The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-31
FLOATING A LOAD.

This great load. 5000. 600 pounds. Mr.. LOe-
her has the hardihOOd 10 say, can be tlOated
upon the air more easily than like weight
| is carried upon the water. How is il TO be
done? BY the aid Of anthecis with the ac-
cent on the penult). replies the inventor.
| And that is where the mystery comes in.
Anthecs is the name that Mr.. LOeber has
given to the new force he has found. II Is.
he says, the development Of the natural re-
sistence IN the atmosphere, but just how ne
gets the harness on il and subjects il TO his
will he will not tell until he has thrown the
protection of patent offices around him. He
Is quite willing. however, TO elucidate the
general principles upon which he has
grounded his faith in his ability 10 travel
airward.
.In the first place." he told a reporter in
detailing why he had departed from the
theories of ballOOnists in working out the
problem, 'buOyancy is untitled for air nlyi-
cation, because a floating air-yessel has not
enough weight Of body in proportion TO It's
| volume 10 effect the degree OF adhesion OF
| the vessel TO the all that is necessary for
speed and control. Force to be effective re-
quires resistance. That is an axiom of
natural law. The resistance required by
prOpulsiye force in lOcomOtOn Is the adhe-
sion of the moving body to its element,
| lOcOmOtiOn being the continuous disturb
| ance of that adhesion. Such adhesion results
from the weight of the moving body pro-
| pOrtiOnate b. volume, being more or less as
| the volume has more or less weight Hence,
weight of body in proportion TO volume Is at
once the main impediment and indispensa-
| bic requirement TO lOcOmOtiOn. Whatever,
| therefore, may be Opined TO the contrary,
| buOvancy, whether obtained through gas or
"A vacuum, is unfit for navigation, and 1t
| characterizes the knowledge eNtant on the
subject that in all the general and extensive
| consideration it has received, this has not
| vet been demonstrated. Why, IL dOseDt re-
| quire much Of mathematician TO show
that with the now known forces 1000 horse
power, exclusive of power required to over
come friction, has 10 be eXerted to lift 100
tons into space at the slow rate of three
miles an hour.
THE AIR NOT UNDERSTOOD.
1 ave think we know the air IN which we
live and the phenomena in IT which are OF
common occurrence, yet with all our boast
ed, and too often bOastful silence, nothing
is so little understood and so greatly misun-
derstOod as the atmosphere in its character
as an element Of transit. Its tenuity, eva
SION of contact and touch and lmperceptible
resistance 10 our constant movements in 1t
are mistaken for weakness, whereas the in
significance Of that resistance is the very
proof of the great force inherent in the air.
The air has the attribute of filling yacu0us
space with an enormous velocity, estimated
at over 1900 miles an hour. Hence the
space vacated by body moving is instantly
filled by air, and thus the air in front Of a
moving body resists displacement only in
proportion to the speed Of the moving body
as compared with the velocity of the moving
AIR, and since that comparison makes any
speed of our movements insignificant,
so alsois the resistance of the air. But the
attribute to ill vacu0us space imparts to
the air also a great force, which, however,
is hidden, or latent, because ii requires
yacuOus space 10 make il act, the degree Of
force depending upon the state. OF the
vacuum. An Illustration of the great force
of the air is the pneumatic tube, so called.
Let this be horizontal cylinder, one foot in
diameter and twelve miles long, closed at
one end and at the other having a piston,
fitting alright in the cylinder; the piston
is held in place until the cylinder is made
completely yacuous; then, being released.
the air will force the piston through the
twelve miles of cylinder in one minute,
or at the rate OF 720 mies an hour, the fric-
ton and resistance Of piston covering the
difference between this speed and that made
by the air in open space. Measured in
pressure the maximum force OF the AIR un-
der a complete vacuum is >, l24 horsepower
per square foot but il decreases with alti-
tude. Now, the air is as able to resist force
as il is to exert it. and its resistance is
equal TO its force. This resistance is an
thecis, and having determined how TO pro-
cure this latent force, am in a position to
assert that its use is eminently practical"
"Would not the public in general and
scientists in particular have greater con-
fdence In your ability 10 fulfil your prom
Uses if you told them exactly how you de-
rived this anthecisY' queried the reporter,
when he thought be was beginning to get
an inkling Of the drift of Mr.. Loeber's ar
gument.