A NEW MOTIVE POWER. (Age.)

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 189, 26 July 1873, Page 3

A NEW MOTIVE POWER. (Age.)

The present may very pi operly bo designated the age of steam. For over seventy years the invention of Watt, if not the only power a\ ailed of by mannfaetuieis autl others, has been ever achieving fiesh wctoues, arid growing more and more in public {.ivoui. At the beginning of the century, wind, water, hmse, an I manual powei were much in use, whilst the iron horse had not yet begun to snort; on land, nor screw liners to plough the ocean. Hut e\en then these things woie dieamed of, and th« dre.uii has been proved a reality. Steam has bicneito scarcely had a nval worthy of the name, although veiy many highly scientific and ingenious contrivances have been proposed as a means of getting rid of our most popular but somewhat dangerous, and often inconvenient and always expensive, motive power. Electricity, compressed air, the utilisation of the tidal waves and of the waves of the sea, the explosive force of guapowder, the elastic force of cm boinc acid „'as, the varying pressures and tempeiatuies ot the atmospheie, have all bad their advocates— as jet, however, without any very marked success. Th.it nothing should have been | found «t[iial to steam power, in its application to piactical purposes, is somewhat lemaikablc Vs steam is used at present, there is confessedly a great waste of energy. Even In the best constructed furnaces a large quantity of fuel is pretty certain to escape by the clutnney uuoosbunied. If the fuel is well burned, no small amount of the heat generated is sure to be wasted. Obviate botli of these evils, and there still remain* the fact thntno use whatever is made of the power resulting A»m the hydrogen of the coal passing from a solid to 11 gaseous state, or of the expansive force attendant on tin? combustion o( such hydrogen in atmospheric air. That this latter force may be rendered available is shown by (he circumstance that one proposed new motor owes oil its power to an application of tins yen principle In the so-called gas engines there is u>ed as the motive force neither the elasticity of the gas it»elf, nor steam or air expended by heat generated by combustion of the gas, but the latter being mixed wi th fltmos phenc air, is ignited, when the explosion cither acts upon a piston, or by forming a vacuum cause* a piston subsequently to descend by atmospheric pressure. Siuli engines have not been as yet yen generally imported into this part of the world. Some 3 ears «ince, however, one arrived at Ballarat, and recently Messrs Ferguson & Mitchell, the lithographers, of Great Collins-street, have had one fitted up for the purpose of driving their presses. Their engine. 111 question presents a somewhat different appearance to an ordinal'} steamengine. There j» neither boiler, furnace, crank, nor connecting rod ; nor at first sight does there appear to be a cylinder either, tn the ordjjiary acceptance of the term. But in reality the whole engine is one entire cylinder of extra large proportions. The mechanism is somewhat more complicated than in a common steam-engine and easily explained. A certain amount of ordinary gas and ptmosplieric air, in the proportion of about one part of the former to eleven parts of the latter, is admitted below the piston, where the mixture, is ignited. The explosion forces up 1 light piston, and consequent upon the immediate recondensatiQn of the vapors formed by the union of the hydrogen of the gas with the oxygen of air, a vacuum is formed, and the piston is forced down by the pressure of the air above it. As the motion of the piston in its upward stroke is necessarily a rapid one, whilst the downward motion is proportionately slow, a crank is altogether dispensed with The piston-rod, 111 fact, is a simple rack, which works into a pinion placed loosely on the fly wheel shaft. Daring the upward stroke the pinion revolves altogether free of the shaft, but on the return stroke a .series of balls in connection with ltjtin it into a sort of clutch, so that the downward stroke ol the pistoja imparts motion to the shaft, sucli motion being continued during the succeeding up stroke by means of a larger than ordinary fly wheel. The capabilities of the engine have, not a* yet been practically tested, but we understand that in Paris tho same class of engines «re muuh used It is smd tliut tbcj consume about fifty or sixty cubic feet of gas per hour for each horse power. Tim expense is probably somewhat 111 excess of the cost of fuel of an ordinary steam engine, but then, on the other hand, the services of a stoker are altogether dispensed with. The engineer, who may have other duties to perform, simply turns e-n the gas, ignites a small jet, which by an ingenious arrangement, explodes the mixed gases at each stroke of the piston, and, if necessary adjusts the go\ernor regulating the motion. At a moment's notice the entire machinery can be set in full motion, ready to do any amount of work within its capabilities. There is, therefore clearly no waste of either time or fuel. Every mch of gas supplied does its allotted work, and the work over, by the simple turning of a cock the motion not onlj ceases, but the fires are put out, and no further fuel need be consumed until a froth starting of the machinery '* necessary. Whether economical or not, there is no question whatever as to tho great convenience of engines constructed on such a principle, and where man} stoppages of machinery are unavoidable, and no givat power is required, this or similar engines would seem to be worthy of a trial.

