The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-07-25
SCIENCE AND PROGRESS.
MATTERS OF INTEREST AND IN
STRucTION TO THE CURIOUS.
Tips to Inventors - Mechanical
EvoiutIon--A Curious Expert
ment--An Engineer Learns
From an insect--New
Cycle Wheels.
Tips to inventors.

TIPS TO inventors.
There are many smart men running
after perpetual motion, and such like
impossible and useless things, who
have brains enough toproduce, if set
to work on almost any practical pro-
blem, whatever is called for. The
faculty of invention is great one. 1t
is as much faculty as IN ear for
music or IN eye orpainting and sculp-
ture. There are hundreds of lines in
which those who have the heaven-born
inventivegift. might by hint be made
to start after some certain thing that
the world really needs, would believe in
when shown andwould be willing to pay
for when it was in practical working
shape. For such men-and among our
readers we doubt not that there are
many hundreds ut least-the following
paragraphs have been prepared; and
they will also serve to call the atten-
ton of specialists, who are not pro-
fessional and inveterate inventors, to
do the desirability OF working in these
lines.
There is need OF device by which
train can be stopped at any point in
its run from any station of q line
This is needed not only in the case of
"wild" engines which have escaped
control, but for trains which have
gone past a signal, or have not
needed it, or are not within signaling
range.
There is a chance for practical in
ventors to change the whole idea of
railway-train braking. The brake
should be applied to the rail, and not
to the wheels of the train. Brakes APP
piled to the wheel simply permit the
train to skid, and cause fiat places on
the wheels. Brakes applied to the rails
would ease up the momentum of the
train in friction between it and some
thing not within itself
The whole art of making castings
under pressure needs to be learned.
1t is but in it's infancy. There is requir-
ed q casting machine which will do in
iron and brass what the type-casting
does in type metal.
ventor's aid. AS it is now, ordinary
presses for printing from type forms
must have engraved blocks, the print
ing surfaces OF which are either type
high or below that, and print from
only those portions which are type
high, losing the half-tone effect.
Car starters for the street railway
lines have not been given enough at
tention. There must be something
which will store up enough power
when the car is in motion to start it
easily when fully loaded, after it has
been brought to rest. 1t can be still
further developed so as to store up
while on down grades certain amount
of power, and give it out again on the
up grades in aid of the horses. There
will be money in it.
The storage battery or secondary
battery Is far too heavy, complicated,
costly and liable to deterioration;
and gives of fumes which do not COM
mend it to proper approval There is
ample opportunity for inventors to
do good and paying work here.
Strange as it may seem, there has
not yet been put upon the market a
good ball bearing or roller bearing for
engine shafts and machinery generally.
The manufacturers OF bicycles seem
to have got what is wanted, but in
larger sizes the field is yet open.
An Engineer Learns From an Insect.
1t has been said that the operations
of the spider suggested the arts of spin
ming and weaving to men. That may
be doubtful, but it is certain that to
q hint from an insect was due the in
vention of n machine instrumental in
accomplishing one OF the most stu
pendous works OF modern times-the
excavation of the Thames tunnel.
Mark Isambard Brunei, the great en-
gineer, was standing one day, about
three quarters OF n century ago, in a
shipyard, watching the movements of
an animal known as the Teredo Nav
ais in English, the naval WOODWORK
when a brilliant thought suddenly
occurred to him. He saw that this
creature bored its way into the piece
of wood upon which IL was operating
by means of u very extraordinary
mechanical apparatus. Looking at
the animal attentively through mi
croscope, he found that is was covered
in front with pair of valvular shells;
that, with it's foot as purchase, it
communicated rotary motion and a
forward impulse to the valves, which,
acting upon the wood like gimlet,
penetrated it's substance; and that, as
the particles OF wood were loosened,
they passed through fissure in the
foot, and thence through the body OF
the borer to its mouth, where they
were expelled. Here" said Brunei to
himself, sis the sort OF thing want.
Can produce 1T in an artificial form?'
He forthwith set to work, and the
final result of his labors, after many
failures, was the famous boring shield
with which the Thames tunnel was ex-
This story was told by
Brunei himself and there is no reason
to doubt its truth.-New York Ledger.
for Incandescent Lamps.
Various substitutes for platinum
for leading wires for incandescent
lamps have been proposed. from time
to time. Iron was proposed by Mr..
Ward some eight years ago, but
never came into use. Iron and nickel
both stand the blowpipe fairly well If