The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1907-12-09
WORKING IN TUBE"
Remarkable Experience In a Lock
In Compressed Air.
At FORTY POUNDS PRESSURE

The Way II Feels When The vaIv. Is
First Opened and the Chamber Fills
With the lnrushine Air and Foo.
Why You Dent Collapse or Exolo5.
As The lockkeeper turns the vaIya
writes A. ". Rolker in Anplr;ap-s
Magazine. there is SCALP raising
screech as IL your ear were ue~t The
safety valve OF locomotive blowing
steam. and as the inrushiny air ey-
pands il fills the tiny chamber with
fog so dense that you cannot 500 vour
hand before your eyes. Wider and
wider tie valve is opened. the fog he
coming even Genser and the racket
increasing until the air fa:riv tropos
and your eyes and eardrums and your
very scalp tremble with the air that
IS vibrating about you. For the first
Tine in your life YOU realize that
sound may infiict physical pain and
That there is possibility that il may
Kill.
No sooner is the big valve onepcl
than you feel the pressure against Your
eardrUms. 4 big wad of cotton seems
thrust into each ear. and two big fin
gers seem to push the wads more ana
more firmly until each time when Won
swallow or blow into your nose the
sensation disappears only TO begin
anew. Should you purposeIy delay
swallowing. within twenty seconds the
pain becomes intense and finally ex
-ruciating. as If pair Of knitting nee
dies were being pushed deep into your
ears
Nothing short OF the faith that 9th
ers successfully withstand these SEN
stations prevents you from becoming
unduly excited, for actually you are
IN the throes OF about as disagreeable
situation as you care TO meet. For
The eternity OF half a minute the
racket and fog and ear pains continue.
Then the noise ceases as suddenly as il
began. Out of the fog comes the voice
of your guide:
Feeling all right? Ears all r!ghtf
No trouble 10 breathe: Oh. you'll be
all right Again the valve screeches
and the air drones the top of Your
head throbs. and you are shaken with.
IN and without
Gradually. after the lapse of ten
minutes, when the preSsures in the
heading and the lock become more
equalized, the din begins TO slacken:
then ii falls more and more and fades
10 nothing, after which the lockman
opens the heading door and you gaze
upon another length of tube" like that
YOU left behind.
How does il feel to be under forty 4
pounds pressure? There is no sensa- /
ton TO it-none whatever-which is 1
The trouble, for in case your heart is !
going 10 give out there is no warning
symptom until too late. Against ev-
cry square foot OF the surface of your
body is pressure Of ., 760 pounds. and
the only thing that prevents you from
being squaShed is the 500 pounds
per square foot pressure inside of YOU,
yet you do not feel this.
The pressure from without is so
great That were il not for the pressure
within you would be smashed fat as
toad run over 10y n steam roller, and
the pressure within you is so great
that We're it not counterbalanced by
the pressure from without you would
explode TO atoms like the shell of a
dynamite cartridge.
Yet you have no means Of realizing
this. You feel perfectly natural. You
breathe normally and without effort.
You move about without being con-
scious Of exertion. Only a feeling as
OF water left in the ears after bathing
remains.
The noise of rumbling cars and
scraping shOvels from ahead sounds
natural So does the voice of your
guide. Only your own voice seems
strange in your own ears-far deeper
in pitch than you ever have heard it
and far of. not as If ii came from your
cwn mouth, but as if from ten feet be-
hind; also. and this strikes you queerly
until you have found the cause. all
sounds are chopped off short. for in
this heavy atmosphere there is little
echo and carrying power Even the ;
explosion of dynamite cartridge
makes no more noise than a shotgun
fred above in daylight.
In this dense atmosphere were you
10 try 10 whistle with your lips or TO
blow cOrnet or a fife you might blow
your lungs out without producing a
sound, for the pressure would resist
any sound waves of which your lungs ,
were capable. Owing TO the excessive
supply OF oxygen, were you 10 light a
match il would burn with the ranidity
OF finder. amid volumes of smoke.
For the same reason an oil lamp or
a lantern would burn itself out within
a few minutes, emitting volumes OF ,
SCOT that would completely hide the I
flames And for the same reason a +;
lighted pipe or cigar will burn of # {
self without suction. and a single
mouthful Of smoke is all you would lie !
able 10 get out Of 4 cigarette Were YOU :
90 bring an empty corked bottle into th!s c
pressure from the outside the pressure l
G gainst the cork. unbalanced by pres c
sure from within, would be so great
that you would be unable TO pull the :