Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-07-03
Some Late Science Notes.

Some Late Science Notes.
The sailing distance from New York
to Punta Arenas, at the southern end
of South America, via the Panama Ca
nal, will be SIT miles less than by the
route which is at present followed by
vessels between those points.
The cost of the railroads of the Unit
ed States is placed at $4,000. 100000 for
the 2la,0oO moles for which the figures
are available.
| North America has, speaking in
round terms, 100000 miles of railway, of
which 225000 are found in the United
States alone. Asia has $1,000 miles,
Africa 1000 and Australia and the ad-
jacent islands of Oceania 1880.
| Under the encouragement of the cleo
trio power supply companies there has
| recently been very great improve
ment in the electric vacuum cleaning
apparatus, and there can now be found
on the market such devices all the way
| from light, portable apparatus weigh
ing only 20 pounds, using a one-siXth
| horsepower motor and costing about
| 1925, up to large stationary plant en-
ploying motors from five horsepower
up and costing many hundreds of dol
| lars. The machines range all The way
| from those producing a very small vac
| uum and moving considerable VOL
ume of air up to others maintaining Is
| incn vacuum, which will pull the dust
clear through an ordinary rug. The
| smaller machines are rather lew on
| the market as yet, and it is difficult to
predict now extensively they will be
used. 1t is not unreasonable to suppose
that if once rug is thoroughly cleaned
it can be kept clean thereafter by fire.
quent applications of light low suction,
and for miscellaneous busting low vac
uum is well suited. There thus should
be a good field for the small, portable
apparatus which can be used in every
house where electric service is availa-
BILE.
The familiar tape telegraph which
has been used for many years in stock
brokers' offices and other public places
for the transmission of news intelli-
gence of general interest, is rapidly be-
ing supplanted by another system by
which the messages are printed on a
sheet, line after line. This is a great
improvement over the old style and
much time is saved to persons who may
have occasion to make use of the in
strument. In the case of the newer
method the messages are torn off in
sheets Of handy length and posted at a
convenient place, whereas with the
tape considerable time must be lost In
going over the great string of tape
which accumulateS in the course of a
few hours An installation of this
character has been recently made in
the Capitol, where several of the more
important committee rooms are sup
piled with such receiving stations, and
members who happen to be detained in
these rooms during session OF Con-
greSs arc enabled to keep fully in
formed as to the proceedings of the
body. The proceedings of both branch
eS of the body are reported and the
members have found this device of
much value.
The very latest practice in block sig
mailing. interlocking and automatic
train stopping is to be found in opera
ton in the tunnels of the Hudson &
Manhattan Railroad. which were re-
Gently opened under the Hudson River
on steam railroads block signal sec
tions average $50 feet, or two signals
per mile; on the express tracks of the
New York Subway the distance is 500
feet, or nearly seven signals per mile:
In the Hudson tunnels the signal dis
lance is only SGT feet-or more than IA
ndicatons-"proceed." indicated by
green light, proceed with caution"
yellow light; stop" red light AS the
consequences Of a train passing a sig
nal in the stop" position may be dis
lSfr far Va, IJ,
stopping such train is used at each sig
nal. This consists of TWO movable
short arms or trips placed alongside
each rail. When the signal is in the
stop" position these arms are
raised to engage with the trigger of q
valve in the airbrake pipe of the train,
releasing the air and setting the brakes.
Each car is equipped with two valves
one at each end and on opposite sides
of the car. When the signal moves
again to the proceed" position the
electric motor moves these train-stop
arms out of stop" position. thus per-
hitting the train to pass without set
ting the brakes, the arms being re-
turned to stop position by gravity after
the train has entered the block.
In Dubuque, Ia, there is recently
enacted law which requires thac the
view of the interior of all saloons shall
be unobstructed SO that those inside
shall be in full view at all times, but
the law has been clcverly cifcumvented
by the saloonkeepers, who, while. COM
plying with the terms of. the law lit
orally, have at the same time secured
the desired privacy by making use of a
couple of strong electric lights backed
with reflectors so that anyone attemp-
ting to peer into the place is blinded
by the rays of the light. This ruse is
to be tested in the courts, as it is con-
tended by some that it is a clear viO-
lation of the law, for the strong rays
of the lamp are just as much of cur
tain as one made of fabric.
Whjms of the 81 Patrons