Evening star., 1924-03-23


given an unprecedented and
infallible arbiter. free from
all errors of human vision or impress
sions.
An eXtra-human judge will sit be-
side the judges to relieve and to
guarantee them against human weak
ness and doubt. Accepted or not as
official judge by the nations, there
will be a witness whose last word il
will be hard to gainsay in all the
numerous events which carry COL
lective finish or arrival. such as all
foot races, rowing regattas. swim
ming, riding, cycling. etc.
In word. in Paris at this moment
they are applying to such collective
finishes the we'll known Sips Bran
ger to-electric- Photographic ap-
paratus, currently used to judge
horse races in Belgium and France.
BY this apparatus Olympic winners
will automatically photograph and
time themselves without their knowi-
edge at the very instant of the fin
ish, to the Tooth of a second. and
leave a permanent picture of their
winning even by a nose.
As in horse racing. the camera will
be infafible arbiter. Will the nations
accept it? Will it wound the self
esteem of judges by the very fact
that frees them from all doubt and
criticism?
The judge of a, horse race (other-
| wise) must rely on his vision. He
| must decide the results from a mt
mentary impression on 'he retina OF
the eye. ollie has very difficult task
| by impression and memory and is
apt to make mistakes, although for
| the sake of order his decision is final.
I. = =
TN Belgium. back in 1910, they al
ready considered this a primitive
! method. That year the Belgian rae
! ing societies adopted an autophoto-
graphic system invented by VI. Sips.
! This system, improved and extended
| by NJ. Rranger. press photographer of
! Paris. has been in operation at Mai
| sons-Iafitte. on the race track there,
! lust outside the capital. since last
| September. and II Iongchamps since
1
II will soon be in use. no doubt. on
al French race courses.
NJ. Sips began by stretching across
! the track. at the height OF about
four feet corresponding TO horses
hreast) cotton thread Of the color
Of grass, capable Of supporting "a
progressive tension of nine kilograms,
but breaking at the least shock.
Twisted around q small wheel
placed on one side Of the track, the
thread ends. on the other side. in an
.iectric contact formed of two fex-
bile plates separated by less than
L millimeter The moment it is
touched by the breast of a horse it
suffers (before breaking) an excess
If tension causing contact and pro-
ducing an electric current, which,
through the medium OF an electric
magnet, releases the shutter Of a
Photographic apparatus.
The thread is placed at four feet
ten inches in front OF the finishing
ire (this. at least. is the distance
adopted. after many experiments. at
Maisons-Lafitte. but is, Of course,
being exactly restudied for the va
rious Olympic courses, which are
not horse races). In this way the
photograph registers the exact mo-
ment when the horses nose appears
in line with the winning post.
NJ. Branger has added many nota-
Die improvements to this method.
To assure clear photographs on a wide
track he places two Photographic
posts. at a height OF twenty-three to
twenty six feet, one on top Of the
Judges box, the other on the oppo-
site SIDE at the winning post.
x = (; ::
zach photographic post contains a
l. group of three convergent cam
eras, so disposed that a thread
stretched vertically a little in front
If the focal center of the glass screen
(aH1. consequently, of the sensitive
plate) is in line with the judges view
and the winning post. These two
lines, therefore. define precisely. on
the plate. the positions of the two
groups of cameras, which mutually
control one another.
One of the cameras in each group