Amador ledger., 1908-08-28

Experiment has shown that gasoline
tanks are kept quite cool in the hot
test conHagration If they are buried
beneath 20 inches of earth; and
Martini Eand Huenecke have made
storage and 1distributtlon practically
safe by providing an underground re-
servoir, with special double de-
livery pipe and filling the upper part
of the tank with carbonic acid gas
under pressure. This prevents the
formation Of any explosive mixture of
inflammable gas and air, as we'll as
explosion from expansion of vapor by
heating. The inner pipe leads from
the bottom of the tank to the self
closing delivery cock, the liquid be-
ing forced out by the pressure of the
inert gas; and the outer pipe stops at
the top of the reservoir, being there
fore filled only with inert gas. In a
great fire in Berlin 10000 gallons Of
gasoline lay safely in an underground
reservoir beneath ruins burning for
"a hours.
In the Poulsen wireless telephony,
adopted by the German Wireless
Telegraph Co., speech is received by
placing in the ordinary telephone
circuit Scholmilch electrolytic
detector, comprising vessel Of
dilute sulphuric acid with two elec :
trodes, the negative with very fine
point. The smallness of the negative
and It's film of hydrogen bubbles
from electrolysis make the normal
resistance of the detector cell very
high. The high-frequency oscillations
from the aerial electric waves tend to
dissipate the hydrogen bubbles, in
creasing the telephone current, and
the variations set up by speaking into
the microphone at the sending station
produce like variations in the current
through detector and telephone, re-
producing the spoken words.
The SIX turbines Of Norway
factory are to receive water through a
7-mile tunnel from lake 1886 feet
above sea level, the total head being
3287 feet, or ~ feet greater than the
highest hitherto
The strange new industry of weav-
ing concrete poles and tubes suggests
revolutionary possibilities, and not
least of the advantages it offers is an
important lessening of the demands
upon our forests. Both hollow taper
ing poles and straight tubes or pipes
are made automatically by the
wonderful machine just installed in
London. In manufacture, a metal
core has the strengthening steel wires
or rods attached to it, and as it is
rotated and gradually passed out of
the machine, small conveyor belt
wraps spirally around it, under great
pressure, layer of concrete and a
bandage of cloth. After the concrete
is given little time to harden, the
core is withdrawn and the bandage
removed. Poles 40 feet long are eX-
tremely light-the shell being l to 2
inches thick k-yet as strong as iron
poles, and for carrying telegraph and
other electric wires they are cheaper
than iron and even wood, while they
are superior in appearance and dur
ability. The pipes-in lengths up to
20 feet and diameteIs up to 3 feet
are very strong, land more durable
and economical than iron pipes for
water and gas mains. sewers, etc.
Tests with red, green, blue and
white light during the last two years
have shown French experiment that
colors have effects on vegetation that
may prove of great practical import
ance. Under red light, for instance,
the growth of vegetables was fifteen
times as rapid as under blue light.
Blue light on the other hand, had a
remarkable preservative power on
growing vegetation, and two years
after planting, the first Eleaves of an
oak tree were as fresh and vigorous as
ever OF even greater economic value
seems tho discovery that ripe fruit
keeps remarkably under blue screen,
showing no decay after several weeks,
The worlds greatest river is located
by Prof. Mudd in Australia. Peculiar
geological conditions lead much of
the water of this continent under
ground, and he estimates that great
subterranean river flowing through
the center is as much as 200 miles
wide.