The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-02-19
SCIENCE AND ART NOTES.


DURING the year 1879 twenty minor
planets were discovered, and their num-
ber is now 211.
Mr.. W. MORRIS, of Gourock, Great
Britain, has, it is said, invented method
of photographing under water. The ca
mera is said to be lowered beneath the
wave, and the sscap" removed, when the
adjustment has been made to suit the
operator. A Scotch journal states'some
fairly good views have been taken by
this process.
The house of Louis Muller, of Leipsic,
Germany, has put on the market col
ored inks, which may be used Tor writ
ing labels on glass, iron, marble, mother
of pearl and metal. The writing is
done with goose quill, and when dry
adheres so firmly that it cannot be re-
moved by any liquid. Four different
colors are made, black, white, red and
blue.
The English Mechanic states that Mr..
Edison is attem pting to make new por-
table electric lamp, which, with the bat
terry "a constant one) shall be no larger
than those ordinarily seen on q parior
table. This is probably canard, as it
would take about fifty of Groves cells
to generate sufficient electricity to give
good illumination with one of Edison's
new electric lamps.
Mr.. w. r. PREECE makes tie follow
ing obser vation: CAT certain seasons
of the year and at certain periods there
are strong currents of electricity flowing
through the earth, and these currents
enter our wires and produce disturb
ance. Where they come from or what
they are we do not know: it is one of the
mysteries of telegraphy." This passage
appea ars to give hope that the earth is
natural store-house of electricity, and
may yet provide an inexhaustible sup
ply of natural electricity in some form.
IT may not be generally known
that we have in the nickel FIVE
cent piece of our coinage key to
the tables of ]ineal measures and of
weights. The diameter of this coin is
two centimeters and its weight is five
grammes. Five of them placed in row
will of course give the length of deci-
meter, and two of them will weigh
decagramme. As the kiloliter is cubic
meter, the key to the measure of leaeth
is also the key to the measures of ca
pacity. Any person, therefore, who is
fortunate enough to own a fve-cent
nickel may carry in his pocket the en-
tire metric system of weights and meas
ures.
A SOMEWHAT curious sale is an
nounced to take place in Paris this
month. 1t consists of about 1000
paintings, drawings, ETC., of various de-
scriptions that have been executed by
pupils under government instruction.
Among these are, doubtless, many
works by well known painters of the
day; but, as none of them are signed, it
is difficult to identify them. The gov
ernment sells the whole in different lots,
so that here is fine opportunity for
those who like to speculate in the prob
ability of being able to acquire some
early work by distinguished master at
a small cost.
IT may be interesting to describe the
method by which Professor N. S. Maske-.
lyme, of the British Museum, tested the
so-called Glasgow diamonds, as it may
assist others to make similar expert
meDts should occasion require. The
properties of a real diamond are as fol-
lows: First, it excels all substances in
hardness; second, its crystals belong to
the cubic system, and should not, there
fore, present the property of double re-
tracting light; third, the diamond, being
pure carbon, burns entirely away when
heated to sufficient high temperature
in the air, and more wildly when
burned in oxygen gas. Professor Maske-
lyme took few grains Of the dust-for
the so-called diamonds were too small to
be seen without good eyesight or lens
and placed a few grains between =
clevage plate of sapphire and topaz,
and rubbed the two surfaces together.
There resulted no abrasion, and the
particles were reduced to a DOW
der, without even scratching the
topaz. This showed they were
not diamonds. He next mounted
some of the dust on micro.
scopic slide and viewed it under
the microscope by polarized light.
They acted, each and all, powerfully in
the manner of a bi-refrangent CRYSTAL.
They were not diamonds. Finally he
took some of the dust, and exposed them
| to the intense heat of table blow-pipe
on piece of platinum foil. They re-
sisted all attempts to burn them. Then.
for comparison, he placed them with
small pieces of real diamonds and re-
peated the experiment. The result was,
the diamonds glowed and disappeared,
but the Glasgow crystals were obstinate
and unacted on as before. From all
this Professor Maskelyne concluded that
the particles in question were not only
not diamonds, but were not even carbon.
He next tried to find out what they
were composed of, and heated some
particles on platinum several times with
ammonium fuoride, when they became
visibly smaller, and slight reddish
white lncrustation was seen on the
field. Secondly, some particles were
placed over night in hydrofiuoric acid
in platinum capsule. This proved that
Mr.. Mactear's Glasgow diamonds were
merely some crystallized silicate, com.
pound of silica. =,