The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1881-07-07
SCRAPS OF SCIENCE.

A NEW form OF thermometer indicates
| the temperature of any place at O con-
siderable distance through the agency Of
electricity.
IHE Uranium in giants is usually small
IN relation to their stature, but enormous
Ia absolute measure, although their in
telligence is general y small An exam
| pie was Brooa's giant Joachim, credited
with very slight amount of sense. YET
this great imbecile had huge Uranium.
and his brain weighed nearly as much as
that of Cuvier.
The drawings Of the planet Mars.
made by Prof. Hardness In 1877, have
been transformed from the orthographio
representation TO Mercator's projection,
and map of the planet has been con-
structed. General tables have been
computed which give directly the areo-
graphic latitude and longitude of the
center of the disc Of Mars and the posi-
ton angle Of its axis as seen from the
earth.
The value of spongy iron upon large
scale in the filters of water works is be-
ing tested at Antwerp. The water is
first allowed to pass through mixture
OF iron and gravel covered with sand, and
then 1T goes into @ second basin, the bot
experimental results have been more
satisfactory than those from ordinary
filters, and there are no Indications of
OF any necessity for renewing the iron,
which serves to oxydize the organic mat
ters suspended In the water.
DR.. S1EMENs has lately experimental
on the fusion Of metals by means of cleo
tr1clty and has succeeded in melting
1 Ito pounds into compact ingot in At
minutes. In melting large Quantities this
electrical method is rather moro than
twice as costly as the ordinary furnace,
but for the fusion of precious or refrac-
tory metals, for chemical purposes, and
for other applications where the question
OF economy is secondary, the new method
is convenient and practical. In melting
small quantities it may even prove eco
| nomical.
A sTEAM carriage has been used for
some time in Berlin. The Leipzig Ga
sette mentions that another German city.
| Chemnitzs the manufacturing center of
Saxony, with a population Of about 50,-
600, lis also using steam car for the
transport Of merchandise through the
streets without the use of rails. In two
months 1t made forty-four trips, carrying
406, 500 pounds, which were easily dis
",
and curves as well as on levels, without
causing any accident to vehicles or Pc
deStriang.
TIE earth's eastward rotation, together
with the increase in rate from the poles
to the equator, has O tendency to throw
the waters of streams against their west
ern banks sufficient to produce quite
marked effects in many parts of the
world. It is noticeable in large rivers
where the deposits are earthly, and the
pitch Of the water is small and in the
direction Of the stream, the bank against
which the water strikes the more forcibly
being high and steep while the other is
| low. The effect has been observed in
many streams of Europe and Asia, and
on the rivers intersecting the low land Of
the Atlantic border Of the United
States.
A COMPARISON Of the principal expend-
itures for lighthouse service in France
and tho United States has recently been
| published by Emile Allard. He finds
the average annual cost of light to be
| $716 in France and 81, 1853 in the United
! States. A large part Of the saving in the
French service is undoubtedly due to the
difference in the cost of labor; but he
; thinks that much of it is owing to the
vigorous economy which the engineer
OF the department Of bridges and high
ways bring to the execution of their Ia
bors, and to their careful avoidance Of
introducing luxurious arrangements
which do not contribute to manifest
utility.
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