Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 11 August 1910, Page 1287

Science Siftings

BY 'VOLT'

> New Gas for Balloons. Hitherto coal-gas has been used for filling balloons, in spite of its drawbacks, but recently a method has been invented (says the University Correspondent) for converting ordinary coal-gas containing more than 80 per cent, of hydrogen, and only half as heavy as ordinary coal-gas. The buoyancy or lifting power of the new gas is about an ounce avoirdupois per cubic foot; that of coal-gas is 0.7 ounce, that of commercial hydrogen 1.1 ounce. The Gyroscope. Since Mr. Brennan's successful application of the gyroscope, as a stabiliser, attempts are being made to apply the same principle to the steadying of aeroplanes in flight. Reynard, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, has designed an automatic device of this type, using a gyrostat of a comparatively small mass. The gyroscope establishes electrical contact with the frame which carries it, thus energising small motors which operate the steering of the plane, whose function it is to restore the axis to its original position, when the system is tilted. The practicability of this device is yet to be proved. Paper Car Wheels. "We naturally think of paper as something lacking in strength and of a paper article as being fragile, so are somewhat alarmed when an encyclopedic friend remarks that the wheels of the car on which we are slipping along at the rate of a mile a minute are made of paper. This opportunity to be alarmed occurs, however, on only the best of railways, as paper car wheels, though safer and longer lived than any others, are also more expensive. The principal advantage of wheels made from this unpromising material is found in the fact that they are not injured by the violent vibrations to which car wheels are subjected. Aeroplaning to the North Pole. ' Last week we were informed by cable that Count Zeppelin's Arctic expedition, the members of which were aboard the Mainzat Tromsoe, had to abandon the voyage to Greenland owing to the ice. Theodore Lerner, a recognised authority 'in aeroplaning, declares the proposed ZeppelinHergesell Arctic expedition to be a waste of time and money. He points out that the journey from Germany to Cross Bay, the proposed base on Spitsbergen, would take over eight days, and would mean a consumption of 10,000 cubic meters of gas, the equivalent of 2000 gas bottles, and also of 21,600 kilograms of benzine and lubricants. This weight, he says, is far in excess of the carrying capacity of the Zeppelin airship and its consort. Making the Sea Safer. Trial of the new invention, called the ' Compas Azimutal Hertziennes,' which enables the commander of a vessel to ascertain to a degree his bearing with any ship or land station sending wireless messages, has proved successful in the trip of the French liner La Provence from Havre to New York. _ All steamers of the French Line now are to be equipped with the device. It is asserted that the new invention is of particular value in fogs, and Captain Poncelet, of La Provence, says that he was able to ascertain the exact location of his ship with relation to other steamers and the land by the aid of the device. As an adjunct to the wireless machine, this latest product of mechanical genius will doubtless become one of the greatest life-savers in existence. Fogs have always been the terror of seamen. The most experMnariner has been helpless in their grasp. Horns and lights have not always been effective in preventing collisions; nor has the wireless alone been effective. Ships might communicate with each other in a fog, but they have been unable to ascertain their distance from the other. The ' Compas Azimutal Hertziennes ' supplies this deficiency. Joined to the wireless machine, it records the exact distance of the ship or land station that is replying to the messages. When it comes into general use, it should minimise accidents resulting from fog on the sea. It would seem that it will not be long before travel on sea will be safer than travel on land.