The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-09-14

Il love you,' breathes the young
man, Il want you to be my wife; l
love you"
Just moment, please" replies
little Miss Practical, whose father is
worth millions, and, reaching up be-
hind the sofa she unhooks from its
place on the wall a queer little instru-
ment. 1t is shaped something like
a telephone receiver to which are at
tached wires leading into the next
room. She places the instrument over
the young mans heart.
Now repeat that last phrase, y she
says. clicking a tiny switch.
The bewildered sutton again de-
clares that he adores her only for
what she is and that papa's money
has nothing whatever to with the
state of his affections.
"All right" says the girl, come
around tomorrow and I'll know bet
ter what to say to you
And when he has departed little
Miss Practical repairs to her labora-
tory to complete her scientific expert
ment.
The foregoing is, of course, alb
surd. nevertheless well within the
range of possibility. For science has
brought to the fore a machine which
detects and photographs human emo
tions.
For lack of a more descriptive name
this latest monster of mechanical
achievement is being called string
galvanometer." For weeks they have
been experimenting with it up in the
College of Physicians ana Surgeons
in New York city.
Briefly described the machine
works in this way:
An ordinary stereopticon lamp
shoots abeam of light through tube
to the galVanometer at distance OF
about three feet. This beam is regu-
larly interrupted by a shutter wheel
governed by remarkably accurate
clock work. The shutter is divided
by five apertures and complete rev.
oIution occurs once every second. Be
tween the poles of the galyanOmeter
is stretched a thread of fused quartz
silver plated and only thousandth
of a millimeter in chamberlain too
minute to be seen with the naked
eye.
In the action of this thread lies the
basic principle of the mechanism.
The heart of the subject is directly
connected with the poles of the gal
vanometer of wires and its pulsations
create a faint electric current which
vibrates the filament. These Yibra-
tions enormously magnified are pro-
iected by the beam of light on to
highly sensitized Photographic plate
moving in unison with the shutter
wheel, and there recorded in the form
of zig-zag lines.
1t is with a view of forming ba-
sis for interpreting these records that
the present experiments are oelng
conducted. The enormous usefulness
to which a machine of this kind may
be put can only be conJectured. 10
medical science it will undoubtedly
be the greatest boon. Pulmonary al
fections which have hitherto banned
diagnosis will be brought to terms by
its use. Even mental disorders, 1t IS
claimed, may be more easily under
stood when the galvanometer is
brought to bear on them.
In the field of criminal inVestga-
ton. too, the usefulness of this ma
chine can readily be imagined. Al
ready the fctionist has thought OF
such a possibility. In a recent story
a man suspected of murder was
brought to justice by the peculiar
chickering's of his heart record al
though he denied his guilt with the
most perfect outward composure.
Have you ever been in love? DO
you remember the wild beating OF