The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-04-12
Continued on Third Page.l
SCIENTIFIC MATTERS.

Dobbie and Hutchinson have expert
mented upon bleaching by the aid of
electrolysis. For this purpose the
stuff is first dipped into sea water and
then passed through hot rolls which
are connected with the poles of a gal
vanlc battery. In order to decompose
the hypochloride which is thus FORM
ed, the cloth is drawn through diluted
acid and fully bleached.
A firm in Paris, France, have pat
ented an invention for the instantane-
GUS formation of steam which per-
mits for its use at once in the cylin-
der of the engine. A pump sends the
required quantity of liquid between
two plate surfaces, which are heated,
and between which there is only a ca
pillary space. The liz aid spreading
in thin layer evaporates at once,
without going into the so-called sphe-
roidal state, and this steam acts in
the cylinder as fresh formed steam.
The speed of the pump is regulated
by the engine, the pump being con-
nected with the shaft of the engine.
AT meeting of the academy of
sciences at New York, experimental
researches on the formation of the
peculiar crater in the moon were COM
municated by Mr.. Bergeron. He
sends hot air though brass tube into
a melted but gradully cooling mass
of Woods alloy. The bubbling of the
air forms "A circular space, first like a
circus ring and then like crater.
Soon, hOwev r, the mass becomes
pasty, and forms "A cone in the mid
die. Some slightly different effects
were had with other alloys, such as
more broken up appearance on the
side of the cone. An interruption of
the current gave rise to the formation
of two concentric craters.
According to Huggins, comets emit
a characteristic light which indicates,
by spectral analysis, the presence of
carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, ele-
ments which are shown by the spectra
of acetylene and cyandydric acid.
Berthelot thinks that these results
point to an electric origin of the light.
He has shown that acetylene is form
ed Immediately and necessarily when
ever carbon and hydrogen come'under
the influence of the electric arc.
When nitrogen is added to acetylene
the electric influence produces cyan
dydric acid. 1t seems scarcely posi-
BILE to conceive of q continuous COM
bustion in cometary matter, but an
electric illumination may be easily
understood.
Simple as such IA thing may appear
to be, it has, nevertheless, been found
very difficult to determine the color
of pure water, or at least scientists
differ quite materially in their esti-
mates. A special effort has re-
Gently been made by Herr Vic
tor Meyor to settle this question, and
he has found that it is shade be-
tween blue and green. Taking two
glass tubes forty millimeters in di-
ameter and about one and five-tenths
meters in length, he connected them
by means of rubber tubing, forming a
tube about seven and one-half meters
long. Both ends of this tube are
fixed in glass plates and fitted with
metal sockets, which are provided
with brass nozzles for filling the tube.
All being arranged, the tube is placed
in perfectly horizontal position and
covered with a black cloth. Upon
looking through the empty tube, the
field of vision appears colorless, as the
metal sockets prevent the glass from
exerting any influence. AS soon,
however, as the tube is filed with dis
| titled water an intense blush geen
color is observed.