The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-08-26
SCRAPS OF SCIENCE.


THE labors of the Seismological Society
of Japan have established the fact that
there is a chronic center of disturbance
within radius of few miles from
Yokohama.
IT HAS been computed that the power
of the steam engines of England would
suffice to raise from the quarries and
place in position all the stone OF the
Great Pyramid in eighteen hours.
EXPERIMENTS have been made with
compressed gunpowder, made to fit the
drill holes and cut into short lengths.
1t was found to possess many advantages
over loose powder, among which is
saving of 40 per cent. in powder.
THE evi1 effect of the electric light ~
--a.a ths =, eyes IS due; il isssugp9sed, To-
constant charges IN Iflss 1aRts'A1s
lioht whereby the eyes are greatly!
fatigued Little inconysnienGe M OF TINS
uatt7rA- aftAnds- thesnse OF the lncan-
descent lamps.
THE rapiditv Of motion of the wings of
some insects Is almost incredible. 1t
has been estimated that the common
house-fy moves its wings $50 times in a
second, or 10, 800 times per minute,
while the butteriys Wings move nine
times per second, or $40 times per
minute.
MEssRs GALLOWAY and Abel have
found coal dust to be an important factor
in explosions of the gases III mines. A
mixture of coal-dust and air Is not ex-
plosive, but a quantity of fre-damp too
small to produce any effect when
mixed with air alone causes the mixture
to become violently explosive. Pref
Abels experiments show that any kind
of dust mixed with air containing a small
quantity Of fire-damp converts the mix
ture into an explosive compound.
THE'frst complete description of the
two newly opened pyramids of Sakkarah,
IN Egypt, has been given 20 Cairo in
stitute by NJ. Brugsch. They are located
in the desert west of S1kkarah The
galleries and chambers are covered with
hieroglyphics, IN which the two words
" Merina" and PepI" occur as royal
names. Mr.. Brugscn showed the two
pyramids to be monuments of the two
kings, Pepi and of his son Horemsaf, of
the sixth dynasty Dt MarethO. The sar-
cophagi still stood Ia their old places :;
but of the mummies only one was found
that of Horemsaf, deprived of its orna-
ments and robes. The pyramids were
evidently plundered II ancient times.
They are the earliest examples of royal
graves IN Egypt adorned with religious
hieroglyphlcs. 1t is most remarkable
that the Cairo Museum contains a tomb
stone erected to the memory of Una, an
official at Kind Pepi's Court the inscrip-
ton on which stone refers to the building
by Una of the pyramids which have
now just been opened.
DESPITE the boasted power and intelli-
gence of human b-ings, many things are
doubtless familiar TO lower orders of ami
mails which can never be perceived by
man, while large part of the animal
world may look upon things as very diff
ferent from what they appear TO us. Sir
John Lubbock has inst recorded some
interesting facts concerning the. effect of
nghU upon ants. Ills conclusions are
that the5e insects must have very diff
ferent perception of light and color from
what we do. We all know that ray of
white light passed through prism be-
comes broken up into a beautiful band of
colors-the spectrum. To our eyes it is
bounded by red at one end and violet at
the other. But a ray of light contains
other rays not visible to our ewes called,
but not with absolute correctness, heat
and chemical rays The heat rays
extend beyond our limits of vision
at the violet end of the spectrum.
Sir John undertook to determine
whether the limit of visibility of
these rays is the same with US as with
ants, and In series of interesting ex-
periments has become convinced that
they perceive the ultraviolet rays which
are quite invisible to us. These must
appear to them as a different color, of
which we can form no idea, while white
light with this added component may
not appear to them as to us.