Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-12-06
POWER IS DRAWN
FROM ATMOSPHERE
Motor at New York Show
Hints Vast Possibilities
for Industry.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

| Special DlSpdlIl4 w AAAC OLdA'
NEW YORK, December GA moor,
which is said to draw its power from the
surrounding atmosphere, is one of the
many new and important products
shown by 300 manufacturers of power
and mechanical equipment at the Ma
! tiCnal Power Show, which is in session
| here today and for the remainder of
| the week.
! The motor, a therodynamic device,
approaches perpetual motion in that it
uses no external supply of power, as did
! Claude'S sea- water thermal power plant
| Experimental with near Santiago, Cuba,
! a few years ago at cost of some mil
| liens of dollars.
This vacuum apor power plant uti1
! Lies the difference in temperature gen.
orally existing between the indication
| Of an ordinary thermometer and that
of wet bulb" thermometer. the bulb
OF which is kept wet by wick dipping
| into water.
The vapor turbine plant consists of a
boiler in which steam is generated by
| the heat of the surrounding atmos-
phere; a nozzle through which THU
steam Jets upon the buckets of a tuH-
| bine wheel mounted on jeweled bear
| ingS, and a condenser cooled by a wet
| ted wick The condensate returns to
! the boiler by gravity, as in mercury
boiler operation. In an ordinary atmos-
phere the turbine wheel will spin in
definitely so long as the wick is kept
moist.
Shows Possibilities.
This power plant is not put forward
as rival to steam turbines, oil en-
| gines or water wheels, and no stock
| is offered for sale. The company max
| ing it is an old Philadelphia steam
! speciality manufacturer, which has eX-
| hibited it to direct thought to the fact
! that there are unsupported scientific
| possibilities lying all about and await
| ing only study by alert inventors and
development by progressive indus
| trialiStS.
The keynote of the power show is
that there is still almost unlimited OPP
portunity for change and improvement
in the world of engineering.
Smoke is positive evidence of lost
dollars and cents" Thus Col Elliott
H. Whitlock of Stevens Institute of
Technology, New York, prefaced his re-
marks in explaining two of the most
| interesting machines dealing with at
mospheric pollution. One an auto
matte air filter, charts the smoke.
which, when compared with a standard
scale, shows the shade of smoke and
permits the calculation of dirt in cubic
miles.
The other machine, the only one of
its kind in the world, is an automatic
wind recorder. Taking the shade Of
dirt and the data given by the wind
! recorder, it is possible to measure where
the dirt on given locality has been
blown from and thus to go after the
offender
Smoke Reduced.
Stevens Institute has stations in this
city at the Battery and in Central Park.
Working with Hudson County, New
Jersey, the institute, through the CO.
operation of the railroads across the
Hudson from New York City, has great
ly reduced the volume of dirt in Man
haitian. The carriers through abating
smoke have uSefully burned up their
fuel, thus saving on coal bills.
OF interest to motorists is a new
bridge decking or open steel flooring for
bridges. This flooring, weighing Is
pounds to the square foot, is not only
light, but safe. An automobile tire
covers three of its evenly spaced run
ners, which, acting like rails, prevent
side Skidding and lessen forward skid
ding because the crimp waves in the
decking act like brakes on a car. The
flooring is especially suitable in North
ern climates because ice cannot STAY
on it, being knocked through the open
lattice-work by passing machines.
Colncident with this show is the
annual convention of the American So
clety OF Mechanical Engineers. About
1000 are attending this meeting.
Copyright, 1922