Science Siftings

New Zealand Tablet, 18 September 1913, Page 53

Science Siftings

Bi 'Volt.'

Utilising the Chestnut.

The soapy nature of the kernel of the horsechestnut has led investigators to search for a way to utilise it in removing dirt and grease from textile goods. According to a French journal, several methods of extracting this soapy substance have been patented; and, moreover, profitable uses have been found for other constituents of the horse-chestnut. The shell is rich in tannin, and is used in preparing an extract for tanning leather. The kernel contains about six and six-tenths per cent, of a pale yellow oil similar to almond oil; After the oil has been extracted, the residue, treated with dilute alcohol, yields an extract containing about fifteen per cent of esoulic acid, a saponaceous substance that has excellent lathering and cleansing properties. The material left after the oil and soap have been removed, can be made into a white starch. When treated with cold water to remove the bitter principle, it is suitable for food.

Paper Gas Pipes.

Paper, it is stated on French authority, can now be used for making serviceable gas pipes, and two processes of manufacture are in use. In the first the. pulp is run into a mould, through which runs a mandril; it is then compressed, dried, and varnished. The tubes thus produced are rigid and little liable to breakage; they keep well, and are capable of rendering good service. In the second process sheets of Manila paper are cut to a breadth equal to the desired length of the tube, and then passed through a bath of the cementing material, asphalt in a state of fusion. From this, when half cold, they are rolled tightly and uniformly round an iron '•bar which forms the cone. Successive sheets are added until the desired thickness has been attained. The tube thus formed is subjected to pressure in a special machine, and covered with fine sand, which adheres to the asphalt. The whole is plunged into water to finish the cooling, and exterior and interior are finally rendered impermeable by a material which has silicate of alumina as a basis.

Greatest Ocean Depths.

There is nothing pertaining to the ocean which more easily carries away the imagination than the sense of its profundity. And yet when the first scientific measurements of sea depths were made there was probably a general sense of disappointment following their announcement. The ocean did not seem quite so deep when measured in feet, or fathoms, as when measured only by the elastic standards of fancy. The deepest of the oceans is also the broadest, the Pacific. Its greatest depth, as far as known, lies about onethird of the way from Oregon to Japan, where bottom has been found at the enormous depth of 28,027 feet, or more than five and one-quarter miles. The third greatest depth, 27,171 feet, is in the South Pacific, near the Friendly Islands. The greatest depth of the North Atlantic, and the second greatest depth yet measured, is 27,358 feet, just north nof Porto Rico. There are many profound depressions in this part of the sea basin. Between Cuba and the Grand Caymapi there is a hole 20,562 feet, or almost four miles, deep. Next after the Atlantic comes the Indian Ocean, with a greatest depth, south of Java, of 20,352 feet. The Arctic Ocean ranks next, with a record of 14,894 feet between Spitsbergen and Greenland. The China Sea is 14,097 feet in depth west of the Philippine Islands. The Mediterranean’s greatest depth is 14,432 feet south-west of Greece. The greatest depth of the Black Sea is 8587 .feet; that of the North Sea, at the Skagerrack, 2650; that of the Baltic, 1390, while the Antractic Ocean attains a depth of 11,847 feet, near the edge of the so-called Antarctic Continent.