New Britain Herald Newspaper, July 26, 1928, Page 17

kA, P Courtesy ot Sctence and Tnventioa, N NN This_Drawing, Together with the Insert Showing a Top View of the Circular Wall of the Tower, Illustrates the Manner of Building a_Substantial Foundation The Structure Would Be Left in its Present Position. While Caissons Would Be Sunk Progressively Around Under the Tower, Under the Tower of Pisa. and Then Filled with Cement. more, for modern methods of engineering, it is now believed, can be applied to make this famous ancient structure stand upright. Italy’s architectural wonder is doomed to topple over some day, according to experts, unless steps are soon taken to prevent it from leaning much farther than it does today. Recent measurements have shown that the tower is still sinking, although very little at the present, but sufficient o that in time to come, unless something is done soon, it will surely fall. Once the top of the tower goes beyond its center of gravity, the tower must erash down and scatter into ruins. Since 1817, the overhang of the first seven stories has ipcreased a minimum of about one- twelfth of an inch per year. Part of this increase was due to excavations made in 1838 and 1839 for the purpose of studying the foundations at their lowest part. The movement never ceases, although it is exceedingly slow. . The world-famous leaning tower of Pisa is a structure of eight stories with a total height of 187 feet. It was planned by a native architect, Bonanno, a famous Pisan builder of the twelfth century, some 753 years ago. While Bonanno was an excellent architect, he evidently must have been somewhat careless of his foundations. Instead of investigating the site upon which the tower was to be built, he only went down into the swampy soil a few feet, and then started opera- tions. a matter of fact, the foundation for the tower was only ten feet, which certainly was P!SA'S leaning tower is not going to lean any ows How a Famous French Engineer Proposes to Freeze Circular STEELCAISSONS, FILLED wiTh the PALCED Winy Base of the Tower and Then Pump in Cement Under Pressure to Build a Water- Tight Foundation Under the Tower in Its Present Position. A Detail of One of the Brine Pipes Is Shown at the Left Below. CEMENT DRIVEN INTO SOIL UNDER BE REMOVED . not sufficient, particularly in a swampy soil, for a tower nearly 200 feet high and 51 feet, 8 inches in diameter. As soon as Bonanno had built some 40 feet of his tower, it was noted that it began to list on one side, out of perpendicular. He, however, hoped for the best, and continued building; at the same time he made the pillars on the sinking side higher than on the other side, in order to compensate for the sinking. This, however, did not seem to do much good, for still the tower proceeded to lean more and more. For sixty years the unfinished marble tower was left standing, when the Pisans called in Benenato. He continued to build it up to the fourth story, and still the tower sank. After Benenato had died, the Pisans called in a Ger- man by the name of William of Innsbruck, who also tried to force the tower back to the perpen- dicular by making the pillars of the fifth and sixth stories longer on the sinking side than on the other. He too became discouraged and quit the job, and for another hundred years the tower stood unfinished. Finally, another local architect, Tommaso Pisano, proceeded to finish the tower. He merely added the bell cupola on the last story and further inclined his cupola toward the perpen- dicular. The tower by that time was finished, and had its present appearance. Electric VAPORIZER for COLDS NOVEL type of inhaler, for the home A treatment of colds or other troubles of nose and throat, has been patented by Harry A. Chouinard, of Maywood, Ill. It com- bines the advantages of convenience and sim- licity. g A é]ass vessel of inverted cone shape is meant to contain water, which being vaporized by an elecrtic heater, passes upward through a piece of medicated cotton into a paper cone of shape and size to fit the face of the user. The glass vessel has a tight-fitting metal cap, with a circular aperture that is provided with a downturned flange to serve as a socket for a tap- ering metal cup which has a number of perfora- tions in its bottom. Into the cup, which holds the medicated cotton, is fitted the paper cone for breathing the vaporized liquid. Through a smaller aperture in this cap is in- serted into the water a heater—a tubular metsl casing housing a resistance coil. At the upper end of the casing