Latest Facts from Science, Mechanicsand Invention
Radio Tubes ith Power
to Run a Railroad Train
Jlow the Newly Perfected Mercury Arc Rectifier, a Giant
Steel Hive, Handles Tremendous
RADIO tubes capable of handling
the tremendous power required
to run a railroad train can be
left only to the imagination when one
tries to contrast with such huge nnd
| powerful devices the familiar radio
tube which is the heart of the home
receiving set. Had you been present,
however, at a recent demonstration of
the newly perfected mercury arc recti
fier, which took place in the labora
tories of the Wpstinghouse Electric and
Manufacturing Company, you probably
would have rubbed your eyes in won
der at one of science's newest and most
amazing developments. You would have
been astounded how almost unlimited
quantities of power could be. massed
in such a machine. Despite the fact
that it is 12,000,000 times as powerful
as the ordinary radio tube, two of these
great tanks handled enormous power in
absolute silence. Since there are no
moving parts to work loose or wear
out, oiling and replacements would
never be necessary.
Electric power usually comes over
transmission lines in the form of alter
nating current. For certain services it
must be changed to direct current. In
the new sectional form of the mercury
arc rectifier, both the efficiency and
economy of operation have been greatly
increased for this necessary process.
This sectional feature has many ad
vantages, according to the engineers.
It is like the fuse plugs in the home.
If one fails another can be substituted
in its place or service can be continued
without the faulty unit, just as seven
cylinders will drive an automobile after
a fouled spark plug has put one cylin
®der out of commission. The difference
is that the “giant radio tubes” main
tain an even flow of uninterrupted
electrical power. Each of the remain
ing “tubes” assumes a portion of the
load Hnd carries on without a pause
until a new “tube”, takes the place of
the ono that failed.
Each section is a steel tank, sur
rounded by a water jacket Every trare
of air has been pumped from the inside
of the tank and the mechanisms of the
electric arc operate in an atmosphere
,of mercury steam.
Jets of mercury steam shoot upward
from pools of liquid mercury in the
bottoms of the tanks at the enormous
speed of over five miles a second.
These streams, which are composed of
billions of billions of molecules, are
thrown continuously upward and strike
the water-cooled walls of‘ the tanks
where they condense and fall back to
Electrical Force
in Absolute Silence.
the pool below in drops Over and over
this mercury ram storm is repeated. No
mercury is lost, so none needs to be
added. As the tiny molecules fly up
ward they come under the influence of
powerful electric fields which cause
some of them to be broken into two
parts.
As soon as the molecule divides, the
small portion becomes a very tiny elec
tron and the remaining portion becomes
the proton. The proton is more than
| 300,000 times as large as the electron,
but it is the electron which is electricity
because it carries the electric current.
Ilflon: An En
gineer Heading
die Vacuum in
« Mercury Arc
Hc.rtificr Whirli
(.onverta Alter
„ naling Rlerlri
caI Current Into
Direct Current.
I'h© electrons, neing so small, move
easily and very fast among the large
molecules, the protons and the ,drops of
mercury, and carry the electric current
through the tank like so many bees in a
busy hive. The protons resemble the
How Veronica Was Named
THE VERONICA, which botnnists
have classified a* a large genus
of herbs or sometimes shrubs of
the figwort, is a familiar plant, but
Iust how it got its name is a fact little
nown, although it is cultivated
A Sprig of Veronica, INained After St.
Veronica on Whose Kerchief, Tradi
tion Tell*, a lJWriir«* of Christ Was
j Miraculously Imprinted. >
throughout the land for Its modest
flowers of blue, purple, flesh color or
white. How this flower serves to bring
Jto mind a beautiful act of mercy per
formed by a pitying, pious maiden of
Jerusalem, is told in Nature Magazine
by Albert A. Hansen.
Jesus, heavily laden with the cross,
passed along the road to Golgotha, He
passed the home of a certain pious
maiden of Jerusalem. Her heart filled
with compassion at the sight of the
sorrowing and agonized face, she ran
to the Master and gave Him her ker
chief. Jesus wiped His suffering brow
and gratefully returned the linen cloth
to the maiden.
A miracle had happened!
On the surface of the kerchief an
image of His sacred features had been
miraculously imprinted!
Ever since, the likeness has been
known as “Vera iconica,” that is. the
“true image.”
The linen cloth was religiously pre
served, and, according to tradition, it
is the identical kerchief which now
rests in St. Peter’s at Rome.
Desiring to canonize the merciful
Jewess, the church n a m e d her St.
Veronica, a gentle tribute to the “Vera
iconica.”
Because a pretty little plant, which
grows in abundance in many parts of
the world, has an irregular and streaked
flower, a fancied resemblance of this
flower to the image on the kerchief so
inspired the imagination of the ancient
monks, that they named the plant after
St. Veronica,
drones in the hive because they are
sluggish. Before one has moved far
from where it was born, an electron
which has finished its work unites with
it again to form a molecule.
