The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1914-06-09
nature
Is HaFDeSSed In A Most
Ingenious Way
Man Secured Power By Heat
Of The Sun
By Waterfalls By The Tapping
Of The Tide

eS OF nature are now exploited In or
der to provide power for machinery
necessary for various human activi-
ties Such apparatus is especially fay.
ored by engineers, for not only can
enormous power be obtained but the
running expenses are extremely low.
One of the most ingenious of these in
ventions is that which obtains power
frofn the rays of the sun. The appar-
atus is at work in Egypt, where il
pumps up water onto high levels in
thousands of gallons.
This novel device consists of mum.
ber of rejecting mirrors which con-
centrate the rays of the sun onto
glass-covered trough containing water
In short space Of time this water
becomes sufficiently heated by the re-
fection from the mirrors to give of
steam, which passes into pipe to an
engine of the usual steam variety.
When some thirty or forty of these
heating boxes are boiling water by
means of the suns heat it is obvious
that sufficient steam power is obtained
to keep very powerful pumping en-
gne at work with minimum of ex-
pense.
Some idea of the enormous power
which the sun machine conveys to
the engine can be gagged by the fact
that 5000 gallons of water can be lifted
forty feet in one minute. In many in
genious ways water is now trapped by
means Of dams, gigantic reservoirs,
and great stretches Of piping and con
verted into power for various purpos-
es.
Many great waterfalls are now har-
messed in such fashion, two of the
most important being the falls of the
Rhine and those of Niagara. The ma
chinery used to obtain power from
these great products Of nature is some
what complicated, but, roughly speak
ing, huge pipes divert tons Of water
from the rapids just above the fall.
| This trapped water is then allowed to
fall some hundreds Of feet, and the
force Of it's fall PRODUCES enormous
power. The water drops down pipes
and shoots out in fierce jets from noz-
zles below.
Dozens of these powerful streams
impinge on water wheels connected
to shaft which is whirled around at
a furious speed, thsu providing the
force necessary to keep numerous cleo
trio dynamos continually at work. In
this fashion the falls of Niagara are
made to produce little short of 1,000,-
000-horse power. Still more ingenious
is another method Of producing power
from sea water by the rise and fall of
the tides. Portions of the coast where
high tides are the rule are chosen, and
number of clefts in the cliffs are
constructed or those of nature espec
tally adapted.
The water runs far up into these
openings at high tide, and by means
OF pipes is trapped into huge reser-
voir When the tide falls hundreds of
gallons of water are thus left behind.
Being on high level, it is then com
paratively simple matter to drop this
water by means of pipes to level
many feet below and utilize the power
thus obtained by the usual water jets
acting on specially constructed wheels.
Wind is still trapped and converted
into power by mindmills, but these
machines are very different from the
old type of mill with its four big sails.
The modern windmill is scientifical-
ly constructed apparatus, the driving
force consisting of a wheel containing
number of steel blades, placed at
such an angle that they respond to
every puff of wind.
So delicate is the construction of
these instruments that even a moder-
ate breeze will whirl the large whesl
around at many hundred revolutions q
minute. This motion acts on shaft
which provides power for electric dy-
namos below. These machines are
used mostly in coast towns or those
J situated on high levels, where wind
) blows more or less constantly
One of the most ingenious projects
: for Harvesting the forces of nature is
2 that conceived by Sir William Ram
say, and, despite its daring nature, It
; has been well received in high scientif-
ic circles. His plan is to take the heat
] of the earth's interio rby means of
: huge bore holes. These shafts would
: be sunk deep into the earth SO that
T they penetrated into large coal seams.
: BY means of electricity this coal would
be fred until it burned like some pow.
erful internal furnace. By means of
pipes the gas given off by this burning