The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-05-26

Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
sCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
The Inconceivably Little--A New Guide for
the Seaman-Gold Plated eheep-Teeth
The Life" Of Redium Cells-Pure Ba-
rium-A New Wood Polish-Taming OF
Eishes-5unniest Europe-Electric Fire
Engines.
The mind reels in the effort to comprehend
the vastness Of star distances. and now the in
struments Of the physicist have brought to notice
measurements so minute as to be quite as in
conceivable. The unaided eye cannot perceive
much less than lilo millimetre Q-250 inch). The
microscope reveals smallness Of 5000 milli-
metre the measuring machine for engineering
gauges. $1,000; interference bands Of light, l.
10000 and the optical lever. 1-4O0 900 millimetre
The electric micrometer Of DR.. P. g. Shaw, de-
vised in 1900 but lately improved, goes even
further. The apparatus consists Of q series Of
six levers controlling an electric contact, with
amicrometer screw to determine the movement
and in the smallest measurements yet made
showing the vibration of telephone diaphragm
by the faintest sound-a movement of 100000
millimeter was detected.
~
The compass will not be the sole dependence
OF the future mariner, who will probably be able
to check the errors Of the capricious needle by
means Of more reliable guide. The gyroscope,
heavy fy-wheel making 5000 revolutions or
more per minute, shows direction by rotating
always in one plane. and it can be driven by an
electric motor and mounted in gimbals. In
trials upon the German war-ship Undine, no
alteration of the horoscopes rotating plane
could be detected after four hours of running.
while It was unaffected by vibrations and
devious course.
The sgod-coated" teeth reported from Aus
tralian sheep have been investigated by Prof. A.
Liversidge, who finds that the coating-which
has metallic luster like brass-is merely g
tartar-like deposit, made up principally OF
calcium phosphate and organic matter.
sts
whether the 'sradiobes' of J. B. Burke repre-
sent chemically produced life is still the scien
fihc puzzle of the hour. Scientific men are slow
to admit that living organisms have been formed.
and Sir william Ramsay, the British chemist,
offers more credible explanation of the phe-
nOmena observed. In Burke's experiments a
trace of salt of radium was sprinkled on steri-
lized broth made semi solid by gelatine. Now
radium gives of an emanation or gas, which de-
composes water and coagulates albumen, and
Prof. Ramsay points out that granule Of radium
in the soup mixture would probably harden
particle Of the albumen into tiny cell. From
the water the radium emanation would fill the
cell with oxygen and hydrogen, whose accumu-
lation would almost certainly burst the cell in
one or two places. This would exactly initiate
the growth and budding of living yeast cells,
and would continue as long as the radium emit
ted emanation.
Nearly pure metallic barium has been obtained
by NJ Guntz by heating electrically barium
amalgam-frst In an atmosphere Of hydrogen
under pressure and then in vacuum over
mercury pump. The metal obtained has about
2 per cent Of iron and mercury as impurity.
The purest specimen contained 96.35 per cent.
of barium, and has grayish color somewhat
like that Of lead. It melts at $500 c.. boiling at
1882 It is readily attacked by water and alco-
hol, and in a molten state it dssolves most
metals easily
The mineral brflliantinen patented in France
by NJ. Chevalot is prepared by melting grams
Of picrc acid per liter of pure water, and mixing
the cold solution with twice its volume of COM
merciai silicate Of soda, the whole being shaken
ina metallic vessel. The product gives to wood
such as stairs and floors a brilliant polish not
affected by water.
AZ
Photographs showing an influence on the spark l
Of an induction coil are claimed by Blondlot to
give positive proof of the existence of N rays.
80
In proving that fishes can be tanned a Swiss
physician believes that he has made an interest
ing discovery in natural history. He was taking
baths for his health in the Lake Of Lugano. and
near the bathing house lived family of 100 or
more loaches. which often swan into the bath
house. To tempt these fishes he sat motionless
in the water for an hour twice daily, holding
large piece Of bread in each hand. Soon the
smallest of the loaches ventured to nibble at the
bread, darling back at the slightest motion of
the hand, and day by day these were followed
by older and older fishes until all came and ate
freely and gradually gained courage, and circled
around the experimenter as he stepped into the
water. At last he could stroke and handle them,
or splash violently without disturbing them as
they romped about him.
-
The duration OF sunshine In German and other
European cities has been compared by Prof.
EichhOrn, meteorlogist of Jena. jena and
wiesbaden are the brightest places in Germany.
the former averaging Az hours of sunshine
daily. and the eloomiest places are Aix-la-
Chapele and Hamburg, the latter having daily
average of only 3s5 hours. In England and Dem
mark the average sinks to 33 hours. The Swiss
average is Az hours. in Padua it is SO. in Rome
nearly 7. in Pola and Abazzia it is 7.6. Madrid.
With an average of hours of sunshine daily, is
the cheeriest city in Europe.
"a
In the two new electric fire engines Of the
Vienna fire brigade, the accumulators are de-
signed to propel the car about 20 miles at 12K
miles an hour. They are placed in front of the
drivers seat over the front wheels. The wheels
are tx feet in diameter, with 5inch rubber tires
and each front wheel has a IS horse power
Lohner Porsche hub motor. Five speeds-from
5.6 to IA miles per hour-are available.