Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-06
sOIENTIFIO.


Mr.. G. j. Kintner, of the United
States patent-office, believes that, judg-
ing from what has already beer done in
various applications of electricity. with
in the next decade we shall find our
large telegraphic corporations operating
their elevators, supplying motive power.
heat, and light throughout their build
ings. and electricity of their lines, from
one common source Of power.
A Photographic sunshine recorder has
been invented by Capt Abney. 1t
consists of semi cylindrical box, with
a fiat lid, in the centre of which is
small hole. Round the inside of the
cylinder strips of sensitive paper are
fixed, and the instrument is then SO
placed, that the sun, the hole, and the
centre line of the paper are in che same
place. As the sun moves, therefore,
its track will be recorded on the paper.
A paper said to be proof against fire
and water is prepared in this way: Al
ter mixture of two-thirds ordinary pa
per pulp and one-third asbestus has
been thoroughly incorporated, it is
stepped in solution of common salt
and alum. 1t is then made into paper,
which is finely coated with shellac
Farnish.
, One of the officers of the steamship
City of Berlin states that he has received
the current of a Slemen's dynamo
electric machine through the legs, trunk,
left arm, thumb, and one finger. He
says he did not like the sensation, but
that he could have endured it if neces-
sary, although the current was capable
of giving four lights of four hundred
candle power each.
A writer in Nature says that before
the voyage of the Challenger scarcely
thirty deep-sea fishes were known; that,
although this number has now been
very much increased, yet no new types
of families have been discovered, and
that, although perfectly novel and very
interesting modification of certain or
gans have been met with. there has been
nothing more discovered than what
might have been expected from what
was known previously of the group.
1t appears from one of the recently
published memoirs of the science
department of the University of Toxic
that there is nothing to warrant the be-
lief entertained some years ago regard
ing the enormous quantities of gold and
copper to be found in Japan. What
ever rich and easily-worked deposits of
either metal may have existed there,
they were long since exhausted. Any
remunerative extraction ofgold or copper
must now be pursued according to
scientific methods and by persons pos
sessing capital. Coal is Just now the
most profitable mineral brought to the
surface in Japan. There are annually
exported 100, 1000, 600 catties e. catty is
II pounds but the coal imported is yet
about Al, 1876, 900 catties. Copper ranks
second, silver third, gold fourth in the
mineral wealth of Japan.
A simple magic lantern, from the
construction and use of which good
deal of instruction and amusement may
be derived during winter evenings, is
described in the Scientific American.
A small box, and kerosene lamp with an
argand burner, little fish-globe filed
WILL pun WoICI, <Su0 OOuOlC
or plano-convexlens are all the mater
ials necessary to make it. A hole is
bored in the top of the box to permit
the chimney of the lamp to pass through
and allow the heat and the products of
combustion to escape. In tie side of
the box round hole is cut large enough
to admit a portion of the globe, which
is suspended inside the box close to the
lamp. A piece of common window
glass is then moistened with strong
solution of sulphate of soda, and placed
on stand or clip so that the light from
the lamp will be focused on it by the
globe. The image of the glass will
thus be thrown on screen when the
lens is properly adjusted. The forma-
tions of the crystals Of the sulphate of
soda will be seen clearly on the screen,
and appear like the magical growth of a
forest. ANY ingenious family can
readily devise great number of inter-
esting experiments with this inexpensive
lantern.