The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-04-19

prepared Weekly, TOR the Citizenl
Not the least important of the eng
mas of science, is the slow, steady
changing of the earth's magnetic pole.
This secular variation has Just been a
subject of investigation by DIR. l.. A.
Bauer, who has constructed the actual
curve described in the course ofceutur-
les by The north end of free magnetic
needle at a stations distributed over
the globe. The results establish for the
first time, it is claimed, the law that
the north end Of freely suspended
magnetic needle moves in consequence
of the slow magnetic variation of the
entire earth, in the direction of the
hands of watch. If there is regu-
lar period it has not yet been proven.
1t having been foretold by Prof
Falb, of Vienna, that the earth will be
DESTROYED hv collision with comet on
Noy. Is, 1899, Dr. Klein has investi-
gated the chances of such an event.
always ,ssibe but if the nuclues of "a
comet is a quarter rs large as the earth,
there is only one chance in PSI millions
that any cometary visitor Will Iuu
against us, which means that such an
accident should occur about once in
two million years. The paths of the
known comets have not been determine
ed with sufficient accuracy To Justify
any prediction. In case of collision. if
the comet were solid and of the size of
the moon, the consequences would be
awful beyond conception, and both
bodies would be converted into VapOr;
while even if the comet were gaseous,
the carbonic acid comets undoubtedly
contain would destroy all organic life
upon our planet. The earth has more
than once passed through the tail of
comet without noticeable disturbln-
ces.
A watch called the phonotelemeter,
has been iaVeuted by a French officer
named Thouvcnin, for measuring the
distance of artillery Ivy sound. \ but
ton is pressed AT the Instant of the flash
and again at the sound y needle ira
versing the dial registers the interval
to the tenth of a second, the distance
then being mere matter of cal
culation.
The type-settlng machine of Father
CarieudUd "a Sicilian Dominican, has
no mechanical parts, its operation be-
ing controlled by electricity. The
characters are on blocks OF lead Of less
than the usual height and are provided
with notch beneath t. permit of their
being strung upon rods that hold them
in lines. They are placed in vertical
tubes, arranged like the pipes of an
organ in a single row. As IA key is
pressed and released an electro-mag-
net pulls back bolt closing tube,
permitting a single letter to drop into
conduit, from which it slides down
an incline plane t. one of the line rods
that have been arranged IN advance
upon a galley. Firmly held upon
these rods, the characters may he plac-
ed directly upon the cyl nders of rotary
presses. Corrections may he easily
made by hand, and with several ma
chimes, electrically connected, one OPP
orator may multiply the type-forns
indefinitely. The important advau-
tage claimed. however, is eXaraOrdi-
nary rapldity, an experienced operator,
il Is said, being able to compose 30 0D0
letters an hour, while the most skill
full compositor does not exceed 5000,
and the best composing machines in
use does not reach 5000. Tie speed de-
ponds upon the keyboard. This
contains number of alphabets in a
series Of squares, one arrangement
consisting of fifteen lower case alpha
bets, with three alphabis of capitals
at the right, and line Of punctuation
points across the top. Each alphabet
contains 80 keys, the lower case VOW
els-eXcept u-being reproduced three
times, and j, X, " and X being placed
with the capitals. The position of the
keys makes it easy for the operator to
place the fingers of each hand quickly
upon the letters Of IA complete word.
selecting for each letter its most con
venent key.
The prophecy that the closing years
of the century would mark the dawn #
a new era of activity, in science
and inventiOu-mOre marvellous than
any preceding one-is beginning to be
realized. Early this year the existence
of the new gas in the atmosphere was
satisfactorily demonstrated The dis
coverers were at first unable to make it
enter into any combination, but PrOf
Ramsay has since found it combined
III ceverite, a rare earth in Norway
Still more astonishing was the dlscov-
cry in association with ii in this earth
of another gas, which Prot. CTookes
Identities as helium, the mysterious e.
ement so long known by its peculiar
spectrum line to exist on the sun
Now NJ BerthelOt has brought argon
into combination with certain organic
cOmpouIds, notably milne vapor
under the silent electric discharge, and
is led to conclude that the north
ern lights are due to argon made fuo-
resent by electric currents. Prof
Olszenski has iquitied hydrogen, Mr.
n. :. Aulstutz has completed his eiec-
tIo-nt)graph for telegraphing artistic
pictures, and remarkable develope-
ments are soon To follow in other
fields
Plates of aluminium immersed in the
Norfolk Roads by American engineers
were badly corroded at the END of three
months, but two aluminium plates on
the bottom of French sailing vessel
were practically uniujured after voy-
age around the world Such anoma-
iipS have lpd M II Rauchar Eraucb