Various - Scientific American Supplement, No. 611, September 17, 1887
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Various >> Scientific American Supplement, No. 611, September 17, 1887
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 611
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 17, 1887
Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XXIV., No. 611.
Scientific American established 1845
Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year.
Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year.
* * * * *
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. BIOGRAPHY.--The New Statue of Philip Lebon.--Biography of
the French pioneer inventor of gas lighting, with notes on
the recent inauguration of his statue.--1 illustration. 9757
II. CHEMISTRY.--The Analysis of Urine.--An elaborate investigation
of the method of analyzing chemically and microscopically
this fluid, with illustrations of the apparatus employed.--4
illustrations 9758
III. ELECTRICITY.--Electrical Alarm for Pharmacists.--An apparatus
for indicating to the pharmacist when he removes from the
shelf a bottle containing poison.--2 illustrations. 9753
Electric Steel Railways.--By GEORGE W. MANSFIELD.--A full
discussion of the problem of electric railways; comparison
with horse and cable traction. 9752
IV. ENGINEERING.--Improved Oscillating Hydraulic Motor.--A
small motor for household use, as for driving sewing machines
and other domestic machinery.--8 illustrations. 9751
The Ceara Harbor Works.--A remarkable engineering work now
in progress in Brazil; the formation of an artificial
harbor.--4 illustrations. 9752
V. GEOLOGY.--Notes of a Recent Visit to Some of the
Petroleum-Producing Territories of the United States and
Canada.--By BOVERTON REDWOOD, F.I.C., F.C.S.--The second
portion of this valuable paper, treating more particularly
of Canadian petroleum. 9765
VI. METEOROLOGY.--The "Meteorologiske Institut" at Upsala,
and Cloud Measurements.--The methods used and results
attained in the famous Upsala observatory under Profs. Ekholm
and Hagstroem; the measurement of clouds.--1 illustration. 9764
VII. MISCELLANEOUS.--Drawing Instrument for Accurate Work.--By
J. LEHRKE.--A magnifying instrument for fine work and
measurements.--2 illustrations. 9754
Liquid and Gaseous Rings.--Notes on the production of vortex
rings.--The different aspects and breaking up of smoke
rings.--6 illustrations. 9760
Scenes among the Extinct Volcanoes of Rhineland.--The
picturesque features of the geological formations of this
region described.--10 illustrations. 9762
Shall We Have a National Horse?--An eloquent plea by RANDOLPH
HUNTINGTON for the production of a good type of animal.--Use
of the Arabian horse as an improver of the breed. 9760
VIII. NAVAL ENGINEERING.--Trial Trip of the Ohio.--The remarkable
results attained by the introduction of new boilers and
machinery in an American steamship. 9751
IX. PHYSIOLOGY.--Apparatus for Determining Mechanically the
Reaction Period of Hearing.--An interesting study of the time
of transmission of an impulse through the sensor and motor
nerves.--1 illustration. 9753
X. SANITATION.--A New Disinfector.--Description of a new apparatus
for disinfecting by superheated steam and air, with tabular
statement of elaborate tests made with it.--2 illustrations. 9754
Trees from a Sanitary Aspect.--By CHARLES ROBERTS, F.R.C.S.,
etc.--The sanitary value of trees considered by this eminent
sanitarian.--The uses and abuses of shade near houses. 9765
XI. TECHNOLOGY.--A New Alkali Process.--The Parnell & Simpson
process of making carbonate of soda, combining the features of
the Leblanc and ammonia methods. 9755
A New Process for the Distillation and Concentration of Chemical
Liquids.--By GEORGE ANDERSON, of London.--An apparatus
and process especially adapted to the manufacture of sulphate of
ammonia.--The invention of Alex. Angus Croll described.--1
illustration. 9757
Barlow's Machine for Moulding Candles.--A new apparatus for
candle manufacture, fully described and illustrated.--5
illustrations. 9754
Temperature of Gas Distillation.--The mooted question discussed
by Mr. WM. FOULIS, the eminent gas engineer. 9756
The Largest Black Ash Furnace in the World.--Note of a recent
furnace for use in the Leblanc process of soda manufacture. 9756
* * * * *
IMPROVED OSCILLATING HYDRAULIC MOTOR.
