The Washington times., 1903-04-26
IF SCIENTISTS
| WERE WICKED

TT is a lucky thing for society at
large that scientists are seldom. IL
= ever. lowered with criminal in
stincts. For supposing the converse
held good! supposing, for instance.
that Prof. Dewar, the discoverer OF
liquid ar. had bean an anarchist. In
that case he would have had ready TO
his hand a secret and deadly explosive
which would be infinitely more powerful
than dynamite. while needing neither
fuse nor decorator to set it of. All
that would be necessary would be to
All a steel bomb-the bigger and thick
or the better-wIth liquid air. and her
metically close It. Immediately the in
terror contents would begin to expand
as the Imprisoned and tortured atmos-
phere. commenced slowly to return from
It's liquid to a gaseous state; and this
expansion would continue until, If the
bomb could be made strong enough, the
weI-nigh fnconceivable pressure Of H.
coo pounds per square inch would even
tuafly be developed.
Then the enveIoping walls Of steel,
even Il q foot or more in thickness,
would inevitably fly into innumerable
fragments, and with an explosive yio-
lence which would be sufficient TO wreck
anything and everything within rEjius
of probably thousands OF yards Indeed,
it has been estimated that a single ga
lon OF liquid air could. given certain con-
ditions, be made equal IN destructiveness
to 10. 900 tons Of gunpowder- Or assume.
on the other hand, that he had been
criminal Of the Palmer type-a secret
poisoner. In liquid air he had at his
command far more deadly toxic agent
than even prussic acid and one, more
over, which, had he chosen to keep his
discovery TO himself. he might have in
conceivably used with almost perfect I'M
punity. For even the very smallest
quantity of liquid air, administered in
ternally, would prove almost Immediate
Iv fatal. eating it's way with yitTiolic
swiftness into the victims inmost vitais,
destroying tissue, muscle, and bone, and
yet leaving no trace OF Itself.
marconi, again, the inventor OF wire
less teIegraphy. took all the world into
his confidence as. soon almost as his
marvellous discovery was first lighted
or. But what If he had chosen to keep
his knowledge TO himself and utilize It,
as he could easily have done, TO further
dishonorabIe ends of his own?
II is quite conceivable that he might
have made millions on the sto ex-
changes and bourses OF Europe and
America; for by means of his tiny in
struments. while the cables slept and
tbe telegraph offices were closed, he
could have transmitted and received
through his accredited agents, OF COURSE
exclusive information Of vital in
portanee.
Or supposing that Prof. Roentgen, the
d;scoverer Of the x-rays, had been
professional thief He would have had
st his beck and call q something which
no other member OF the fraternity had
even dreamed about-a something which
would have enabled him 20 see how
manv and what valuables were in this
or that receptacle. or the amount OF
coin person had IN his pocket, his
rrrse or his sgtchei His rays would
have been TO him. in fact, sixth sense,
possessed by no other living creature IN
/ the whole wide universe.
| The story OF the man who found out
how to split Bank Of England notes into
two parts literally and who was so
honest and sc disinterested that he went
forthwith and made q present of his
knowledge to the directors OF the instt-
tuition in question, IS weH known IN
the main. the details are as usually
stated. although it is doubtful whether
the discovery could have been turned 10
any practical account If even the dis
eoverer had been a rogue in embryo ia
stead OF an honest and laW-abiding eiti-
zen.
It is fact. however, that only year
or two back similar but far more dan
gerous discovery was accidentally sJun-
bIed upon by poor alien engraver, who
freely made a present Of his knowledge
to The Bankers Association. This man
found out a method by which he could
initiate the water marking on letters OF
credit and other similar documents. It
was a simple method, and easy OF ap-
pHcation by even the veriest tyro; and
there is no doubt that, had he chosen 10
do so, he might have swindIed the Lon
don banks out CT hundreds OF thousands
Of pounds Since then, It may be men
toned, perforatons have been Univer-
sally substituted for the old-fashioned
water markings. so far as the indication
of the amounts is concerned