Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-02-20
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Scientific Aeronautics, held recently in
Milan, Mons. Teisserenc de Bort pre-
sented some interesting results of the
expedition to the equatorial regions of
the Atlantic organized by himself and
Lawrence Rotch. Contrary to expec-
tatlon, he said, they had found far
lower temperatures in the upper air
above the equator than Mt correspond
ing elevations in temperate latitudes.
At the equator the temperature goes on
decreasing up to the greatest elevations
attained by kites and balloons At the
height of eight to eight and sone-half
miles temperatures were recorded as
low as minus 80 degrees Centigrade, or
112 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
The Heroult electric process for the
production of steel is now in practical
operation at Remscheid Haston in Ger
many, and it is reported that the steel
produced Is much superior in many
ways to that made by older methods.
Steel Of great purity and homogeneous
quality is made from ordinary scrap
iron rubbish, melted, and then subject
| ed to the action Of an electric oven, In
which the necessary carbon, manga
nese, nickel and other substances re-
quired to produce steel of various quail
tiles are added to the liquid metal. The
oven has capacity Of from one and
one-half to two tons, and is heated by
current of 100 volts. The new steel
is said to be stronger and more re-
sistant to wear and tear than the old
fashioned crucible steel.
The Petit Parisien states that M.
Boudy, French engineer, has made
sensational discovery in the direction
of aerial navigation. The inventor calls
his discovery an aerial torpedo boat,
and 1t is proposed to make use Of it in
warfare. NJ. Boudy claims that with
the aid of the new machine he will be
able to remain for several days in the
air and to rise to such height that
shelter will be afforded from projec-
tiles. 1t will be possible, he declares.
to rise or descend at the will Of the
aeronaut, to travel against the wind, to
navigate perfectly, and, in addition.
to carry shells or grenades for use in
war time. The minister Of war Is Civ
Ing his attention to the claims of NJ.
Boudy, and experiments will shortly
be made In connection with the inyen-
tiou.
Examination of photograph Of the
spectrum of the brilliant star Arcturus.
made by Professor Hale and Mr.. Ad-
ans at the Carnegie Solar Observatory
on Mount Wilson, California, shows
very striking correspondence between
many Of the spectral lines in the light
Of that star and those observed in spots
on the sun. The conclusion seems to
be unavoidable, says Mr.. Adams, that
the physical conditions existing In sun
spots and in the atmosphere Of Arc
turus are nearly identical. A similar
study of the spectrum Of the bright
star Betelgeuse or Alpha Orionis,
shows that sun-spot lines are also
present there, but even more intense
than in Arcturus. It is inferred that
Arcturus is probably cooler than the
sun, and Betelgeuse cooler than Arc
turus.
An explanation of curious optical
phenomenon sometimes witnessed ON
frosty nights, which is called the "pseu.
do-aurora," is offered by an official Of
the weather bureau. The phenomenon
takes the form of beautiful columns of
silyery light standing over electric arc
lamps and other bright lights and
sometimes appearing almost to reach
the zenith. It Is said that sometimes
the evening star has bright shaft be.
low as we'll as above, while the rising
moon stands in broad column of light.
These appearances are due to floating
frost crystals, which keep their reflect
ing faces horizontal. On examination
1t has been found that the crystals con.
cerned in the exhibition were thin, six
sided plates of ice, never more than
one millimeter In diameter. When the
wind blows these little plates were up
Set and the columns of light caused by
the reflection from their surfaces dis
appear.