The motor of MM. Schaltenbrand & Moller is adapted for use for
household purposes, where small power is required, as in driving
sewing machines.
Fig. 1 shows the motor with all its parts in side elevation, the
flywheel and head rest being in section. Fig. 2 is a side view, with
the air reservoir and distribution valve in section through the line
1-2. Figs. 3 and 4 represent the same apparatus, but without support,
as where it is to be used on the table of a sewing machine, with the
crank of the motor directly fastened to the flywheel of the sewing
machine. Fig. 5 is a plan or horizontal section at the level of the
line 3-4, and Fig. 6 is a section passing through the same line, but
only including the cylinder and axis of the distributing valve. Fig. 7
is a horizontal section of the button of the cock through the line 5-6
of Fig. 3. Finally, Fig. 8 shows in detail, plan, and elevation the
arrangement of the starting valve.
[Illustration: Figs. 1 through 8 IMPROVED OSCILLATING HYDRAULIC MOTOR.]
This little motor does not show any new principle. It uses the old
oscillating cylinder, but it embraces in its construction ingenious
details which render its application very simple and very easy,
especially, as we have already said, to sewing machines.
In the first place, the oscillating bronze cylinder, A, is cast in one
piece with the distribution cock, _a_, Fig. 3, and its seat, _b_, also
of bronze, is adjusted and fastened by means of the screw, _b_, to the
air reservoir, C', cast with its cistern, C, acting as foundation or
bed plate for the motor. This cistern is held either on the base of
the cast iron bearing frame, D, of the main shaft, _d_, _d_, Figs. 1
and 2, or directly on the sewing machine table, Figs. 3 and 4, by
means of two pins, _e_ and _e'_, so that it can oscillate about an
axis which is perpendicular to the shaft, _d_, to which is attached
the disk, F, carrying the crank.
This arrangement of parts, in combination with the horizontal axis of
the distribution valve and with the piston rod, _g_, considered as a
vertical axis of rotation, forms a species of universal joint between
the crank pin and the table, so that it can be put in place without
adjustment by any workman, who only has to screw up the two screws,
_h_, to fasten to the table the standard, E, and the piece, E', in
which are screwed the pivots, _e_ and _e'_, which support the tank,
and this all the rest of the motor.
As is seen more clearly in Fig. 2, the water under pressure enters by
the pipe, _c_, to which is attached a small tube of India rubber, and
leaves by the pipe, _c'_, and is carried away by another India rubber
tube.
The openings of the distribution cock are symmetrically pierced in the
seat and plug, which latter is divided internally by a horizontal
diaphragm so arranged that at each oscillation communication is
established alternately above and below the piston. So that it can be
started or stopped quickly, the opening and closing of the throttle
valve, _i_ (Fig. 2), is effected by a single pulling movement upon the
handle, I, and this draws out the valve horizontally. For this end the
lever is pivoted upon the extremity of the valve stem, and ends in a
bar engaging with a fork which acts as its fulcrum. This fork is cast
in one piece with the plug, J, which closes the opening through which
the valve is put in place, as shown in detail in Fig. 8. To prevent
the lever from spinning out of the fork when it is pulled or pushed,
this lever is prevented from turning by the valve stem, provided for
this purpose with a double rib, _i'_ (Figs. 2 and 8), which engages in
slots in one piece, _j_, secured in the interior of the plug, J.
Lest the friction of the conical distribution valve oscillating with
the cylinder should occasion a loss of power, care is taken to leave
the key free in its seat, _b_, by not forcing the pivot, _k_ (Figs. 1,
3, and 5), whose position in its seat is regulated by the screw, _k'_.
It follows that a very slight escape of water may be produced, but
that does no harm, as it is caught in the reservoir, C, provided with
a little pipe, K (Figs. 1 and 3), to carry it away.
To maintain proper relations between the pressure of the water, or the
work it is called upon to do, and the motor, the quantity of water
introduced into the cylinder at each stroke of the piston is regulated
by adjusting the length of stroke by the crank pin. For this end the
course of the latter is made variable by means of the piece, _f_,
adjusted by set-screw in the interior of the disk, F (Figs. 3 and 7),
and tapped for the reception of a screw terminated by a milled button,
_f_. If this button is turned, it moves the piece, _f_, and therefore
regulates the distance of the crank pin, _g'_, to which the piston
rod, _g_, is attached (Fig. 3) from the center of rotation.
