The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-01-31
SCIENTIFIC, ELECTRICAL
AND OTHERWISE.

AND OTHERWISE.
Amundsen's proposed North Polar
journey has been postponed for a
year, at the suggestion of the Nor
wegian government, seconded by
Prof. Nansen, in order to give the
staff more time for thorough train
ing in oceanography, the subject to
which the expedition will devote
principal attention. Captain Am
undsen is to be presented with a
gold medal for his discovery of the
South Pole, at the annual banquet
of the National Geographic Society,
in Washington.
New York Erects Twelve Thous-
and NOTWITHSTANDING the past year
some twelve thousand structures of
various kinds were erected in New
York. Were they all dwellings for
single families, the sum of $207,-
100000 expended would furnish suf-
fcient homes for a city of about
$4,000 people. In Manhattan the
sum of over 100000 was in
vested in the construction of build
ings. During the year, over $780,
! 100000 was expended on office
buildings alone.
At Meadi, a suburb of Cairo, is a
Suu- plduI Vi uuuSudl lul6I6SJ.
1t consists of five reflectors, each
| 204 feet long, whose cross-section
is in the form of a parabola, with
the generator units at the focus.
The last-named are of zinc, built of
rectangular sections IA inches wide.
To render them efficient, they are
painted with a black paint of high
| heat-absorbing capacity. The water
| is introduced at the lower end and
the generator at it's upper end is
| provided with steam connection
4 inches in diameter. The reflectors
are lined with silvered glass mirrors.
| The plant works best at a pressure
| slightly below the atmosphere.
| Twenty-seven Years Progress in
Incandescent Lighting-An English
electrical magazine publishes an in
teresting diagram showing the pro-
gressive reductions in the cost of the
| incandescent electric light which
have taken place since 1885. The
improvement has been twofold: in
the increasing efficiency and life of
! the lamp, and in the reduction in
| the cost of current. 1t is probably
not realized by the average consumer
of electricity that whereas the first
carbon filament lamps, supplied with
| energy at about 25 cents per unit
and consuming watts per (British)
| candle-power, gave only 200 candle
| hours for 25 cents, with the best
type of drawn-wire tungsten filament
lamp today, supplied with energy at
s cents per unit and consuming "A
watts per candle-power, the same
sum of money gives 2,400 candle
hours.
The Essential Feature of the Die
sci Engine-In the course of a paper
recently read by him at Berlin, DR..
Diesel denied that the essential feat
ure of the Diesel process was the
auto-ignition of the fuel. He stated
that motors in which the auto-igni-
ton of the fuel took place were in
use before the Diesel process came
into being; indeed, he had never
laid a claim to auto-ignition in any
of his patents. What he was aiming
at was a process in which heat was
utilized to the highest possible ex-
tent, and auto-ignition became en-
bodied in the process incidentally
during the evolution of the design.
" The height of compression" said
DR.. Diesel, " was not determined by
the ignition limits of the fuel, but
solely by the endeavor to obtain the
highest possible figure for economi-
cal fuel utilization"
Blackening Tan Leather To
blacken tan leather it should be first
rubbed with ten per cent. solution
of tannic acid. Let this solution dry
thoroughly, when ten per cent So
luton or iron sulphate should be ap-
piled. This gives an intense black,
| is easily applied and is harmless to
the operator.
Artificial Sponger of Paper
When paper pulp is treated with zinc
chloride there results a viscous mass
Sodium chloride Cor ordinary table
salt) is added to this; the mass is
then thoroughly rinsed with alcohol
and is finally submitted to the action
of press whose platform bristles
with a number of fine metallic points
or projections. These penetrate the
mass, forming tubes like those in an
ordinary sponge known as canali-
cules."
The block thus obtained is of 6
spongy consistency and is both in
soluble and unalterable in water
1t is smooth and pleasant to the
touch, and is not susceptible of put
refaction. 1t is a very ingenious
employment of the cellulose to which
we owe so much.
Removing Iodine Stains-To re
move iodine stains from bacteria
logical instruments or the hands {
strong solution of hypo sulphite o
soda is good and effective. The so
luton should be quite strong, ant
after its application the solution
should be rinsed off with warm wa
ter, and the stained article drieC
we'll.