The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-18
A NEW PROJECTILE.
Claim That It VIII Not Explode Until
It Leaves the Gun.

philadelphia Bulletin)
John V. Rice. jr., young engineer of
/ this city, who has patented more than
/ forty inventions, has invented q pro-
! jectile which, he asserts, cannot explode
until after il has left the muzzle of
/ the gun and encounters resistance, or
/ is set to explode by means Of fuse at
/ any desired moment after it has been
fired. In appearance the new missile
/ can scarcely be detected from the ordi-
( nary orojectile. but its inside mechan-
ism contains the inventors secret. c'he
I pTojectile can be made in all sizes, and
is adapted and intended for use in all
present styles of ordnance. The prime
value which Mr.. Rice says his invention
has is that it will reduce to q minimum
the danger Of internal explosions on
warships from the blowing IN of the
magazines.
Mr.. Rice says: "A shell fired into a
magazine fitted with my 9roiectiles
would not explode them, all Of which
may sound strange, but 1 can prove my
assertions 2. an, time.
THE idea came to me after reading
about some electrical experiments made
by Nicola Tesla, and l have been work
ing on il ever since the blowing W of
the Maine. Tesla has launched the
possibility UPON the world that he can
control the movements of an electri-
cally constructed boat from the shore
without the use of wires, and that such
boat could be loaded with torDedoes
and be directed against the magazine
of a warshiD. and, by exploding one,
would explode all
Allowing that Mr. Tesla is able to
accomplish all he states. he could not
blow uD q single magazine by shell or
orojectile the ammunition stored
therein was of the character which l
m able to make. Though 1 am not
free to state just wherein the safety of
my ammunition lies, yet 1 can say that
the defamation can only be produced by
mechanical action, which forms part of
combination. the complete parts of
which must necessarily come into play
before the explosion can take place.
The new projectile which / have in
vented develops on explosion a pres
sure of go tons to the square inch. 1t is
much more destructive than a dynamite
shell, inasmuch that the force is equal
in all directions, instead of only in one,
and, unlike dynamite, it develops heat
capable of setting fire to anything with
which it comes n contact
Those who have seen the practical
demonstrations with the discovery de-
clare it is by Tar the greatest conceD-
ton that has ever been introduced for
the game of war.
The young inventor, who claims this
valuable addition to modern im9ie-
ments Of destruction. was born in VIII
mington, Del. June 1. 1872. and is the
son of John V. Rice. a member of TIE
Pennsylvania and Delaware bars At
the age of II years he devised a tri-le
cylinder gas and steam engine, which
was at once manufactured and placed |
on the market by a Wilmington (Del.) |
firm. Since that time he has added !
over forty patents to his name
John v. Rice, jr.. has the distinction
of being the youngest practical me- |
chanical inventor known, and he has /
been accorded honors that emphatically |
attest IT,. recognition Of his remarkable /
talent by the eminent minds of the age. |