ac
Sfrom
cience
ec
aniCSand
nven
on
Be Sent to M
ars
How Radio Signals Now May
Ultra Short Waves
of the Beam Type
to Penetrate Outer
Space and Explore
the Heavens.
A Lemon
4 11
That Is Pink .
THK discovery of a striking fruit ^
with rotor character!Stic* that are
apparently new and that have a
startling appearance is a matter of '
genera) interest. An illustration of j
this fact is presented in the Journal . ,
of Heredity by A^D. Shaniel, physio ;
logist of the United States Department j
of Agriculture, who describee a pink
fruited lemon ; . |
These pink lemona are oblong in k
shape, of medium «tie, rough or ridged v j
INTERPLANETARY communication,
long a dream of scientists, now
appears to be a possibility. Radio
apparatus has been developed to trans
mit ultra short waves that will penc
trate the earth’s atmosphere and reach
into outer spaces. Research engineers
already have demonstrated that forty
two centimeter radio waves of the
beam type of sufficient power to be
heard from a loud-speaker can be
economically transmitted.
In giving this idea practical applica
tion, I. E. Mouromsteff, who was in
charge of the development work done
in the laboratories of the Westinghouse
Electric and Manufacturing Company,
points out that the difference between
radio waves and light waves is quanti
tative, not qualitative. In other words,
they are identical in every character
istic except wave length. Mr. Mouromt
seff says that there is more difference
between long and short radio waves
than there is between short radio
waves and long light waves. To illus
trate this, he explains that the longest
radio wave in use is 100,000,000 times
as long as the shortest radio wave ever
produced, whereas the shortest radio
wave is only 1,000 times as long as
The Smallest
Real House
A Complete Three-Story House oi Si*
Rooms Built on ■ Lot Only Ten
Feet Wide.
THE house shown in the accom
panying illustration may not be
the most diminutive dwelling in
the world, but it bases its claim to
fame on being, according to the own
ers, the smallest real and most com
plete home in the world for its size.
This three-story house of six rooms
which was recently built in Long
Beach, California, stands on a. lot 10
feet wide and 5(T feet long.
The living room, which is nine feet
wide and 19 feet long, occupies the
lower floor of the house. This room
has elaborately decorated walls and a
paneled ceiling.
A stairway at the rear of the living
room leads to a hall which opens into a
completely equipped kitchen nine feet
wide and 11 feet long. On the second
floor there is also a bedroom, nine by
13 feet, a full-size bathroom and a
nursery. I
From the second floor another flight 1
of stain leads to the laundryroom and i
a sunroom. There is also space on the ;
third floor for a little roof garden and <
the clotheslines. 1
The Device for Producing an Ultra
Short Radio ^ nve of the Beam Type
Only 42 Centimeters Long and Believed
lo Be Capable of Piercing the Earth's
Atmosphere and Shooting Through
Above: Enjoying a Dance to the Music Picked Up by the Ultra
Short M ave Radio Device tor Interplanetary Communication. The
Drawing Relow at the loft Shows flow
a Radio Ream May Penetrate the
Earth’s Atmosphere and Travel
to the Planet Mara.
in texture and have thin rindi. Th«
rug is tender, and the juice if abund
ant, but usually lacking somewhat in
acidity.
The lemons have a striped appear
once, usually with alternate green and
white areas. This appearance is corre
lated with a ridged condition, the
ridges being usually green In color
while the depressed spaces are white.
The very thin rinde and rough ap
pearance of the fruit# as well as the
relatively ftrw yields of the trees makes
this strain of very doubtful commercial
value, but It is rather widely planted
in some citrus growing areas of the
Southwest solely for ornamental pur
poses.
T
I
vuirr .-pare 09 million Mile*
to Mar*.
the longest visible light ray. Hence he
concludes, radio waves are merely
"dark light.”
Visible light waves, those between
the long red and the short violet, con
stitute a very small percentage of the
total range, just as audible sounds are
a small fraction of all existing noises.
Many of these have wave lengths or
frequencies much too high or too low
to set up corresponding vibrations in
in the human ear drum, the scientist
explains.
"Nature has been kind to impose
these limitations on our eyes and
ears,” says Mr. Mouromtseff. "Cer
tainly all would be chaos and con
fusion if we could see and hear every
thing. On the other hand, science
would be seriously handicapped if it
had not perfected instruments and ap
paratus to detect the invisible and in
audible.
“At different times certain people
have interested themselves in the possi
bilities of communication with possible
inhabitants of Mars. If anything of
this sort is ever to be accomplished, it
will probably have to be done by means
of ultra short radio waves.”
Some 25 years ago certain known
facts of radio communication con
vinced Dr. A. E. Kennelly, professor
of electrical engineering at Harvard,
and Professor Oliver Heaviside, Eng
lish scientist, that there must be a 6ort
of cushion or atmospheric layer 100 or
more miles from the earth’s surface.
This has since been known as the Ken
nelly-Heaviside layer.
