SCIENCE NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2730, 11 July 1906, Page 68

SCIENCE NOTES.

— When we look at the. star-strewn sky we are fathoming the depths not merely of space, but of time. We ccc none of the stars as it exactly is at this moment, but as it was when the light which affects our retina set out upon its journey. And as almost all visible stars are set at various distances from the earth, we see them, all at different periods. If we look at the constellation of Orion, which shines so resplendent in the southern sky during tho frosty evenings of winter, we "see tho bright star Betelgeux at the head of the constellation as it was 126 years ago, whilst Rigel at the foot is visible by light which must have etartod at least three centuries before it reaches us. Sirius, however, the brightest star visible in our latitudes, which '"bickers into red and emerald" to the south-east of Orion, we s«e by light which only ttarled eight or nine years ago. It is plausibly suggested that some cf the faintest stars visible in our largest telescopes may be, as raueli as 30,000 light-years away. The new star which recently displayed itself in Pereeus was shown by an ingenious train, of reasoning to be 300 light-years distant, so that in 1902 we were able to watch tho progress of a stellar conflagration which really occttrred about the time of the Spanish Armada. — The most striking example of the origin of a substance in everyday use being obscure is to be found in amber. For 4000 years amber lias be-en well known, being used^ia forming ornaments for royal uecklaces, in, medicine, witchcraft — and later for the mouthpieces of various instru-

ments, though its exact origin has never been traced. The most that can be said

of it is that it is similar to the vegetable

resins, and is in all probability derived from various extinct coniferous troes, while

it differs from other resinous exudations owing- to the changes induced by 'the fossilised condition. Often it is found to contain extinct species of insects and 1 plants, though such only point to, vrnile not indicating, its actual source. A species of conifer has been established provisionally as the amber-yielding tree, but it has been shown that many trees may have yielded the exudation, and these not all necessarily belonging to the pine order. It is obtained irr the greatest quantities chiefly from tho coasts of th© Baltic Sea, where it is cast up by tin action of the waves, especially after storms.

—In February, 1902, astronomers were astounded by the announcement that a new bright 6tar had appeared in the constellation of Auriga. It was certain that this star could only have come into existence very shortly before it became a. brilliant and conspicuous object. Photographic tesiimony left no doubt on this head. Plates

or. which this star showed itself as a bril-

liaut object had- been taken, a few days subsequently to other platos depicting the same part of the sky from which this same star wa6 abs-emt Tho distance at which the body was situated also made it manifest that the conflagration which this outbreak betokened could have had no insignificant proportions. Everything we have- learned about the matter sugge-ts that the new 6tar in Auriga during tho time of its greatest brilliance disponse«l a lustre not- inferior to that of our own sun. Nova Aurigse appealed from cur point of ■>. isw in the guise of an insignificant star, by the circumstance that it was a million times farther away than the sun. Spcctroscopio examination threw some light on the character of this marvellous object. It became clear that the brightness of the new sta-r in Auriga was the result cf a collision which had' taken place boiweon two previously obscure bodies. Perhaps \\ would hardly bo right to describe what happened as an actual collision. It i=, however, perfectly clear from the -ovid-enco that two objects, whose relative velocities wove some hundreds of miles a second, c.mie into such close proximity that by their mutual action a large part of their energy of movement was transformed into Leal, antl a terrific outburst of incan-(l-e't.ent gases and vapours proclaimed far and wide throughout the universe tho fact I.at such an encounter had taken place. — Fioni "The Story of the Sun." * — Scientists have discovered that there is r*>al wisdom in the old-fashioned advice, '"Early to bed and early to riso." Thoy

find that early rising and getting out of doors while the dew is on the grans enables one's lungs and circulation to absorb health-giving elements which ihe atmosphere contains at no other period 1 of fl'e

