SCIENCE NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 77

SCIENCE NOTES.

—A Wonderful New Metal.— Great interest (says Popular Science SiftJngs) has been aroused in the mechanical "»orld by a new silver-white metal lighter &an aluminium, which is said to be a Sresh discovery. The substance is quite Beautiful. Trial on the scales proves that Ijj weighs less than seven-eighths as much aluminium for a given bulk, and it is Seclared to be exceedingly strong. Predic§oms were made at the recent aeronautical exhibition that it would bo utilised largely St connection with flying machines. As a flatter of fact, it is now pointed out by rofessor Rene Bache that ths remarkable material is an alloy of two metals, Uluminium and magnesium. It is the indention of a German physicist, Ludwig filach,. and promises to fulfil all the expectations originally entertained in regard to aluminium. This remarkable alloy is already beginning to be used for quite a variety of purposes. The ne-.v metal represents the solution of the much vexed aluminium problem. It makes aluminium available for an immense number of important industrial purposes, while actually lessening its weight. '

—Cheap Electric Wiring.— The cost of. "wiring" a house for electricity has hitherto been considerable. The wires have to be cased in wood for safety. A new method of heavily insulating the wires so that casing will be unnecessary has been invented, so that they can be hung about like bell wires, and thus save much expense. This, it is believed, will render it possible to supply electricity at a cheap rate "to working-class houses, especially no-J- that metal filament lamps have reduced the price of the current. "So far," says the Telegraph. "only the experimentla stage has beer reached, a number of small houses having been fitted up in Rotherhithe. The idea is to make a fixed weekly charge of 2£d per light during the summer months and 3gd during the winter, the tenant to pay for all lamps sfter the first supply." —Printing Without Ink. — In Chambers's Journal we are told of a meet revolutional invention. It dispenses entirely with ink and its attendant intricate distributing mechanism. The process is entirely electrical. One electrical pole is connected with the forme of type, and the other pole with the platen which carries the paper and presses- it against the type or block to be printed. The result of the' impression is that a clear imprint of character? is obtained- The process, is extremely simple, and dispenses furthermore with a considerable amount of the essential preliminaries in printing operations described a- "making ready." Normally the imprint thus obtained is a sharply-defined dense black, as is usually required, but, if desired, any requisite tint can be obtained. The latter development is probably the greatest feature of the process, for it renders colourprinting extremely simple. Instead of 'there being a certain delay between the red, blue, and yellow printing, as is now essential to permit .the successive coats <v" applied pigment to dry,, the three im- •>'• •■• •■oris can be made instantly one after —"Pellagra."— aura is a scourge from which we hi '.vrt-at Britain are fortunately free. It is by no means certain, however, according to the British Medical Journal, that this immunity will continue. The disease which saps the vitality of its victims and cften to madness, murder, and suicide, k. epidemic in certain regions, but it slowly spreads beyond thoii boundaries. 'ln - Europe its chief haunts are Italy, Spain, and' Roumania But there are areas in Asia, Africa. America, and Australasia where it is also endemic. It pre--vails to a serious extent in many parts o* the British Empire and ife dependencies. In Egypt it is ia veritable scourge. It has toeen. observed in the West Indies, in South Africa, and in India The sudden, spread of the disease in the Southern States of the American Union has led to prompt action. Since 1908 two confer-, ences have been held in South Carolina, - nd a Pellagra Congress has been arranged to be held next June at Peoria, Illinois, and a National Association for the. study and prevention of the disease has been organised. '-—Why to Eat Chocolate for Beauty.— An eminent physician is accustomed to prescribe fo many of his young women patients-a pound of chocolate dflily—to be eaten whenever the lady feels like it. It is prescribed for beautv It is considered that the chocolate is beneficial as a food, but he prescribes it, in cases of complexion trouble most particularlv. for no other purpose than to make the patienf thirsty and thereby compel her to drink water. Two facts may be "et down as undeniable. Ifirafc, that few women drink as much water as thev ought to drink. Secondly, that this habit of not.: drinking enough water is lar"-e]v aocountable for troubles of tho complexion. Medical science .tells us that ourity of complexion depends first and fundameninlly upon' the condition of the interior of the- bodv. If the latter be not knit thoroughly the skin will be muddy. Hence the necessity of drinking plerjtv of water, which is the only effective agent Hat can be utiliVrl f or the purpose.—Ponular Science Siftincs. —An Aerial Sight-finder.— An invention has been patented to determine the exact moment at which a pro.jeoti'e can be drooped from an airship on an °nemy'e vessel. The inventor (Mr C. J Kennedy) is the [ on of a military offiopv. i.nd tho'icbt of hi? invention' a? a youth «-hile at Gibraltar. He flung a wire from the windo"' of an uoper room to <i brick wall. In the centre he fixed a bov'» marble in a knot, and watched the evolution© of an airship that he -ent gliding down the wire. He noticed that the marble invariably dropoed on a ('ummv wooden soldie-- that he rlacrd bektw.: Further experiments nroveH that- variations jp the oosition of the knot coincided with Alteration 6; in the position of t.hr. soldier. Thu« has been evolved the aero sight-finder. A mode) nf the j>ero sight- . finder shows a cone-shancd drum sur;.moup^-''. bv two narallel -light veins. As r gohn 'hs. height and sneed have been ascfir- ' faincd. the man in charge slides the veTns until they are in line with the object This is called, the "line of sight." At the crucial instant the operator! presses a lever with his foot, and the, projectile is insrantlv released and flies on the p>th indicated bv the line of sight.—Popular Science Sittings. -V

