The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 1, 1896, Page 27

t THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1896 New Motor for Life- Saving on the Deep Shaped Like a Torpedo and Run by Elec- “ tricity or Spring, Braving Heavy Surf The latest device for eommunication between a ship in distress and shore is a cigar-shaped electric boat. As the New York Herald declares the great difficulty which life-savers have had to contend with has been that of getting aline from | the shore to the ship. Often the only | means is the mortar, and when this fails the life-savers are obliged to stand by and see the crew perish without being able to render them sny aid. - 1t is vo overcome this and afford the life- savers an opportunity to work in any kind | of weather, and under any conditions,jthat this new lifecar is made. 1t was at first proposed by the inventors that this car should only carry the life- line, but as their experiments demon- strated the feasibility of theplan, the in- terior construction of the car was changed so as to accommodate passengers. In construction the car resembles the vigar- shaped Whitehead torpedo. It is pointed at one end, while at the other there is a propeller and rudder. On either side of the graft, near the front, are two paddle- wheels, which are intended to aid the propeller and also serve the purpose of kesping the craft in a proper position while in the water. The motive power is supplied by & motor which is placed in the forward end of the craft. When carried A y ships the lifecar is suspended from in the same manner as an ordinary rifeboat. Either electricity ora spring motor can be used as a motive power. If electricity is used, storage batteries are placed in the hull of the craft and conpection made between them and the gearing which runs the propeller and the paddle-wheel’s mo- tion is transmitted by bevel gears acting upon the propeller shalt. The direction of the craft is controlled by means of a stationary rudder formed of two blades set at right angles, so that | it can be steered even if by any possibility | the’ craft should turn on its side while in | the water. Well aft in the body olythe craft isa | large drum or reel, on which is wound a | long cable, one end of which passes out through the top of the car and is made | fast to the ship. As the car travels through the water the line pays out, and so the car is in constant communication with the ship. Fixed to the bottom of the car or boat is a clawlike anchor hung on a half hinge, which allows it to work backward against the bottom of the boat, but prevents it from turning forward, The idea of this that when the craft strikes shallow water the anchor will dig into the sand or catch on the rocks and prevent the boat being washed back from the shore by the action of wind or waves. To still further prevent any possibility of the car being driven off shore the pad- dle-wheels are pointed and slightly curved, =0 that as they revolve in shallow water they will catch the sand. A wheel or roller is placed beneath the car at the stern, which allows the craft to be drawn up on the shore. All of the machinery is placed In the bow, thus leaving sufficient room'at the stern for the accommodation of a limited number of persons. In order that the position of the car may be indicated at night a large colored light 15 fixed neer the bow, and when electrictiy is the motive power it also serves to light the lamp. It is tightly closed and can pass safely through heavy seas. If by any chance the car should turn on its sidé while going through the water it might be unpleasant for the occupants, but it need not interfere with the progress of the craft, nor would it injure those in it bevond a general shaking up. The pecu- liar construction of the rudder and’side wheels makes it possible to steer the craft in any position, even if it should turn upside down. ‘When used as a means of transferring persons from the stranded ship to the shore this lifecar has many aavantages over the breeches buoy. Its occuvants are fully protected from any chance of a wetting and the number carried on each trip is limited only by the size of the car. It can be guided either by the occupaats or from the ship or shore by means of a wire carrying an electric current connect- ing with a steering gear in the bow. ’ —_——— What Is an Atom? It 1s strange that great scientists should | allow a little thing like an atom to bother them, but they do. A recent writer has given it as his opinion that ther® is no other devartment of scientific research which shows so strikingly man’s tremen- dous ignorance of nature as this bit of in- finite minutia. ' It i3 freely admitted that the most pro- found and diligent research has failed to develop anything like adequate knowledge as to what the Jittle atom really is. What he does is another matter. Long and learned disquisitions have been writ- ten about that—how it is his tremendous activity under the infiuence of heat that moves the engine, the little atom beating against the piston and so driving it for- | ward. The atom, however, is not dependent upon heat for its activity, for it keeps up a most exciting game of tag, even in the more gonstrained limits of a cold piece of iron. To be sure, our dull senses are un- able to discover the fact. Neither our sight nor our touch reveals it. But if our orgsns were several million times more acute they would be able to distingunish a constant upheaval in what otherwise appears to us a solid, immova- ble substance. The individual molecule, however, has large room for exercise in the small spaces away down beyond our sense of touch. Lord Kelvin says tbe atom is quite | measurable—is not too small to be capable | of having its exact dimensions hxed by figures. And by way of illustrating what his figures mean he says that if a drop of water were magnified into the size of this globe of ours and the atows that compose it were magnified of course in proportion the atom would appear somewhere be- tween the size of a shot and the size of a cricket ball. “Four lines of argument,” ‘he says, ‘‘founded on observation, have led to the conclusion that atoms, or molecules, are not inconceivably, not immeasurably small. 