is a knob, for a convenient handle, insulated for coolness. Wires pass from the coil through the handle, for attachment to & source of elec- tricity. When the contrivance is wanted for use, all that is necessary is to put water into the glass vessel, fit the cap on it, adjust the paper cone in the cup. Insert the heater, and turn on the current. The water is thereby suf- ficiently heated in a few minutes, the vapor passing up through the medicated cotton, to be breathed. A most interesting contrast is af- forded between the modern method of treating colds and the like and tha! used a few generations ago. During those days of early home remedies sore throats, for example. were treated by wrapping red flan- nel around the neck. This was usually preceded with a rubbing cf oose grease, Goose grease, it wiil Ec recalled, was carefully hoarded in the good old days gone by. Whenever a go was killed and cooked the grease was saved, every bit of it. Sometimes it was mixed with mol s and taken internally for colds. If the goose grease failed to work the sufferer got lard instead, with a turpentine rub on the chest. At the first signs of Spring sulphur and molasses were taken to purify the blood. An Electric Coil Heats the Liquid in the Vessel from Which Arise the Healing Vapors to Be Breathed by the Patient. Right: The Diagram Rings of Soil About s -nkm/smvs? NG OF BRINE PIPES MAY HEAW ROLLERS 40vo 50 TRACKS REQUIRED TO CARRY LOAD According to the report of investigating engineers, the principal cause of the progressive inclination of the tower of Pisa seems to lie in the presence of mov- ing water, which produces voids and weakens the soil beneath the foundation, so the following corrective measures are necessary: 1—To prevent all flow of subterranean water. 2—To consolidate t h o eoil. For instance, by in- jecting cement into the voids of the part of the masonry which was laid up dry, ang into the pores of the 80i®0 as to displace all or part of the water. Among the many schemes, proposed to save Pisa tower, one, described in Science and Invention, con- sists of shoring up the tower by means of steel beams, so that the ensuing work will not be responsible for crash- ing the tower. The first scheme then would be to provide a multitude of stays in all directions, and then demolish a small section of the tower, little by little, near the ground, and as the bricks and marble are removed, substitute wood- en or stecl beams therefor, so that after all the demolishing was done, the tower would then rest on a platform of steel or wood, supported only by this platform. Previous to that, a great num- ber of steel rails would have been placed under the shoring, so that by the time the tower was resting upon its false foundation, this foundation itself would be resting on top of the steel rails. As the false shoring foundation is moved to- ward the new foundation, the steel booms are moved likewise by means familiar to engineers. Having reached its new foundation, it could stay on that foundation forever, or if this was snot deemed advisable for historical purposes, a modern concrete foundation could be sunk in the original position of the tower. The tower could INNER RING OF p1oRs LEFT.IN PLACE AND FILLED WITHCEMENT| To SAVE the Famous Leanin of PISA from Toppling Over How Modem Engineers Plan to Prevent Ancient Structure from Losing Its Balance and Crashing Down Into Ruins. MULTITUDE OF ' STAYS NEEDED The Tower Is Supported with Arms or Braces, and Shored Up on a Platform Placed on Rollers, Which in Turn Rest on a Beries of Rails, So the Structure Can Be Readily Moved to a New Foundation. then be moved back and left in that position. rench engineer proposes to freeze the watery soil beneath the tower. The freezing method util- ized is quite unique. The refriger- ating brine is forced 3own through a small pipe placed inside of a larger one; the result is that the brine runs down to the bottom of the small pipe, and then comes up inside the large pipe to the surface of the ground, where it is carried off through suitable piping and returned to the refrigerating machine or compressor. The soil surrounding the larger pipe freezes for a dis- tance of several feet all around it. By freezing the soil and water at depths below 100 feet, the workmen are enabled to dig out the soil imme- diately below the caisson, while the caisson is gradually and progressively driven down to g Spaced Along the Walls of the Mine Are Cupboards Containing Flasks, Each of Which Is Filled with Oxygen Bufficient to Last Each Entombed