Evening star., 1914-07-12

oA1u5e WoiA. yet made either by
the government or by any private corpo-
ration. This will be the test on one Of the
huge steel latticework columns which is
the standard used for bridge construc-
ton by the New York Central railroad.
The test will start Friday morning.
This column which is the most sub
stantially constructed piece of steelwork
which has been tested by the govern
ment. is thirty feet long. with diam
eter of twenty-five inches in one direc-
weighs approximately 1000 pounds and is
built of heavy latticework. held together
with stout bolts and is reinforced with
heavy plates and steel diaphragms. 1t Is
built to stand about 10000 pounds pres
sure to the square inch.
The purpose Of testing the huge COL
umn will be to find out its exact breaking
strength, so that in the building Of
bridges in the future there may be avail
able absolutely accurate information with
which the engineers will have to go upon.
The demand for safety in bridge con-
struction Is becoming more insistent every
year, and the engineers tables of strength
of steel columns do not always include
accurate data on many of the newer
types of steel columns and girders.
The machine in which the 1000 pound
steel column will be tested next Friday
is perhaps the most unique instrument to
be found in the equipment of the United
States bureau of standards. In appear
ancs 1t renipds one of a huge building
Jack resting in a horizontal position. The
material to be tested is placed between
two heavy steel Jaws Of this Jack. the
movements Of which are regulated by two
tremendous steel screws which are thr-
ty-f1ve feet long and twelve inches in di-
ameter. This large testing machine.
which has power of compression
amounting to 2,3OO.OOO pounds. also has a
pulling power of 1.15OO0O pounds
1t is expected that the large steel COL
umn to be tested during the coming
week will require pressure Of more than
100000 pounds before It shows signs of
bending. This pressure will be registered
by a device which will show to the
smallest fraction of pound the compress
sion strength of the steel. This machine
is so delicately adjusted that Immediate
ly after the test Of the huge steel col
umn is made the Jaws could be regu-
lated to compress globe of the thinnest
glass and register the strength of this
glass as accurately as the strength of
the steel is tested
This machine was built at cost Of $780,
900 and Is the largest of the kind in the
world. The government has one larger
testing machine of an entirely different
character at Pittsburgh. 1t has a capac-
ity of about 100000 pounds, being de-
signed for rougher kind of work and
is arranged for vertical tests. whereas
the machine in Washington is Of the
horizontal type and Is for pulling COM
preston tests of steel and other mate
rails. and 1t is perhaps more accurately
adjusted than any other testing machine,
large or small.
when ls barrel not a barrel?" II
will interest the average person who is
not familiar with the incon-
Apple sistencies of the laws passed
p,-r.1 by Congress to know that the
answer to this puzzling ques-
ton is that a barrel may not be a barrel
measure when 1t contains any other dry
commodity than apples. Although the
apple barrel is measure fixed by law
there Is a defect in the law because the
adoption of the standard is not made