1 use the words ‘inconceivably’ and ‘immeasurably’ advisedly Tuat which is measurable is not inconceiv- able, and therefore the two words consti- tute a tautology. We leave inconceiva- bleness, in fact, to metaphysicians, * * * The general results of the four lines of reasoning to which I have referred, founded respectively on the undulatory theory of light, on the phenomena of con- tact eleetricity, en capillary attraction and on the kinetic theory of gases, agree in showing that the atoms or molecules of ordinary matter must be something like the 1-10,000,000 or from the 1-10,000,000 to the 1-100,000,000 of a centimeter in di- ameter.” And here is Lord Kelvin’s confession concerning the atom: “The chemists do not know what is to be the atom; for instance, whether hyaro- gen gas is to consist of two pieces of mat- ter in union “constituting one molecule, and these molecules flying about, or whether single molecules, -each - indi- visible, or at ail events undivided, in chemical action, constitute the struc- ture. I shall not go into any such ques- tions at all, but merely take the broad view that matter, although we may con- ceive it to be infinitely divisible; isnot in- finitely divisible without decomposition.” Whether we can divide pieces of glass into pieces smaller than the hundred- thousandth of a centimeter in diameter and soon without breaking 1t up, and make it cease to have the properties of glass, just as a brick has not_the property of a brick wall, is a very practical ques- tion, Absolute continuity distinguishes mat- ter and space as it distinguishes time. Moments, the atoms of time, can be divided infinitely, so, also, he says, space may be, but molecules of matter, he thinks, reach a point in their division where they lose their quality. Butecientists have been discovering new properties—or rather newly discovering properties—in the atom that has opened to them wide fields of interesting specu- lation. “The now well-known kinetic theory of gases,” says Lord Kelyin, “is a step so important in the way of explaining seem- ingly static properties of matter by mo- tion, that it is scarcely possible to help anticipating in idea the arrival ata com- plete theory of matter in which all its properties will be seen to be merely attri- butes of motion. If we are to look for the origin of this idea we must go back to Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius, ‘We may then, I believe, without missing a single step, skip 1800 years.” He refers to a mere reference to the theory by the French scientist Male- branche ‘‘early last century,” and a little later, he says, we have Daniel Bernoulli’s promulgation of what we now accept as “a surest rticle of faith—the kinetica theory of gases.” Rich as it is in practical ¥esults, the kinetic theory of gases, as hitherto de- veloped, stops absolutely short at the atom or molecule, and gives not even a suggestion toward explaining the proper- | ties in virtue of which the atoms or mole- cules mutually influence one another. For some guidance toward a deeper and more comprehensive theory of matter, we may- above the surface of the ground. The stability is further-increased by the rela- tive wiath of the basal triangle(3:6x4 eet) and by the position of the steering wheels in front. The elongated form of the tri- cycle, which 1s very conducive to speed, gives 1t a vague resemblance to a torpedo- boat, and whoever has seen it shooting along at thirty miles an hour upon a level, and at twenty-seven upon gradients, will recognize the fact that the name of “road torpedo - boat” is fully justified. The vehicle, in running order, weighs 350 pounds. The motor is & gasoline one of four revo- lutions, as usual. It has but one cylinder, and that of very elongated form, in order that the expansion shall be as complete as possible. The burner is so combined that the flame shall return upon itself ina reverberatory. The carbureter is the classic apparatus of Messrs. Panhard & Levassor. It will be remarked upon inspectipg the motor that a practical mind has combined all its parts, has placed all the valves, for ex- ample, within reach of the hand. The person who sits in front does not aid in the steering of the vehicle. The steersman sits behind, his feet resting on each side upon a platform provided with a straw mat. He merely has to move his foot backward in order to press the lever 27 1 pat University, Russia, disappeared from | his home last month, leaving a note to the effect that he was about to drown bimself. For a scholar of European reputation, he was bronght to the point of suicide by a remarkable train of events. Mendelssohn was a student of the dead languages. He had published works on old Roman historlans and on Cicero’s let- ters. He had prepared a book on “Sibyl- line Utterances' and was' almost ready to | send to press a critical volume regarding | New Testament Greek. Then came the Government’s inauguration of an anti- German policy in all Russian educational institutions. The number of German instructors at Dorpat fell to eleven. Men- delssohn foresaw that he would be dis- missed eventunally. Like most German vrofessors of high reputation, he had deep learning but little