SCIENCE NOTES & NEWS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 564, 3 May 1913, Page 2

SCIENCE NOTES & NEWS.

FOR NUTS OF ALL SIZES. With the ordinary nutcracker, nuts are often too large or too small to be properly cracked, but with this French invention the cracking of any kind or size of .nut is easy. It is in the form of a triangle, and is provided with a lever which, placed .against the palm of (he hand and pressed, provides sufficient force to crack the hardest shell. The nuts are placed as low down in the triangle as their size allows.

PROTECTING THE AERONAUT. An aeroplane of a type that cannot vet be . accounted as among those that has achieved practical success is a multiplane which made its firs': test flight in France recently. It is one of the largest aeroplanes yet constructed, weighs o.ver 1,-oolb., and is the first to be provided with a closed protecting hood for the operator. The hood is of' mica. The French call the machine the "Phantom Aeroplane."

CELL SENSITIVE TO LIGHT-

A unique electrolytic cell which is sensitive to light was described by M. H. Pelabon before the French Academy of Science. The negative electrode of this cell is pure antimony, and the positive electrode an alloy of antimony and selenium. The solution in which the electrodes are immersed consists of trichloride of antimony and hydrochloric acid. If this cell is kept under uniform conditions of temperature and in perfect darkness its voltage remains constant. However, should the positive electrode be illuminated, the voltage would rise at once nearly 50 per cent. But the cell would not maintain this voltage, even though tfie light were kept steadily shining on the electrode, but would gradually diminish, until, after a period of twenty minutes, it would reach its initial voltage. Thereafter, should the light be cut off, the voltage would drop at once about 50 per cent, below the initial voltage, and then would rise slowly, to the normal voltage.

EARTH TILTING. 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 tnat might have been thoaght too insignificant to cause distortion. Among these forces is the alteration in the pressure of the atmosphere during the passage of storms, causing a perceptible tilting of large 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 within a storm area. Th's is explained by the fact that (he sea rises with release of atmospheric pressure and the accumulation of water more than sufficed to counterbalance ■ the decrease in weight of the air.

A SIMPLE CURRENT TEST. A letter published in "Power" suggests a simple method of determining whether the current in a 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 is flowing through the filament the latter will he either attracted towards or deflected from the magnet, while if alternating current flows through the lamp the filament will vibrate, due to the alternation.

WIND AND WEATHER. The common idea is that the state of the weather depends on the prevalence - • or lack oi". 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' away with it. Visiting any place that is colder than itself, wind warms that place- This Implies, of. course, that wind moves; but what makes it move? It moves hy 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. It is known that air consists of gaseous particles, all trying to get away from each other, and that, under certain conditions, they can be compelled to come closer together by contraction, or forced to fly further apart by expansion.

COUNTING BY WEIGHT. A machine for counting by weight has been invented by a Birmingham firm. It has a platform, upon which a great number of small parts are placed, :uid a steelyard arrangement carrying a small scoop. A dozen articles arc placed in the scoop, which is moved along until the steelyard is- balanced; the machine then indicates the number ot pieces contained in the-heap on the platform. 6