24- hours

They figure it out in this way

There is a fall of temperature at sun«et and a rise again at dawn, and consequently I moistuie is alternately beinf? thiown out 1 and taken up again, and it is well known that change- of state is accompanied by electrical phenomena and certain chemical manifestations also. The formation of dew has probably, therefore, far more profound effects thyjn merely tho moistening of objects with water. Dew is vitalising, not entirely because it is water, but because

it possesses an invigorating action due 'partly, at anyrate, to the fact that it is saturated with oxygen, and it has bec-n stated that during its formation peroxide of hydrogen and some ozone are developed. It is not improbable that the peculiarly attractive and refreshing quality which marks the early morning air has its origin in this way. Certain it is that the braciug property of tho early morning air wears off as the day advances, and it is easy to conceive that this loss of freshness is due to the oxygen, ozone, or peroxide of hydrogen — whichever it may be — being usfd up. The difficulty of inducing grass to flourish under a tree in full leaf is well known, and is generally explained by saying that the tree absorbs the nourishing constituents of the- soil, or that it keeps the sunlight away from tlie grass and protects it from j rain. It is doubtful whether any of these ( explanations is true, the real reason moit . probably being that the vitalising dew cant not form upon the grass under <l tree, I whereas as a. rule, both rain and light , can reach it. All of which is merely I corroborat ion, and a. scientific explanation of something with which habitually early risers are already familiar thiou'gh the beneficial effects of that habit upon their health and spirits. I —In a few months residents of New

York City may ba ablo to drop a menage in a deep hole there and have ir arrive in

London a few seconds later. They may also receive the response by the 6am c method just as quickly. The invention is now awaiting patent rights in Washington. 1^ is an underground wireless telegraphy system patented by Father Joseph Murgas . of. Wilkesbarre. Father Mureas is nafitor.

of the Slavish Catholic Church of Wilkesbarre, and is a trained electrical expert. The underground wireless he considers the cheapest and most practical system of telegraphy in existence. The secret of his invention h carefully guarded, but its success has already been established by & series of experiments. The communication between New York and London is to be the same kind of experiment upon a larger scale. The Universal ./Ether Telegraph Company, which is backing Father Murgas's work will start simultaneously in New York and in London to drill the deepest holes ever bored in the earrh, eseh about 3000 yards, or nearly two miles, deep. This work, it is estimated, will cost about 20,000d01, for the holes are to be concreted to prevent moisture affecting the wires, and heavy copper wires will connect the discharging and receiving apparatus at the bottom _ of the hole jvirh the tending and receiving stations on the surface Aftsr tJiat, Father Alurga? says, all it will be necessary to do will be to send the messages according to his system, and New York end London will be connected by wireless telegraphy. The system J=s maoli tlso same ejs thiit wliioh has prove-> successful in hi: wirelef-s aerial telegraphy indention. The messages are discharged and received a,t the top of lofty twin towors. These towers are connected l>y a heavy copper cable, from which depend smaller wire? at short distances, and these are finally looped into one cable, which is carried down to the- operator's instruments in the offices at the foot of the towers. On each of these towers is wound 32 miles of wire. The power used is about one-tenth that required by ordinary wireless sj stems to 'end a message the same distance. Instead of the Morse alphabet, a musical lone is used io represent each ietter or code word or group of words, and the message is sent by a series of sound v.avcs. the instruments being so dclicstely adjusted that they receive those tone?, slight though the variation is, and reproduce them a<? letters and words. In this way a. speed six to ten times as great as that povible by tb<* übe of the fastest Morse code is obtained, and at c far less cost, so ibe- inventor claims, than any other system. Father Murgas says' : — "The experiments whic'i have so far been conducted have been successful. It is now only a question of extending the distances by which messages* are tent by the underground system. In a short timo the system will bo working between Wi.lkcsbarre and Scran ton, and thon w'll come the greatest test — ihe effort to send messages between Xew York and London. The system i> much tli3 same as tlic aerial sys-t-om." — Liverpool Mercury.