Miner for Two Hours. SUPPLY of oxygen, however small, under A some circumstances may make the differ- ence between life and death, especially in the case of a mine explosion. Such an occur- rence renders the air of the mine unbreathable, What the INVENTORS Are DOING TARFISH in swarms make raids on the oyster beds, working wholesale havoc. The best means so far discovered for deal- ing with starfish is the “mop,” a long bar to which are attached a number of tails of rope yarn. The bar is dragged along the bottom over the oyster beds, and the stars, becoming en- tangled in the rope threads, are drawn to the surface and killed by plunging the mop into & tank of boiling water. . . The glass “coaster,” for hnl&ng a tumbler or a cup, is ofttimes delightfully conyenient. But a woman of Yazoo City, Miss., Nettie Linse- meyer, has hit upon an idea for enhancing its usefulness by encircling the upper edge of the coaster with a metal bead which, on one side, has a flange formed to serve as a holder for a spoon. At one end, the flange, extending out- ward from the rim of the coaster, is crimped to form a clamp for holding the spoon handle, while its other end has a concaved expansion to receive the bowl of the spoon. Thus, when the latter is placed in the holder, it is safely held. b A method of grinting luminous figures on watch and clock dials has been newly patented by Harrie F. Talbot, of Thomaston, Conn. This inventor uses an improved compound of radium paint, which has the advantage of not drying quickly. The paint mixture is rubbed into the depressions of a die with a putty knife, and the die is then scraped clean. A rubler printing pad, in a cup-shaped holder, is provided with a plunger. The plunger is used to force down the pad upon the die, and by adhesion it takes up the radium mixture from the ¢depressions aforementioned. Then the pad is raised, and a dial being placed beneath, it is again forced down into contact with the latter, thereby print- ing the figures. D A device for keeping heated a portion of an automobile windshield, so that sleet or ice or moisture may not collect upon it, is the inven- tion of Edward S. Hudson, of Cedarville, Mich. It provides a glass panel, readily attachable to the windshield, with an ngement of resist- ance coils to heat the air between the windshield and the panel. .« . A device for manicuring the finges-nafls con- sists of a clip of thin steel having a base plate and two side plates, the latter curted to fit the finger. Under the base plate is a,blade spring, to press the side plates against the finger and hold them firmly. The base plate has a for. ward extension to which l,bent arm is pivoted 0 that it can swing horizontally in front of the fingertip. At the free end of the arm, on a level with the finger-nail, is a little tolder for a file. When the file is fitted into the holder, it can be guided by the pivoted arm along the edge of the nail, to trim it . An eye-exerc in the pocket consists of two cup-shaped sockets, one for each e; Small levers at the bottom of the exerciser rotate these cups inward or out- ward to give the tired muscles of the eyes nec- essary relaxation. The MYSTERIOUS Sinking CREEK MONG the many natural wonders of Vir- A ginia. besides the Natural Bridge and the Natural Tunnel, is one not as well known as the two just mentioned, but fully as unique. This is Sinking Creek, which not only plunges beneath the ecarth and flows under a mountain for more than one mile, but also actu- ally flows under a river before it reappears on the opposite side of the river in the form of a large spring inking Creek, formed by the union of two smaller creeks, rises in Russell County, Virgin and after pursuing a meandering cour more than six miles through Ruszell County and Scott County, disappears into a rocky. cave like orening at the base of a hill on the cast side of Clinch River, about two miles east of Dungannon, Virginia. All along the base of the rocky hill beneath which the stream plunges are perhaps a dozen other similar openings, which are not used, unless, of course, the creek should be swollen by recent rains From here the creek flows more than a mile beneath a steep and rocky mountain and under Clinch River before it appears on the west side of the river, about two miles north of Dungan non. Here a huge spring comes bubbling out of the earth, forming a circular pool ahout thirty feet in diameter, and fifty feet from the bank of Clinch River. The stream from the spring flows back into the river. The connection between the creek