The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1881-02-04
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY

Trials with the electric light in navi-
CATION at night have lately been made
on the Rhine. 1t is hoped that the re-
suits of these trials will lead to q new
phase in river navigation.
Whereas previous investigations have
indicated q height Of about $50 miles as
the greatest extent of the earth'e atmos-
phere, Mr.. Jose j. Lanheur, in a great
paper, places it a. not less than % 900
miles.
On August LIST an international exhi-
bition of electricity will open in Paris.
Every description of electrical apparatus
will be shown It is considered quite
probable that the Prince of Wales will
act as president of the exhibition.
DR.. Werner Siemens has applied cleo
tricIty to the operation of elevators. His
system, which operates through the
transmission of power by the dynamo
electric machine, is q safe as hydraulic
system, and is claimed tn be far less cost
IL and Inconvenient.
A new French appliance 10 an electric
break which is made to operate on fhe
wheel brake by means Of electricity gen
Grated during the motion Of the train
and applied at pleasure. Experiments
| thus far made with the apparatus have
been entirely successful.
The rare phenomenon Of an inverted
| rainbow was observed 1t . Prussian
town on the morning of November 25.
The ends Of the semicircle, the center of
| which was the sun, rose and moved west
ward with the latter for some thirty
minutes, when the appearance vanished.
The experiment of irrIgaiing lands in
| the neishborhood of Paris with the wat.
er from the sewers ID said to be working
successfully. Sterile tracts of land have
been converted into fertile plains, while
1 no increase Of sickness among the in
habitants has followed, - was apprs-
hended.
Speaking In Q recent lecture OF Her
schel's discovery, that the sun IL rapipiy
| moving toward point IN the consteila.
tion Hercules, Prof Ball, the Astrono-
| mer Royal, Of ireland, told his audience
that At the end Of the lecture they would
be 5000 miles nearer than they were a
the beginning.
II is Q fact known 70 all cloth manu-.
facturers that vegetable nbers mixed
| with wooden dbers cannot be equally
spun, dyed or woven together. An Aus
trian scientist claims, however. to have
/ discovered chemical process by which
this combination Of varying fibers may
be rendered smenable 90 the operations
mentioned
/ A new project is to be tried for dimin.
ishing the fogs Of London. By the plan
proposed about 5000 cubic feet of gas
| would be extracted from each ton Of coal
burned in the city, the coal being thus
| rendered smokeless. The gas would b
used for illuminating purposes. Ia thi.
manner the perfect combination of both
the eoal and the gas would be ensured
4 Z
| atmosphere thick with particles of I'M
consumed carbon.
A new theory as 10 the cause Of earth
quakes has been propounded by DIR. No
| wax, OF Pesih. He considers that. be
sides the rotation OF the earth on its
axis and It's revolution around the sun. &
multiplicity of motions Of the earth ap
pear in space, in virtue of which the
eaEth's axis, and with il the equator
shift their position. This causes 9 vsri
| alton OF the forces Centrifugal and cen
tripetaD influencing the earfh's form and
the earth's crust has . tendency TO adspI
itself to this change.
A NurembuEg chemist has devised 4
new method Of decorating silks and
other fabrics, which is expected TO So
percede embroidery. The Art IL called
geographic, and the operator uses hollow
pencils which are charged with q fluid
metallic compound. On exposure To the
air the compound instantly hardens
Every color can be produced, and the
designs traced with the pencils are ex.
ceedfngly durable. lasting a. long a. the
materials on which they are traced
Glass can be stained and wooden ware
and pottery decorated by the same pro
| cess. The manufacture of the pencils
has asreafiv become Considerably ndue
t<y In GsFaany.