The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-02-08
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MIS- CELLANY.

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Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MIS- CELLANY.
Woodworking in Perseus-Electricity
From Heat-A Useful Paint-Why Hair
Grows White-The Earths Rotation as
Motive Power-Plague-Car Storms
"A Cool Arc Light-Tin From Waste
Weather Nerves.
The new nebula in Perseus is regarded by Sir
Norman Lockyer as confirming his "meteoritic
theory" of the origin of worlds. Instead of ac-
counting for the observed changes by supposing
that gaseous mass is spreading outward from
the central star at the inconceivable velocity of
1900 miles or more a second he assumes that the
nebula existed before it was seen, and that it is
a vast swarm of meteorites, or system of such
swarms, of which parts have been made sue
cessively visible by collisions with other swarms
of fragments. The effect of such collisions
would be flashing into light of the previously
invisible masses. The most violent of these col
lisions brought the new star" to our notice
some months ago, the less violent have produced
very faint light, and probably much of the neb-
Understanding over distances hundreds of times
as great as that of the sun from the earth-is
still dark.
A step toward the direct conversion of heat
into electricity seems to have been taken in re-
cent German experiments. Accumulators we're
charged, then heated from 14oC to 45oC (57o to
1130 F. and the result was an increase in their
output of so per cent. 1t is evident that the
discharge of more current than was received
must have been due to change of the heat ener-
gy into electrical energy.
81
A durable transparent coating for wood is OBJ
tained, according to German process, by di-
costing coarsely powdered petroleum asphalt
in benzine for one or two days, the well-closed
vessel to be in a warm place. A yellowish-
brown dye is extracted, which penetrates the
wood deeply, protecting it from weather and
other destroyers, and which may be washed.
-.
The cooling of the earth is calculated by Mr..
r. s. Woodward to be shortening our day not
more than half second in ten million years;
falls of meteoTtes, vastly less.
**A
The whitening of hair, so familiar to us, has
not been easy to explain. In a recent study of
the subject, E. Metchnikoff has found that pig
ment atrophy of the hair is due to action of
phagocytes, or white blood corpusels, which alb
sorb the pigment and transfer it elsewhere. In
whitening hair and its roots the phagocytes
filled with pigment are numerous, while they
gradually disappear as the process progresses,
and are almost completely absent in perfectly
white hair. This discovery of the part played
by phagocytes sheds light on various puzzling
facts. 1t shows, for instance, that the sudden
turning white of hair in a single night, or in a
few days, is result of increased activity setup
in the phagocytes of the hair.
-.
To utilize the vast energy of the earth's mo-
ton is now a dream of science. The late Prof.
G.. f. Fitzgerald supposed that the magnetic
field of charged condenser. with plates edge
wise to the motion through the ether, might
be traced to the earth's motion, and an expert
ment has been made by DIR. f. T. Trouton, f. r.
ST. to settle this point. The results have been
negative. 1t is now pointed out that if the
charging battery is responsible for the energy
of the magnetic field, there are reasons for be-
heving that the earth's motion tends to turn a
charged condenser at right angles to itself, and
test is proposed with delicately suspended
condenser charged to high voltage. If the ex-
pected effect is obtained, continuous rotation
will be possible from the power of the earth.
~
While in South Africa Maj. H. A. Cummings
found that the air of the Pretoria valley be-
comes very hot and dry, and the severe
storms generated include whirlwinds carrying
dust paper leaves, etc. From gelatine plate
exposed one second to dust storm thousands
of colonies of bacteria were developed. 1t is
believed that fevers are spread in this way, and
the possible distribution of tropical epidemics
is appalling.
pine and a cypress lately brought from
Japan to England are 80 and 40 years old respec-
lively, but are only and inches high. They
were artifcially dwarfed
~
In the ordinary arc lamp the carbons are heat
edto about 3OO0 but in the new lamp of Dr. Bang.
the Danish physician they are kept so cool
that they can be touched with the fingers while
the lamp is burning. The cooling is due to the
use of hollow carbons through which strong
current of water is kept passing. The effect is
remarkable, nearly the entire energy of the
electric current being removed to the light arc
between the two electrodes, while the latter are
consumed so slowly that the usual automatic
adjustment is unnecessary. For physicians use
numerous advantages are claimed. The cold
light kills bacteria in one-eghteenth of the
time required with the ordinary arc lamp, the
patients can be placed much nearer the light
than hitherto, and metallic electrodes-silver,
iron, etc.,-can be employed without risk of
melting. The lamp being small and handy and
consuming little electricity, it is expected to
prove specially useful in other fields.
~
A new process RECEIVERS tin from waste tin
plate, and at the same time supplies an mex
pensive electric battery. A suitable containing
vessel is divided by porous partition-which,
for cheapness may even be made of wickerwork.
One side is filled with coal, which acts as cathode
the other side with the waste tinplate, to serve
as anode. and sea water or salt solution is used
as charging liquid The current from number
of such cells may be made to work electro
lytic bath. The iron of the plates dissolves to
ferric chloride, and the tin partly falls to the
bottom and partly passes to the cathode.
A%A
Certain nervous persons are supposed by F.
LarroQue to act as receivers for Hertzian waves,
which cause them to feel the approach of a
storm even under clear sky. On two occasions
last June, instrumental tests proved the pres
ence of such waves while the storm was raging
at distance.
~
The heights of appearance and disappearance
of meteors were measured last August at two
French observatories, the highest record being
IA miles and the lowest 10 miles,