The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-09
SCIENCE FOR
UNSCIENTIFIC

A new mineral has been discovered, to
which the name sanguinite has been given.
It is bright red in color by reflected light.
and upon analysis ia found to contain sill
yer, arsenic and sulphur.
A German paper states that DR.. Lehner,
OF Augsburg, has solved the problem of
manufacturing artificial silk, and can not
pany is shortly to be constituted to work
the invention.
The strength of spider silk is incredible.
Size for size it is considerably stronger than
a bar of steel. An ordinary spider thread
ia capable of bearing a weight of three
grains, while a steel thread of the same
thickness would support less than two.
1t has been calculated that the electro
motive force of a bolt of lightning is about
$500, 600 volts, the current about ID, COO, 900
amperes, and the time to be about 10000
part of a second. In suoh a bolt there is an
energy of 2,45O, 900, 900 watts, or 1884, 1872
horse power.
A tell-tale clock in connection with the
London-Paris telephone keeps the record
of seconds while the patron talks. When
$50 beats have been counted q bell rings
and the circuit is cut off. Another three
minutes talk may be secured on payment of
the ordinary fee of two dollars, but no
more than six consecutive minutes are al
lowed to any one person.
There are hopes of introducing the magic
lantern as a means of signaling at sea.
When so used the lantern will be called the
Photographic" 1t will have slides in the
shape of stencil plates, each with a letter
or figure cut on it. The screen is a flag
stretched in a conspicuous part of the ship.
on which the letter on the slide is pro-
jected. By the help of glasses the distant
ship reads the letters.
In the last two years New London, Conn,
lobstermen have bagged III their deep
water traps in Fishers Island sound not
less than five or six indigo Holsters, which
are so rare that it is not known that more
than two of the kind had ever been taken
in the world before. In the same time two
blue Holsters were caught by Maine fisher
men. Blue Holsters are as blue rs the sum
mer sky n extremely beautiful.
The experiments with a pendulum to visi,
bly, demonstrate the motion of the earth,
formerly made by Foucault under the
oupola of the Pantheon, are about to be
renewed on an even larger scale, saws the
Popular Science News. The new gigantic
pendulum has been suspended from the
center of the second platform of the Eiffel
tower. 1t consists of q bronze wire 31
feet long with a steel globe weighing 18C
pounds at the end.
A German chemist has invented a pren.
aration which, he claims, when applied to
the soles OF shoes, has tho effect of increas-
ing their wearing capacity from Ave TO ten
times, besides making them WATERFRONT
The preparation is applied after the shoes
ara finished and the soles are buffed, The
right to use it has been sold to the Bayar-
ian government for the army. The inyento,
says it has bsen tested in the German arm
satisfactorily.
BY careful experiments made Mt thu
United States mint, says The Iron Indus-
try Gazette, it has, been shown that SIS arc
lost by abrasion every time 81, 600. COO in
gold coin are handled. The experiment.
were conducted with bags containing S.
coo each, and it was shown that the u'er,
lifting of the 200 bags making up 81. ON
GOO to a truck to be removed to anothe,
vault. resulted in the loss stated, and tina,
their transfer from the truck again made :,
second similar loss.
Prot. Elihu Thompson is led to conclude
after long and elaborate experimentation
that the alternate currents power to de
stroy life is in inverse ratio to the humble
OF alternations per second. 1t took, TO
example, twenty timeE as strong n currep
to kill a dog when the alterations wsr
4.GO per second as when they were I2O De
second. When the alterations were 30
per second the current was only half a
dangerous to life as when the alienation
were 12O.
1t is reported that the observers at M oup
Hamilton have lately kept a sharp ey