Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-03
REPORTS OF SMITHSONIANS
Scientific Research of the Experts in
Published Form.
VARIETY OF TOPICS Is DISCUSSED
Contributors Lead in Their Branches
and Papers AZ COverinE
Latest Thought ana Discovery
In the severn Fields.

In the Several Fields.
The annual report Of the Board OF Re-
gents Of the Smithsonian Institution for
1907. transmitting 20 congress. as required
by law. a statement of the operations, ex-
penditures and conditio OF tho institution
and Its branches for the year. has just
been issued.
In this report. the policy adopted very
soon after the founding of the institution
In 1876, Of adding TO the official proceedings
and transactions Of its governing bodies, a
selection of papers on many scientific sub
jects, has been continued These addi-
tional papers, twenty-nine in number, gath
cred from many sources, are designed to
portray in general the scientific progress
OF the world during the year. Some OF
them are prepared especially for the re-
port. and others are reprinted from scien-
tific and technical journals that have not
a popular circulation, many being trans
lated from foreign tongues. They are writ
ten. SO far as possible. not in the technical
language, and thus they carry into effect
a portion Of the institutions program, the
diffusion of knowledge
The contributors am usually leaders in
their branches OF scientific research.
Among them are included Hon. Charles
A. Parsons of England, Frank ]. Sprague
of New York, authorities on the steam
turbine and electric trunk line operation.
respectively; DR.. Cleveland Able Of the
United States weather bureau: Mr.. f. H
Newell, director of this United States re-
clamation service; DR.. Theodore Gill Of
the United States National museum, and
DIT. Simon Flexner OF the Rockefeller In
| attfufa for NTadical Research Naw Ynrr
An attempt is here mad to summarize
In a few words some important points in a
number OF these papers.
The steam TuFbIne.
The Steam Turbine on Land and Sea"
is the subject discussed by Charles A
Parsons, who calls attention to the recent
wide adoption of the turbine principle for
the generation of electricity, for the pro-
pulsiop of vessels, and for driving air COM
pressors. fans and pumps. In 1900 there
were only 5000 horsepower Of turbines
on land and 5000 on sea; in 1906 there were
thirty-one turbine steamers afloat, and
last April different countries Of the world
had just built or were building turbines as
follows: United States. / scout, 6 mercan-
tile vessels and 8 torpedo boat destroyersi
Japan, 3 large liners, 4 passenger vessels
1 dispatch boat; France, 6 large battleshipS
and 3 destroyers; Germany, 2 cruisers and
several destroyers; Italy, a cruiser; Aus.
tria, a cruiser, and Brazil, 2 scouts. Nego.
~tiations were pending for 4 large battle
ships for Russia. On land. in almost every
country, the new construction Of large cleo.
tric generating units were nearly all tur'
bine driven.
In THE Development of Mechanical
Composition In Printing Prof A. Turpair
| - tAa ITatrvara4tv &c DnttlaH0 EN-anan A
scribes the various steps taken to aid thu
printer in setting up his type. These step
began with the introduction in 1875 OF com
binations of letters known as logotypes
They went through the various forms o
composing OF arranging loose type, AM
later of casting single letters and soil,
5 lines. Developed little by little, they hav1
/; finally eliminated in the remarkably eff
ficient machine called the electrotypo
e graph, and its cousin, the ~teletypograph
by the combination of which not only 1
the highest mechanical skill obtained, bu
perforated bands, which, being run througl
a casting machine, automatically form type
may be reproduced directly by telegraph a
any commercial distance. Thus at the pres
; ent day a newspaper article telegraphe
from New York or st. Louis or San Fran
cisco in this form can be received on per
forated strips ready for the casting ma
= chine in various distant cities, and it
Y possible for large newspapers to hav
3 country editions without increase in ex
T pense and without delay, a great step 4
journalism.
In a samiliar way Mr.. Frank J. Spragu
, of New York In Some Facts and Prob
lens Bearing on Electric Trunk Line Oper
direct and alternating current electric 10
direct and alternating surrent electric 10
comotives, electric brakes, overhead. cate
nary and third-rail trolleys. and the va
! rious methods of train control and opera
tion.
Wireless Te~Iegraphy.
Prof. j. A. Fleming Of the .Universit
: Of London contributes a summary OF nd
vances in wireless telegraphy which hav
: made possible the publishing on boar
{ great ocean liners in midocean small dali
newspapers, containing the latest news q
the day from two continents. Certai
; fundamental principles underlying electri
=, wave transmission, are explained, and tn
results of experiments OF Mr.. Marcor
and Prof. F. Braun Of Strassburg in wha
Is called directive telegraphy. are outlined
> AS to the latter he says: 1T will be seer
therefore, that popular notions on the sui
= iect of a directive ~telegraphy are wide q
the mark. Whilst we can not yet projeC
a narrow beam Of long-wave electric radia
=. tion, or focus It entirely on a given receiN
ing station, at a great distance, much ca
be done to prevent radiation being SET
out from transmltters in directions 1
! which it Is of no use or not desired"
TO produce directly photographs in colo
the ablest Photographic chemists have eS
perimented for nearly a hundred year
but not until TSsl-92 were the first perma
nent direct photographs in color mad,
, During the year covered by the Tepor
T" however, two additional processes WEI
announced, the autochrome process, b
I Messrs. A. and L.. Luniere, and IN
!. i ----- - $1,000