money. To assure his family’s future he began speculating in stocks. He undertook his speculations according to what he called a scientific plan. Before he began them be bad studied the theories of chances and methods and markets so thoroughly that he felt competent to write an essay on the subject. He wrote the essay and pub- | lished it. Then he speculated. At first, as curious as it may seem, this | pure theorist; this absolutely inexperi- enced man of letters, followed his system i 1, & OF THE WRECKED. look back with advantage to.the end of last century and to the beginning of this century and find Rumford's ‘conclusion regarding the heat generated in bor- ing. a bprass gon: ‘‘It appears to me to be extremely difficult, if not quite im-. possible, to form any distinct idea of any- thing capable of being excited and com- municated in the manner the heat was ex: cited and communicated in these experi- ments except it be motion.” This, remember, is an expressicn only of the last'century and is spoken ofasa revelation by a leader among modern scientists. And yet the molecule, or atom, has been keeping up his wild dance_since the beginning of things. And there was no beginning. = Successful Motor Vehicle, The citizens of Paris recently had an op- portunity of seeing a small three-wheeled automobile vehicle skimming over the ground, evoluting with ease amid an en- tanglement of horses and carriages, and disappearing in a crowd of passers-by without any more noise than that made by burned gases. The apparatus was the invention of Leo Bolle of Mans. The vehicle has traveled over 2500 miles, and has been driven at therate of eighteen miles an hour. The aspect of the Bolle tricvcle is that of a low and long wagonette, quite pleas- ing to our eyes, which are as vet unaccus- tomed to such apparatus of locomotion. The slight elevation of the yvehicle gives it a perfect stability, since its center of gravity is situated at but sixteen inches of a powerful brake, whose block is tan- gent to the circumference of the driving wheel. With his right hand he steers the vehicle through a hand wheel, which, by a_very simple gearing, turns the fore wheels to the right or leit; the steering, in fact, being dofie as in the Olympia tri- cycles used tpree or four years age. With the left hand he holds an almost vertical lever, which permits him with a few motions ‘to effect several important ma- neuvers. . 1f he pushes it forward he tautens jhe driving belt and; consequently, starts the vehicle as soon as the motor has been set in operation throngh a winch, according to the well-known process. If, in the median position of the. lever, he turns the handle to the right orleft he throws the motor into gear into one or another of the thréespeeds. Finally,if he pulls ths lever backward, he loosens the belt and conse- quently suppresses the transmission and, at the same time, presses the brake-block against the driving wheel. . 7 Upon the whole, this tricycle does not constitute an fnvention, but, rather, a combination of happy arrangements of inventions that are already known. We may add that it carries a supply of gas- oline sufficient for a trip of seventy-two miles, that it ymay berunat ah expense of scarcely more than a cent & mile and that the price of it 15 low enough to place it within the reach of persons of moderate means.—La Nature, A Scholar's Strange End. Professor Ludwig Mendelssohn of Dor- with great success. His few thousand rubles muitiplied rapidly untii he had 30,000, then 70,000, and finally 125,000 rubles. He apparently regarded his sys- tem as infallible and bound to bring him great wealth, for he not only commended itrepeatedly to his friends, but followed it himself without deviation or pause. The result was the one familiar to the historian of systems and applied theories of chance. Mende!ssohn lost not only all his win- ings, but also his original capital. He stood stripped of everything except his salary, which, he thought, might be taken from him any day. These were his cir- cumstances when he gave up the struggle of life.—New York Sun. —_—— Scientific Humbugs Exposed. Austro-Hungary is having an epidemic of scientific skepticism that is proving fatal to traveling shows. Succi, the faster, was watched and found to be eating at Vienna a little while ago, and recently at Budapest the “Sleeping Fakirs,’’ whose performance was accepted without ques- tion in London, have been exposed as hum- bags. They were put to sleep in glass coffins by a hypnotist, remaining coma- tose and taking no nourishment for a fortnight. Two unbelievers, disguised as figures in the waxwork show, where the exhibition was held, saw them at night, after all the people had left, rise; take bottles of milk and provisions from under their pillows, and after eating and drink- ing, light cigarettes. The fakirs were fined 800 florins. - The Scientific Vi ew. * of a Great Building lllusions Anent the Universal Omnipresent Law rof Molecular Force Just now there is being erected.in this { City one of the finest buildings west of | Chicago. The new CaLn building will‘} when completed, be the very best. striics | ture that modern science is able fo devise and construct. Eaquipped with every con- |-venience known ‘o the age, elaborate in | tion of the moon. detail, elegant in style, luxurious in ap-; pointments, it is, moreover, solid as the bedrock and, framed throughout of tem- pered steel, it will be able to withstand the most vmloh temblor likely to visit this part of the world. It will be able to bend and sway under the rocking influence of an earthquake without danger to its ten- antry. 