Science and Invention.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 455, 19 January 1905, Page 7

Science and Invention.

THE inventor of the lucifor match certainly deserves well of his country, and his country would probably before now have recognised its indebtedness in this matter by striking a light, if there had not been more than one claimant to the honour of being the first watchmaker. It has at last been proved by documentary evidence that the first maker of matches was John Walker, a chemist of Stockton-on-Tees, who sold the first box for one shilling and twopence in 1827. The matches soon became popular, and people same from long distances to buy them. The poor of the town were employed to split the wood for these early matches, which were invariably dipped in the phosphorus compound by the inventor himself. This worthy man was pressed to form a Company to work the invention, and to patent it; but he refused, on the score that he had enough for his simple wants, and that he would put no obstacles in the way of a thing which promised to be a bocn to the public. John Walker died in 1859, and a movement is now on foot to raise a monument to his memory.

ALLEGED CURE OF CANCER. According to an account from Vienna, radium is no mere toy. but is capable of marvellous cures in cases of carreer. At a meeting of the Vienna Society of Medical Men recently, two cases were presented in which malignant growths had teen destroyed by means of radium bromide, which is now a marketable commodity. One case was that of cancerous tumour of the arm, which it was impossible to wholly remove with the knife, but which succumbed to exposure to the radium light. In the other case, the mucous membrane of the mouth was affected with the dread disease, and an operation was contemplated. But radium rays were tried first, and the cancer, of the side of a hazel-nut, disappeared. 'ln twenty other cases,' 1 tumours in a fortnight grew perceptibly smaller, and in from four to six weeks completely disappeared.'

A J*EW STE^r-^UpBINE.

Some interest is felfTirffho uew form of staam turbine, the invention of an American engineer named Curtis, which is thought to have great possibilities as an economical producer of power, particularly in electrical generating stations. The Curtis turbine retains, some of the features of its predecessors, but, it is claimed, makes possible a lower speed, fewer and simpler parts, economy, low cost, and other important advantages. The general features may be described as follows: Velocity is imparted to the steam in an expanding nozzle so designed as effectively to convert into kinetic energy the expansive force of the steam between the pressure limits used. After leaving the nozzle, the steam passes successively through two or more lines of buckets on the 'moving element,' which are placed alternately with reversed buckets on the stationary part: of the turbine. Thus the steam is thrown first against the first set of buckets on the moving element, and then re-directed against the second moving set of buckets by passing through the first set of fixed buckets, rebounding alternately from stationary to movable buckets until the steam is brought to rest. By this means a high steam velocity is made to impart motion efficiently to a comparatively slowly moving element. The shaft of the Curtis turbine is vertical, and not horizontal, as in the Parsons turbine. Being vertical, the Curtis turbine occupies comparatively a small amount of floor space, and its economy in this respect is very marked as compared with reciprocating engines, thus materially reducing the cost of laying out a power station. The first Curtis turbine to be erected in England has been lately installed at the works of the British Thomson Houston Company, at Rugby.

THE BATCHELLEF PNEUMATICTUBE SYSTEM.

A demonstration was given recently at Banelagh Lodge, Fulham, of what can be done by their invention in the way of the despatch of mails, parcels, and the like. An Sin. service has already been employed by the American Government for more than ten years, the longest section being of four miles between New York Post Office and the Grand Central Staoion. Tubes of the same size and to the length of 800 ft. have been laid down in the garden at Banelagh Lodge, and with a pressure of lib to the square inch metal cylinders or 'carriers ' were run through in a few minuses. In some cases small birds were shut up and sent on the journey, and emerged at the other end in no way the worse. The experts expressed the opinion that a service of 12in. tubes would be most suitable for the Metropolis, and tests have proved that 82 per cent, of the parcels traffic as now packed could be sent through them easily. It is estimated that a first section of 1)5 miles of double tubing in London, thoroughly equipped with power, plant, collecting, and delivery stations, etc., would involve the outlay of about £3,000,000, but that the operation of the system when once installed would cost much less than any of tha methods now in use. because the speed of transmission would be increased, and the number of handlings reduced. The capacity of the Bin. ' carrier ' is 600 average"sized letters, and one Sin. tube is reported to be able to transmit nearly 7,000,000 letters in 24 hours*

PURIFICATION OF WATER BY SUN-

LIGHT.

; The results of some interesting experiments carried out by the Massachusetts Board of Health to ascertain the effects of heat and sunlight upon the organisms in water polluted by sewage matter, are given in the thirty-fourth annual report of that body. The colon bacillus is typical of sewage pollution, the number of this species present in a sample being generally taken as a measure of the pollution. The no, less objectionable typhoid bacillus is frequently found accompanying B. colon, and these two organisms snow a remarkable similarity in their power to withstand adverse conditions. Tubes containing equal volumes of virulont cultures of the two species were submitted in turn to different temperatures for a period of five minutes, after which a cubic centimetre of the contents of each tube was allowed to incubate for 24 hours, the number of bacteria present in it being thus counted. At temperatures of from 30 degrees to 40 degrees G. both species diminished gradually in numbers, the percentage reduction being greater for typhoid than for B. coli, about 88 per cent. . of the former and 30 per cent, of the latter being eliminated at 45 degrees. At 50 degrees the B. coli were practically all destroyed, and the typhoid germs did not survive beyond 55 degrees, with the exception of some half-dozen individuals. At temperatures up to 80 degrees some few germs still remained, but both cultures were completely sterilised at 85 degrees—a limit of temperature somewhat higher than usually accepted. Both species were rapidly destroyed by sunlight, an exposure of from 31 minutes to one hour being usuuiiy sufficient to sterilise the culture wheL j_ *ead out in a thin layer. With

typhoid 95 to 99 per cent- of tho germs were destroyed by 10 to 15 minutes' exposure to direct sunlight, and very similar results were obtained in B. coli. Both show the same phenomenon as noted in other experiments—that while the majority of the germs are destroyed in a very short time, a few individuals nearly always appear to be better to withstand adverse conditions. 1