Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-04-15
roPULAR SCIENCE.

The moon is without water end desti.
tute Of an atmosphere.
The fixed stars are suns and each may
have its own planetary system.
Australia is following the English lead
in the introduction of thu electric launca
to its waters.
Sun spots 100, 900 miles in diameter
have been measured, large enough Il
hold dozens of such worlds as ours.
Biologists consider kerosene to be ami.
NAL oil. Hence what we burn in lam os
is the remains of long extinct monsters.
The motion of the earth around the
sun is 1906 miles an hour, over 1000
miles a minute, or nineteen miles a
second.
1t is not an easy matter to freeze Out
triching. After subsection to tempera-
ture Of twenty-five degrees below zero
for two hours, they again become active
when exposed to hight aud heat.
A clever contrivance has been invented
for the direction of small pieces of mag
petizable metal, such as needles, tacss.
steel and iron chips, etc., that may have
entered the human body unagares an
hidden themselves In the skin OF deeper
tissues.
The sparks which in cold weather fly
from the fingers when metallic object
is touched are due to the electricity pro-
duced by the friction between the soles
of the shoes and the carpet. The cleo,
tricity is not formed in the tody at all
and has nothing to do with the vital pro-
cesses.
An electrical process for making in
digo consists in oxldizing toe yellow
LIQUID formed from the dried plants
STEPPED in water by passing an electric
current through it from copper cleo
trodes. The indigo thus formed is said
to be purer and finer thaa that produced
in the usual way.
The lungs will contain about one gal
lon of air at their usual de ;ree OF init-
ton. We breathe on an average 1919
times per hour, inhale 900 gallons OF air
or "a, 900 per day. Tne aggregate sur
face of the air cells of the lungs excee Is
30, 900 square inches, an area very near-y
equal to the floor of a room twelve feet
square.
An ingenious instrument for measnr-
ing the expansion of minute solid bodies
is found in the list of recent Inventions.
The substance is placed in the field OF a
microscope and an image OF it, magnihed
several times, 1s thrown on screen.
This image is further magnifed by tive
micrometer microscopes, which accurate
ly determine the expansion.
Throat diseases are caused by germs,
limitations of sewer gas, enlarged aad
horny tonsils aud distractions IN the
nose. People liable to throat diseases
should be very careful in using alcohol,
tobacco and in eating hot or highly spicei
food. Irritating remedies, such as
CAYENNE, tannin lozenges or nitrate Of
silver, should be avoided, except in
special cases.
NJ. Moissan, member of the Academic
DIES Sciences, has produced number oil
microscopic specimens of true diamond!
from ordinary carbon, which he bad
crystallized by means of an electrical
furnace, invented by himself. Results
were obtained by disso!ving pure car
bon, obtained by the combustion OF
sugar in an ingot of Iron heated to 3oeo
degrees centigrade, and then crystalllz-
ing 1t by the application OF cold water.
The crystals thus produced are very
minute, not above the thousandth pars
of carat, but they exhibit all the quiL'
ties of the real diamond.