Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-01-05

IF the opinion of Sir William Fl. White,
late chief constructor of the British
| n navy, is to be accepted, seasickness
| will soon be less dreaded than it is now.
Sir William thinks that experiments
concluded a few days ago in the Tyne
side on the Sea-Bar formerly a first
class torpedo boat Of the German navy,
prove that DIR. Schlick's gyroscope will
prevent boat rocking or reduce it to a
great extent.
THE severe weather conditions under
which l witnessed the trials could not
have been better for demonstrating the
steadying effect of the gyroscope," said
| Sir William. Indeed, representatives Of
many cross Channel and coasting lines Of
steamers who attended the trials were so
well pleased that they expressed their
wish at once to Install the apparatus In
some of their boats with a view to reduc-
| ing seasickness.
"The sea-Bar is 116 feet long. about
II "a feet broad and of Sc tons dis
/ placement. so that moderate amount of
sea represented the action Of waves Of
great magnitude upon large sized ships
With the gyroscope working, the Sea-
Bars decks were dry and practically
horizontal, although some of the waves
were feet high and 100 feet long, and
I noticed large vessels in her neighbor-
hood rocking heavily.
j.
Owing to the present relative posi-
tions of Saturn and the earth. we now
see his rings nearly edgewise and so
are able to detect that these famous
appanages of the planet are not smooth,
but have knots or Jumps in them. The
cause of these knots Is thus discusse i
by DR.. S. A. Mitchell of Columbia uni
versity in the Scientific American New
| York November 23). He says:
"a d{TaPtnr nf the Tick observatory
has announced by telegraph that GER
! tain Knots appear on Saturns rings
when they are viewed at the present
time with the great thirty six-inch
telescope. This discovery by Profess
sor Campbell has been confirmed by the
keen-eyed Professor Barnard from OBJ
| servations made with the forty-inch
Yerkes lens, and also by Professor Per-
cival Lowell, director of the observa-
| tory at Flagstaff. In a letter to the
| writer, Professor Barnard states that
| these condensations were first seen by
him on July 2. They disappeared when
the sun came into the plane of the
rings, but TeHppeared on October Is.
Since then they have been easily Wis
IDLE.
''Percival Lowell, so well known
| from his observations on Mars, believes
these knots to be due to falling In
of the rings on the planet itself, thus
pointing the way to the ultimate de-
struction of one of the most beautiful
objects of the starry heavens. Such an
opinion however seems to be at Varl-
ance with the ideas held by most OIL
the rest of the astronomical world
AT the present time, month attei
. the earth has passed through the plane
. of the rings, they are seen not quite
edgewise, and appear in powertu
telescope as a thin line of light =
splendid opportunity is thus AFFORDED O.
. discovering whether the rings arr
everywhere of Che same thickness. As
knots are seen along the thin threa'
of light, we must perforce conclude
that the rings are not quite nat pu'
that they have CONVERSATIONS here am
there and that the particles that MAKE
them up crowd together more at som'
.. nIaces than they dc at others.
That we have in the SPECIALIZED colo wave
n. sudden drop of temperature accom-
nanying a down-rush of cool air some