Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-09-19
,|10s, science 4;
AsNlfiivesSStion|

Water pipes Of terra Gotta were used
In Crete forty centuries ago. Those sup.
plying drinking water consisted Of q
series Of subconical tubes socketed into
each other, with collars and stop
Ridges" 20 constructed as to give the
water shooting motion, thus prevent
Ing accumulation of sediment.
An asbestos single roof, when prop.
erly made, will outlast the life Of the
building Itself, says Popular Mechanics.
The simple exposure to the elements
causes the cement covering Of the as
bestos flber to crystalline and 1t becomes
more and more servlceable AZ time
rolls on, steadily toughening and hard.
ening with exposure. The fact that the
elements take better care Of these
shingles than the best paint or Dress
ing. does away with this expense.
A French scientist, NJ. Berth, IN
dealing with the subject Of coast ero-
sion, mentions that the Island Of Jer.
sey once formed n part Of the Cont.
nent Of Europe. lie has also brought
to light the Interesting fact that there
still exists an ancient charter by which
a certain abbey was compelled to fur.
nish the necessary plank for communi.
eating with the island from the main.
land at low water. The extent to which
the sea has encroached on the land ID
evident from the fact that the journey
from the mainland Of France to the
island by steamboat now takes an hour.
English technical journals quote with
approval the recently announced con.
cluslOns Of John II. Heck concerning
the durability Of mild steel in actual
service In machinery, ships, and 20
forth. This Is question which Is not
settled by the preliminary tests Of
strength. Mr.. Heck shows that nearly
all the failures of steel occur very early
In Its history. If plate or bar, Of mild
steel lasts for year In service, II may
Se trusted to last for many years. The
most Injurious thing Is continual bend.
ing backward and forward, MS In what
Is called the painting" Of boiler end.
As London Engineering puts It, steel
has n somewhat "tumultuous youth"
but "ln middle age It Is trustworthy,
and In old age beyond reproach." In
regard to corroslon, there Is difference
Of opinion, some holding that steel cor.
rodes more readily than iron.
One Of the most astonishing objects
In the heavens. especially when photo
graphed, Is the great nebula In the con.
stellati0n Andromeda, which Ia visible
a. misty speck to the naked eye. Il
has long puzzled Astronomers, because
while Its structure-a series of vast
rings surrounding central mass
suggests a gaseous constitution, it,
spectrum II continuous, resembling that
Of the sun. It has been suggested that
It may be composed Of stars constitut.
Ing a universe external to ours. Recent
studies Of Its parallax, however, indi.
cate that It Ii nearer to us than some
81 the well.known stars, such rs Ca.
pclla, and J. Ellard Gore. the English
astronomer, points out that II the
AndrOmeda nebula were assumed to be
an external universe. having n diameter
comparable with that of the Milky
Way, its mass would be forty million
million million times the mass Of the
sun. This Is regarded rs incredible,
and 20 may be taken MS an additional
argument In favor Of the view that this
nebula is a member Of our system.