The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-07-02
HOW NATURE YIELDS POWER.
Suns Rays, Waterfalls, Tides, Wind
and Jnmined Coal as Source.

Ies of nature are now exploited in Or
der to provide power for machinery
necessary for various human activl-
tiles. Such apparatus is especially ia
lvored by engineers, for not only can
enormous power be obtained but the
running expenses are extremely low.
One of the most ingenious OF these
inventions is that which obtains pow
er from the rays of the sun. The ap-
paratus is at work in Egypt, where 1t
pumps up water on to high levels in
thousands of gallons.
This novel device consists of num-
her OF rejecting mirrors which con-
Icentrate the rays of the sun on to
glass covered trough containing wat
er. In a short space OF time this
water becomes sufficiently heated by
the reflection from the mirrors to give
off steam, which passes into a pipe to
an engine of the usual steam variety.
When some 80 or 40 of these heat
ling boxes are boiling water by means
of the suns heat sufficient steam IS
obtained to keep a powerful pumping
engine at work with a minimum of
expense.
Some idea of the enormous power
which the sun machine conveys to the
engine can be guaged by the fact that
5000 gallons of water can be lifted
40 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 pur-
1poses.
Many great waterfalls are now har-
messed in such a fashion, two of the
most noted being the falls of the
Rhine and those of Niagara. The
machinery used to obtain power from
these great products of nature is
somewhat complicated, but roughly
speaking huge pipes divert tons OF
water from the rapids just above the
fall. The trapped water is then al
lowed to fall some hundreds of feet
and the force of the fall produces
enormous power The falls of Niagara
are made to produce little short Of
| 1 n00 o00 horcoDouor
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 a
number of clefts in the cliffs are
CONSTRUCTED or those of nature espe-
cially adapted. The water runs far
into the openings at high tide and by
means of pipes is trapped into huge
reservoir. When the tide falls hun
dreds of gallons of water are thus
left behind. Being on a high level
it is then comparatively simple mat
tensto 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 windmills, but these
machines are very different from the
Id types of mill with its four big sails.
The modern windmill is a scientifical-
/ ly constructed apparatus, the driving
CONSTRUCTED apparatus, the driving
force consisting Of wheel containing
number of steel blades, placed at
such an angle that they respond to
every puff of wind. So delicate is the
Iconstruction of these instruments that
even a moderate breeze will whirl the
large wheel around at many hundred
revolutions a minute. This motion
acts on shaft which provides power
for electric dynamos below. These
machines are used mostly in coast
towns or those situated on high levels,
where wind blows more or less con-
lstant.
One of the most ingenious projects
flor harnessing the forces of nature
lis that conceived by Sir William RAM
say, and despite its daring nature it
| hSs been we'll received in high scien-
Itific circles. His plan is to take the
heat of the earth's interior by means
of huge bore holes. These shafts
would be sunk deep into the earth, so
that they penetrated into large coal
seams. By means Of electricity this
coal would be fired until it burned
like some powerful internal furnace.
By means of pipes the gas given off
by this burning coal would be con-
veyed to the surface and in various
ways utilized for power purposes.
The advantage of this scheme is that
power could be derived from coal as
/ il Law in its natural element and the