The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-08-25
THE BELL. IN THE SEA
How Ocean Liners Hear Thei,
Way In Thick Weather.

way IN lntCk weather.
FOG SIGNALS UNDER WATER.
Method BY Which the submeruse
Gong y Operated and the A~pParatu,
by Which the Sound 10 Picked U
Miles Away-Port and starboare
Lights.
To those who go down to the sea IL
ships probably no discovery in recent
times a been Of more Importance OF
tends more to save life than that 81
the possibility of signaling from shir
to ship and from ship to shore by
sound, writes Sidney r. Walker In the
London Mail. It literally, when fully
developed. will enable steamers tc
.hear'' their way under all conditions
Of weather and particularly In fog Just
% well as they now see their way on
clear nights by the aid OF the lights
that each ship carries and those dis.
tributed round the coast Of every civ.
ilized country.
The whole apparatus hinges upon
the fact that water ID a good conduct.
or Of sound. The readiest example
Of this Of which the writer Is aware Ii
to be found usually ct mineral baths.
There Is nearly always pumping going
on in connection with the baths. but
under ordinary conditions the pump Is
not heard. When undressing, for in.
stance, to enter the bath one can very
rarely hear the pump, but Immediately
one is In the bath IL places ones
head under water the pump IL almost
painfully evident. and an engineer
could easily count the strokes had he
. watch at hand.
For signaling purposes a bell Is EN-.
ployed, Immersed some distance under
the water and inclosed In a chamber,
the hammer being worked by COM
pressed air operated from the surface.
The sound Of the strokes on the bell
Is transmitted to a distance Of several
miles and can be heard by suitable ap-
paratus. The hearing apparatus con-
sists Of q microphone, a modification
Of that We $ every time we speak to
the telephone. inclosed In a chamber
inside the ship and connected with the
bridge by wires In the usual way.
The microphone chamber Is filed with
a special liquid which the inventors
have found to answer the purpose
best, and there are, as at present ar.
ranged, m chamber and one micro
phone on each bow below the water
line. In the chart house on the bridge
are a pair Of telephone receivers, sim.
liar to those we put to u ears when
we talk through the telephone on shore,
and a switch, enabling the receivers
to be connected to either Of the two
microphones.
Several Of the lighthouses on the
coast of America and some, the writer
believes, on that Of the United King
dom are fitted with bells as described
above, which are rung at certain inter
walls, each lighthouse having a different
number OF beats, so that any particu-
lar lighthouse is distinguished by its
bell, just as in clear weather 1t is dis.
tinguished by the arrangement Of its
lights. An approaching ship can tell
within a very close approximation, as
mathematicians would say, how it lies
with regard to the lighthouse, because
the bell will be heard loudest In that
microphone on the side Of the ship on
which the lighthouse Is, and the officer
Of the watch can steer accordingly.
All ships carry a red light at night
on the left hand, or port. side and a
green light on the right hand. or star
board side, while all steamers carry
In addition a white light showing on
both sides. Neither Of the lights can
be seen astern or for some distance
toward the bows, the limit being what
sailors call two points abaft the beam,
a little astern of her middle point, SO
that when approaching a ship from
astern no lights are visible to the ap.
preaching ship, but her full lights are
visible from the ship approached.
When two ships are approaching
each other from opposite directions end
on, each ship will see the others two
or three lights and can easily steer to
keep out Of each others way. There
lis a simple rule for this. and incidental.
ly It may be mentioned that the dan.
ger is least in this case. provided that
both ships are properly handled. The
danger of collision arises principally
from ships crossing each other, and for
this also there are simple rules gov
erned by what is called the rule Of the
road. Leaving out the question Of sail
ing ships for the moment, the ship
which has the other, the crossing ship,
on her own right hand (starboard) side
has to keep out Of the way, and 1t does
10 by turning slightly to the right, OF
to starboard, presenting her left side
Ito the other ship.
Vyhn,nnvor a chin hos Tn u3uo uyov IN