The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-10-09

the bat. The extremely delicate nature of the
oat WINGS together with the sensitiveness of
its si&th sense contained in its delicate face
nerves enables the bat to Judge the distance Of
any object by the lapse of time between the send.
ing out and the receiving of the waves 1t is
this exceptional mechanism, and not any faculty
or seeing In the dark which enables the bat to
fly unerringly without the least light to guide it,
This was proved hundred years ago by the Able
SpallanZani, who made experiments by blottng
out the eyes of bats with red hot irons and found
that they got along just as we'll without eyes as
with them Other experiments, without cruelty,
may be made to show the same thing
We all know that if capture wild bird and
liberate 1t in large room with closed windows,
1t makes wild and furious rush for what it's
senses tell 1t is an opening through which IL can
escape It's eyes do not reveal the presence of
the glass, and the result is broken neck.
bat liberated under similar circumstances makes
the same dash for freedom. The tapping of its
wings, however, brings its sixth into action
and it perceives that it is face to face with
a solid wall and stops short before II touches
the glass
Sir Hiram proposes to apply this sixth sense to
seagoing vessels. His apparatus will produce at
mospherc vibrations OF about the same frequency
as those produced by the bat, but of energy at
least three hundred thousand times as great
These will not be audible but they will travel
at least twenty miles, that they could be re-
ceived and recorded by suitable apparatus at
that distance and would be able to travel at least
fve miles and return back to the ship reflected
echo that would be strong enough to be detected
In describing his invention, Sir Hiram states
that il might be considered an artificial ear. The
apparatus Is provided with a large diaphragm
tightly drawn a drum-shaped cylinder, ana
SO arranged that the atmospheric pressure Is al
ways the same on both sides, quite irrespective
of any air blast. 1t is therefore always able to
vibrate freely in response to the of the
echo. and its vibrations are made to open and
close certain electrical circuits which ring Sc
ries of bells OF various sizes IT. for example the
object Is very small or at very great distance
from the shin very small bell rings, while
large object at a distance OF two miles would
ring a larger bell, and very large object
stl larger bell. The apparatus gives an audible
notice II anything Is ahead of the ship.
Another apparatus, similar to the first, is pro-
yided but instead OF ringing bell II produces
diagram of the disturbances In the air-that is,
| when there is no noise except that due to the
action OF the ship or the sea waves wavy line
IS produced on paper but whenever the vibrations
! sent out by the vibrator strike object and re-
turn the wavy line on the paper becomes very
| much increased in amplitude. as to be easily
observed and the distance that the object Is from
the ship can be measured by the length OF the
paper strip between the giving on OF the vibra-
tions and the receiving OF the echo. In this way
the distance of the object can be determined with
a considerable degree Of accuracy. and the size
OF the object may be determined by the amplitude
OF the waves that return.
The apparatus for producing the atmospheric
vibrations should be placed well forward on the
main deck In any other position where 1t can