St. Landry democrat., 1893-10-14
POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.

THICKNESS OF A Soar BUBBLE En-
vELOPE.-The capacity of human com
prehension is not little tasked at tn,
conclusion arrived at by scientists, who
it now appears, have succeeded in meas
uring the thickness of the envelope O.
soapy water enclosing the air of thu
bubble when it has become so thin as tC
produce rainbow tints. Thus, whcr
showing the shade of violet, it was one
fourth the thickness of the length of ar
ordinary violet wave of light-one sixty
thousandth of an inch-a thickness, that
is, equal to 1910, O00th of an inch As
the bubble continued 10 expand, a black
patch formed adjacent to the pipe from
which the bubble was being blown, and
the thickness of this patch was found to
be only onefortieth of that Of the violet
section, OR just about 100000 of an
inch.
A BUTToN-SETTING MACH1NE.-A very
unique mechanism-a button setting ma
chine-is being adopted by shoe manu-
facturers. In securing buttons to shoes
and other articles the ordinary practice
is to employ buttons provided with a
metal eye, and fastened in place to the
material by means of a staple passed
through the eye of the button and
through the material and clinched upon
the side opposite the button. By the
use of the new machine all this work is
performed automatically. A magnet is
rigidly secured upol the frame, its legs
being parallel from the lower end of the
chute, down which the buttons, carrying
the fasteners passed through their eyes,
slide by gravity; a rigid bridge extends
across the lower opening of the chute.
The lower edges of the magnet are cut
away to conform in shape with the out
side of the tops of the fasteners, the
bridge also conforming to the shape of
the inside of the fasteners. The work is
accomplished with great facility and in
the most perfect manner.
VOLUME OF LIQUIDS. -The we'll known
of obtaining the exact volume
of liquids by the ordinary means appears
to be met by recent French invention.
This new pipette is formed in two parts,
one, the portion to contain the measured
volume of fluid, being of the same shape
as has been customary, but only large
enough to hold the required quantity.
The second portion, which is the novel
feature of the instrument, consists of
glass tube with wide cylinder blown on
The end, which cylinder fits over the bulb
Of the pipette, tight joint being made
BY grinding the two contact surfaces
/ piece of rubber tubing with pinch
Jock and fngerholc in the side of the
covering cylinder completing the device.
It is used by placing the finger over the
ide hole, inserting the end of the bur-
'tte in the liquid, of which a special
quantity is to be measured, then drawing
With the mouth at the other end in the
Usual way, until the fluid flows over the
md of the measuring portion into the
cylindrical cover; the pinchcock is now
,losed, the pipette placed in the vessel
INTO which the liquid has to be delivered,
md air admitted through the fngerhole
n the side; under this arrangement the
liquid in the pipette flows in, and posi-
i've exactness is obtained.
THE COMING ELECTRIC GENERAToR.-l
Prof. Jacques, lately addressing the Ger.
nan Technical Society, Boston, ventured
he prediction that, at no far distant day,
here will be devised an electric gener-
tor, in which coal will be shovelled in
It the bottom and electricity taken out |
It the top, thus using only one piece Of |
mechanism instead of the whole chain |
at present, thus possibly con-
erting the energy of the coal into cleo
rical energy without such enormous
waste. This involves the theoretical |
it will be seen, of getting
wenty times as much electricity out Of |
ton of coal, md consequently twenty
lines as much power as is now the case.
'hus, transatlantic steamship that now
urns three hundred tons of coal per
ay would then burn but fifteen, or,
nth the present coal consumption, |
'ould be able to cross the ocean in less
nan two days; again, an electric loco
,ojva earring 10 eYR ananlY Of aoal !