"Of course, it is a theory just as
atoms and electrons were created by
theory to explain certain phenomena,”
resumes Mr. Mouromtseff, "but we are
certain that not only heat and light
waves can penetrate something like
the Heaviside layer, but that all radio.
Alcohol as a Cure
for Poison Ivy
RELIEF of poison-ivy irritations i
may be had from an easy and
simple method which is described !
in Popular- Mechanics by a scientist of ,
Johns Hopkins University. j
Ivy poison, it is explained, is in the <
form of an oil and that the dissolving j
and removal of the oil before it can j
be absorbed into the skin is the most
effective cure. ,
Tire method is to prepare a hundred i
or so pinches of absorbent cotton; fill (
a saucer with alcohol, of seventy-five t
per cent or greater strength; dip the
cotton into the alcohol and sop up the j
poisonous oil, throwing each pinch (
away as soon as used and being care- t
ful not to allow the alcohol to dry i
on the skin.
The alcohol should be frequently r
changed. About fifty applications are i
usually sufficient for a small patch of n
poison. t
The first thirty applications should t
not be rubbed, merely sopped. After f
that, it is well to rub with the wet t
cotton each time. At last, rub vigor- f
ousiy to bring the dissolved poison out e
of the pores, and to break any small s
blisters that already may have formed. a
The more extensive the poison patch, t]
the more swabs will be needed, and si
the more treatments with relatively
varying degrees of pressure are neces- is
sary. Fifty swabs are sufficient for a V
patch the size of a silver dollar. ii
A Spray Gun for Painting Fenders
Aariuu gun ror use oy car
owners in retouching scratches
and worn spots on automobile
enders uses the tire as a source of
lir pressure. It is made especially for
ise with a retouching enamel sold in a
mall can equipped with an unusual
ype of nozzle. The gun is equipped
rifch a cap that exactly fits this nozzle
Taking it possible to attach the gun
nd spray directly from the can. The
name! requires no thinning or other
reatment, and dries with a glossy
n r
DiacK uman which does not require
polishing.
The gun it simple, inexpensive and
easy to use. After removing the cap
on the can and attaching the gun in
its place, the hose is connected to the
tire, and one starts spraying by press
ing^ the little gun-trigger.
Spraying does not reduce the tire
pressure very much. If the car owner
inflates the tire a little more than
usual before using the gun, he is likely
to have the average tire pressure vhen
the job is finished. ,
c
King Futures Sy
engineering laboratory, more
than a mile away, where a para
bolic metal mirror gathers the
waves and passes them through
a special detector tube to an or
dinary little radio receiving set
where they are amplified and
made audible.
Radio beams are identical with
light beams except that they are
of different frequencies or wave
meter* long will penetrate that layer
and leave the earth.
"It is conceivable that the power we
have succeeded in getting into our 42
centimeter beam is sufficient to pierce
the Heaviside layer and travel the 35,
000,000 miles to Mara. It is possible
that auch email power may carry to
such great distances, because of the
fact that practically all of the inter
vening space is really a high vacuum
and doe* not, therefore, absorb the
waves, once they get through the
earth’s atmosphere.”
Today Westinghouse engineers are
talking on euch a beam from a radio
station on top of the company’s re
search building, to the roof of the
lending ana mvisioie, according to the
engineers. In actual service, com
munication on the radio-optical waves
is dependable and almost immune
to theft, interruption and interfer
ence.’ Its operation cannot easily be
“jammed” or crippled by an enemy, the
beam must be found before its mr<
sage can be detected and by means of
reflecting surfaces, it can be sent
long distances.
In a searchlight, the rays originate
at one point, reflect from a parabolic
surface and pass out in a narrow beam.
In the newest achievement, the waves
reverse this process by striking the
parabolic mirror where they are re
fleeted to a short antenna and detector
tube located at the focal point corre
sponding to the source or light in a
searchlight. Since intervening hills or
Making Music by Electricity
HE realm of musical productioi
is now being entered by new in
struments which are dependen
»n electricity for their tonal effects
Herman inventors seem to have takei
:he lead in this field.
Among these electrical instrument
lor promicing music is a device per
’ected by Dr. Trautwein, the Berlii
icientist. It resembles no existing in
itrument and can produce only on<
one at a time, but the possibility!
ire held to be considerable. It cai
>Iay by electric production and mega
>hone any desired tone or interval, am
tesides can evolve new timbres thai
liffer from those of any known instru
went Moreover, it can imitate existing
nstruments
Another electric instrument pro
luces sounds of more novel, curious
nd grotesque character. The octave is
ivided into ten parts, and etrange in
ervals arise.
Two systems of electric pianoforte'
Iso have been devised. The plan of
)skar Vierling is to transform the eu?
omary tone-production of a pianofortf
ito an electric production.
