Science Notes & News.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 13 April 1911, Page 4

Science Notes & News.

HORSES AND .REASONING POWER. Mr James Macfarlanc, M.R.C.V.S. lecturing in Glasgow on the horse, asserted that these animals were not capable of reasoning, but they were certainly endowed with instinct and a good memory. Owing to his anatomical construction the ihorso could sleep whilV ho remained standing. He breathed solely through his nose. The first five years of his life might bo considered "as equal to the first twenty of a man's, and w'hen twenty he equalled a man of sixty. A SIMPLE CURRENT TEST. A letter published in Power .suggests a simple method of determining whether the current in il lamp socket is alternating or direct, On holding one pole of a permanent magnet against one side of the globe of a lighted' lamp it is found that if a direct current i.s flowing througbi the filament the latter will bo either attracted towards or deflected from the magnet, w'hjle if alternating current flows through the lamp the filament will vibrate, due to the alternation. METEOROLOGY JN ARGENTLVA. The Argentina, meteorological service possesses 32 first-class stations, equipped with' automatically-regis-tering instruments; 148 sceomtelass stations, where observations are made at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; 10 third-class stations, and 862 fourth-class stations. The daily weather map includes, also, reports from several stations in Brazil, Chili, and Uruguay, and thus shows , the meteorological conditions reigning from Para (Brazil), situated on the equator, to the southernmost limits of Argentina, extending over a region of 55deg. latitude, reports being received by wireless telegraphy from Now Year's Island and , Ushuaia. The service also maintains 111 river gauges and issues flood warnings, besides carrying'nn extensive observations in terrestrial magnetism and seismology. EARTH TILTTXG. It was the invention of the seismograph for the study of earthquakes that led to the discovery of the astonishing sensitiveness of the crust of the globe to forces that might have been thought too insignificant to cause distortion. Among these forces is t!be alteration in the pressure of the atmosphere during the passage of storms, causing a perceptible tilting of largo areas of ground. A curious case of such tilting has been recorded in Japan. A storm passing over the sea east of Tokio caused the bordering land to tilt downward, notwithstanding the fact- that atmospheric pressure is lessened 1 within a storm area. Tin's is explained by the fact that the sea rises with release of atmospheric pressure, and the accumulation of water more than sufficient to counterbalance the decrease in weight of the flir. WTXD AND WEATHER. The common idea is that [ho state of the weather depends on the prevalence or lack of sunshine. The truth is that it depends on the direction and movement of wind. Warmth certainly comes from the sun, but wind is' the distributor of the warmth. Visiting any place that is warmer than itself, wind always takes some of the warmth awav with it This implies, of course, that is colder than itself, wind warms that place. This implies, of course, that wind moves; but what makes it move ? It moves by its own weight. Wind is simply drifting air, and the drift is caused by the very same power which draws a falling stone towards the earth. Tt i= known that air consists of gaseous narticles. all tryinsr to get away from each other, and that, under certain conditions, they can be compelled' to come closer together bv contraction, or forced to fly further apart by expansion.