' Billions upon billions of these small
particles participate in the cycle within
the steel hive. Commanded by the in
fluence of the electric fields, the busy
electrons carry the heavy electrical
currents while the lazy, protons hang
around doing the odd fobs and taking
The Tomb of Egypt’s
First Queen
TUB great pyramid recently discov
ered at Gizeh, by Professor Selim
Hassan is believed to b* the tomb
of Queen Khentkawes, who was possibly
the wife of King Xefererkara, the thir^
king of the Fifth Dynasty. This
ancient monument lies near the Great
Pyramid of Cheops, and is the tomb
of the first Egyptian lady to bear the
title of “Queen.’’ It :> built- against
the solid rock, which forms one side,
and its base measures about 150 feet.
The superficial area of the pyramid
is about 3,300 squaie yards, which
shows that it is somewhat smaller than
the third pyramid. It is also slightly
different in formation.
The existence of a fourth pyramid *
hast been suspected for a considerable
time. The pyramid now discovered
probably disappeared from view more
than twenty centuries ago.
The location and history of the
fourth pyramid has for ages been a
mystery Professor Hassan recently
unearthed a brick temple not far from
the third pyramid, and as every pyra
mid bad its temple he was convinced
that his discovery was the key to the
whereabouts of the fourth pyramid.
Measuring One-Millionth of an Inch
eiecincai measuring insiruine-m
which is quite “fuSsy” over tiny
errors to a superhuman degree
utilizes vacuum tubes, including the
photo-tube or electric eye, which never
before has been called upon to do such
precise work.
The most minute quantities are
measured and permanently recorded on
a moving chart. Infinitesimal inaccu
racies loom as tremendous, glaring
errors to the supersensitive “eyes” of
this new engineering tool. Errors of
one-millionth of an inch are detected.
If an ordinary sheet of paper could he
split edgewise a thousand times, the
instrument could measure the thickness
of one of these delicate tissues.
The device insures utter precision of
action in en-cuic iiocks oy measuring
variations in the alternating frequen
cies of the electric current that actuates
the clocks. The ordinary variations in
these frequencies arc so slight that the
clocks lose or gain only a fraction of
a second and yet the indicator records
variations of an inch or more on the
chart.
The energy of this photoelectric re
corder, as it is called, when measuring
minute electrical currents registers full
scale on less than one one-hundred
millionth of that consumed by an ordi
nary 40-watt electric lamp.
The instrument can be made to
record smoke intensity in chimneys,
temperature, sunlight, pressure, noise,
variations in the thickness of paper,
metal, cloth and wood.
Tlic Mercury Arc Rectifier Which I*
I wrlve Million Times as Powerful as an
Ordinary Radio Tube. Ii Has No Mov
ing Paris and Never Has to He Lubri
cated.
the paths of least resistance. The mole
cules move under the action of the jets,
are broken apart to form new workers
or electrons and the condensed drops
of mercury fall back to replenish the
ever evaporating pool of mercury.
The engineers explain the necessity
and purpose of the mercury arc recti
fier simply. Alternating current, as it
comes from the power lines, is prefer
able for operating domestic appliances,
street lights, etc. Other applications,
such as street railways, require direct
current. This_ need is met by passing
the altemating'eurrent through the sec
tional mercury arc rectifier, otherwise
the "giant radio tubes"' Here Vaci
llating current is changed into direct
current exactly as the ordinary radio
detector tube transforms the tiny alter
nating currents it receives from "the air
Few Fat Men
A JAPANESE criminologist, Klinzo
Saza, recently made the inter
esting statement that compara
tively few stout men become criminals.
Since Mr. Saza's. statement is taken as
authoritative by the. faculty of his
university, it is interesting to note the
opinion of an American criminologist.
Charles Shottland, a criminologist on
the Prison Board of Illinois, says that
lie has noticed tivat most criminals in
volved in offenses against or in con
nection vvith insurance companies are
fat men.
▼ ▼
heelbarrow in a
The Container of the Wheelbarrow I* Mounted on Wheel* W liicli Run on a Track
extending Around the Inride of the I-arge Kxterior Wheel, the Latter Making
Contact With the Cround.
THE principle of a giant motorized
hoop which an English inventor
recently developed as one of the
strangest of all vehicles, a huge uni
cycle known as the “dynasphere,” has
been applied by a -Herman genius to
the perfection of the odd-looking wheel
barrow pictured in the accompanying
illustration.
The queer vehicle is called a “hoop
harrow,” from the fact that it is the
familiar wheelbarrow built within one
large hoop whose diameter is equal to
the height of a man of average size.
Tlie container part of the hoop-bar
row is fitted with rollers which run on
a track that extends completely around
the inside of the hoop. A pair of
handles extend from the barrow proper
to a convenient point beyond the hoop,
so the vehicle is easily pushed by hand
like the ordinary wheelbarrow.
The length of the container part of
the harrow, including the four sets
of wheels on which it is mounted, is
made equal to the inside width of the
hoop to hold the wheels on their track.
