CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1916, Page 10

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

NEWS AXD NOTES. Despite the supremacy of Great Britain in the motoring world in pre-war (lavs, tho industry, according to Mr. Gerald Stoney, president of the British Association for the advancement of Science, lias been developed "too much by the rule of thumb instead of being grounded on scientific and commercial training of the highest . class. Mr. Stoney, who has been associated with Sir C. A. Parsons in'the development and production of turbine engines, expresses the opinion that British industries have been handicapped by the reluctance oi ! firms to utilise highly educated labor or to adopt scientific methods. In most cases very few of those who are responsible for the practical conduct, of the business havj undergone a thorough scientific training at the universities or leading technical colleges, and the impression is fairly general that university and technical men are too theoretical and impractical. In other countries, oil the. other hand, the fullest use is made of highly educated and well-paid scientific labor. Very few English firms employ a skilled chemist, or, when they do, pay him a decent Salary. The heads of Die firms hava little chemical knowledge, and are unable to estimate the value of the work o? a skilled chemist.' Chemical problems are continually arising in cngineernig work. Without the aid of a good chemj/ft it is impossible to check the quality of material or to locate the trouble when difficulties arise. Scientific labor is also essential for ensuring that instruments are in propel- order and tests accurately carried out. If not accurate they are worse than useless. In many works the only moderately accurate measurments that can be made- are those of dimensions and weight. The success of the steam turbine was due to accurate and full testing. In the higher ranks of an engineering works it requires a scientific mind to draw safe conclusions from tests carried out and to see in what directions progress can be safely made. Such methods have enabled the .steam turbine during Mr. Sioney's acquaintance with it, now extending over some twentyeight years, to grow from f>o horsepower to some 45,000 or more in each unit, and the steam consumption to be reduced from 401b per h.p. hour to about ' 7Jlb or less than one-fifth. Closciy allied to such work in engineering works is* the general question of scientific research, and here k trained scientific mind is of tho utmost importance to see that reliable results are obtained f.nd to make true logical deductions from these results. Without suitable training a man is liable to be unable to grasp all the conditions of an experiment and to make deductions from the data obtained which are totaly unjustified and often lead to most disastrous results in the future. Through lack of scientific training Mr. Soney states that the English, through being too conservative, have been gradually losing ground to America and Germany, owing to the fact that these two countries have enlisted the help Of science to a far greater extent than the English manufacturers and it is in this direction that the English Government should give every assistance by the aid and extension of the National Physical Laboratory. Herman, previous to the war, spent £70,000 a year, in scientific research work, with a viev: in aiding the manufacturer. Whilst the United States Government contributed .t 120,000 for tin l same purpose, the English grant was £7OOO. These figures convey a fair idea of the relative assistance given in research work, to the manufacturers in the respective countries. It is in this direction that Great Britain will have to make up, particularly as applied to the automobile industry.

A rotary engine of the Gnome,aeroplane type has been fitted to an American light car by a Chicago manufacturer. Fivo cylinders are fitted around and parallel with the stationary shaft. Ninety per cent, of the total weight is revolving, with the result that there is practically no vibration. There is no fly wheel, and the engine is air-cooled. The crankshaft is. also dispensed with, its place being taken by an armed ring surrounding the stationary shaft, but set on an which is diagonal thereto. The car weighs under 7jcwt., and the engine develops 12 liy. We wonder if this com bination possesses the germ of a great development. Such an engine would very materially reduce the weight of a light ear and increase its efficiency. It will be interesting to hear how this typo; of engine work out in practice when applied to motor car use.