El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-13
BIG GUN FIRING
DTS EFFECT
Some Facts Discussed as a
Result of Bombard-
ment of Paris.

mlLLeuLly- am not specifying. for
the benefit Of the enemy. further as to
! exact number Of effective shots.
It seems TO be the practice Of the
I Germans TO make a grand stroke with
I their artillery in order that a great
/ effect may be made on the allies and
/ the neutrals and afterwards to con
unue with less shots, hoping thus TO
incommode public life and to wear
! people out little by little
! Nothing Of this happens. Apart
I from the various decorations with
which they ornament the windows and
! doors. the appearance Of Paris has
D not changed. The traffic is going on
/ I'm the same intense way; at the accus-
I toned hour the open air cafes and
coffee houses are full After a mo-
meut of commotion, easy 20 under
I stand. one quickly realizes that. with
! the monster cannon, as with the
! Goths the normal percentage Of VIC
Tins is very small This monster
piece Of artillery is not more danger
Gus than the howitzers Of 1870; Il
/ confirms at once most military opin-
/ ion that the bombardment Of cities
kill few people. The ParisiOn who is
afraid-and he is rare-knows that
there are other places where condl-
lions are much harder; and so the
] Partisan life goes on as usual
in the meantime discussions as to
I the gun are not wanting There are
/ calculations and observations, while
/ the explosions Of the projectiles be-
come more numerous
The Traiectoire or Curve.
Specialists are not wholly agreed
upon the path or curve OF the pro-
: jectiIe- Well he knows that IL is es-
ta5ushed by mathematical calcula-
tons nevertheless.
The essential data which determine
a curve are numerous, the angle OF
range the initial Velocity. the weight
and density Of the projectile. the
versed. the reach We know the reach
and more or less approximately the
weight and the density OF the bomb or
shell That is all The density OF the
air beyond ten Elometers remains a
mystery. Some Dlummets have re-
vealed the pressure and the tempera-
ture at about 10000 meters; we have
drawn reasonable conclusions for the
higher attitudes. but there is nothing
absolutely certain about It. At the
normal pressure Of 900 milimeters
and at the temperature OF Is degrees.
ltre OF air weighs 1 gramme 293
millimeters. We know that the weight
Of a body reduces itself half at $500
meters, q third at $780, a fourth At
Il. 600 It is thought that at 90 mill
meters there is about one-tenth OF
the normal weight but It is not GER
tain
Calculating Velocity.
IN order TO establish the curve OF
the proiectile It is necessary. to cal
culare in advance the initial velocity
capable m procure the reach that we
desire This velocity ought TO be more
or less great according to the angle OF
range and according TO the actual re-
sis-anCe Of the air in the unknown re-
Eiors above. One finds then that he
must introduce into his calculations
some variables or some empire coef1i- I
clients leaving a certain liberty OF
projectiles Thus the results obtained I
by two calculators OF equal knowl- I
edge. viii sometimes present differ Z
enccs always nevertheless. within rea-
sonaoIe limits
We hazard a doubt unon the utility
OF adonting an angle Of range higher /
than 40 or 43 degrees The scheme /
above explains under what conditions
il would be an ADVANTAGE 10 do IT. II ]
shows that the loss Of velocity re- I
sultiuE from a range nearer to a right 4
angle can be overcome by shortening I
thinner air and by increasing the an !
gle Of the curve.
Other Alternatives.
In suDposing an angle Of range Of 30 /
degrees and an initial velocity Of 4
about 1900 meters one gets new 4
curve nearing % kilometers- The
CELEBRITY at the height Of the parabOla 4
would be still in the neiEhborhood Of 7
500 meters. fThe value OF 400 meters I
indicated previously for height Of I
30 lli10meters and an initial velocity 4
Of 400 meters. has been found too I
small by halE)
An article in the Vossiche ZeitunE, ]
signed by Cen Rohne. one Of Ger I
many's most famous military writers /
gives the following figures
Initial velocity 1850 meters; height ]
Of parabola. above % kilometers; I
lenEth Of course, Is In 8 minutes
These figures approach our own i
The initial velocity is likewise ap-
proXimately equal to that indicated IN I
the previous number CL4O0m). One /
does not care. perhaps. to draw any /
conclusions from the coincidence The :
German papers publish other figures ]
plainly false and we can explain II !
only by concluding that they are try
ing 10 confuse US by giving inexact /
figures
Pressure Ter shot.
The greatest pressure used NJ 10 4
this time IN the French artillery /
reaches about 1000 kilos per square ]
centimeter. Nevertheless the machines 4
are constructed to resist easily a great 4
pressure in case Of an accidental over
pressure It is shown that in dimin- I
ishinE the rate Of security. one can 4
increase the pressure from the broad 1
side. so to speak. and consequently /
the initial velocity.
On the other hand the muzzle and .
fore part Of the gun is constructed so /
that the greatest pressure is pro-
duced when the projectile has accom-
plished only certain distance ]
through the bore or inner tube. The /
highest pressure is thus supported by I
that part Of the barrel which is the 4
strongest
There is no reason why we should /
not use an Increasingly powerful gun ]
powder which develops its greatest I
power near the muzzle; provided al I
ways that the barrel and the breech I
are constructed with great power Of I
resistance. II results in a heavy /
weight and a complicated construc- I
tions, but results are obtained.
The Profectilc.
The new explosives used have made /
! Cocoanut Oil Fine