The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-11-24

a Proeabnity ria, II WIN ssoa Be
usea In the NV.

Used IN the Navy.
The navy department has been en-
Eaged In the past two years IN making
experiments with a view to discovering
some economical and feasible plan for
the use Of oil as fuel for vessell II
begins 10 look az II the problem were
already folved. or we're very near solu-
lion. The problem Is OF especial inter-
est 70 the navy department just now.
because OF the need Of torpedo boats OF
high speed. n such a speed can Be
reached at all. Il can be reached more
easily with the use OF oil as fuel rather
than coal. provided the transmission Of
energy can be secured simply and econ
omically In an attack b. torpedo
boats upon a squadron Of war vessels.
TWO OF the most important features are
speed and secrecy. Indeed. the two are
almost synonymous. for the reason that
u Il always advisable 10 make an at
tack by torpedo boats at night: and un-
der such conditions the more swiftly
torpedo boat moves. the greater are
is chances Of getting near 70 a feet
before discovery. The unusual rapldlty
Of advance also serves 10 dlsconcert the
gunners Of the feet. and. by reducing
the time by which the torpedo boats
may be under FIRE. renders the attack
more likely 10 be successful. The adj
yantages 70 DO derived from the use Of
oil as fuel are many and noteworthy.
In the FIRST place. the weight OF the fuel
Itself ia an important matter. az every
pound counts upon the speed OF the lit
lie torpedo boat Il Is also true that In
case Of long voyage. the substitution
Of OIL as fuel would make 3 decided diff
ference IN what Is called the steaming
radius. That Is. the length Of voyage
Q boat may take. using the fuel on
board until iia supply IL exhausted. Il
Is calculated that a vessel which may
have a steaming radius OF 1000 miles
with q certain bulk Of coal would have
a steaming radius OF 1000 miles with
an equal bulk Of petroleum. There ara
also 70 be considered some other iissvor-
iant details. With the use OF coal as
fuel. there exists the necessity for the
constant employment Of stokers on
board OF a war vessel. In order that
coal may be fed 10 the CRATES and
ashes may be removed from time TO
time. All this. OF course. means so
many men. and a large amount Of work
constantly going on. even In a little
torpedo boat. so long as that boat may
Be in'use. With the employment Of oil
as fuel. however. the stoker Is practi-
oally abolished. as the fuel Is fed auto
mrtically 70 the crate by a spray. and
there are no ashes TO be handled.
Briefly described. the apparatus used
~ the naval experts In their recent
tests consisted OF an ordinary flrebox
over the crate bars. in which were laid
grooved bricks. the oil being propelled
to these bricks by a fan-shaped spray.
As the air Is constantly passing
through the grooves OF the bricks. and
uniting with the burning oil on those
bricks. the latter become themselves
"N+tNA " = AtA uNAts anu the uEIuuuI
Of heat directed upon the boiler be-
comes reasonably constant and subject
to easy regulation. Compressed air ia
used for purposes Of draught and for
spraying the oil.
According to the report OF the naval
experts TO Secretary Herbert. one pound
OF oil was found 10 eyaporate from sew
enteen 70 twenty pounds Of water. This
Is about twice az good results as could
be obtained from the use Of coal. As
regards speed. the experiment seems "a
show an increase OF about per cent
In the rate Of speed. although the con.
ditions we're not the most favorable "a
the use Of oil. the boat having been
built for coal-hurning engines. Posi-.
bly, with the construction Of a boat
especially built for the use Of oil a
fuel for the engines. a speed Of about
two knots per hour greater than that
possible In the ordinary torpedo boal
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