Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 1 September 1910, Page 1419

Science Siftings

BY ‘VOLT’

Shows Motion of the Earth. Dr. Charles Forbes, of the Department of Physics in Columbia University, has installed in Barnard College the first permanent apparatus for the installation of the Foucault experiment, to show the motion of the earth. Dr. Forbes set up a temporary apparatus for the experiment, in St. Paul’s Chapel of Columbia University some two. years ago. Wireless Telegraphy in France. The new service by which Paris time is transmitted by wireless telegraphy from the Eiffel Tower to all land stations and to ships at sea, was inaugurated at midnight on May 24. The signal was repeated at two minutes and at four minutes past the hour, and it is believed that entirely satisfactory results were obtained up to a range of between 4000 and 5000 kilometers. Snake Poison. To most people, even at the present day, treatment for snake-bite means simply whiskey, and plenty of it. This, however, is not approved by the modern expert. He knows exactly what are the properties of snake-venom, what its effects on the human organism are, and what will counteract them. His object is to neutralise the poison as quickly as possible, before it can reach vital organs; not to overstimulate the system in a vain attempt to give it strength to resist the full power of the venom. Dr. J. T. Case, in an article on this, subject in Good Health, tells us that in practically all snake-poisons there are at least two kinds of toxin. . One paralyses the nervous system, while the other destroys the blood-cells after being absorbed into the blood. _ In some snakes, such as the cobra, the nervepoison is predominant; in others, like the rattlesnake, the tissue-decomposing element is most marked. The Composition of Comets. From an interesting article in a recent issue of T.P.’s Weekly, on ‘What are Comets Made Of?’ which deals with the fact that with the aid of the spectroscope it has been found "possible to determine the constitution of stellar bodies, we take the following: —‘ It is a weird fact that some rays of light coming from an object sufficiently heated can tell us the composition of the object. It is still more astonishing that some rays of light can tell us that matter is alike everywhere. The object may be a few yards away, or a hundred miles, or a hundred million miles —its light, decomposed in the spectroscope, is compelled to relate the story of its origin. Our earth is but a speck compared with the size of other worlds; there is, however, one great truth that stands out clearly. From the minutest atom to the remotest star there is a community of matter throughout all space. The distances by which the earth is separated from its neighbors in the solar system are stupendous, and yet the elements which compose the heavenly bodies are practically the same as those of which the earth is made. The ‘ spiritual texture ’of the comet, to use Herschel’s phrase and the materials in sun and star, are seen, tasted, and handled every day under all the conditions of our common life.’ Panama Canal Statistics.' A booklet issued by the Panama Canal Commission gives the following statistics of the enterprise: -—Length from deep water to deep water, 50£ miles; length on land, 40$ miles; bottom width of channel, maximum, 1000 feet; bottom width of channel, minimum, 300 feet; locks, in pairs, 12; locks, usable length, 1000 feet; locks, usable width, 110 feet; Gatun Lake, area, square miles, 164; Gatun Lake, channel depth, 75 to 45 feet; excavation, estimated total, cubic yards, 174,666,594; excavation, accomplished April 1, 1910, cubic yards, 103,205,666; excavation by the French, cubic yards, 78,146,960; used in new canal, cubic yards, 29,908,000; concrete for canal, cubic yards, 5,000,000; time of transit through completed canal, hours, 10 to 12; time of passage through locks, hours, 3; relocated Panama Railroad, estimated cost, 7,225,000 dollars; relocated Panama Railroad, length, miles, 46.2; Canal Zone, area, square miles, 448; owned by United States of same, square miles, 322; French buildings, acquired, 2150; French buildings, used, 1537; value of utilised French equipment, 1,000,000 dollars; canal force actually at work, 39,000; canal force, Americans, 5500; cost of canal, estimated total, 376,000,000 dollars; work begun by Americans, May 4, 1904; date of completion, January 1, 1915.