The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-14

regard the present trend of speculation and
knowledge in the world of science with
some comp,acency. 1t was announced
some time ago that Mr.. Lowell, the as
tronomer who conducted series OF IN
vestigations at Flagstaff (Ariz.) observa-.
tory on the canals and other features OF
Mars, had become convinced that that
planet is inhabited by intelligent beings.
His explanation of the ceases" connect
ing the "canals" is that they are fertile
spots of an oval or circular shape, usually
about 100 or $50 miles in diameter, and OF
green SO dark that it is quite distinct IN
the telescope at the distance of 100000, 900
miles. He ascribed the color to vegeta-
ton, and states that it changes with the
season like that of the foliage of the earth.
Following on these speculations, now
comes Tesla's marvellous discovery that
not only has the earth an electrical charge
of its own, but that this charge can be
demonstrated and utilized. This means
that we have now at hand an lneXhauStlble
source of power of which the whole world
can avail ITSELF in other words, that every
bit of machinery in operation on this
earth can be actuated by electricity drawn
from the earth itself. This discovery also
opens out the way for transmitting intelli-
gence all over the earth without wires.
But to astronomers the most interesting
bearing of these new facts is that they
render possible system of communicate
ing with the inhabitants of other worlds.
If this earth has an electrical charge, and
all the other heavenly bodies have, as I'M
doubleday they have, an electrical charge,
the first great difficulty in the problem of
interplanetary communication has been
overcome and we have found means of
sending messages across chasms OF space.
THE PRESENT LIMITATIONS OF Color Pho
ToGRAPHY-Dr. Neuhaus has exhibited be-
fore the Physical Society of Berlin series
of photographs taken by Lippmann's
method with prolonged exposure. Spectra
show, if the exposure is sufficiently long,
greenish band in the mira red, as well as in
the ultra violet, i'll addition to the ordinary
colors The colored band was markedly
displaced by both over and under eX-
posture. The results, while to certain
extent encouraging, were not altogether
satisfactory. The photographs of objects
with mixed colors, such as fruits, flowers,
butterflies, etc, were good, the t1nts being
brought out with clearness and delicacy,
but their production was extremely diff
cult, only one plate in twenty five, on an
average, being successful. In every case,
it was found more easy to photograph nat
urally mixed than artiticially mixed colors.
DIR. Neuhaus, in describing the present
methods of photographing in colors, said
I'LL pOIldIJ duNduCeS NOuIQ SOOu NC llltdC'
| IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINERY
The American Sunday newspaper is the
wonder of the Old World, and it would al
most seem as if the enormous editions is
sued by some Offices for the delectation of
their Sunday readers had exhausted the
possibilities of modern newspaper produc-
ton. That such, however, is not the case
is evident from the constant succession of
patents being taken out for improvement
in newspaper printing machinery. The
| ingenuity and complication of some of
these machines is remarkable. The speci-
| fcation of machine for feeding sheets of
paper to printing press occupied nearly
eight pages of a recent number OF the
| Patent Office Gazette and contained not
| less than sixty mine distinct claims.