New-York tribune., 1907-08-11
MARVELS OF Science
The Philosophers Stone-Antorct;.
Motor Crs-The Lusitop;o
london ini- n.

Soo<..
at the end of August; but he does not enco0'.~
expectation that baser elements can he .-'ss
muted into higher members of their srou-
that gold can be artifciaIIy produced from.
mospheric gases In the process os the ao..
position OF radum tremendous energies
leased, and helfurn or neon or argon is fha -
uct In varying circumstances or conditio,, :.
environment; and something comes off tho
per salt In the form of 1ithium, or some o,ss
degradation element. These results ara -
clensiy marvellous to impart more interes, :
mis- paper for the Chemical Society thar,
entire proceedings of the British Assoc,,,,-
this week The trend of these trausuus.,,a--
is from the higher to the lower and tho -
tion must be reversed before chemists r, -
laboratories can be prepared to produce cow
silver or gold That is a marvel which ca,,..
come from degradation processes but seem, :.
imply the survival OF the fttest- Modern a.
chemists still have their limitations. formida6r.
as may be the resources of potential ener,,
with which radfum arms them
1t is open question. however. whet5c-
cheap and economical method for the urosr,-
tion OF gold would be blessing to mankind
remember standing a window Of the Ia,,.
ham Hotel ten years ago and asking Mr. r,,-
negie whether 1t was true that he had ret,-.s
money. After asserting emphaticaIly IN bo,,
propositions. he pointed TO group OF roas
members outside the window aud said: "v5.,
would do IL of those men should come ~
me and tell that he had found out how "a
convert those stones into gold. and that ha
would share the secret with me?' I con,ssaea
my inability to forecast his course OF action ~
state Of mind. Mr.. Carnegie made a rorrb.
gesture In the direction OF the road nendsr, :,
II would be strongly tempted to shoot the man
he exclaimed with intensity Of feeling. His sY
citement was perhaps natural when h. Rad
formed deliberate intention Of getting rid 4,
immense fortune, and was momentarily con-
fronted with the possibility of making auorbs.
and larger one through the discovery Of -.
philosophers stone The economic produc-jn,
of gold on large scale from atmospheric xasss
might prove as serious an embarrassment b,
the human race the shudderfng millionaire
regarded IT from the hotel window. II Is NOT
likely, however. to be added. 20 the white mans
burdens this month IN consequence Of Sir VIII.
tam Ramsay's radfum experiments.
Balloons or aeroplanes for the North Poi,
motor cars for the Antarctic Capl Who Will
say that anything is now left for the spirit
Of adventure except dependence upon scienti,
mechanism, The motor car is Lieutenant
ShackIeton's chief hope IN his daring under.
taking TO reach the South Pole II viii be an
important feature OF the equipment OF ths
Nimrod. which IS sailing this week from Tor
quay for New Zealand. where the British ex-
plorers are TO embark for the Antarctic ice
lands. II has been designed for rapid transit
over rough Tee and is expected 90 solve tns
problem Of haulage Of supplies This IS
serious one. for Lieutenant Shackleton vii
have to traverse a belt OF King Edward Land
800 miles IN length before he equals his
latitude, when with Captain Scott and d.
Wilson he established the British record o.
farthest south: and there will still be wiis
gap TO be filed before the explorer can date Al
entry in his diary from the South Pole Es
ought 10 know whether the motor car viii 10
serviceaoIe for he has travelled foot oyr
those dreary leagues OF fce-bound table,,1i;
but until be tries the experiment he cannot -
certain whether the petrol VIII or viii NJ.
freeze. Lieutenant ShackletOn has Captain
Peary's passion for adventure in high latitue.s
and is confident that he will pitch camp on ths
South Pole some fne April night
The Lusi.ania's trials have been highly satis-
factory. In her voyage around Ireland her
speed was above twenty-five knots the con-
tract limit. and at times exceeded twenty-stx
knots. This makes her the fastest liner aaoat,
SO that she has only 10 head for New York n
order to regain the record now held By ne
German ships. Although her turbine engines
have the power OF 6S.Ooo horsss-an uurivaIsd
achievement In shipbuildins-there is no vihra-
ton Of mechanism. and the leviathan having q
gross tonnage Of $500 may be said in Scrip
turaI phrase to take her pastirne in the deep
Engineering science supported by maritime
enterprise has triumphed glOriOusly. The 1ast-
est and steadiess ship afioat is now under ths
British flag and is worth all she has cost in
subsidies and Admiralty reserves The marins
engineers have not waited for the gradual M
provement and evolution OF the turbine Snip
They have taken the risks Of nliscalculated rai'
ure and have accomplished IN the course OF
few years what was done In two generations
with ordinary marine engines The battlesnl2
Dreadnought and the liner Lusitania are ths
most experimental ships ever designed. because
a new type OF engine was adapted 70 enormous
tonnage without ten or twenty years OF pTs-
lIminary tests with vessels of intermediate SIZE
The Admiralty was behind the Cunard cirec'-
ors and national prestige in shipbuildlns nS
been restored by q supreme effort or Hariuia7
science. The German government VIII not s1n
init TO the loss Of the transatlantic pehi''a.
without making a strenuous enort 20 regain =.
and with the passenger traffic as heavy as
has been this year. the largest expehNituIe'
Construction will be Justified
The designers Of the Lusitania. having 10
biggest ship at their command. have nia1s -I, 20
the most luxurious floating hotel Every hose.-s
introduced on other liners has been repeated a,-
many fresh expedients for ministerins 20 .'
pleasure of passengers have been emplOyeu- t
promenade deck is so long that mile IS meas
ured I'm three turns The lounges. dining Ioo-s ~
libraries and music rooms are paIatial ~ -
sions. decoration and furnishing. and tnefe ~
sleeping cabins with brass bedsreads IN 1s1 pa-N
of bunks luxurious armchairs instead OF -
bottoned stools. a telephone for conlhu
ing with any other part OF tne sbip' o. 80
shower bath close at hand There are II.' -.
which stsir1vays are avoided gyrnnasiuns tof
exercise nurseries and playrOonnS for ehliu-s
veranda cafes for open air luncheons ana -.
and suites of private rooms furnished anu on,
GRATED with bewilderinS variety win -,
windows 500 ventilating lights. S.V'" - -.
burners and accommodations for over
tborsand Messengers and crew, the Lusitani.
n marvel of luxury as we'll as OF marine So e,.,
tecture-a Great Eastern outdone az every goI,.