The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1901-09-27

Sc|ENcE|aHYAIN!cS
A German scientist named Kretsch
mann has discovered "A new "sympa
thetic" ink Writings and pictures
made with IL are practically Invisible
until exposed TO heat. when they be
come greenlsh-blue. He uses salts OF
cobalt for the purpose. and they can
be adapted either as printing or
writing ink. For instance chloride OF
cobalt which ls common chemical,
makes a good sympathetic writing INK
when dissolved In gum arabic water.
IL shows pnklsh on white paper. and
should be used on pinkish paper there
fore. The use OF such inks or course
Is to enable secret writings 10 be
made. 10 be developed by heat at the
proper time.
A cloudburst il one OF those me
teOrolOgical disturbances which arise
under the same general conditions ~
wind squalls. thunder showers and
tornadoes. They come at season
when high temperature enables the
atmosphere 10 carry in suspension n
much larger quantity Of water vapor
than at other times. And although
n large and widely scattered brood of
local storms may be Matched out sim
ultaneously. each particular member
Of the family Is small and short lived.
This Is especially true of the cloud
burst. Another characteristic OF the
latter Is that II almost invariably oc-
ours In n mountainous district. The
accepted explanation Of the phcnOm-
enOn Is this: A storm cloud. which
otherwise might give rise 10 only
moderate shower, Is forced upward
by striking barrier. and, thus being
chilled abnormaliy, Is compelled TO
surrender an exceptionally large share
OF it's moisture.
Steel castings are coming into use
rapidly In this country for all details
that are used I'm quantities of the
same shape. There Is a great deal Of
capital invested i'm the various works,
and they have recently been consoli-
dated under one management. with
few exceptions The difference be-
tween steel and iron castings general
~ Is that the former have more than
double the strength for IA given sec
OH Ia nf isl
tion of shape, while iron castings are
rigid The cost of the steel castings
is. however, largely prOhibitive AS re-
CARDS common use, being more than
three times greater. in this country
steel castings are made as heavy as
forty tons, but this Is far exceeded In
Europe. where steel castings of 100
tons weight are made. one of these
large castings Il stern frame for a war
vessel, was broken by the ship going
ashore, but the frame was taken out
and the fracture welded, making the
frame as good as new.
Every solution has tendency to
diffuse into it's solvent rs IL II were
attracted by the solvent, and If the
diffusion Is prevented by a thin mem
branc this tendency will produce
pressurc-osmotic pressure, so called.
This pressure Is fundamental factor
In the vital functions of plants and
animals. According to de Vries, 1t
regulates the growth Of the plant; ac-
cording TO Daudres. II regulates the
functions Of the blood In the capil.
larics; according to Mussart, It regu-
lates some functions of the human
eye. as well as the life of the most
deadly infectious poisons, like the
bacilli OF typhus; according to the
splendid discoveries of Professor
Loeb, the act of fertilization of Ger.
tain lower animal organisms, the sea.
urchns for example, may bc replaced
by definite increase in the osmotic
pressure OF the surrounding medium
At no time. says Professor Loeb. has
the outlook for the progress Of physi-
ology appeared brighter than ut pres
ent, and this is largely due to the ap
plication of physical chemistry to the
problems Of life
In the American GeologiSt, Professor
r. G. Hopkins, formerly of State Col
lege of Pennsylvania, contributes an
article on the origin of the fire clay
of the coal measures. Ii is an inter
csting fact that wherever coal is
found a layer of white clay is always
observed either above or beneath II.
Why this pure white clay should &C.
company the black coal il was dill
cult 10 understand until we recall that
coal is the remains of vegetable life.
The plants which now are coal must
ut one time have had soil TO grow in.
and IL is supposed. with reason. that
the white fire clay was this ancient
soil But why is IL white and not
dark colorcd, as is the soil of to-day:
When plants die and decompose
strong vegetable acids are produced,
for instance. vinegar. Now. the vege.
table acids dissolved away the oxides
Of iron and other coloring matters,
and the reducing action Of the carbon
of the wood reduced the higher oxides
to lower forms, which are white. and
rs time rolled on and the deposits bc.
came deeper and more deeply covered
with other deposits. the white fire