Science.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2050, 1 April 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Science.

A Scientific Discovery—A recent discovery is the fact that a ray of light produces sound. A sunbeam is thrown through a lens on a glass vessel that contains lampblack, colored silk or worsted, or other substances. A disk, having slits or openings cut in it, is made to revolve swiftly in this beam of light, so as to cut it up, thus making alternate (lashes of light and shadow. On putting the car to the glass vessel, strange sounds arc heard so long as t he flashing beam is falling on the vessel. Recently a more wonderful discovery has been made. The beam of sunlight is made to pass through a prism, so as to produce what is called the solar spectrum or rainbow. The disk is turned, and the colored light of the rainbow is made to break through it. Mow place the ear to the vessel containing the silk, woo), or other material. As the colored lights of the spectrum fall upon it , sounds will bo given by different parts of the spectrum, and there will be silence in other parts. For instance, if the vessel contains red worsted, and the green light flashes upon it, loud sounds will be given. Only feeble sounds will be heard when the red and blue parts of the rainbow fall upon the vessel, and other colors make no sounds at all. Green silk gives sound best in red light. Every kind of material gives more or less sound in different colors, and utters no sound in others.

A Sandblast Apparatus.— An English inventor has devised a sandblast apparatus, in which the difficulties occasioned by the use of steam for driving the sand, are in a great measure overcome. Ilerclofore, by the sandblast process of cutting, boring, (resting, or ornamenting stone, metal, orglass, the use of steam as tbc propelling force has been found in most cases impracticable, owing to the condensation of the latter and tbc difficulty of manipulating the articles. The stencil plates, also, are liable to become clogged by the damp sand, glass articles in particular being in danger of breakage, from the heat of the condensed steam ; the cheapest and must manageable substances are precluded from use as patterns, and tbc waste sand must be dried each time it has been used. To obviate this an exhaust arrangement Ins been devised, which draws off all the steam before it readies tbc aiticle under operation, and at the same time dries the sand. The method of accomplishing this is simple and the results satisfactory, affording a ready and effectual means of cleaning the surface of metal of all kinds from scale, etc., hitherto effected by the use of acids, which penetrate metals and reduce their value for .■natty purposes; also for incising ornaments with great rapidity in granite, or other stone. Sheet sled, for example, rolled in the ordinary manner, and then sandblasted to remove scale, and afterwards heated and rolled again, is by this means made to receive a very high polish, ami a surface capable of withstanding the effects of the weather.

Compass Errors —An article in the l,irirjuH<\ Jut/riinl of Cumnirr r deals with the interesting subject of compass errors, and after 'cimmerating a number of incidents wherein derangements in the needle have been noticed upon the approach of an umbrella, of Volunteers with rifles, of men wearing electric belts, and, finally, of men impregnated with iron tonics and other metallic solutions, concludes as follows : ■■ Tbei i’ are so many causes to make a compass go wrong, that those who profess to know everything have, it is evident, much to learn. Masters of ships, wdioso certificates are liable to be cancelled or suspended,should never rely solely on the compass. They are useful and indispensable navigation iustrum ui-. lint they may be misleading, and require suppli-iii'-nting by the log, the lead and the lookout.”

New Dirigible Balloon-—A diiigibie balloon "f eolus-al dimensions has hen for some liiuein Course"tronstnietiou in I! ■ iiin. A series of meteorological observations, extending over several years, have, shown that, mar the earth the velocity of the wind in the temperate /one rarely exceeds PI feet per second, and Herr liaswiudt, who has designed the great I’eiTin balloon, expects to attain a speed of Id to (s feet per second. A sum of t; 1 2.1 Kill, it is said, lias already been 1 .Id red for the patent. The balloon is :.nil feet in length and .Ml feet in diameter. The total weight is bbilOn Ills., the envelop,-lind netting alone representing Ib.tum lb--. The propelling nui'dimery consists of two steam-engines of ."'ii hor-c-power each. The cost is estimated at eii.iioo.

A Prolific Coppermine in Canada Hue ot the most wonderful copper mines in the world has. says a t'anadian contemporary, been discover,d near Sudbury Juueti.m. Ontario. Its wonder consists in the fact that it is by far the largest mine of the valuabb' ore. ever yet brought to light by prospector, and its ptopriefor. Mr. Kitchie. and the country generally, will reap vast advantage from this new source of intiu ral wealth. The nipper ridge, which is situated a few miles from Sudbury depot, is four miles in length, 1..M111 feet wide, and goo feet deep. The pereoutage of pure copper is very large and no purer me lias yet. in the opinion of competent authorities, been discovered.

Coa.l Tar Quinine— iT-mV.-m i-’iseher. of Munich, after an extended research on the nature and properties of i(uiniuo. has discovered that a suhstanee may be extracted from coat-tar that exercises on (ho human organism an action identical with that of quinine. This substance appears as awhile crystalline powder. Administered in cases of fever, it has the effect of rapidly lowering the temperature, and its cllicaey in this respect is stated to be so remarkable ns to permit the use of ice to be dispensed with ; in the stomach, the wonderful power assimilates with even greater facility than does quinine.

A New Coffee-Tree- The Oiornnle d'Ai/rii-iilf/ira r (’■ mmirrin for August reports the discovery iu West Africa of a new variety of eotfec-plant, whose berry appears greatly to resemble that of Arabia in appearance and (lavor. It grows, however, nut on a shrub, but on a tree nearly 7 feet high, which develops rapidly and yields an abundant crop. Arrangements are already being made for introducing its cultivation in favorable localities.

A New Remedy in Heart Disease - Dr. Von Holst says that nitro-glycerinc is very useful in heart disease, especially when there is no serious organic change. In angina pectoris the drug gives relief and sometimes produces a permanent cure, and he recommends it in preference to camphor or musk where weakness of the heart threatens immediate danger. He uses a 1-per cent, alcoholic solution, and administers from one to six drops three times a day.

Tor Cleaning Grease Spots. Equal parts of strong ammonia water, ether, and alcohol, form a valuable cleaning compound. Ta-s a piece of blotting paper under the grease spot, moisten a sponge, first with water to render it “greedy,” then with the mixture, and rut. with it the spot. In a moment it is dissolved, saponified, and absorbed by the sponge and blotter.

To Detect Alcohol.— I f any fluid id stispccted of containing alcohol, especially ethereal oils, add pulverized chromate of potash and sulphuric or muriatic acid and warm the mixture. If any alcohol is present the mixture will turn green.

A New Poison.— f-’heose poison has been lately discovered in ice cream. Cheese and curd have also, in certain cases, been found to contain this poison. Its scientific name is tyrotoxicon,