When the motor is arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or for the
transmission of motion by means of a band wheel, _p_, cast in one with
the flywheel, P, the disk which receives the crank pin of variable
position is fixed directly upon the axle, _d_, of the same flywheel
carried by the support, D; but when the motor can be applied directly,
as is the case for example in the Singer sewing machine, upon the axle
of the machine, no support is used, and the arrangement shown in Figs.
3 and 4 is adopted. In this case the disk, F', is cast with three arms
which serve, by means of a screw, to fasten it to the flywheel carried
by the axle of the sewing machine.
When the motor is used on the upper stories of buildings, the changes
of speed incidental to drawing the water from the lower stories from
the same pipe can be compensated by the use of an accumulator. This
accessory apparatus is composed of a reservoir of a capacity of 10
liters or more, intercalated in the pipe which supplies the motor, so
that the water coming from the principal pipe enters the bottom of
this reservoir, passing through an India rubber valve opening inward,
the supply for the motor coming through a tube always open and placed
above this valve. The air trapped in the accumulator is compressed by
the water, and when the pressure in the pipe decreases, the valve
closes and the compressed air drives the water through the motor with
decreasing pressure until normal pressure is re-established in the
pipes.--_Publication Industrielle._
* * * * *
TRIAL TRIP OF THE OHIO.
Some important trials of the new machinery of the screw steamer Ohio,
belonging to the International Navigation Company, have recently taken
place on the Clyde. The Ohio is an American built steamer measuring
343 ft. by 43 ft. by 34 ft. 6 in., and of 3,325 tons gross. She has
been entirely refitted with new engines and boilers by Messrs. James
Howden & Co., Glasgow, who also rearranged the bunker, machinery, and
hold spaces, so as to give the important advantage of increased cargo
accommodation obtainable from the use of their improved machinery,
which occupies considerably less space than the engines and boilers of
the same power which have been replaced. The new engines are of the
triple expansion type, and the boilers, which are designed for
supplying steam of 150 lb. pressure, are worked on Howden's system of
forced draught, which combines increased power with high economy in
fuel. The object of the owners in refitting the Ohio was to test the
capability and economy of this system of forced draught on a
sufficient scale to guide them in dealing with steamships of the
largest class and great power.
In the refit of the Ohio the boilers were designed to work with a very
moderate air pressure, this being sufficient for the power required by
the contract. The combined power and economy, however, guaranteed by
Messrs. Howden & Co. for the use of their system of forced draught was
higher than has hitherto been attempted in any steamship, and
sufficient, if attained, to prove the large reduction that could
safely be made in the number and size of boilers for the use of the
system, and the quantity of coal required to produce a given power.
The contract for the refit of the steamer required that 2,100
indicated horse power (which was the maximum power of the engines
removed) should be maintained during the trial on a consumption of
1.25 lb. of coal per indicated horse power per hour. Originally the
boilers of the Ohio, from which this power was produced, were three in
number, double ended, 12 ft. 6 in. in diameter by 17 ft. 6 in. in
length, having each six furnaces 3 ft. in diameter, or eighteen
furnaces in all, with an aggregate fire grate area of 300 square feet.
The new boilers, fitted with the forced draught, are likewise three in
number, but single ended, 13 ft. in diameter by 11 ft. 2 in. in
length, having each three furnaces 3 ft. 3 in. in diameter, or nine
furnaces in all, with an aggregate fire grate area of 112 square feet.
Air for combustion is supplied to the boilers by one of Messrs. W.H.
Allen & Co.'s fans, 5 ft. 6 in. in diameter, driven direct by an
engine having a cylinder 7 in. in diameter with stroke of 4 in. The
boilers removed had two stoke holds across the ship, one fore and one
aft of the boilers, while the new boilers have only one stoke hold on
the after side. The engines removed have cylinders 57 in. and 90 in.
in diameter by 48 in. stroke, while the new engines have three
cylinders 31 in., 46 in., and 72 in. in diameter respectively, with
piston stroke of 51 in.