The large hoop is the sole contact
with the ground when the barrow is be
ing pushed along. The container part
remains stationary at the bottom of the
hoop, as the latter makes complete rev
olutions around the barrow.
When the hoop-barrow is stationary
the container part is held in a hori
zontal position by two legs attached to
the barrow at a point near the handles
and just inside of the hoop.
The hoop-barrow thus works more bn
the principle of a rolling drum, rather
than on that of a lever. Its inventor
claims that it is superior to the familiar
type of wheelbarrow, as much heavier
loads can be carried in it with the
greatest of ease over rough ground.
A Computing Pencil
For Bridge Players
AN automatic computing pencil has
been invented as an aid to con
tract bridge players in eliminat
ing errors, avoiding disputes and saving
time in scoring.
Merely bv turning the movable barrel
the desired number of over tricks or
under tricks is shown in the center
column marked “Tricks," and the an
swer instantly appears. Totals are
shown for vulnerable, not vulnerable,
doubled, not doubled, or redoubled, as
the case may be. Under tricks are indi
cated in red: over tricks, in black.
This pencil can be uaed for contract
bridge and for any other purpose. It
propels, repels and expels tne lead. It
also has an eraser and a chamber for
reserve lead, »
Prophecies
*in Fiction
THERE arc many notable cases In
which fiction has foretold fact*
and events of great importance
and some prophecies made by novelists
are world famous.
One of the most notable examples
of prophecy in fiction is Jules Verne's
description of the submarine in “Twenty
Thousand3Leagues Under the Sea,” and
his “Steam House,” in which he fore
casts the motor car.
In the first of these books the means
of plunging under the sea, of main
taining proper balance, of lighting, etc.,
are all as now used. Not only that, but
the diving suits, in which members of
the crew left the ship, w-ith their reser
voirs of compressed air, purified by
chemicals, are just what were patented
many years later.
H. G. Wells published his short story,
'•The Land of Ironclads,” years before
the Great War. In it he gave a won
derful picture of tank warfare. It was
Wells, too, whose “War in the Air"
gave such an amazing forecast of the
German Zeppelins,
In his “Iron Pirate” Sir Max Pem
berton made his pirate cruise in a
vessel of phosphor-bronze. It is inter
esting to know that later on t<vo ves
sels, a torpedo boat and a launch, were
actually constructed of this alloy.
In a novel called “Futility,” by Mor
gan Robertson, which appeared in 1808,
the author tells how a monster liner,
the Titan, was built. She was the larg
est ship ever constructed; she carried
2,000 passengers, and was said to be
unsinkable and indestructible. She was
running full speed when—“Ice!” yelled
the look-out.
“Forty-five thousand tons dead weight
rushing through tho water at fifty feet
a second had hurled itself at an ice
berg,” wrote the author.
Fourteen years later the greatest of
modem liners,,the Titanic, also believed
to be unsinkable. met her fate precisely
as described by Mr. Robertson.
Are Criminals
“It is difficult to say why this is so.”
says Mr. Shottland, and f can only
base my statement on my personal ob
servations, which may have been shad
owed by coincidence.
“The gangster class in Chicago i«
in the main composed of thin men, not
necessarily muscular or in good health
Without firearms they are no match for
the police.
"Among women criminals, a fat
woman is almost a rare avis, and 1 do
not think 1 have seen a dozen fat women
in prison during my career as a prison
examiner. 1 nave visited women’s
prisons in Lngland. France and Ger
many, and I do not hesitate to say that
in the United States we have a greater
percentage of really beautiful girls who
go to prison for various offenses.
“One of the reasons for the lack of
criminal tendencies in stout men — if
indeed this is so—may be that it is
due to the inherent hatred of exercise
in most fat people. Crime is, after all,
a strenuous game, requiring in many of
its branches physical endeavor.”
How Crabs Gather
Cocoanuts
COCOA-NUTS form the favorite
food of the giant crab of the
coral islands of the Pacific. Many
of these nuts are blow n down by winds,
but if the food on the ground becomes
scarce tha crabs climb trees and dis
lodge the nuts. First they strip the
outer fibre, then they attack the shell.
It is sometimes not easy to break the
shell with a hammer, but these giant
crabs are able to get to the food inside
in a clever manner, which makes it
appear that at one period their an
cestors were able to think out and solve
a difficult problem.
When the crab has a nut upon the
ground and has removed a sufficient
quantity of the fibre covering, it at
tacks the shell. Starting at the end
which has three small holes, with a
powerful hammer-like claw it strike?
one until pierced, then inserts a smaller
claw to extract the white flesh of the
nut. Travelers have declared that the
crab can actually break open the nut
with its claws.
The cocoanut is said to be an ac
quired food in these coral islands, for
the tree was introduced from Mexico.
EThe Giant
T r e e -
C 1 I tubing
Crab of the
» Pacific
f C • r a I
f Ulandi.