Middletown transcript., 1908-11-21
SCIENTIFIC NOTES

A German scientist thinks he has dis
covered in an Alpine cave evidences ths
men we're living 100000 years ago.
Electric power for domestic and me
| chanical purposes has become almost
necessity in Calcutta, and reduction ii
the cost would hLvs the effect of largel,
increasing the consumption OF the eIecsri,
lcurrent.
The bedbug has been found by two lat,
investigators to be the most dangerous Of
all blood sucking insects in spreading dis
ease-or, at any rate, in disseminating
plague. In its body the germs live and
multiply, retaining yirulence for many
days, while the bedbug,itself seems to suf.
fer no inconvenience.
The two concrete drydocks at Kiel rest
on deep stratum OF fine sand, and it is
found that-though measuring outside
about 800 by 125 by 60 feet, with IS foot
bottom and walls-they are forced down
and up with filing aud emptying. The
movements are small, though the bottoms
bend 0.79 inch, the entire structure set.
Ting 0.2 inch on loading.
The brightness OF the corona or ring of
light encircling the sun was measured by
NJ. Charles Fabry during the recent total
eclipse. He found the light Of a point a
t2entisIh Of degree from the SUMS
edge to be equivalent to about 720 candle
power, or q little more than fourth of
the brightness Of the full moon. The sky
near the uneclipsed sun Is 1000 times as
bright.
The gas turbine has made such recent
progress that it promises to take it's place
as one of the successful motors, Such an
apparatus requires combustion chamber,
in which the temperature rises above
5000 degrees F., and from this chamber
the products of the combustion of liquid
hydro-carDon fuel are delivered at con.
slant pressure through carborundum noz.
zles to the blades of the turbine. Besides
refractory lining of carbonundum, the
chamber has water jacket coil to keep
the gases cool enough for safety to the
turbine blades. The problem Of making
the machine itself supply the compressed
air needed to feed the combustion cham
Der has been tentatively solved, and
large turbine that has been built drives a
rotary compressor with an expenditure Of
about three hundred horse power when
running at fonr thousand revolutions
per minute. Some turbines Of 1D
horse power have been actually put to
work, special application having been
found in operating submarine serpsdoes,
The turbine alone weighs about 2.s6
pounds per horse power.
Berlin fremen wear jacket filled with
water as protection against heat.
British South Africa imports annually
over $4,000, 900 worth of lumber, mainly
from the United States and Sweden.
The Italian Government has outlined
railroad extensions covering 16 years.
work and contemplating total expendi.
ture of $lo7, ,O0O, 900.
A complete census OF the water powers
of this country is being prepared by the
United States Geological Survey. The re.
port will contain full data as to the amount
of power that is now developed on the
various streams and the amount available
for future utilization. A somewhat SINH,
lar work was undertaken in 1880 in
connection with the tenth census Of the
United States, as result of which two
volumes on the subject, one relating to
streams east of the Mississippi and the
other to Western streams, were published,
Since the preparation of that report an
immense amount of information in regard
to surface water sources in various parts
Of the country has been collected by the
United States Geological Survey, and this
information, embodied in the Survey rec-
ords, serves as a basis for the present cen.
aus. The work of preparing the census ID
divided among nine photographic dis
tricts, each under the charge of district
engineer, who, with corps of trained as
sistants, devotes his entire time to study
ing the conditions affecting stream flow
in the group of States assigned to him.