During the trials the coals were weighed out under the supervision of
the officers of the company, who also took the record of speed and
other data. After running down Channel for a considerable time, the
trial on the coals weighed out began, and lasted 4 hours 10 minutes,
during which time 10,885 lb. of Welsh coal were burned, the trial
ending with the same revolutions of engines and the same pressure in
boilers with which it began. The mean indicated horse power,
calculated from the mean of seven sets of indicator cards, taken
during the trial, and the mean revolutions per minute, found by
dividing the total revolutions recorded on the engine counter by the
minutes in the period of the trial, amounted to 2,124, thus making the
consumption 1.23 lb. per indicated horse power per hour, and the power
per square foot of fire grate almost exactly 19 indicated horse power.
While testing the indicated horse power and consumption of coal, the
steamer ran to and fro between the Cloch and Cumbrae lights, and also
made several runs on the measured mile at Skelmorlie, from which the
mean speed of the vessel was found to be 14.12 knots per hour. The
remarkably high results obtained were most satisfactory to the
representatives of the owners, and a large party of experts on board
congratulated Mr. Howden on the successful fulfillment of the onerous
guarantees undertaken.--_Engineering._
* * * * *
THE CEARA HARBOR WORKS.
The works illustrated by the engravings are now being constructed
under a concession from the imperial government of Brazil. The
province of Ceara has an area of about 50,000 square miles, and is one
of the richest in Brazil. Its produce comprises sugar, coffee, cocoa,
cotton, tobacco, spices, fruit, cabinet and dye woods, India rubber,
etc. Its population at the last census, taken in 1877, amounted to
952,624 inhabitants, that of the capital, the city and port of Ceara,
being about 40,000. Although Ceara is the principal seaport at which
lines of English, French, American, Brazilian, and other steamers
regularly call, prior to the commencement of the harbor improvements
it was almost an open roadstead, passengers and goods having to be
conveyed by lighters and boats between vessels and the shore. The
official statistics of the trade and shipping of the port show that an
income of L35,750 per annum will be collected by the Ceara harbor
corporation from the dues which they are authorized by their
concession to charge on all imports and exports and on the vessels
using the port and from the rent of the bonded warehouses.
[Illustration: NEW HARBOR WORKS, CEARA, BRAZIL.]
The drawings given here show the nature of the works, which are of a
simple character. The depth of water along the principal quay, which
is being constructed of solid concrete, and is connected with the
shore by an iron and steel viaduct over 750 ft. in length--which is
already completed--will be 19 ft. at low water and 25 ft. at high.
This quay and breakwater is shown in perspective, in plan, and in
section, and is of a very heavy section, as will be gathered by the
scale given immediately below it. Meanwhile the landing of cargo is
temporarily carried on at the end of the viaduct, which at high tide
has a depth of about 20 ft. of water. The custom house and bonded
warehouses are being built of the fine granite obtained at the Monguba
quarries, which adjoin the Baturite railway, about sixteen miles from
the port. A new incline has also been constructed from the rail way
down to the port. The line has been laid along the viaduct, and will
be extended over the quays as soon as they are completed. The
concrete, of which a large quantity is being used, is mixed by Carey &
Latham's patent mixers, and the contractors have supplied the very
large and complete plant for carrying out the operations.
The engineer to the corporation is Mr. R.E. Wilson, M. Inst. C.E.,
Westminster, and his resident at Ceara is Mr. R.T.H. Saunders, M.
Inst. C.E. The contractors for the work are Messrs. Punchard,
McTaggart & Co., their representative at Ceara being Mr. George
Wilson, M. Inst. C.E._--The Engineer._
* * * * *
ELECTRIC STREET RAILROADS.
BY GEORGE W. MANSFIELD.
Why should we prefer electricity as the propelling agent of our street
cars over all other known methods? I answer, without hesitation,
because it is the best, and being the best is the cheapest. Briefly I
will present the grounds upon which I take my stand.
To-day the only methods for tramway service are three in number:
Horses, with a history of fifty years and over; cables, with a history
of fifteen years; and electricity, with a history of two years. I give
the latter two years on the basis of the oldest electric street
railroad in existence to-day, and that is the Baltimore railroad,
equipped with the Daft system.
The main points for consideration common to each are six in number:
1st. Obtaining of franchise.
2d. Construction of buildings, viz., engine house or stable.
3d. Equipment--rolling stock, horses, engines and dynamos.
4th. Construction of tramway.
5th. Cost of operation.
