The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1882-12-16
For the CARBON ADVOCATED
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

.I / -
University. 4N-
Dissertations on Russian railways
during period ct s \ months showed
that soventy-seyen per cent. of the frac-
lures of tires occurred when the temper
ature was below zero, and only nineteen
per ceut. at higher temperature.
Mons Paul Bert, the French physi-
ologist, has discovered that tue blood or
herhivorous animals acclimatizvd at high
elevations contains II much larger pro-
portion of oxygen than the blood Of sim
liar animals living in regions but little
above sea-level.
While bees are popuhrly supposed
to be affected by sounds Sir John Lub-
books researches seem to show Il at these
insects have no power of hearing ordin-
AIRY noises. If they hear at all they pro-
badly distinguish the higher ovt riones at
the verge Of or bayoud our range of hear
ing instead OF low, l,ud sounds.
In re- ent paper Prof Willis De
Hass stated that nll the mines Of the Lake
Superior region give evidence ol having
been worked by prehistoric race, aud
that greater amount of labor bad been
performed by tho Sc ancient miners in "A
space OF les than two thousand acres
than two thousand men could do in twen-
ty years in Our time.
Prof. George L. Gnodale stated in
recent lecture that II suufOwer three feet
and n half high presents an evaporating
surface of thirty-nine square feet, a1 d
that the roots of such sunaower have
an aggregate length of l44S feet, Ac-
cording to the same well-known botanist,
grasses ana like plants exhule about their
own weight of water on hot summer
day.
1t has been found by Mons. [. B.
Dumas that water saturated with alum
is remarkably efficient in extinguishing
fires. This property is supposed to be
due to the coating it gives to objects wet
with it, which prevents contact with the
oxygen of the air and thus retards COM
bustion. 1t is reported that. as an ex-
pertinent, French fremen are to be quite
extensively supplied with instruments
for throwing such solutions of alum.
Mons. Perreaux has constructed an
apparatus for microscopic measurements
which is capable of measuring one 1500th
part of a millimetre. The instrument IL
SO delicate that it can only he used at
certain hours of the night when the jar
of passing vehicles has ceased. Those
not familiar with the metric system will
get better idea of the minute measuring
powers OF this apparatus when il Is con-
sidered that millimetre is only about
one twenty. fifty Of our inch.
That great room for Improvement in
the use of gas exists is shown bY Dr. O.
W. Siemens, who says: The amount of
light given out oy gas-faue depends
on tho temperature to which the particles
of solid carbon in the flame are raised,
and DIR. Tyndall has shown that of the
radiant energy set up in such flame on
ly the twenty fifth part is luminous; the
hot products of combustion carry OFF at
least four times as much energy as is rad
lated, so that not more than one hun
dredth part of the heat evolved in COM
bustion is converted into light. This
proportion could be improved, however,
by Increasing the temperature OF COM
bustion."
Prof Than, of the Blda. .resth So
ciety of Natural Science, has, from ex-
periments, formed the opinion that no
risk of fire from Illuminating gas exists
so long as the gas forms less than five per
cent. OF the atmosphere of given space;
but between five aud twelve per cent. it
begins to be ignitable and when it reach
es twenty nine per cent. the liability to
explosion is great. A delicate apparatus
used by Piof. Than causes an electric
bell to ring il gas is present even though
the quantity be no more than one-half of
one per cent. Another ingenious mr.
rnngtment shows tie actual percentages
quantity Of the gas. while control
manometer' reveals the place from which
the gas escaped.
"A very faulty ligEtIing-conducior
may sometimes protecta building. Mons.
IIirn tells of such case which lately oc-
cured at Colmar. thin iron rod about
twenty-six feet long had couical brass
| point screwed on the top, and was con-
nected below, by means of series ct
pieces of thin wire having terminal ey s
with block of iron about twenty ilcLes
long in the grOund. During a violent
thunderstorm lightning melted the Ira,
| point, but the current seems to have no
/ where left the conductor. Mons. Him
| insists that the mere fact of a lightning
discharge on the point of conductor is
/ proof of very imperfect construction; as,
during more than forty years of observa-
tion, he has never seen Lightning strike
one Of the forty or fifty lightning rods of
the factories OF Logelbach, although LIE
has found tnat currents are almost con-
siantly passing through the rods in the
presence of thunder-storms.
Aluminium, a bluish-white metal
possessing valuable properties, consii-
tutes large portion of the earth's crust,
occurring in i95 different species of min.
erals Despite its abundance, however.
It l. rendered very expensive by the diff
/ ficuliy of separating it from its com
ponnds--a process involving the use of
sodium or potassium, both costly sub.
stances, Several attempts, of doubtful
success, have been made to obtain alu
iuum 10y means of the ordinary reducing
agents, hydrogen ana carbon. A patent
has recently been taken out in England