on the east side of the river and the spring on the west side has been proved conclusively, according to H. L Stollard in the Pathfinder. Marked timbers were put into the stream near where it plunged beneath the earth, while observers waited at the spring on the opposite side of Clinch River. In t:e course of a few hours these timbers re- appeared at the spring, where the creek was be- g “CANNED” OXYGEN for greater and greater depths. The soil and water is frozen repeatedly as the caisson is sunk deeper and deeper. The chief engineer of one of the leading American foundation companies, an Pnginnrring e everyday work comprises suc ng foundations for 30 and 40-story skys gives the following stions as to how they would put a new ation under the Tower of Pisa Steel or pos:ibly wood caissons would have te be sunk to a depth of abont 30 feet, reaching down to firm soil. These eaissons would be sunk in a staggered row, one at a time, under the toper wall. After a caisson is sunk to a suffi- t depth to reach firm soil, it filled concrete. It would not be nec ry to put braces or stays around the tower while this operation was being ca especially of the fact but one e t in place at a tir Contrary to the usual n the ¢ of new foundations, where unk in long sections, they ed in under the foundation most probably in this case, the various sections, if of steel, being welded to- gether with an oxyacetylene flame. The engineering method of sinking these eals- gons in place under the tower wall is very inter- esting. This engineer pointed out that they would probably push the son downward, a pressure being brought to bear between the head of the caisson and the under surface of the tower wall rel\ being supplied by a group oi acks. n sections are slid into place one other, welded togecther and forced ssively. The whole caisson tube is six feet in diameter and reaches down pth of 40 to 50 feet, in order to reach The hydraulic jacks would be left in and grouted in with cement, after the cais- been filled with cement. This process eated all the way around and under the tower wall, until finally the whole tower is un- derpinned with a staggered ring of caissons all filld with concrete. k] Sseieg el or at least impossible to breathe for any length of time without poisoning the blood to a deadly extent. ® If the section of the mine where the men are working is not blockaded so as to prevent their escape, only a few minutes may be required to get out. But those few minutes are precious. To provide against such contingencies, and enable the miners to stay alive and preserve their physical activity for a little while, emergency fla, of oxygen are now provided in many mines. They are steel flasks, about pint size, in which the oxygen is stored under pressure. At spaccd intervals along the walls of the mine are shallow cupboards, cach containing a dozen of these flasks hung on hooks. In the event of an explosion or other such emergency, the men Jose no time in going to the nearest cupboard and getting the fl V) Each flask 1 two hours. Its xygen to last a man a clip which, fastened upon nose, s him from breathing throug nostrils while he inhales the oxygen through his mouth. lieved to come to the surface after its journey beneath the bed of the river. It was in this way the connection bheneath the disappearing creek and the great spring was proved. Imitation of Fire N electric imitation fire of novel design has been patented by Hubert A. Dickinzon, of Manchester, England. It is arranged to :I:‘k’rr in such an irregular way as to counter- feit convincingly a real fire, with no suggestion ontrol. on four legs. A casing thus @ contains an electric lamp, about which £ a “shroud” with many perforations. The shroud is connected to a fan, the blades of which are of irregular shape. to rotate, of heated This causes the shroud heing energized by the upward eurrent air from the lamp. 1In the base of the iz an air-inlet opening. ng is closed at the top by a sheet of glass that has an irregular surface, and this shest Ives to support pieces of broken colored glass or gls 2. Thus light from the lamp, passing t h the top, refracted and dif- fracted, gives a flickering effect of red, yellow, and other hu also through the front of the h gains a like effect of flickering colors from broken pieces of glass arranged about electric heating elements, helped by sheats of irregularly surfaced clear glass behind the latter. red blades of the fan help the !l as the perforations of the shroud and the irregular surface of the clear glass.