To accomplish this Mr. Vierling has
emoved the heavy metal resounding
oard of the pianoforte and placed
lagneta near the strings, designed to
ransform the mechanical vibrations of
le strings into electric vibrations,
rom which the modified and purified
>ne reaches the megaphone, which
inally makes it audible. This system
cables the inventor to give new pos
bilities to the instrument. He can
iso assimilate the pianoforte tone to
lat of the organ, string, or wind-in
xuments.
Another type of electric pianoforte
represented by two systems, the
lerling and the Nemst, the latter be
g the invention of the celebrated
i physicist of the University of Kerlin.
The new instrument adds to the ■
t, tonal effect of the pianoforte the
faculty of prolonging a tone and of
making a crescendo or diminuendo
1 Moreover, the instrument can at the
>ame time perform the service* of H
phonograph and of a radio, and the
effect is extraordinary and surprising
i Doubts, however, have arisen whethci
the Nemst pianoforte would be equally
fit for playing music that depended
upon color effects, refinement of touch
and pedal work.
rine Feathers for /Pajnting,/
' c-auibk painting; is a very
5 aHcient art. still pursued in
Mexico, where the early Spanish
conquerors found it in use and much
to be admired.
An application of the idea is the sub
ject of an invention newly patented by
Frederick M. Harrison, of Far Rock
r
For this purpose the quill of each
feather is thrust in and out through
the meshes of the netting, somewhat
in the manner of a needle.
Thereby the feather is
held fu'inly in position,
resting flat against the
work sheet.
The feathers, as they
are thus woven into
the netting, are so ar
ranged as to conceal
the quills- Large and
-lil'f ones are used for
the- bird's tail. The
feathers, natural or
dyed, may be supplied to the children
In bunches, sorted for colon.
To represent the beek end fee* of'
the bird, es well as th«
perch on which it steads,
cut-outs” of suitably-col
ored fabric may be glued
upon the netting. The eye
may be the blade head'of a
large pin, which, thrust
back and forth through
the work sheet, will
hold itself in place, the
stem of the pin beins
hidden by
feathers.
Figure 3.
Figure 1.
• way. New York, and is He
signed for the instruction and
amusement of children.
They are provided with a picture 0f
a bird, printed in colors on a sheet
of paper, and are required to copv it
by weaving feathers of suitable tint
into a “work sheet” of fine-mesh mo
quito netting, the latter having marked
on it the outlines of the bird. •
ndicits. Inc., 1S3U.
The Drawing Show* the
Three Step* in ‘‘Painting"
Picture* with Feather*,
figure I I* the Pirture to
Be Copied. Figure 2 I* the
Work Sheet Into Which
the leather* 4re Woven.
Figure 3 I* the Corepietrtl
Picture.
building!! absorb both types of beam*,
the engineers found a way to reflect
the ultra short radio wave* so this han
dieap could be overcome.
It is believed that the ultra short
wave will be adapted to many practical
usee in the neat few years and that it
will prove of commercial value by sup
elementing radio and other present
forms of communication.
• *sea»*x»wi uuMvmi ■
typical variegated lemon among a col
lection of citrus fruit sports that was
presented as a feature of a general
exhibit of California fruits. Upon ex
amination this variegated lemon was
found to have a pink-appearing rind
and flesh. , ,
The parent tree from which this*
pink lemon was ptoked was located In J
a small planting of citrus treee in the
grounds of the Winter home of Mr.
T>. W, Field, at Burbank, California.
The Fad for Match Labels /
QU E EREST
of nil re
cent fads is
the newest hobby
of collecting: the
labels of match
boxes This pas
time is now being
followed as seri
ously by some
persons us that of
collecting postage
stamps.
The label por
tion of the match
box desired by a
collector is first
immersed in boil
ing water to re
move the wood
and paper adher
ing to the back.
When dry. the
label is hinged,
like a postage
stamp, an d
mounted in an a!
bum, on a card,
or on a loose
sheet, either a!
pbabetically or according to subject or
country. Some labels now fetch as
much as twenty-five cents apiece and
prices are rising.
These labels, despite the fact that
i he legends on them are mostly printed
in English, cotne from all over the
world. ,
One of the rarest sets is the Swedish
' anety known to collectors as the
‘‘Nurseryland” series. Each of these
labels bears the verses (translated),
and an illustration of some popular
English nursery rhyme. A Swedish
A Grotesque f-abel Taken from the Top of a Japanese Match
Boa. The Hobby of Collecting Match Boa Labels Is New
Being Followed Very Seriously. t
ista, who are constantly inventing new
designs for these labels, to attract
match buyers and label collectors.
One of the first match-label ea
change clubs to be organised is at
rland. Today it has a %
and it circulates
. year.
The largest collection in tits world. •
it is claimed, is {hat; of a British manu
facturing company, who possess ip their
about 15,000 specimens, jh#
uige
utna
museum auout id.vuo specim
largest private collection, the
-.. — r-r’V"*"** of *n enthusiast at Brighton.
match company employs a staff of art numbers about 12,000 labels.
for*'