White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-08-13
| Machines That Are
Almost Human
BY E. C. TAYL O r
The Therrnostat

| hNE or the most remarkable rODOIS
~ yet produced by scientists has
stood guard for many years over the
enormously valuable library of the
pope in the Vatican at Vatican city,
Italy.
1t protects the unreplaceable books,
documents and other treasures from
the ravages of the weather and Of
time. 1t is on the job twenty-four
hours every day, and since 1t first was
| given its instructions and put to work.
it has performed its duties without
once breaking down or calling for out
side help.
The heart of this robot is thermo-
stat, device that is highly sensitive
to heat and humidity. 1t automatical-
ly controls the humidity and tempera-
ture in the pope's library and it has
halted the deterioration that Rome's
extreme weather had worked on the
priceless books for centuries.
Rome is either very dry or very
humid, very hot or extremely cold.
These sudden changes and wide
ranges of humidity and temperature
were causing the library to crumble
into dust.
The robot is set at the exact tenn
perature and humidity that is best for
the library, and when the humidity or
temperature reaches beyond that point
either way, the thermostat starts
weather machine" that quickly brings
the temperature and humidity back to
where they should be.
The thermostat measures heat and
cold and Is highly sensitive to mois-
ture in the air. It trips other machin-
cry into action. In thousands of eel.
lars throughout the country 1t Is stand
ing guard over the furnace, manipu-
lating hampers and drafts to increase
or diminish the heat as 1t is instructed
to do. It has replaced thousands Of
men from watching boiling caldrons
or watts.
The thermostat Is used to turn on
the monograph, washing machine,
electric lights, and perform many
tasks heretofore intrusted only to hui
man beings.
The principle of the thermostat is
used in the thousands of automatic re-
frlgerators that have been installed in
homes and that are used by food-pack-
ing plants.
A thermostat robot signals men in
New York city to turn on the street
lights when the city is about to be
darkened by storm.
The device Is On the roof Of build
ing where the street light controls are
located. When an electrical storm is
approaching the robot rings a bell to
warn the operators to notify the
electric generating stations to increase
the power over the network of electric
lines that carry current throughout
the city.
This Is done whenever sudden
storm brings on premature darkness,
calling for more light than Is ordinar-
lily used
new development Of the thermostat
tells builders If their lumber is prop
erly seasoned. 1t operates on the
principle that the electrical conductiv-
| tty of wood varies with it's moisture
content. Green wood or wood that is
| not properly seasoned has more mos-
| ture than properly seasoned lumber
| The device consists Of simple in
| dicator and two contact points and
dial. The needle on the dial is set to
show the range Of moisture content
that would be acceptable for the quail
ity of lumber desired for the building
operation. If the needle is DETECTED
off the scale for which it is set when
the test Is made there Is too much
moisture in the wood.
The device also Is used by painters
to determine If house or other build
Ing can be painted after a rainstorm.
1t shows whether the wood is too
damp to hold the paint.
The thermostat robot has peculiar
use in keeping billiard balls alive.
Ivory billiard balls "catch cold" when
subjected to temperature of so de-
grees for only few minutes, and their
life Is greatly shortened. They can
live only three months after Catching
cold"
The life Of ivory billiard balls is five
times as long If they are kept in
temperature Of 10 degrees than If they
are forced to live in a temperature of
60 degrees.
TO- 1881. Western Newspaper Union)