The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-12-22
Cerrespondsncs Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

S0..l.'l.. ..r.R.. S0SOsiI. ..l..
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A New Electric Achievement-A varnish
Measure-The Greatest Cold-MaDufac-
tured Gems-Paeeing OF the Laugh
Acetylene as an Explosive-Blasting
with Liquid Air-Lightning' Regulari-
ty-Rock Bombs.
By "galvano- GENERALIZATION" DIR. Lewandowski,
an Austrian physician, claims to have solved the
problem Of removing troublesome scars. A gal
vanic battery and an induction coil are SO con-
nected that either the direct or the alternating
or faradic current can be used, or both together.
and a large plate electrode at the negative pole
of the coil is passed over the scar for 10 to 30
minutes, another large electrode at the positive
of the battery being applied to the sacra region.
In 30 to 60 sittings the scars nearly disappear,
the disagreeable redness being quite removed
while the tissue is made soft and flexible. A
specimen of about 30 bad cases successfully
treated Is that of a soldier whose chest was COW
cred on one side with the scars of an enormous
powder-burn and who had the use of his arm re-
stored and the scars nearly obliterated.
-
A testing apparatus for varnish, supplying
needed standard, has been brought out in Scot
land by Prof. Baily and Dr. Laurie. 1t includes
q bluut steel point pressed down by spiral
spring. and this point is drawn over dry coat of
the varnish on glass. the pressure being increas-
ed until the varnish is scratched. The pressure
being known, definite measure of the tough
ness and hardness of the varnish is made avail
able.
In liquefying helium, the last of the gases that
have been thought to be permanent, Olszewski
has reached temperature Of 271.S0 below zero
Centigrade. This is a cold about 11o greater
than Dewar obtained three years ago in liquefy-
ing hydrogen, and is within about % of the sup
posed absolute zero. The question has now been
raised whether 27S.70 below the freezing point of
water is really the absolute zero.
-
While the artificial diamonds SO far produced
have been very expensive and are too small to
have any commercial value. the manufacture of
rubies seems to be developing into considera-
BILE industry. The process of making these
GENEVA rubies.'' as they are called. has been
supposed to be secret one, but IL is understood
that the apparatus used by Partisan chemist
includes blow-pipe like that used by glass
workers and heating pipe. In the latter a
pointed sugar loaf is built up in strata by alter
nately sitting in finely pulverized alumina and
chromium oxide. This makes possible gradual
heating, the molten mass takes q spherical form,
and on slow and careful cooling the oxide Of
aluminium forms regular and perfectly clear
crystals. Great care is necessary to avoid bub-
bles. In this simple way it is possible to make
three or four stones at time, often quarter
of an inch across and weighing 10 to Is carats,
and as they are genuine rubies only experts can
distinguish them from the natural.
~
The explanation that laughter is disappearing
on account of the sadness of the modern view Of
life is discarded by Signor +. Franceschinl, an
italian psychologist. He concludes that mirth,
"a usapn4sy, depends upon the imagination, and
- Development of the reasoning powers
to Danish the distortion that makes
things seem funny. The more the imagination
is brought under the control of logic the less do
we laugh. Education is now scientific and prac-
tical, and to more than smile is becoming char
acteristic of a simpler and more natural culture.
where imagination still holds sway and people
have not forgotten how to laugh.
-
Acetylene is being used as an explosive in
Germany where it has proven disappointing as
an illumiuant. Each cartridge contains an
ounce and three-fourths of calcium carbide,
yielding about IS quarts of acetylene, and after
wetting the carbide the confined mixture Of
generated gas and air is exploded by an electric
spark In blasting. the rock is not thrown out,
but is broken up into pieces small enough to be
readily removed.
Liquid air blasting cartridges, as described by
M. lacquer, are made by packing powdered
charcoal in case of stout paper, and covering
this with an asbestos wad through which paper
tube passes to the bottom of the cartridge.
When ready to use, liquid air is poured into the
tube, the cartridge being fred by illuminate
cap in the usual way. The firing should follow
the filling within ten minutes, as the liquid air
gradually evaporates and after half an hour
"missed fire" cartridges offer no danger to the
workmen. These cartridges proved much cheap
er than dynamite when tried in the Simplon tun-
mel. Their use had to be abandoned, however,
as the large quantity of carbon monoxide evolv-
ed was very injurious to the workmen, and this
drawback must be overcome before even the
great advantages of this explosive can make it
practically useful.
Lightning flashes in storm are found by an
English observer to be much less irregular in
period than they appear. Such storms have
usually two foci-sometimes three-from which
the flashes radiate, and the discharges from each
come at quite regular intervals. The apparent
irregularity is due to the varying rates Of the
different centres. In storm of July. 1905, the
two foci were about mile and half apart. and
in an hour the northern centre emitted thirty
flashes at intervals of To- 30 49, 60 and 90 seconds,
and the southern center gave sixteen flashes at 1
intervals of IT. "a and 81 seconds. Another I'M
explained observation is that just before each
great flash there is a momentary faint lighting
up Of the sky in the storm region.
80
Explosive rock has been reported from the
north Of the Tauern tunnel in Austria. The
rock is in such compression that, without warn
ing, slabs several yards in dimensions will be
suddenly hurled from one wall to the other.
Fatal accidents have resulted.
-o--