Amador ledger., 1908-11-06

History. "A Snakes Legs. "A Bad
Habit Investigated. The Streaks
on the Moon. - Heart Beat Records.
Great local differ ences in the elec
trification of the earth are known to
exist, and German engineer suggests
that with better knowledge it may be
possible to make mining for cleo
trIcity as profitable as digging for
coal or metals. In experiments in
two comparatively shallow borings,
he has obtained weak currents be-
tween "A small rod of brass or iron
immersed in the water OF the pit and
a similar rod buried near the surface.
tie urges that contractors, mining
companies and Others take up the
problem, aud perform such expert
ments as testing the current between
60-foot copper cylinder at the
bottom of boring OF 5000 feet or
more and similar cylinder buried
in moist ground at the surface, also
investigating the charges to be OBJ
tained from long iron pipes buried in
! the ground. 1t seems quite possible
! that means may be found for charg-
ing accnmulators from earth cur
rents, thus giving us a new source Of
power, light and heat.
| The conclusion that light exerts
pressure was reached by Clerk Max
we'll 35 years ago, but many attempts
to measure the pressure gave only
oubtfuI results. 1t was at last
shown by Lebedew' in the tropics
the suns rays have a pressure of
about three pounds per square mile.
The suns attraction upon the earth
is millions of times greater. but the
attraction acts upon the mass while
the total radiation pressure depends
upon the surface exposed, so that
when matter is reduced to fine dust
the radiation pressure may exceed the
attraction. Thus it is that the suns
rays push the nebulous tail of
comet away fl ON the denser head.
The submarine bed of the French
river Adour has been followed by
Prof Edward Hull, f. r. S., 80
miles out to sea and that of the
Congo he has traced 100 miles into
the ocean.
The electric gun. which shoots
without powder or projectle and is
already a popular penny -the-sIot
toy in Paris, is not designed for wal
fare OF hunting, but serves we'll for
target practice. The gun, which may
be of any kind. is mounted Oh
special stand, while the special target
Is placed 20 or 20 yards or more away.
The target is perforated with l9 holes
in concentric circles and four outside
holes for stray shots. and behind each
hole is an incaudescent lamp in addi-
tion to bell at the central hole
Each lamp is fed by separate
battery cell having a contact button
III horizontal plate in the base of
the stand. When the gun points ex-
actly to the bull 's-eye, needle pro-
iectiug downward is over the central
button, but as the guns position Is
shifted the needle is moved over
other buttons. On pressing the
trigger the needle is forced down
ward, the contact so made lighting
up the lamp aimed at. The reckless
ness with which these guns are
"ired" in public places arouses the
Indignation of the uninitiated, and
there is constant lodging to avoid
the bullets supposed to be flying in
the air.
Recognizing uranium as the grand
parent of radium through the inter
mediate change to i0Dinm, Prof.
John Jolly, in his British ASSOCIATION
address, showed that the trapsforma
ton has been So slow that tho urau-
IA .1nl 1l earth has dimiulsAed scarcely
one per cent IA 0O,0OO,OO years.
though the heaviest element known,
most or the uranium is near tae
earth's surface. The radium is wide
Iy scattered and the oceans prove TO
contain about 0,00O tons, derived
from the uranium brought down 10y
rivers during the geological ages.
The heat from radium at present
may be making good all that the
earth is ladiating into space. This
implies "A very long past and future
arth.lite, and supports geologists in
their estimates that the world is