Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 24, 1 July 1925, Page 62

Science Siftings

' • . ' (By Volt)

Hearing With the Hands? ■ j •,■ - ' y To teach the totally . deaf to hear •' through * the palms of - their hands is the purpose, of .v-' an instrument invented by Dr. Robert Gault. 1 : The instrument resembles a telephone receiver and-operates on a similar principle to , the telephone, except that, instead of ■■ carry- . < ing sound vibrations to the ear, it causes them to reach /the hand or some other sensi- - < 'live part of the body, v - V -It is necessaTy for .the, person using, the apparatus? to recognise what/,speech sounds ; caused the particular vibration he detects through his sense of touch. With the aid ~ ■ of the instrument Dr. Gault has succeeded in - teaching five deaf persons to .identify - -. fifteen sentences containing ninety one-syl- * lable words- " < ' \ < Glass Windows: Responsible-for Much , 111-Health r v - Glass windows, according to a committee of scientists-and doctors who have been in-. , vestigating the question of conserving child life on behalf of the city of Boston (America), are responsible for much of the ill-health' r v of to-day (says the Daily Express). ' Recent investigations have disclosed that many , of the plants and animals are unable to- complete their development and live.normal lives *. unless they receive ultra-violet radiation from the sun,' says ; the . committee in its report. We know . that a: great many ailments of man ;' can be traced to the invention of glass, for these rays, so beneficial to the, development and „ support ’ of life, . are. unable , to pass through our windows. For example, rickets is a disease which. may . be caused; by - a lack / of/ that part of sunlight stopped by r glass. ■/We’ find that surprisingly large numbers of cases*of painful child-birth can be traced . directly to bones that have been deformed /from lack of these parts of sunlight. Certain animals - which are ' nocturnal in v their habits are apparently able, to obtain a substitute for sunlight in their food. Further, if.certain kinds of food are exposed to ultraviolet light- they acquire anti-rachitic qualities. This raises , the question of whether or not greenhouse foods have the same 'nutritive value ass foods raised under natural ■/., conditions.. : / 260 Miles an Hour Aeroplanes-: ■ In a determined effort to win back the ; Schneider Cup, the international trophy for air . marine craft, which was won by. the United States at Cowes two years, ago, craft ; are now being constructed to represent Great > Britain which, it is confidently believed, will ‘ be / capable . of a speed , of between 260, and - 270 miles an hour. , * • ( One of the racing craft now beihg built y secretly is the development of a type which, during "hush, hush” trials last autumn," attained a speed -of 215 miles'an hour with - ~ the throttle not fully open. With a : very small span, and stream-lined, t so that there are no “bumps” in the fuselage,.' - this racer, -which will be equipped with floats - r for landing on water, will look like a flying , - - /■/' -ys-v

1 bullet w as -it goes hurtling y through the'air. y// rv V il n , 1 -II i ivOne of .the . secrets .qf its speed will be the specially constructed engine, ; let y into - the/y fuselage to ; minimise wind resistance. -- ■a*'' This is a development of the Napier Lion • engine, but the new type will, develop nearly • 600-li.p., and by the. introduction of a direct: drive oweight will be reduced by nearly *CS per cent. ' 1 Doing Without the Sun. - - - Recent experiments for' the purpose of curing hay that is green, wet, or both, have shown - that the farmer is not- necessarily ’ dependent upon the.whims of the weather for ■_ the - success .of his haying operations. /. ~ ■. ? The' wet hay is stacked around a .coneshaped wooden framework.. Then ' hot' air - s from a furnace is driven through it by means of a fan,or blower from a farm tractor;;//-;£ With the air heated' to' a temperature of ?;// from thirty to sixty;degrees above that of the ’ outside atmosphere, a twenty-five-ton slack / of wet, green "hay can be cured in eight hours/ • -*' - / ■" ’ ’"'■/■/■