"HolyWfek" ik Naples.— Our Najiloi Correspondent writes under duto April 11: — " Hoh week Im3 come to An end. It has, as usual, been marked by an observance of all the externals of religion Jand an icieongruoui mixture of vanity and piety. From Wednesday till Saturday clocks and even bouse bells were muffled, uiul the march of tune was announced by an instrument something like on old watchman's rattle. It is doubtful if at any tune cleanliness ranks next to godline-s in tins country, but man\ of the ultra-devout at this season, both in (own and country, abstain from brushing their rooms or combing their hair. Anapologj for dirt is readily urged, and 11 b^ some extended throughout the year, for, said a woman in tears lnst week, ' If I comb my hair on a Friday, I slull not go to Paradise.' On three evenings in the week there is a grand promenade in the Toledo. Carriages are put down in the name of religion, and thousands on thousands walk up and down that long street, many of whom have not walked a mile during the whole of the past year. What a crowd it is, and how suffocating the heat ! A panic would cost the lives of many, for all are wedged a 9 closely together a 9 at the door of a theatre on a gala night. Every one is dressed in black, so humility and pious sorrow prescribe ; but that toilette has occupied much thought and time in its preparation, and there is a great display of luxury and not a little flirting. Princess Marghenta was out on Thursday evening and visited the sepulchres, for every church has one constructed for the occasion, where the deposition from the cross it supposed to be made. The crucifix is held out in some of the churches to bo kisspd by all the worshippers, who throng towards it by the thousand. The Princess was remarkably well received ; everyone tried to get a sight of her, so that at times it was impossible to proceed, and m many places she was gieeted with much applause. Why it is T cannot say, but Saturdiy is Easter D.iy in Italy, and the day before yesterday the Resurrection of Our Lord was dramatized in all the churches. The service of the day is long and tedious, for only the initiated few can engage in it, so that the masses stand in impatient expectation for the last scene, which is often brilliant and very attractive. A dark curtain hangs before the altar, which was despoiled two days ago of all its decorations ; the church is nude ; the priests are for the moment silent, when suddenly the curtain is diawn aside, and the altar is seen under a blaze of light, glittering with all the ecclesiastical wealth of the parish ; the priests are there ai ranged in their richest robes, and the organ peals foith, and the bells, no longer silent, ring out a joyous peal, if one or two bells can be said to make a peal j and birds are generally let loose by the hundred, and flutter about, poor creatures, with ribands tied to their legs This year, however, I observed only one bird- sent up, and it mai ks the progress of civilization. Call it dramatic or what you like, the scene I have described is very effective, and it is impossible not to feel one's blood run quickly for the moment." — Times.

How to Break off B\t> Habits. — Understand the reason, and all the reasons, why the habit is injurious. Study the subject till there is no lingering doubt in your mind. Avoid the places, persons, and thoughts that lead to the temptation. Frequent the plnces. asaociat« with the persons, indulge the thoughts that lead away from the temptation. Keep busy ; idleness is the strength of bad habits. Do not give up the struggle because you have broken your resolution once, twice, a thousand times That only shows how much need theie is for you to strive. When you have broken your resolution, just think the matter over, and endeavor to understand why it is you failed, so that you may be on your guard against a recurrence of the Buno oircuinitance* Do not think it an easy thing you have undertaken. It is foil) to expect to break off a habit in a day which may have been gathering strength in you for yean. A little girl was one day rending the history of England with her go\erne*% and coining to the statement that Ilenry I never laughed after the death of his son, she lool>o 1 up, and said, " What c>er did he do wbe.i he v.n tickled ? " Why is a lud\ fainting like a ship with a man overbonrd ? — Because she should be brought to as soon aa possible. Dr. Buioht's Pjiosphodyvb. — Multitudes of people me hopelessly suffering from Debility, Nervous and Li\er Complaints, Depression of Spirits, Delusions, Unfit ness for Business or Sturlv, Failure of Hearing, Sigkt, and Memory, Lassitude, Want of Power, &c, whose i i>es admit of permanent euro by the new remedy Phosphod\ne (Oxonic Oxygen), which at once allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and hfo to the enleebleil constitution, and rapidly cures every stage of these hitherto endurable and distressing malndies. Sold by all Chemists and Storekeepers througout tlio colonies, from wlioin pamphlrts containing testimonials miy be obtained.—Caution : Be particular to ask for Dr Bright* Phosphodj ne as imitations are abroad; and avoid purchasing single bottles, the genuine articlo being sold in case* only. — Ad\ .

Dr Loewenberg of Pans describes a ne\vpl«in foi o\ti acting solid bodies from the ear. A very small biush is made by lolling and fixing a nairow stiip of old linen aioimd a thin wooden handle — a match, for instance— and unravelling its free bonier to the length of a quarter of an inch. The end of the so obtained fiinge is "ulippcdiuto a waun and concentrated solution of glue, applied to the \ l&ible paitof the foreign body — or rather the operatoi leans it against the body by letting it glide very softly, and witnout exercising any pleasure, over it Pievinusly to the application, the patient sea's himself comfortably in au arm chair pr on a sof^, and inclines his head towards the healthy oar. He remains so for three-quarteis of an hour to an hour after the introduction of the agglutiuated biush. After tin's, consolidation is generally accomplished, and the foreign body removed by gently pulling at the brush A private but very successful trial was made in Portsmouth Harbour of a signal lamp, manufactured by Mossr* Kidsd lie and Co , of London, signal and other- lamp manufact uri'iM to the Admiralty , from designs by Mr Julius Van Den Uuv'i, of Soutlisca, which has veuy simple and efficient action, either as a night steering signal showing the position of a skip's helm or as a danger signal. As a steering signal it exhibit! a white, a rod, or ft green ligfrti Recording to the position of the ship's helm. Ah a danger jsignal the white, reel, and green lights are shown in rapid succession, ft cylinder carrying tho glasses revolving between the light and reflectors at the back of the lamp, and a powerful lens in front. The lamp is to be forwarded to London for exhibition by tlu> Ma'iMon-hoitftp Committee. A Western editor, m response tt» a subscriber who grumbles that his paper «as intolerably damp, BBys that it is becauso tin re i-» -,o much due on it.