The New York herald., 1921-01-23

spersed with difficult scientific terms, in
spite Of his evident desire to avoid them
for the sake of giving popular understand
ing of the subject, here is what the inven-
ton is:
First of all, it enables a scientist to meas
ure the amount Of heat received from the
stars by an operation as simple to him as
measuring a board with an ordinary rule
is to a carpenter. Not all Of the heat, to be
sure, for there are various obstructions that
enter into the matter, such atmospheric
interference, cross currents of electricity,
the difficulty of securing a perfect vacuum
in which to work and the matter of several
millions or billions of miles intervening be-
tween the star under observation and the
earth, which prevent complete accuracy and
likewise complete simplicity But it is SIM
pie to a scientist.
The instrument by which this Is done is
"thermocouple." To the layman 1t looks
like pipe made of glass. The bowl of the
pipe is fiat, however, with a circle i'm the
centre that Is transparent Looking through
this circle, which is about the size of dollar,
one sees four tiny dots. about the size of
pinhead, arranged in the form of a square.
Tiny almost invisible wires, one made of
platinum and the other of bismuth, meet at
each of these dots. forming a geometrical
figure suggesting a spiders web These dots
and the spiders web sre probably the most
important features of the discovery made by
Dr. Coblentz and are the work of his own
hands done in his laboratory.
Process of Measuring Stars With
Flash of Light From Star
Connected with these wires are other
wires which in turn are connected with
scale, spaced at intervals, carpenters
rule is spaced, and marked with numerals
Wh oh Cprd ha ma ,apt 70 he, 40
Before 1t will function this entire instru-
ment Is placed In the barrel OF an astronom-
cal telescope, between the small lens next to
the eye Of the observer and the large convex
lens nearest the star or other heavenly body
10 be observed.
The process of measuring the heat begins
when the light from the star flashes from
the heavens through the telescope, passing
through the bowl of the pipe" or, to be
mere scientific. passes through the wires of
the "thermocouple' and the four black dots.
III accordance with scientific laws the pass
age of this light from the star into the tele
scope and through the wires OF the "thermo-
couple" generates electricity
The current set in motion energizes the
larger wires connected with the scale and
causes a point of light to pass along the
scale to a certain point, where IL comes to
rest The numerals and spaces revealed by
the light. are the indicators" of the amount
Of heat from the star, or at least the accu-
rate basis for determining that heat through
mathematical computations simple as A c
Ito scientists like DR.. Cobentz.
There are many other features connected
with the instrument that for popular under
standing IL Is perhaps unnecessary to ex-
plain said DR.. Coblentz For instance,
what you call the end of the pipe is a glass
tube containing a vacuum, or space freed
r.-Il. H..
presence OF air interferes with accurate
measurements of heat from the stars.
THE materials used are of the smallest
workable dimensions in order to reduce the
heat capacity. In fact, the high radiation
sensivity attained was found to depend more
upon low heat capacity and low heat con-
ductivity than upon a high thermo-electric
power of the attachment used"
The experiments in measuring star heat