The Baltimore County union, the Towson news., 1909-10-09
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
Accidentally Hardened Copper-A Great
Mud Flow-Certainty of Anti-Typhoid-
Electrolytic Iron-Bo Bottled Acetylene-
A Hot-Box Signa1-An Improved Fixer
of Nitrogen-A Meteor's Burning-A
Novel Primary Battery.
Correspondence of The Union NewsJ
The hardening and strengthening influence of
a minute proportion of some element in an
alloy, which is marvel and mystery of metal
lurgy, is not confined to the various steels.
Arsenic is a hardly appreciable impurity of fur
mace copper, but 1t now appears that the electro
lytic copper coming so generally into use is too
pure for certain purposes. On the Prussian
railways it has been noticed In recent years that
the number of fractured locomotive staybolts
was strangely increasing. Investigation shows
that this has followed the increasing use of
eIectrolytic copper and that of % broken stay
bolts collected 21 were of this metal and only2
of furnace copper. OF the electrolytic samples
only one contained arsenic which was present in
all furnace copper bolts tested. The high quality
of copper containing traces of arsenic had been
already recognized, and railways in Italy and
the British Colonies specify 0.15 to O55 per cent
of arsenic as necessary in all copper bought.
-
The outburst of mud of January II from near
Mount Banajao, in the Philippine province of
Tayabas, is reported by C. G.. Wrentmore of
Manila to have flowed ten miles to the sea,
spreading 9OO0,0OG tons of material in q layer
foot deep over an average width of half mile.
Great numbers of rocks three to four feet in
diameter were deposed with some much larger.
A landslide had choked up gorge on the slope
of the mountain, and heavy rains had gradually
formed a pond behind the dam of rocks and
loose earth until finally the obstruction gave
way.
OF Sab British soldiers inoculated with anti
typhoid vaccine, Col. W. d. Leishman reports
that only 21 afterward had the disease with two
deaths, while of 6,610 non-inoculated in the same
regiment 1877 had typhoid and 26 died. OF the q
inoculated cases 13. including the two deaths,
received old vaccine, much inferior to the i'm
proved now used.
New possibilities in metallurgy seem to be
opened up by the Cowper- Coles process of max
ing iron plates and tubes direct from the ore by
electrolysis. Ordinary cast iron iron ore, or
material untitled by certain ingredients for
ordinary making of high-grade iron or steel is
put into an acid bath and connected to the posi-
tive pole of dynamo. For tubes the negative
electrode is wooden core covered with sheet
of lead, a similar fiat surface being provided for
plates. When the tube deposited by eectrolysis
has reached the desired thickness it is taken
from the bath and is then heated to melt the
lead and remove the core. The tubes and plates
cost much less than those obtained by melting
and rolling. The iron produced is superior in
quality and it is believed to be possible not only
to utilize iron waste and inferior ore but to ap
ply the process direct to ore in its bed, thus
making unnecessary the mining and cleaning
of ore.
1t was discovered some time ago that the great
danger of the explosion of compressed acetylene
could be avoided by dissolving the acetylene in
acetone. Compressed acetylene is now prepared
by Claude and Hess by using steel cylinders
filled with porous mixture of infusorial earth,
special wood charcoal and suitable binder, and
forcing into these cylinders the acetone and
then the acetylene. At ordinary temperature
and pressure the acetone dssolves "a volumes of
acetyene, which is increased about IL times at
IL atmospheres The cylinders have capacities
of about one eighth one half and one cubic foot,
and contain respectively H. 50 and 1O0cubic feet
of acetylene, which is stored in convenient form
for lighting cars. buoys etc., and for welding
metals.
novel alarm for hot bearings consists of a
small tube and bulb containing mercury, so ar
ranged that rise of the mercury with tempera-
ture closes an electric bell circuit and attracts
the attention of the attendant. The apparatus
is attached to the bearing in box two inches
square. When many bearings are being watched
an ordinary electric bell indicator can be used to
show which is becoming hot, and thus much
trouble may be avoided. The device is recon-
mended for steamships and all works having
valuable machinery.
-
For obtaining nitrogen compounds from the
air, the new process of DIR. Schonherr is claimed
to be an important advance over that now used
the Birkeland and Eyde-which yields bioxide
of nitrogen from air passed over an alternating
current arc having its surface increased by de-
Election by an electromagnetic The new method
employs an electric arc generated within an iron
tube An insulated mass of iron in the tube at
one end serves as one electrode and the tube
itself forms the other, the passage of the cur
rent between giving the arc. As air is blown in,
the arc is pushed along the tube, stretching out
to great lengths. By this simple method
requiring neither moving parts electro
magnet-the air is transformed into bioxide
of nitrogen, which is cooled too rapidly to de-
compose. With 100 horsepower, the arc extends
several yards along the tube, 10000 cubic feet of
air per hour can be blown through, yielding 80
per cent. more of nitrous product than before.
1t is expected that 10000 horsepower from a
turbine plant in Norway will be consumed
in working this process.
80
One of the most remarkable meteors ever re-
corded is being still given attention by w. f.
Denning,t the veteran British observer. 1t passed
westward over the south of England on the
evening of February 22, brighter than Venus
and various reports indicate that it had visible
flight of about 135 miles at 20 miles second,
with descent from about go to 20 miles, Mid
way in the course an explosion seemed to occur.
This left short, luminous streak, which grad
ually extended backward over the whole track,
becoming bent and distorted, and showing more
than two hours. At the end of its path the
meteor turned sharply to the east with two
violent explosions following which the lumin-
Gus trail heightened so miles eastward in Is
minutes. The fireball is regarded as the greatest
meteoric spectacle in generation.
The unique new galvanic CELL generating an
alternating current, has electrodes of thin sheets
of iron, and for electrolyte uses equal volumes
of two per cent. sulphuric acid solution and
saturated bichromate of potash solution. The
action continues for hours. The current moves
a galvanometer needle back and forth in a
period of to 10 seconds, with indications rang
ing from plus 0.4 to minus 04 volt for the cell.
CASTORIA
For Infants and Children.