The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-02-03


An Electric Automaton-0lass Liquid
Sliding on the Water-The Original Bug
bear-A Mercury Absorbent-The Ear
In Drowning-A Gaseous fntoxicant-A
Constant Calendar-Lung Colore.
The "Enigmarelle'' Of the London Hippodrome
appears like bulky man six feet tall. weighing
1oS pounds. Its feet are Of iron. the legs are Of
steel and wood, and the arms are Of steel and
copper. while the body isan insulated wire frame
cased with fiber and rawhide. and the head is of
wax. It is moved BY three spring and four cleo
trio motors, with fourteen storage accumula-
tors. In its back is aswitchboard containing the
rheostat, fifteen switches. three levers and three
automatic brakes. Though the motions are
rather jerky, the machine very cleverly walks
with long or short steps mods its head, waves its
arms. rides cycle and writes its name on
blackboard.
A distinction between q CLASSY substance and
q crystalline solid Is pointed out By Morris w.
Travers. When q liquid crystallizes heat is
evolved. and the solid and liquid have different
densities. but there s no such change in the for
nation Of CLASSY substance. which is in fact only
highly viscous liquid. A proof Of the liquid
nature Of window glass is the fact that dia-
mond scratch quickly 'sheals" so that the glass
soon breaks less readily along the cut than at
first. The state Of some substances, particular
~ Of low temperatures, can be told only by no
ting the cooling Of the liQuid-s6me parafin hy-
drocarbons, for instance, becoming thick and
treacly before passing into the CLASSY condition,
while liquid hydrogen does not become viscous,
but throws on fakes Of CLASSY matter and final
~ turns to clear CLASSY solid.
Sc
Recent measurements show that the new moon
gives or little heat, the maximum being at full
moon. and that the heat is absorbed and re- emit
ted instead of being directly reflected.
sss
The sliding boat Of N. de Lambert, French
inventor. Is designed to avoid friction by skim
ming on the surface of the water, and it is made
to do this by inclined planes fixed under the
boat at carefully regulated distances apart and
&C an angle determined by many trials. When
ct rest the weight is supported on two narrow
parallel floats resembling certain Asiatic canoes,
the sliding planes sinking just beneath the sur
face. A lightweight model Of wood and alumni
mum Is 20 feet long and 10 feet wide between the
inclined planes, and, while it weighs 200 pounds,
II requires motor of only twelve horsepower,
although other boats Of the capacity need mo-
tors Of sixty to one hundred horsepower. AS
the boat is started the planes rise on the water,
where they are supported by thin layer of air,
and easily slide along at fifteen to twenty-five
miles an hour.
While foreign bodies in the vermiform appen-
dix are not rare, they do not seem to have the
effects formerly attributed to them. In 1000
post norton examinations, DR.. L. J. Mitchell, O
cOroner's physician. has found one or more
grape seeds in the appendix in eight cases, one
or more shot In three cases, fragments of bone
In two cases, and In single cases such objects as
piece Of single nail, q globule of solder. q
piece Of nutshell, and bits of ash or stone. In no
case was any evidence of Inflammation Of the
appendix, past or present, to be found.
80
serious risk to workers in certain industries
Is the poisonous character of mercury vapor.
A new method of avoiding this is by the use of a
respirator containing finely pulverized alumni
mum. and effective is it that every particle of
mercury is absorbed by the aluminium even when
the dense vapors Of burning chloride of mercu-
ry are passed through the respirator, the air ac-
tually inhaled being quite freed from poisonous
substance.
Indrowning accidents where expert swimmers
suddenly lose all control of their powers, the
usual explanation of cramps is beginning to be
looked upon as insufficient. It has been noticed
that persons having disease of the middle ear,
who have already shown symptoms of vertigo,
are especially liable to such accidents. and as the
semi-circular canals are the organs of direction,
it is suggested that even q slight hemorrhage in
this delicate structure from blow by the waves
would result In utter helplessness. Persons
with ears not perfectly sound are therefore
warned against swimming in rough water.
-
The exhilaration from ozone Is misleading, it
appears. and the gas is now classed with those
that are poisonous, and is to be used with due
caution. It's depressing effects on the nervous
system are especially felt by workers with cleo
trical machines. Prof. e. Wiedemann, a Ger
man physicist. mentions having suffered some
what severely from q nervous affection of the
feet. lasting year or two, and he always expert
ences discomfort after performing experiments
on his lectures on Tesla discharges.
sss
The proposed new calendar of Camille Flam-
marion, the French astronomer, begins the year
at the vernal equinox March 3D. and to every
quarter gives two months of thirty days and one
month Of thirty one days. The 065th day, set
aside as fete day, is not counted in any month.
two such days following leap year. The object
OF this plan is to make the same dates fall al
ways on the same days Of the week, and thus
give . calendar that is good for any year.
-
Three human lungs-one white, one black and
one gray-form an instructive exhibit in an Edin-
burgh museum. The first came from an EsQui-
maux, who breathed the pure air of the Arctic
regions; the second from coal miner. who in
hailed much coal dust. the third. from town
dweller, kept in city dust and smoke.