6th. Individual characteristics and advantages.
Each of these requires a paper by itself, but in as concise a way as
possible, presenting only the salient reasons and figures, I shall
endeavor to embody it in one.
1st. Obtaining of franchise.
I assume the municipal officers and the promoters honest men.
It is the universal settled conviction that a street car propelled
with certainty and promptness by mechanical means is infinitely to be
preferred to horses. Hence, if this guarantee can be given, there need
be no fear from the other side of the house. Years of experience prove
that this guarantee can be given.
The mechanical methods are electricity and the cable. To suit local
conditions the former has three general applications--overhead,
underground, and accumulator systems; while the latter has but one,
the underground. Hence, the former, electricity, has three chances to
the latter's one to meet the whims, opinions, or decisions of
municipal authorities. Other advantages accruing from mechanical
methods are cleaner streets, absence of noise, quick time, no
blockades, no stables accumulating filth and breeding pestilence, and
lastly the great moral sympathetic feeling for man's most faithful and
valuable servant, the horse. These all are directly in favor of
obtaining the right franchise.
The three general ways of obtaining the same are a definite payment of
cash to the authorities, a guarantee of an annual payment of a certain
per cent. of the earnings, and lastly a combination of the two. For
the city or town the latter way is the safest, and the best, all
things considered. As electricity is mechanical, and as it can be
shown that it is the cheapest to construct and most economical, and
has three chances to operate, it stands by far the most likely to
obtain the franchise.
2d. Construction of buildings.
The governing factors under this head are the local land valuation and
tax. The system necessitating a spread eagle policy on the land
question will cost. What could be a more perfect illustration than the
horse railroad system? The motive power of the New York Central
Railroad between New York and Albany could be comfortably stowed in
the barns of some of the New York City street railways. What a
contrast! The real estate, buildings, and fixtures of the Third Ave.
line are valued at $1,524,000, and what buildings! Cattle sheds in the
metropolis of America. Surely they did not cost a tithe of this great
sum. What did? The land, a whole block and more. Henry George
advocates might find food for thought here. All this is true of the
other lines in every city in the Union. Enormous expenditures for
land. A good one half of their capital sunk in purchasing the
necessary room. Go where you will, a good fifty per cent. of the
capital is used for land for their stables. This obviously does not
include equipment.
How is it with mechanical systems? The land is one of the minor
considerations, the last thing considered. Let us look at some
figures. From careful examination of many engine plants, considering
the ratio between a certain number of horses with their necessary
adjuncts and a steam plant of numerically equal power, I find it
stands as 1 to 30. That is, a steam plant complete of 30 horse power
capacity would need only one thirtieth the floor space of thirty
horses. With larger powers this ratio is still greater, and from one
estimate I found that it stood as 1 to 108, i.e., for horses I should
have to have 108 times more floor space than for an equal number of
mechanical horse power. It must be remembered also that the mechanical
horse power is 50 per cent. greater than the best animal horsepower.
From one maker, taking the engine alone, I found that a rated 100
horse power engine, guaranteed in every particular, would have ample
room in the stall for one horse in the average stable. Another
instance showed that I could get a steam plant complete, engine,
boiler, etc., of 50 horse power, in a space 5 by 6 feet, which is
smaller than the average stall. Here is shown the enormous saving in
land purchase.
For car room a building several stories high would answer perfectly,
since quick-hoisting elevators could be put in and the tracks on each
floor have wire connections with the dynamos, so that the cars could
be run across the floor to where you please, facilitating storage and
dispensing with handling. This would not be possible with the cable.
Comparing electricity and cable on this point, all things favor the
former clearly and beyond all question. Furthermore, if locality so
favored, the subject of land purchase for electricity could be tabooed
entirely, since distance can be so readily overcome. Way out in the
suburbs or back in the country by the side of some waterfall, your
station might be, while the current is sent to the great city over
heavy conductors. Here land rent or tax would be at the minimum. With
horses or cable plainly proximity must be had. It is estimated that
the land occupied by the Madison Avenue line of New York City is worth
the cost of 40 miles of ordinary double track.
3d. Equipment at station and rolling stock.
The rolling stock would be in each case approximately the same.
Consisting of cars of equal seating capacity, the difference of cost
would be the necessary attachments for the mechanical systems.
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