The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1906-08-31
|,t.)nx%CienCe
~ FsSlA9 Ako
Nxee4nVentiOn

SOU1um OF Zlnc-SlllCdle, IN not one
half or one per cent solution, is new
French preservative and fireproofing for
wood, especially for mines.
Passing bubbles under ships by an
air jet, or lubricating with kerosene oil
two or three times a day, has been
suggested as q means Of lessening fric-
ton.
The "recognition-sense'' Of ants IS
found by II. Peiron to be q recognition
Of odor by the antenn@. The usual
host1lities Of ants ceased when those
Of the stranger species or community
were given their own odor, while after
losing their antenna they fought friend
and woe alike.
During the last twenty years 2,O61
balloon and air ship ascents have taken
place in Germany and only thirty-six
cases Of accident have befallen the
1870 persons taking part in them. Con-
sequently one trip in flfty-seven comes
to grief, or one aeronaut in 210 meets
with an accident
Sir Robert Ball, who has been lee
turing on the glacial epoch, informed
his hearers recently that the next ice
age is due 100000 winters hence Then,
he says, all northern Europe and Amer
lea will be once more under an ice cap
that will cover the highest mountains
and last for many thousands Of years.
In a novel device for preventing the
racing Of propellers, pendulum grav-
itates with the vessels motion. The
pendulum Is connected to the throttle
valve, and as the stern rises steam is
gradually shut of up to the point
where the engines are stopped alto
gether, the valve being reopened as the
propeller begins to take water again.
For the purpose Of studying the
causes of mountain sickness, two
French medical authorities, Drs.
Guillemark and Moog, during last July
made q stay at the Mont Blanc observ-
atory. According to the results Of their
investigations, which have now been
published, 1.-THE diminished tension Of
the oxygen Of the atmosphere clogs the
process of oxidation and this sets up an
elaboration Of toxic substances, the re-
tention Of which causes symptoms Of
naturalization"
A recent discussion Of the duration
Of life among birds In the English peri
odical, knowledge, recalls the story of
a venerable parrot which Humboldt
saw during his travels in South Amer
lea, and which, although very voluble,
could not be understood by anybody,
because the words it used belonged to
the language Of a tribe Of Indians who
had become extinct since the aged bird
took its lessons. Parrots are proven
bially long lived. and 30 are ravens
and some species Of vultures. A white
headed vulture died in the geological
gardens at Vienna after 11S years Of
captivity.
Recent experience with the acetylene
blowpipe in England has approved it
as a valuable invention. 1t produces
temperature exceeding 1000 degrees.
The temperature producible by the oxy-
hydrogen blowpipe, 5000 degrees to
$500 degrees, is limited by the dissocia-
ton temperature of steam, whereas
with acetylene tho limit Is that of the
dissertation temperature Of carbon
monoxid, which Is much higher. The
acetylene, in a dissolved state, Is used
in conjunction with oxygen. 1t splits
up into its constituents, hydrogen and
carbon, at the base Of the flame, and
the carbon only takes part in tho burn
ing. The hydrogen remains free and
forms q protection to the small cone at
the nozzle, where the carbon IL burn
Ing, and which Is the point Of maximum
temperature.