The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-08-01
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A Novel Tampa sixth Sense-Breaded
Lightning Phy geological consequences
of Motoring-A Strong Gas Mantle-A
Great Count-The Sky Studio-Vitri
Lubrication--.Color Photography m
Court.
The rapid development of the incandescent
lamp in recent months has brought not only me-
tallic Rlaments, such as tantalum and tungsten,
but has given a greater novelty in the helion
lamp of Parker and Clark. inasmuch as this fla
ment can be used without the usual high vacu-
i'm. This property is Of great advantage for
lamps exposed to shock. such as those on bat
tleships. where few minutes of gun-hring de-
stroys all vacuum bulbs. The new filament Is
made by "hashing'' the ordinary carbon fla
ment In special mixture of glass that gives
thick deposit of helion. and added resistance to
air can be given by heating in gases to transform
the surface into silicon oxide and silicon nitride.
Helion, substance not yet understood, is sup
. posed to be hitherto unknown allotropic form
of silicon. 1t endures higher temperature
than carbon. the filament is larger and shorter,
and the lamp has longer life than the old one
as well as much reduced consumption Of cur
rent for the same light.
"a
For more than half a century it has been I'M
derstood that the lateral line Of scales along
each side of fishes is connected to a special
nerve. The use of these lateral organs has been
matter of much speculation. but the late ex-
periments of Hofer seem to show that their chief
function is the perception of water currents.
They supply new sense in place of the lacking
sense Of touch. They cause blindfolded fish to
stop and turn aside within an inch of a solid OBJ
ject lead to streams and spawning brooks. and
keep the fish world informed and warned.
The strings Of beads or pearls that some OBJ
servers have seen as much as a second in the
-1inltnius. aaA1.aaa.a- h.au-
WI. s. Lockyer to incandescene of the air.
sfs
A scientific study of the effects of motoring
has failed to show A. Mouneyrat. French ply
siologist, that it causes serious nervous distur
bance and other troubles, as has been alleged,
but he finds, on the other hand. that it Is pow
erful stimulant to circulation, nervous system
and respiration, giving just the action that re-
commends it as a remedy for such complaints as
anaemia, sleeplessness loss of appetite, etc. In
some disorders high-speed travel tends to cure
when other treatment is entirely without effect.
The investigator himself made number of au-
tomobile tours at all seasons of the year, and on
these trips. averaging over eight days each, he
covered from 60 to 125 miles per day, at an aver
age speed of % miles an hour. A striking and
invariable effect is the increase in the red cor
puscles of the blood, which in an anaenic indi-
vidual was more than 90 per cent on an days
tour. The general influence is that of stay in
the mountains at height Of 1900 to 5000 feet.
and both normal and anaemic persons are affec-
ted, though in different degrees. Sleep and ap-
petite are increased In all.
~
The fragility of incandescent gas mantles is a
serious drawback to their use. but more dura-
Bile fabric seems to have resulted at last from the
experiments of German chemists. The mantles
now so familiar have tissue of cotton or ramie
on which oxides of thorium and cerium have
been precipitated. Attempts to use other nat
ural fbers have failed, and the successful new
material is an artificial silk made by dssolving
cellulose in ammoniate of copper. This silk
mantle takes up thorium nitrate, which
ammonia changes in the fiber to hydro1ide of
thorium. The thorium silk does not absorb
moisture like the old mantles, and it has many
times as great resistance to shock.
80
The cameras estimated record is 100,00O.000
stars but British astronomer is to attempt
actual count. using microscopic gauge in going
over the several hundred plates, each with TO-
WV W @VOOOO otnAcs
Cameras carried by kites have been long re-
cognized as important for military and survey
ing purposes, and they have been lately found
useful in other ways, as in getting pictures of
large industrial plants. The apparatus of a New
York company of photographers consists of a
series of aeroplanes for reaching the necessary
height, device to hold the camera rigid, and an
electrical control of the exposure For expo
sures at height of 1000 feet from IL to IS aero
planes are used, each being feet square, with a
wind surface Of 90 square feet. They are sent
up one after another until their combined pull
lifts 5000 feet of cable with the caEAefa and cleo
the camera reaches its station at 1000 feet above
ground. The photographer watches the camera
through field glass. With finger upon an cleo
trical switch, he may await the favorable mo-
ment for to hours. but at the right instant he
presses the button, and the dropping of tiny
parachute signals that plate has been exposed.
A 8 horsepower gasoline motor operates the
cable.
Powdered sulphur mixed with oil is claimed to
have frequently relieved hot bearings in steam
ship machinery, but lubricant much stranger
still is sulphuric acid On one occasion, after re-
peated trouble from heating, the dilute acid was
allowed to drip slowly upon the working bear
ing. In half an hour the part was cooled, when
the acid was washed out and the ordinary oil
was applied. The cure was permanent.
"a
Clothing of late alleged murderer at Middles-
brough, Eng, seemed to bear very faint stains.
A Jet Of oxygen gave the spots a rudy hue. and
several photographs by a color process showed
the blood stains very distinctly in their natural
color.