—lnventors' Exhibition. — The German Government, realising that national commercial supremacy is to a great- degree inseparably with inventive enterprise, and"" that many an invention is lost because the inventor does not possess the wherewithal to exploit his idea and cannot enlist the attention of the capitalist, has decided to act as the gobetween. An exhibition is to be held in which only inventions patented or in process of being patented within the empire will be displayed, and the attention of manufacturing * and financial circles will be specially drawn to such ideas as should be commercially developed. In this manner the poor inventor who has spent his little all in protecting his pet idea will be brought directly and inexpensively before those who have the facilities for working the outcome of his ingenuity. At the same time, he will be completely protected against the unscrupulous patent expert or heartless company promoter who profits by the ignorance or helplessness of such contributors to a commercial nation's prosperity. —Paper for Permanent Records.— The question of the durability of paper used for permanent records is one to which a good deal of attention has lately been directed, both in Europe and America. Most of the paper made at the present time is not durable. One great cause is the demand for absolutely white paper, for this means bleaching by some chemical, and after the bleaching has been accomplished the residue continues to act on the material of which the paper is made. Then, again, if all attention is devoted to strength the paper generally becomes more or less transparent, and the print shows through. It is necessary for the preservation of all sorts of commercial papers and records of various kinds that a durable paper should be employed, and this paper should not be so thick and heavy as materially to increase the bulk and weight of the volumes. Such a material can be produced t but, naturally, costs more than less -valuable kinds. One great enemy to paper is, of. course; dampness. This not only directly weakens the paper, but is favourable to the increase of moulds and bacteria, w'hioh rapidly attack the substratum on which they-live. Very complete tests are now being made in the United States by the Agricultural Departments, in the interests of the public supply. '.'. ' —Pulque.— What is pulque? To this question it may without exaggeration bp safely affirmed that no one person in a. thousand could give a satisfactory answer, and yet in the country' of its production, Mexico, it is as well known as beer is in our own. This refreshing and invigorating beverage is the fermented sap of an agave or American aloe, the maguey or century plant of Mexico, a plant not unlike a kind of cactus, though it is neither a catus nor an aloe. It grows to a height of from Bft to 12ft, and is cultivated principally for its sap. When the plant is about to bloom the flower-stalk is out away and a deep excavation is made at its base, from which the sa,» is drawn daily for some two months; after which the plant dies down to the ground, making way for. a new shoot, which requires several years to reach productiveness. The pulque or fermented sap has a somewhat milky appearance, and is both a food and a drink beverage, with a not unpleasant flavour. Though pulque (which should be pronounced poolkay) is not intoxicating save in large quantities, a strong, intdxicafcinsr spirt is distilled from' it. Pulque is well known as ; remedial agent, and its somewhat unique value lies in the fact that in kidney troubles such as dropsy, Bright's disease, etc., its use has found to be very beneficial. Pulque is also said to be one of the 'ew known substances that unite with and increase the volume of the gastric juice for the digestion and assimilition of food. These results have within recent years come more prominently ander fchy notice of the English medical faculty, with the result that the consumption of pulque shows a considerable increase in England.