MIRRORS ON SUBMARINES.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 October 1915, Page 5

MIRRORS ON SUBMARINES.

YANKEES DEVICE. Patrick Keenan, of De/ver, Uniteft States, proposes to make- small bo«t» and submarines completely invisible. when on the surface, and thus to r«nd« helpless the Dreadnonghts and madam leviathans which the nations we now, building in their struggle for control of the seas. A few months ago Hiram Maxim gave; out an interview iu which he said thai he hoped to obtain complete invisibility for the submarine, even when it • vu running along the surface. Keemui read and smiled, for already he hod applied for a patent on an invention which bj(. believed covered the ground. Briefly, Keenan's idea is to clothe the portion of the submarine above the sum face with a mirror which will' reflect only the water beneath it, and at a din tance of a few yards would give the ap« pearanee of virgin sea. Keenan conducted his experiments in City Park. A short time ago he erected in the middle of the lake a large mirror, inclined to reflect the water, . From the shore, one hundred yards dhh tant, the -effect, was that of an u«« h oken surface. Nothing could be seen. of the mirror or what was behind it. Keenan applies his invention to the periscope by clothing it in a glass tube, silvered inside, forming a mirror, which renders the whole invisible. If it is desired, the decks can he similarly clad in silvered platc-glns.s, and the submarine on the surface would be invisible nt a far shorter distance from the range nf the modern torpedo. Tiy giving hnsy minors a downward tilt KeEuiiu believes ;,!ipy may he \ifi\\ to rclh-ct the surface in 'front of them. and to conceal effect iu-iy new-made fortiliciilious behind. t'nU- : s properly tilted, however, they v.ouhl reihvt tlio sun .mil reveal the presence of the battery to observer* for miles around. • '