SHOT AT THE MOON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19197, 13 June 1924, Page 4

SHOT AT THE MOON.

HIGH SPEED S'TEEH ROCKET. DAY AND A-HAHF VOYAGE. AMERICAN SCIENTIST’S PHAN. Professor Robert H. Goddard, Head of the Physics Department at Clark University, Worcester, U.S.A., propose* to shoot a rocket at the moon next summer. ibis rocket, according to the New York Tribune, is to to a continuous combustion rocket emitting powerful gases that will P^P® l lt at terrific speed through tht atmosphere. “There is no conjecture in my. mxna. Professor Goddard says, “concerning the results of next summer’s experiment. \\ e have already worked the thing out time and time again in the laboratory, but we wuh to arrive at certain conclusive findings ana. show the simplicity of the undertaking. Whatever we do must be done this year, ihe time is ripe for it. I have certain facilities at ray disposal that I may not have If the support we have continues, we will be ie»dy to make our first trial next summer. “Besides the feat itself, the information gained will be o f tremendous benefit to applied science, and the application of the scientific principles learned will be of commercial value beyond immediate comprehension ” SIX AND SEVEN MIHES A SECOND. The professor states that these things have alrbeen gone into, but that he cannot vet make them public. “ Such information, be savs "is zealously guarded until iho opportune time. The thing is really very simple. We will release the rocket and Iha continuous combustion of gas and_liquids will proxiel the projectile at a speed of six, or seven miles a second through the atmosphere. The main thing, of course, is to develop this tremendous speed. You must have a high rate of speed to cover the first several hundred miles included in the sphere of the earth’s gravitation. When we have 'broken through our own realm of gravity th* projectile should proceed without interruption to the other planet. “The development of (six or seven miles a second, I believe, will'to simply a matter of a little more laboratory work. We alroartv ...re obtained a mile and a-half per second, with gists and liquids. The last two and a-half years have been the most fruitful e. my research. Nine years ago ihe plan suggested itself to me, and I have been working on it pretty steadily since then.” . Tho rocket he will use, Professor Goddam declares, will 'to of light steel. It. will oe narrow and tapering like a cigar, will weigh, about 151 b, and will be sft long. . No highpowered machinery will “shoot off’’ the pro-. jCctile. The rocket propels itself. . :. In this instance the rocket will kick itself along by means of an internal combustion engine, 'ignited by smokeless nitro-cellulnse, and ejecting gases at a high velocity. Tho rocket operates as does _ a rapid-fire giuiSuceessivc charges arc fired in the same chamber and the entire internal structure of tho rocket involves a delicate reloading mechanism thoroughly protected by Professor Goddard by four different patents. NO CRASHING INTO THE MOON. The scientist said that a force of mechanism would be necessary to assist in working out certain details for the next few months. At the recent Concinnati meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science ihe plan came up for minute discussion, and won. the approval of many men whose previous attitude had been one of scepticism. A rocket equipped as the Goddard rocket will be can cover Ihe distance to the moon approximately 240,000 miles—in slightly more than a day and a-half, says Professor Goddard. Instead of crashing into the moon, ho says, tho speed of ’the rocket will be regulated to temper itself when it lias escaped from the earth’s gravitation and lands itself upon the other planet. Tho flight of the projectile will bo watched by powerful telescopes, says tho paper quoted. Combustible materials will be provided, enabling the contact with tbs planet and tho rocket to he marked by a flare. Egypt has 166 daily and weekly newspapers. Of these 94 are in Arabic, six in other Oriental languages, 63 in European tongues, and three in combinations of Eastern and Western languages. Cairo isresponsible for 105, Alexandria 46, and the rest of the country 15. In fact, Cairo, with a population of between '600,000 and 700,000, has 24 daily newspapers, thus far outstripping London. —The French have been compiling a roll of honour of families which have remained for at least three centuries tilling the same land. It, is a title to nobility, which plight bo thought hard to prove, but there are 750 names on the roll. M. Pierre Lafargue, who has pride of place, can boast that the first of his line was tilling the land lie tills to-day in the year 772, when Charlemagne was master of Europe. —The record of tho champion of tiro porters a.t the Paris Central markets, where strong men are many, is that of carrying over 12owt. on his back, carrying an unwieldy cask of wine weighing 5501 b, and walking while balancing a light motor-car on his head. Ho is shortly going to Brussels for a “command performance” before the King, and hopes to beat his own record for weight carrying.. —Feminized completely, tho woman’s coluit at New York was recently in the hands of women judges, women lawyers, women tectives, and women court attendants. Tho entire process of tho law, in the case of six women arraigned on various charges, <« was carried out without the aid of one man. Judge Mary Bello Grossman, of Cleveland, feared tho bench with Magistrate Jean Norris. —Ho had been sent, to tune a piano. He found the instrument, in good condition, and not in the least need of tuning. A few days later his employer received a letter from tho owner of 'the- piano stating that she did not think it had been tuned properly. After being reprimanded by his employer, the tuner made another trip, and again tested every note of the instrument, only to find no fault. This time he told the owner so. “Yes,” said said, “it certainly seems all right now, but as soon as I begin to sing it gets all out of tune.” —Guest (who has been invited to dinner) “Are you sure it’s nil. right? Does your wife know I’m coming?” Host: “Of course she knows. We argued about it for oh hour this morning a.t breakfast.”