River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-05-21

nautical engineers for years and which
hitherto has remained unsolved. He
has discovered how to utilize a we'll
known law of nature. All students of
physics know that the pressure of
water increases directly In proportion
to the waters depth. Simply stated,
then, Mr.. Murray has designed a struc-
ture which reaches to a depth suf-
ficient for the enormous pressure of
the thousands of tons of water above
to counterfeit the force of wave dis
turbance at and near the surface of
the water.
The simplest application of Mr.. Muir
rays principle provides o buoyant
steel caisson which is sunk DOWN into
the tranquil areas of ocean depths,
far below the comparatively limited
portion of wave-disturbed water near
the surface. These steel caissons
have at their base wide flange, ex-
tending all around and heavily weight
ed Upon these fanges the water
above rests. pressing down with enor-
nous weight, eXerting at 80 feet be-
low the surface a pressure of 2,160
pounds per square foot, or at 60
foot depth pressure of more than
two tons per square foot The inert
weight of the structure itself and the
weight of the water upon it more than
counterbalances the action of the
waves above. Imagine an ordinary tin
basin turned upside down and sub
merged, and you get an idea of the
Murray foundation. Upon this steady
floating foundation, then, any desired
superStructure may be built-light-
house, fortress or living or storage
room of any kind.
The whole structure, then, in it's
steadiness and immobility, might be
likened to floating iceberg. To any
one who has ever gone to sea in the
winter time one of the wonders of the
deep must ever be sight of a great
iceberg floating steadily with the cur
rent, no matter how violently the
great waves beat against it's Sides
Every schoolboy knows that this
steadiness of the floating mass of ice
| is owing to the fact that two-thirds
of it's bulk is below the level of the
sea. And it is partly this principle and
partly the additional one of adding to
the depth below water the widely pro-
| jecting flange of steel that makes Muir
rays invention SO valuable and i'm
portant in the eyes of all marine en-
gineers. The downward thrust on this
flange of the immense weight CT stable
water is the great secret of the prac-
ticability of this invention.
Only Surface of Sea Affiliated.
Countless experiments by marine
engineers all over the world have
demonstrated the fact that the depth
to which the wave disturbance of the
surface of the sea extends averages Is
feet. A homely proof of this is to be
found in the way in which diver can
work on the bed of the ocean without
feeling the slightest effect from any
motion of the waves over his head
And in many of the longtime sub
mersion tests of submarine craft the
crews have sunk below the level in a
calm and risen to the surface in a
storm without feeling any indications
of the above-surface disturbance.
Not only is the Murray principle ap-
plicable to lighthouses and lightships
and floating fortresses, but to every
class of stationary marine structures
such, for instance, rs breakwaters
and piers: bridges across arms of the
sea or detached areas of water; sub
merged torpedo stations whose steadi-
ness will give hidden gunners deadly
aim; floating coaling stations, pro-
vision and oil storage depots and even
hospitals and temporary hotels.
Applied commercially, the Murray
invention may revolutionize breakwa-
ter construction. Millions of dollars