Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-05-07
HOW SHIPS CANNOT SINK.
They May BE Kept Afloat by Bags
of Gas.


There is an instance on record of
ship going down in midocean before
the eyes of her crew and those of
rescuing vessel, and yet of her having
been towed into port few weeks later.
The reason for this was that the cargo
of salt had melted out of her and she
came to the surface by reason of her
own buoyancy.
Now, however, comes along a man
who claims that he cannot only do
this with an iron steamer, but that
with the adoption of his patent ships
of all kinds will be rendered un.
sinkable. He does this by means of
carbonic acid gas.
The inventors name is NJ. /. Levas-
seur, and he has large working
model in his Office in London. The
model is hulk floating in tank.
He fills the hulk with sand bags and
bricks until her water line is submerged
Meanwhile there are two gaping holes
in her sides, covered over with collision
mats and supposed to have been
knocked in her by another craft.
AS soon as the mats are removed
the vessel begins to sink. At this
point in his demonstration the ex-
perimenter turns on a cock in his
model, there is kissing sound, and
the gallant little ship floats proudly
ON the surface.
Allowed to sink to the bottom, she
rises at once the moment these cocks
are opened. The model is five feet in
length.
The invention consists OF number
of independent collapsible reservoirs,
air tight and water proof, which, when
not in use, hang under the deck of a
ship, or, indeed, in any space not re-
quired for use, as the ceilings of cabins,
engine rooms, etc. These bags fold up
like concertinas, and, when not needed,
lie quite fiat against the ceiling and
under the decks. 1t matters not
where they are placed.
On deck, or wherever most con-
venient,> are also placed number of
small cylinders filled with liquid car
bonic acid. These, by means of pipes,
are connected with the various
balloons or air bags, each of which is
independent, and in case of one being
damaged the others are not injured.
AS soon as a collision occurs, the
mere pulling of lever by the officer
on the bridge causes the gas to rush
into any of the air bags at will. The
character of the air bags is such that
by the pressure of the gas they fit
themselves automatically to the con-
tour of the cargo or whatever place
they may occupy.
The inventor claims that there is
very rarely collision which would
necessitate the filling Of all the bags
on ship fitted with this appliance.
But he says no matter how serious
may be the damage, even if the
ship were cut in two parts, as has
sometimes happened, either end of
the vessel could be kept afoat by
means of his bags of carbonic acid gas.
So long as the bag remains unin-
jured, the inventor claims that the
ship could be kept afloat, as the gas
would not escape. The deeper the
bags are inserted in the hole, the
greater would be the lifting effort they
would exert on the ship.
This invention, says M. Levasseur,
is based upon the well-known principle
of the fish bladder. 1t was first de-
vised by M. G. Dubois, an engineer OF
the Paris Ecole Central, and after
eighteen months of experiment and
study the scheme was finally perfected.
The metal cylinders are charged
with liquid carbOnic acid at the be-
ginning of the voyage, and once placed
in their position on the ship they are
to remain there. The bags, however,
can be moved around at will to con-
form to the open spaces that are left
when the cargo has been placed.
On passenger ships where this in
vention would be especially valuable,
its owners say that there would be
plenty of room for the bags in spare
staterooms. All of this adds, it is
claimed, but little to the initial cost of
ship.
M. Levasseur claims that so large a
ship as the Paris or Lucania could be
fitted up with his appliance for about
$4,000. Yachts and small boats could,
he says, be easily fitted with the ap-
pliance at small cost.