Amador ledger., 1910-02-18

MISCELLANY
Reported weekly for the Ledger.

Heart Beats Recorded by Flame-Electro-
Pneumatic Library Service-Fish
Flight-The Most Fluorescent Material
Hardening Stone-Lava Products
Aluminium Fabrics-Moving Pictures
in Colors-Electrict in Rain.
Modifying the pressure-measuring
flames of Koenig, Prof. X. Marbe, of
the Academy of Frankfort on the Main,
registers in simple way various kinds
OF intermittent vibrations, such as
speech, alternating currents, and ex-
pecially the beats Of the heart. A naked
flame produces rings of smoke on a
moving paper ribbon just over it, the
rings varying with tine vibrations OF the
flame, and the rate of vibration may be
registered by using two flames. For
recording heart-beats, a rubber men,
brane stretched on ring is placed over
the heart, and the pulse vibrations are
transmitted through tube on moving
paper ribbon just over it, the rings
varying with the vibrations of the flame,
and the rate of vibration may be regis
tered by using two flames. For record
ing heart-beats, rubber membrane
stretched on ring is placed over the
norf nd fhn ntIc
transmitted through tube of gas to the
tlame. Turning crank feeds paper
ribbon through the flame. The vibra-
tions are indicated on the ribbon, and
at one side second flame, oscillated
by an eletric tuningfork of 100 vibra-
tions per second makes second row of
tracings. Comparing the two strips of
blackened images thus made side by
side, the lengths and intervals Of heart
sounds may be determined to fractions
of about ne-hundreth of second.
In the Berlin Royal library, which
has adopted an electro o-pneumatic system
of distribution, the reader names on a
slip the book wanted, an attendant adds
the extact location, and pneumatic
tube takes the slip to the central office.
From this office pneumatic tubes lead to
the different floors. There are also
small electric elevators operated by
push h-button, and large elevator passing
through all floors to carry persons and
| be fhn- "a. he cI; ;e
forwarded by pneumatic tube to the pro-
per floor. The book is found by an at
tendant taken to the elevator, carried
to the central Office, and from there sent
! to the point from which the slip is
started.
A flying fish III inches ong, which
landed 20 feet above water on the deck
of steamer near Teneritfe, was pro-
nounced one of the largest. The longest
flight the authority had seen was about
200 yards.
A beautiful red fuorescence, exceeding
any hitherto known, has heen obtained
by M. Paul Gilbert, French chemist,
in new substance from physostigmine,
the bownish-yellow alkaloid of the
Calabar bean. Hitherto fluoresceine, a
coal tar product, has been by far the
most brilliant OF the numerous materials
having this curious light-changing pro-
perty. The new substance was dis
covered in an investigation of the arti-
fetal coloring of crystals, and is pro-
duced by allowing the aqueous solution
of physostigmine to stand several
months until it becomes dark blue,
when the addition of hydrated phthalic
acid gives the blood-red color due tc
fluorescence. The crystals of the new
substance are dark blue. They do moi
give fluorescence to silk, cotton, alcohol
or ether, which are simply colored dark
blue but the solution in water-ever
when very weak-has remarkable tluores-
cence, weak solution showing light
blue by direct light but deep ruby-red
by reflected rays.
BY new methods, soft sandstone OF
limestone. or even mortar or concrete,
is made hard and impermeable to g
depth of half inch or so, and after
treatment can be polished and cut. This
makes it practicable to use soft and
easily worked stones where the hard
material is needed, as in tanks, pave
ments, etc. In one process, the surface
of the stone is first thoroughly cleaned,
cavities are filled with cement mortar
tempered with water-glass solution, the
wnuis is then saturated with a solu-