The new age., 1906-11-10
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the turning backward of carriage
wheels. An explanation is that be-
tween the instantaneous views making
up the moving picture the wheels
moved not quite the space between the
spokes, so that other spokes-all being
alike-are seen just behind the places
first occupied.
A new pen has recently come upon
the market in Europe for which con-
siderable success is predicted. These
pens are made of tantalum in substitu-
ton for. steel. They are more flexible
than gold pens and more durable than
those Of steel, since they resist corro-
sion, and can with difficulty be spotted
with ink. At the same time their points
are exceedingly hard.
A new speed indicator for trains is
German suggestion. A dynamo driven
by the axle Of the locomotive would
show an Increase In voltage CORE
spending to the number of revolutions,
and voltmeter with two dials could
be made to indicate both the potential
of the dynamo and the corresponding
rate per hour of the locomotive. An
attachment could be added to give a
continuous record of the speed.
Sea snakes are very plentiful in the
south Pacific. They are widely dis
tributed, stray individuals having been
secured on the coast of New Zealand.
When swimming close to. the surface
they exactly resemble an ordinary
snake, except that the head Is
always below water. At night
they come ashore and lie among the
rocks. They feed on fish, and al
though their small double fangs appear
harmless they are reported to be very
venomous.
Travellers have noticed that Damas-
Gus blades are made only when the
wind Is from the north. The expert
ments Of NJ. Anozoff were suggested
by this hint, and have consisted in
hardening steel instruments by cooling
them In a powerful current of COM
pressed air instead of quenching In
water. The trials indicate that for
very sharp tools this method Is su-
perior to any other. The effect varies
with the thickness Of the mass to be
hardened, and Increases with the
coldness of the air and the rapidity
OF the stream.
The chemical synthesis Of our food
must remain a dream for the present,
we are told by Prof. T. BOkOrny, a
German chemist. With the aid of sun
light, plants form carbohydrates from
carbonic acid or formaldehyde or
methyl alcohol, and in like manner
sugars or carbohydrates have been pro-
duced In the laboratory by agitating
fOrmaldehyde with excess Of hydrate
of lime. The artificial process, how
ever, cannot yield cane sugar to retail
at five or six cents pound, while Emil
Fischer'S albumenoids cost many times
as much as the natural products.
Some curious researches have re-
Gently been made by French army sur
geons on the relationship between good
eyesight and good target practice. At
first glance one would say that the two
things must invariably depend the one
upon the other. But the facts lead to
a different conclusion. At least, they
show that one may have very defective
eyesight and yet be very accurate
marksman. Astigmatism, myopia and
other defects of vision may exist in a
marked degree without destroying the
ability to aim and shoot straight. In
the French and German armies soldiers
are permitted to shoot from the right
or the left shoulder, according to their
own preference, which is often guided
by the superiority of one eye over the
other. Accuracy Of judgment counts
for as much as acuteness Of vision with
the good marksman.