SCIENCE SIFTINGS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 37, 20 September 1923, Page 54

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

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Eclipse Pacts.

An eclipse of the sun is one of the simplest things imaginable. It is caused by the moon coming between the earth and the sun when they are on the same plane. There are three kinds of eclipses—total, partial, and annular. The partial eclipse is when the moon only passes before a part of the sun; a total one is when the moon covers the whole of the sun from view; and an annular one is when the moon, being further from us and appearing smaller, leaves a ring' of light outside its own disc.

First Pocket Orchestra.

An Hungarian engineer has invented a gramophone no larger than a watch. The inventor's slogan is "Carry your orchestra in your vest pocket." The invention is described as a practical instrument capable of producing jazz, rags, waltzes, and one-steps. The mikiphone, as it is called, winds like a watch and has a speed regulator. There is room inside for ten plates, giving a repertoire of twenty selections. In the other vest pocket one can carry enough music for an all-night session. By placing .the instrument on a champagne glass the sound is amplified sufficiently for an ordinary-sized ballroom.

Sun's Rays Drive an Engine. The sun's rays are used to generate power in a miniature engine which was the subject of a demonstration at the College of the City of New York by Mr. Bernard Grossman, a. graduate. A parabolic copper mirror focused the rays on a test tube of water, the heat causing steam, which in turn operated the tiny engine at a high speed. Mr. Grossman said that his invention could be used to provide light, heat, and power, or to operate motor trucks. "Coal," added the inventor, "will, before very long be obsolete. ' ' "Every community will have its plant, where the sun's rays will be caught and concentrated. The millions of units of energy from the sun which we now waste, while we continue to drain the earth of its oil and coal, will be put to use." The plan has been laid before several engineering experts, and an attempt to utilise it- on a large scale may soon be made.

The Fur Traders. Practically .the entire distribution of the world's fur output is in the hands of four big companies. The Hudson Bay Company has the monopoly for British North America. Then there is the Russian-American Fur Company, which, in addition to Russia and Siberia has the monopoly of the seal tracks in the frozen islands of Northern Asia.

The Royal Fur Company of Greenland, and the French house of Revillon Freres, are the remaining directors of the industry. All these companies are dependent for their supplies upon the trappers-whites, half-breeds, and Indians. The men set out on their pilgrimages mostly about the time when women m more civilised parts of the world first don their winter wraps. From autumn to March*" they deal steadily with beaver musk-rats, and other small animals which burrow for their winter homes. The larger animals are caught in steel traps. The dyeing and dressing of most furs are in the hands of two or three firms, who guard their secrets so jealously that they are handed down from one generation to another and never divulged. The highest skill is essential for the preparation and cleansing of the skins. '."•;