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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 14

Science Cleanings

page 338

Science Cleanings.

Professor Scheibler, of Berlin, has invented a process for the production of phosphoric acid from the slag made in the Thomas Gilchrist method. The slag, having been roasted in an oxidzing flame, is pulverized and sifted. The powder is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and the solution saturated with lime-water. The resulting product contains from 35 to 37 per cent, of phosphoric acid in the form of bibasic phosphate of lime, and a second roasting yields a substance in which the content of phosphoric acid is as high as 45 per cent.

A Description is given in the English Mechanic of what appears to be a novel electric bell. The battery is contained in a cylinder of brass, inside which the line wire can be coiled by turning a little winch handle, and the gong is carried at one end of the brass case, serving as a cover for the magnet, etc. The case is provided with legs, so that the arrangement can be placed in a horizontal position, and there is also a ring, which enables it to be suspended wherever it may be desired. The outside dimensions of the whole apparatus are six inches by four inches.

One of the best electric light systems was recently introduced into the Court Theatre at Stuttgart. Quite unexpectedly the orchestra immediately showed signs that they disapproved of the new means of illumination, and they have petitioned the management to restore the old oil lamps. The orchestra state that the brilliancy of the electric lights has an unpleasant effect upon the nerves, and that it has become difficult to follow the baton of the conductor. To ascertain whether there may not be something substantial in these alleged grievances a committee of occulists and disinterested musicians have been officially appointed.

Two grand engineering schemes, fraught with far-reaching social and political influences of much greater consequences than those which appear on the surface, are attracting attention in Europe at present. The one is the proposed railway tunnel, through the Pyrenees, the convention for which has been signed by the Franco-Spanish International Railway Commission. The other is for the formation of a company to construct an international railway connecting Europe with Persia, India, Burmah, and China.

In a glassworks near Paris air stored under pressure supersedes blowing by the mouth, except in a few cases. Some such recourse has been a desideratum. Glass blowers are very susceptible to various diseases of the lips and cheeks, besides being peculiarly pre-disposed to tumors and rupture. Boys employed at an age when their growth is still rapid, and the general system weak, are frequently permanently injured by their efforts in glass blowing. But it has been found far from easy to make mechanical take the place of natural means in this art.

An Electrical Novelty.—One of the electrical comicalities, says the Scientific American, of the Philadelphia Exhibition was the illuminated coloured gentleman who politely distributed cards to astonished visitors. The Edison Company conceived the idea of so locating one of their lamps that it could be seen by all, and to do this most effectually, they placed it upou a helmet surmounting the head of the coloured party. Two wires led from the lamp under his jacket, down each leg, and terminated in copper discs fastened to his boot heels. Squares of copper of a suitable size for him to stand naturally upon were placed at intervals in the floor, and were electrically connected with the dynamo. So, with each heel in contact with a plate, he was enabled to make and break the circuit leading to his lamp, the movement required being so slight as not to attract attention; and his hands being free to handle the cards. Many nervous persons were startled by the sudden flashing of the light and so great were the crowds that continually surrounded this individual that he was frequently obliged to change his quarters in order to keep the passages open. As a further improvement it was the intention to place copper strips under a carpet and provide the heels with sharp points, so that each step would be illuminated. This simple exhibition led many folks from the rural districts to enquire as to the cost of such an appliance, as it was just the thing they wanted "to carry around the house."