The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-05-16
THE SE|SMOGRAPH
SENSITIVE MACHINE
ONE INSTALLED AT THE UNIvER
SiTY OF kANSAS-iTS ExTRune
DELlCACY.

Lawrence. Kan. May 1G.-A' seismo.
graph has been installed at the Univer.
sity Of Kansas and is in charge Of Prof.
essor II. p. Cady.
So sensitive is the seismograph that
it can detect not only the most dis.
tant and fa.ntest earthquakes but even
the time that the students go to class.
All students are expected to be ln
their class rooms by eight o'clock in
the morning but by the record of the
seismograph the majority of them are
one or two minutes late The disms-
sal hours as well as chapel time also
ment even detects the lightfooted
registrar whenever he brings some
noted visitor to see the quake machine.
But this is not to be wondered at when
it is stated that an electric bulb left
burning for two or three minutes with
In several feet of the instrument will
cause a variation in the records.
In setting up this very delicate piece
OF German mechanism in the weight
and measures room in the basement of
Fraser hail, all possible care was exer-
cised. 1t is built on solid brick and
cement foundation running several feet
into the earth and is free from all con
tact with the building.
At first glance the seismograph ap-
pears little more than tripod. At the
top of one of the legs there is a small
affair that resembles miniature wat
er supply tank. Then there is a cylin-
drical appearing body that carries a
wide strip of blackened paper. This
| cylinder is in fact a mass of iron,
weighing several hundred pounds,
which is delicately balanced by means
of steel hangers and springs.
Whenever a quake comes this pendu.
lum, being so accurately balanced
does not move as might be supposed
The rest of the machine, solid on It's
base of brick and cement, however
does move and this movement causes
two little needles supported on two
truss.like arms to mark the vibrations
II the quake Is in n north-south d.
rection one needle makes the record
and If the earths movement Is in an
east-west direction the other needle
takes the vibrations.
Under normal conditions both neeu
les made a perfectly straight line on
the smoked paper. A slight quake will
cause a waviness in the line while q
more serious shock will produce :
jagged line.
BY an ingenious arrangement cact
minute of the day is marked off so th.
the exact length of an earthquake mai
be told at glance.
But that is not all. II the quake Il
of any importance whatever, the dis
tance can be more or less accuratel!
determined. The records are made up
on smoked paper. which after beinl
filled are run through a chemical pre-
paration which sets the lamp back 81
that they can be handled.
Since the installment of the seismo
graph two months ago, four earth
Quakes have been detected by o.,
university machine. The last one wa
on May 13. \ shock was recorded a
1:39 o'clock in the morning on tina
date The tremors lasted nearly three
hours and at times were severe.
Prof. Cady gave as his opinion tina
the center of the quake was at som,
point between 1000 and 5000 miles
from Lawrence. Subsequent develop
ments showed that this record was %
quakes in Costa Rica. which have re
currei frequently since the recent dis