Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-08-04
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.

SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
In the new nebular hypothesis of
Prof Il. j. j. See, it is assumed that
spiral nebula was formed by two or
more streams OF cosmic dust, which
met in such a way as to produce a
whirling motion about a central vortex.
This nebuln was much larger than the
present solar system, and as 1t coiled
up under it's own graduation, the spir-
ais were gradually drawn nearer to-
gether, and the nuclei formed In the
coils gathered more cosmic dust, be-
ginning the planets, which at first
moved in elliptic paths of great ec-
5centricity. The resistance Of the ne
bula reduced the orbits in size giving
their present remarkable roundncss,
The limits of the solar system may be
still unknown for the orbit of Nep-
tune is almost circular. and this indi-
Gates that, even at this great distance
from the center. the nebula. offered
much resistance to moving bodies, and
must nave had sufficient density to
form several large planets beyond those
now known.
sui Ollvares. of Managua. is designed
to make soft wood proof against the
ravages of the termites, or white ants
which in the tropics often destroy the
finest buildings in six months-and is
specially recommended to makers OF
furniture and woodenware intended for
use in tropical countries OF untrcatcd
woods only eucalyptus and teak resist
the termites. The treatment consists
In boiling the newly cut timber in a.
saccharine solution. which extracts the
air and coagulates the albumen iii the
sap, and then rapidly! drying at fairly
high temperature. The hard, homo
geneous product-which does not shrink,
warp or split--resists the dry rot Of
temperate lands as we'll as the tropic
termites.
Titaniunl Is said to be the only metal
suitable for the bearings and axles Of
certain modern gasoline motors, which
run at speeds as high as 5000 revoll,-$
lions per minute. The metal is obtained
from rutile. or titanium dioxide, a min
5eral OF little commercial Importance
hitherto.
The fogphone OF r. II. Marriott Of
Brooklyn is designed to prevent COLI
sions at sea by a. combination of wire
less telephony and the ordinary fog
bell or the submarine bell, and its ac-
ton depends upon the fact that the
sound of the bell travels in air about
1000 feet per second, or slightly faster
in water, while the transmission of the
same sound by the wireless telephone is
practically Instantaneous, or at the
rate of light-abolt $4,000 mllAs a
second. AS the man in the pilot-house
catches the sound of the bell In the
telephone receiver, he presses the but
ton that starts an instrument resem-4
bling a stop watch, When the sound
OF the bell arrives by air or water
waves he stops the instrument, and the
dial-instead of Indicating seconds like
the watch-shows the miles and feet
the sound has travelled. AT the dir
lance of two miles the air sound would
be heard about 10 seconds after that of
the telephone. When tho bell is next
heard the indicator shows whether the
distance has increased or diminished,
and thus the navigator is notified If
there is danger of collision.
1t was decreed by the convention OF
1878 and the treaty of Washington OF
United States and Canada from tho
Lake OF the Woods to the Pacific-a
distance of 1870 niles-shouh follow
the forty-ninth parallel The surveyors
who have lately completed the location
of the boundary have found that the
astronomical parallel varies from a
direct circle around the earth, and Prof.
Otto T[lotz explains the curious fact
that the line. instead of being straight,
Is at one point 500 feet south of the d.
rect circle. and at another place 600 feet
north. It was decided that the astron-
onlical parallel-or line through places
where the Pole is 4 1 degrees from the
zenith-should be the accepted bound
AIRY. This decision was followed, but
local attraction In some places defects
the plumb line and therefore the zenith,
and the astronomical forty-ninth paral-
I. lei proves to be a quite irregular line.
The most valuable pile of waste
known is that lately discovered at tho
Wheal TrenWit,l mine near st. Ives,
Eng. The Cornish miners so years ago
used only simple ores, rejecting complex
ores as refractory, and uranium ore
sent TO the snelter as black COPPER was 8
returned as rubbish, The dump heap
of some 10000 tons thus collected now
seems to be 10 per cent pitch blende, es-
stinated to be worth $3.50 pound.
In DR. Korn's system of transmitting
pictures by wire,-which has been
under test for some time at stations
In Paris, Berlin and London.---greatly
improved results have been obtained,
with more rapid transmission. by the
late plan of using line drawings in
stead OF photographs at the. sending
station. "A photograph drawing pub
lfshed in LIE Matin. the Paris daily,
showed aeronaut zippel on his aero
plane At the Berlin station the pha-
Stograph had been prepared by Ink
ing its principal lines when half
tone was made from it for trans
mission. and the picture printed in the
Paris paper showed some of the shades
and itints as well az the dra WI lic.cs-,
For Transmission. the half-tone was
rolled in tho form Of a CYLINDER. which
was revolved with q small contact wire
resting against it to send the impulses
,,r ,,,rropt The rereirinp end had the