Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 8 December 1910, Page 2035

Science Siftings

BY ‘VOLT’

Soda Lake. About a year ago the extraordinary discovery of a big ‘ soda ’ lake was made in the East African Protectorate. The lake has an extent of 40,000 square miles. It is calculated by the Government that the discovery involves' no less than fifty million tons of soda, or sufficient to supply the world’s market for years to come. Why Sea Shells Murmur. One is often perplexed by the murmuring sounds that come from a sea shell, but really there is no reason for this. The sound is not the echo of the waves. The hollow form of the shell and its polished surface enable it to receive and return the beatings of all sounds that chance to be in the air around the shell. There arc many superstitions regarding the murmuring of sea shells.

The Peculiar Black Sea.

The Black Sea differs remarkably from other seas and oceans. A surface current flows continuously from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, and an undercurrent from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea. The latter current is salt, and being heavier than the fresh water above it remains stagnant at the bottom. Being saturated with sulphuretted hydrogen, this water will not maintain life, and so the Black Sea contains no living inhabitants below the depth of about 100 fathoms. The deeper water when brought to the surface smells exactly like rotten eggs.

A Rare Gases in the Air.

Samples of the air at a height of nearly nine miles high have been recently taken and experimented upon to test the presence or otherwise of rare gases. The collecting apparatus, carried by a large balloon, is a series of vacuum tubes, each drawn out to a fine point ,at one end. At the desired height an electro-magnetic device, connected with each tube and operated by a barometer, breaks off the point of the tube, admitting the air. A few minutes later a second contact sends a current through a platinum wire around the broken end, melting the glass and sealing the tube.

The Laughing Plant.

There is a curious plant that grows in Arabia, and is known by the name of the laughing plant.’ This name comes from the fact that anyone who eats its seed cannot control his laughter. The natives of the district where the plant grows dry the seeds, and reduce them to powder. A small dose of this powder makes those who eat it act very much like foolish people. The soberest person will dance, shout, and laugh like a madman, and rush about, cutting the most ridiculous capers for an hour. At the end of this time the reaction comes. The dancer is exhausted, and a deep sleep comes, upon him. After a nap of several hours, he wakens, with no recollection of the antics he has performed.

The Glow-worm.

The glow-worm is not a worm at all, but a species of beetle, to which the common firefly or lightning bug is closely related. The true glow-worm is the female, and is without wings. Its short legs and long body give it much the appearance of a worm, and it can withdraw its triangular head into its neck. The adult insect feeds but little indeed, there is reason to suppose that the adult male does not feed at all. The larva, on the other hand, is carnivorous, and devours small molluscs, either dead or alive. The light given out by the glow-worm comes from a yellowish substance located on the under side of the abdomen. Though this light appears to glow steadily, it is really intermittent, consisting of flashes in quick succession, about a hundred to the minute. Besides the ordinary light rays, Rontgen rays are given off. " &

A Famous Timepiece. The famous astronomical clock at Hampton Court Palace, near London, is the first timepiece of that character erected in England, and was made for Henry VIII. in 1540 According to Ernest Law, the historian of Hampton Court Palace, it was the creation of Nicholas Cratzer, a German astronomer, who visited England at the invitation of Cardinal Wolsey, who introduced him to the King. It is possible to learn from it the hour, the month, the day of the month, the position of the sun and the number of days since the beginning of the year, phases of the moon and its age, the hour at which it crosses the meridian and the time of high water at London bridge. The winding of the clock occupies half an hour every week. The weights descend to a depth of more than sixty feet. Like many other things about the palace, it has its legends. It is related that when Anne of Denmark, Queen of James 1., died in the palace, the clock, which was striking 4 at the moment, immediately stopped. This it is said to do whenever any old* resident in the palace dies within its precincts, and alleged modern instances of the fact are quoted solemnly by the credulous.