SCIENCE NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1600, 19 August 1916, Page 4

SCIENCE NOTES.

PAPER CLOTHES FOR SOL-

DTERS

Both Japanese and Russian soldiers are wearing paper clothes. “Kamiko,” as paper clothing is called in Japan, is . made of the r’eal Japanese paper manufactured from mulberry bark. The paper has little “size” in it, and, though soft < and warm, a thin layer of silk wadding is placed between two sheets of the paper, and the whole is quilted. Its only drawback is that H is not washable. A company in Yokohama, is supplying large quantities of paper shirts to the Russian array. They are made of tough, soft fabric, strong enough to hold buttons sewn on in the ordinary way, and seem to be serviceable.

LOAN SECURED BY RADIUM,

A Chicago message states that three tubes of radium were recently given as collateral for 250,000 dollars on four-year mortgage notes. The loan was negotiated by the Continental and Commercial Trust and Savings Bank and the Physicians’ Radium Association of Chicago. Its purpose is to furnish for charitable purposes the use of radium in medical treatment. The mortgage on the tubes of radium secures 250 notes for 1,000 dollars each, .and each note matures in four years at 31 per cent, interest. It is the purpose of the Physicians’ Radium Association to ■ acquire 500.000 dollars worth of radium, says Dr. William L. Baun, president of the association. For the present the radium tubes will be rented out to the physicians to be used in medical cases. When the rentals have paid for the present supply, more will bo bought until we have the 500.000 dollars’ worth.

PREVENTION OF SKIDDING. With the object of cheeking skidding, an inventor lias devised a broad traction belt that slips over the mtr tyro of an automobile and is sufficiently large to roll over a steel bearing attached to the running hoard. It has been tested in rainy weather on steep grades in San Francisco, and though the car was driven at a reckless speed, halted suddenly and turned sharply, it showed no tendency to skid. The device was equally successful in deep sand. The belt is a. little wider than the tread and protects the-latter from wear to such an extent that it is claimed that the life of the tyre is doubled by its use. Also, the tough belting is a protection against glass, nails, or other objects that cause punctures. The material is proof against water, acid and alkali. It does not interfere with the speed or operation of the ear, and is readily adjusted to any machine. , NOVEL HOSPITAL DEVICE. A new use for electric heaters has been found by the St. Mark’s Hospital at Salt Lake City, Utah. Heretofore a set of four dumbwaiters running from the basement to the first, seeoud, and third floors has been used for carrying food from the kitchen to the various wards. Great difficulty was encountered in keeping the food warm from the time it left the kitchen until it arrived at its destination. Now the hospital is using seven portable waggon# designed by the general manager. These waggons accommodate 26 trays, and are arranged with sliding doors that make them practically air-tight. An electric air-heater is mounted on the bottom of the waggon, with a cord and plug attachment capable of being connected 10ft. away from the waggon. An hoyr before each meal the various heaters are connected Jo a source of electric current in •order to heat the interior of the waggons. After the waggons are loaded, they are placed on an elevator and raised to the various wards. If the meals are not to bs taken immediately, the waggons are again connected to any source of electric current. - _ PAINT AND IRON. Some recent German experiments have a most important bearing on our treatment of explosive shells, and their application to ordinary industrial life is obvious. We understand that the practice is to give shells two coats of paint, N»w, the German experimentalists polished four iron pintes and painted them —j he first with one coat, the second with two, the third with (three, and the fourth with tour. The plates were then exposed to steam for one day.

The paint was dissolved off s#d llie results noted. The iron under the single coat was bright all over, that; under two coats was partly rusted, that under three coats rusted still more, while the iron under Tour coats was covered with rust. This experiment, shows that sevenal 'coats of paint do not protect as well as one coat. The explanation of this is that s.ubsef|.uent copfs of paint or varnish tend .to dissolve part of the previous coat. This lias the effect of loosening the previous coat and making it porous, the porosity increasing with the number of coats. Air and moisture penetrate the pores and the iron below is rusted-