New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-04
Scientist Thinks Powerful Apparatus Can Be Con-
struced Which Will Enable Steamships Discover, Certain
Winged FIutterers of the Night d. the Approach
of Any Dangerous Unseen Object.

|, During the last century" continues
Sir Hiram, several others have expert
mented with a view OF asccrtaining the
manner In which bats are able 70 detect
objects in their vicinity without the use
Of eyes.
1T was believed by many that they
| had an unknown organ which enabled
! them TO find their way about In the dark
est places without the use Of either eyes
! or ears. and il was believed that this
/ unknown organ was situated In the head.
! "All OF these experimenters are fully
agreed that the bat does POSSESS what
might very properly be called sixth
sense.
7 Let US see now what takes place. and
what II Is that enables the bat To- ~
about through all manner OF onstructions
without touching anything. after the man
ner Of "a swallow. What enables ii TO
! pursue q fly or a beetle in a degree OF
| darkness which renders eyes useless?
an the bats that feed on swiftly flying
insects, we find that this small organ IS
about the shape and size OF the wing OF
| the insect on which II feeds. The beat
of the insects wings is communicated to
this organ and enables the bat to follow
the insect and seize it without seeing 1t.
This is very simple and easily UNDER
stood, because the Insect itself produces
certain atmospheric vibrations TO which
the little leaves in front o! the bats ear
respond, hut when we come to inanimate
things that give off no vibrations OF
themselves, how does the bat know OF
their presence? How Is it able to Judge
OF their character?
1T has already been shown that tho
wings Of the bat are extremely sensitive
and very well provided with nerves. aud
the same is true Of the various organs on
tho face; Of course, all OF these arc Init
mately connected with each other. and
also with the brain OF the bat. When
bat flies about In total darkness the beat
Of its wings sends out a series Of pulsa-
tons or waves, after the manner Of sound
waves. but of too low a frequency 10 be
considered as sound.
These waves strike against all sur
rounding objects, and, like sound or light
are reflected back to their source OF orr
gin. The wings send out the vibrations
or impulses. and they are reflected hack
and received by the sensitive organs
which form a part of the face of the lat.
THE extremely delicate nature OF the
bats wings. together with the sensitive
ness OF it's organ Of the sixth sense. ena-
bles IT to judge the distance to any object
by the lapse Of time between the sending
out and the receiving of the waves. be-
cause IL takes some time some fractional
part OF second. for a wave to travel
from the bats wings to the object and
return to the bats face.
ANY one who has made o study OF
heat light and sound and is familiar with
the experiments Of Professor Tyndall
must be struck with the similarity of the
laws that govern these three forms CT
energy.
IF the atmosphere is very clear the
searchght will reveal objects ut a con-
siderable distance. In this case let us
see what takes place. The carbons In the
lamp become intensely heated and send
off certain very rapid waves In the ether.
These travel with a marvellous rapidly,
strike the object, become modified 10
some extent, and a portion Of them re-
turns and enables us to distinguish the
object