NEW HOPE FOR SEA-SICK.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8815, 17 May 1907, Page 1

NEW HOPE FOR SEA-SICK.

Future possibilities of controlling the rolling of ships at sea, not hitherto approached, were opened up by Sir William White, K. 0.8., at the closing meeting of the Naval Architects’ spring session in Loudon. Sir William White has boon experimenting with the gyroscope, invented by Dr. Schlick for soadying ships. The gyroscope does not claim to altogether cured sea-sickness, but, as Professor Lambert said, from having been received as beautiful theory that would fail' in practice, it has become a proposition so practical that its use might have possibly averted the disaster to the Berlin. In giving the results of his experiments made since Dr. Schlick brought the gyroscope before the institution in 1904, Sir William White explained that the principal part of the apparatus was a largo and heavy fly-wheel, which, when running, tends to keep the ship in a vertical position. Sir William thought it would bo -syise to proceed gradually in using the gyroscope, and to begin with yachts and passenger steamers employed on coasting and cross-chan-nel services.

lu such vessels the effect of the gyroscope would he of great advantage, Sir William reported. Remarkable steadiness could be assured by the iustalltiou of the apparatus. The Hamburg-Americau Company had decided to make a trial of the system ou a passenger steamer running between Hamburg and the pleasure resorts off the German coast. For ocean-going passenger steamers it was possible that the apparatus might bo introduced hereafter. In reply to points raised in a discussion that followed the reading of the paper, Sir William White said they owed Dr. Sohlick very much, for in a short time ho had experimented with vessels from a small model up :to a torpedo boat, and private effort could scarcely bo expected to go further. The Board of Trade would be quite prepared (o take the risks of sanctioning the installation of the gyroscope in passenger steamers. Its application to sailing yachts would still requke careful study. Sir John Thoruycroft, who had opened the discussion, and who has himself devised an automatic steadying apparatus, congratulated the inventor of the gyroscope.