dono. Perhaps tho most difficult problem of all was the iceberg. All methods so far trier! for direct detection of icebergs, such as observations on temperature and salinty, ocean currents and meteorological observations, sound echoes from the berg in air and under water are unreliable. " Tho da,v will come," Mr. Smith said " when tho sciontist has at his command excessively short wireless waves which can be transmitted from a ship reflected by an iceberg and received on a suitab.c receiver so as to make detection a certainty. Reviewing the past, I think all may' have confidence that the problems will bo solved.

WATCH WORKED BY RADIO.

Plans aro now being preparod to devise a radio watcn that will tick in its owner's pocket ulthough its power plant is miles away. Clocks have already been built which will keep timo by radio. Theso clocks have a receiving j-ange of several miles from the transmitting device The mechanism, it is stated, is not merely regulated by radio, but is worked by it also.

DEVICE TO LESSEN NOISE

Noise at Btrect-tram intersections is expected to bo eliminated largely by the uso of a " continuous-rail" device which is being tried at Soutligate. a suburb of Los Angeles. The device is a small round plate, with a single groove, which is installed at intersections, where it acts as a miniature turntable, and faces automatically in the direction of an approaching car. Thus the bumping ovei track grooves is completely eliminated, with the result that rolling stock a3 well as city dwellers' ears aro submitted to fewer shocks daily.

COOLING FOR A YEAR.

A huge mirror which took nearly a year to cool down has been made in England for a largo reflecting telescope. Weighing more than a ton and a-half, it is 69in. in diameter and lOin. thick. Discs of glass of this size are difficult to get freo from defects, and after tho molten glass has been poured into the mould it has to be kept hot by electric heaters and cooled down over a period of many months.

" LISTENING " FOR FISH.

After using an echo sounder to locate fish, tho Fleetwood steam trawler, Loughrigg, returned recently with an excellent catch. Tho apparatus enabled the skippor to keep in touch with shoals of fish hundreds of fathoma deep by " listening." Once ho had located tho fish at a certain dopth, the echi sounder enabled him to keep tho trawl at that depth. By the old method, soundings could not bo taken during fishing operations. The invention will probably revolutionise tho wholo system of fishing.

TREES WITHOUT SOIL

ITugo trees growing without any visiblo means of support aro orio of tlio queer sights of tho Zapata swamp of Southern Cuba, which is nearly 1800 square milos in extent. Many varieties of trees, some 4ft. in diameter, aro found growing in iimostono areas where not. so much as a singlo spoonful of soil can bo gathorod from an acre. Tho trees make a start in small pockets and holes in the liinostone, where collections of leaves and disintegrated rock furnish them with cover for growth. In their search for food the roots stray about over tho surface of the rock, finally plunging through holes to find sustenance in soil hidden deeply in the cavernous recesses of tho coral stone.