The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-09-09
POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.

To TAKE THE PLACE OF LEATHER.-
A new material is proposed as substi-
tute for leather 1t is called 'flexus
fbra," and is derived from flax, suitably
prepared and oiled. 1t has the same APP
pearance as leather. is particularly
supple, and takes polish eqaly we'll
with the best kinds Of calf. The ma
terial is said to possess great tenacty.
while aifording great ease and comfort
to the foot when made into shoes.
Flexus fibra. being Of vegetable origin,
is calculated also to facilitate free ven
tilation, and thereby TO obviate the dis
comfort arising from what is called
"drawing"the feet.
The INTER RELATION OF FoRCEs.
Water freezes and becomes ice at 80 de-
grees OF Fahrenheit, whereas mercury
freezes at 80 degrees below zero of Fab
renheit; olive oil, on the contrary shows
signs of congelation at from 40 TO 40 de-
grces OF Fahrenheit. The three sub
stances quoted being all liquids the diff
ference in the loss OF heat requisite TO
bring them TO qualification is very great
indeed. The action of heat on fluids or
solids is equally various. Water boils
at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, lead melts at
| 612 degrees; the fusing point of gold is
2,Ol6 degrees, and of iron 5000 degrees.
| We give these particulars in order to
show what enormous changes can be eff
fected by cold in the transmutation of
substance from a liquid to solid, or by
heat from solid to liquid state.
Ether boils at 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but
has never been frozen by the
| colJ rrba fDrcao nyartaH Inv tho
action and reaction of heat and cold are
best exemplied under the head of steam,
which has only been called forth and
made use of by man since about the
middle of the eighteenth century,
but it has been in action on IA
gigantic scale in nature for probably
hundreds of thousands of years, it being
the opinion of many geologists, including
Lyell, that it is the generation of steam.
whether developed by the internal heat
of the earth in state OF fusion, or
whether by that of the chemical action
OF the elements in the bowels OF the
earth developing heat, which, acting on
water and thus generating steam, is tho
great force that throws up such enormous
rocks and masses of lava rs Etna has
been doing. The rocks and lava thus
thrown up are in state OF fusion 10y heat;
but they gradually cool by exposure TO
the air and form solid rocks and noun
tains. This action and reaction has been
going on for thousands of years with
| little cessation. Heat and cold, again,
cause the oceanic currents on our earth
! between the equator and the poles, aud
vice versa, and thereby affect the earth's
magnetism or polarity, not only on our
globe, but probably all throughout the
universe. This is borne out by the fact
that "the aurora borealis is decidedly an
electrical phenomenon, which takes
place in the highest regions of the atmos-
phere, since it is visible at the same time
at places very distant from each other.
DR.. Faraday conjectures that the electric
equilibrium of the earth is restored by
aurora conveying the electricity from the
poles TO the equator. - Westminster Re-
| view.
THE ORDINARY THERMoMErER.-Ordi-
nary thermometers are generally dctec-
! tive, says scientific writer, because OF
slovenly work in making them; the
testing, pointing and sealing being care
! lessly done. Tests should only be made
! by comparison with n standard thermo-
meter, placed with the instrument to he
tested under water. But in the cheap
! shop the water used is often allowed To
grow cool. and is then suddenly warmed
! by an addition of hot water. The test
ing accordingly is inaccurate. In these
shops also the zero point is determined
simply 10y placing the bulb in snow, and
when the mercury has become stationary
the thumb is placed on the point where
this is shown and a file makes the mark.
The initial point is usually thus mis-
placed from sixteenth to an eighth OF
an inch, and the whole scale is rendered
wrong. Thermometers with metallic
plates are sometimes incorrect. The
degrees on them are marked 10y means
of dies, which cause warping or
curling of tho plates. These have to
be rolled to hatten them again, and
this causes an increase IN the size
both of the plates and the degrees.
Allowance Is sometimes made for this in
making the dies, but the result is usually
unsatisfactory. a further source OF err
ror in this kind of thermometer comes
from the fact that most of them are test
ed at one point. The manufactures re-
lies ON scale of degrees that is very
nearly true. aud uses IL for all instru-
ments having bulb of like size. The
result is that the thermometers are in
error at certain points. IL is for this
reason also that glass thermometers,
which have degrees marked upon the
glass with type. are apt to be incorrect.
The type used is the same for oil glass OF
similar kind, notwithstanding tn, the
bulbs may vary in size. Scientific ther-
mometers are usually tested as to their
accuracy before they are used at some
authoritative observatory In England
this is done at the government station at
Kew: in this country at the physical la
boratory at Yale and Harvard Universi-
ties. and at the Smithsonian Institution.
Certificates are granted showing the
amount of error, If any.