1 have given some little attention to the constrgction plans of this building, and [ feel confident that it will be a last- ing monument in every sense. In the contemplation of a building like | this the chief idea onegets. is that of so- lidity. Yet, as a matter of fact, there is no greater illusion than this. There is no such thing as solidity. The massive steél and iron beams and girders entering into the construction of the puildings that we call “solid structures” are composed of molecules that do not touch, and these molecules are in turn composed of atoms | also widely separated from one another. They are in perpetual vibration, flying apart from each other under the influence | of heat and crowding together in the | presence of cold. Could our vision be | rendered so acute as to allow of us seeing | these atoms and molecules .they would appear very much like & swarm of gnats which are sometimes noticeable in the evening of a warm summer day- So when we speak of tbe solidity of a thing we are using a term’that does not mean what we intend to convey. In what, then, con- sists the so-called solidity of the steel beams? Not in the material atoms of its | mass, for they are each and-all apart and in motion. Not only does the fact apply to the steel beam, it likewise applies-t0 everything cognizant to our material senses. Every -mass of matter in the world is composed of atoms widely separated. All of the contents of our houses, our furniture, our adornments, our foods and our beverages are of the same nature of structure. Even our bodies are formed by a perpetual cir- culation of molecules. Like the circula- tion of the water which is drank up from the ocean by the warm sky, there to be condensed into clouds which drift away, are further condensed and fall as rain upon some distant portion of the giobe, where, forming rivulets that convergeinto rivers, they flow backward to the ocean to again and again renew the cycle that knows no end, so in our veins and arteries, in our flesh and brains, everything is cir- culating ceaselessly in a rapid whirl. ‘What holds together the mass of matter that we call our body ? In the ultra.terrestrial regions the same law ‘holds. Throughous the whole uni- verse every mass of matter 1s but an aggre- gation of molecules. Researches in the domain of physics establish the fact that one great law rules, Its potency is mani- fest alike in the drop of water asin the magnificent star. It is an immaterial force called molecular attraction. Dis- tance—space—is as nothing to its opera- tion, and the power exertised by the smallest atom compared to that exercised by the greatest mass in the universe differs only in degree. The réeling of a drunken man upon the street has its dynamic influence upon the rotation of the earth. Infinitesimally small, but nevertheless an actunal in- fluence. Everything in life—and by life I mean the known universe—is dominated by the omnipresent force. Every mole- cule is acted upon by every other mole- cule, whether it bein its closest approx- 1mity, as in the steel beam, or separated by billions of millions of miles, as are the stars. Our éarth is regarded as a very reliable and sober boédy, pursuing her way from January to January without indulging in any high jinks. We commonly believe that the moon is a sort of poor relation that mother earth takes with her much as a dependent upon her bounty. In fact the little moon asserts her power over the earth to considerable extent. Her in- fluenee-upon_the searth is very much in evidence. The errth does not pursue an undeviating course, and- the reason of her wanderings from side to side is the attrac- The common center of gravity of the earth and moon is situated 1055 miles above the surface of the earth, and around this common center the earth thakes a revolution every month. Of course it may be humiliating for the proud earth-dwellers to learn that the insignifi- cant moon has a “pull’”on their dignified globe; but then we may consele ourselves with the fact that we, too, have a similar “pull’” on the sun, which revolves around the common center of gravity between it | and the earth. What is true of the moon and edrth and of the earth and sun applies equally so to every globe in the heavens. Each sways the other. Here we have the declaration of science that solidity and separation are illusions pure and.simple. What this so-called molecular force is we know not. We only know of itseffects. We as yet know very litile of its modes of operation. 1tis a growing belief that its | most prominent form is called electrical :nergy. But such isonly conjecture. The material acted upon hasan immense in- fluence in determining the materialization of the molecular force. With one form ot matter it is light; with another form of matter it 1s sound; with another 1t is thought. It may materialize as emotien; in fact, in' each and all of the countless manifestations of cognizant life. Equally as do the spheres exert their molecular attraction upon one another do the individuals of our race. Every man, woman and child exercises his and her share of molecular force. And inasmuch as this force is not confined to what we term “matter,” which by the way is the greatest illusion of all, but extends to what we term *‘spirit,”” it follows that upon each of us there rests some little resvonsibility for the actions of our fellows. The pro- foundest knowledge of this great universal | omnipresent iaw of molecular force was enunciated when the question was asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”’ F. M. Crosg, D.Sc. The ' Struggling Yvaé Author. “I have heard people say,” said the struggling . young author, ‘that they thought that manuscripts which they had sent to the publisher had been returned to them unread. 1 think they must be mis- taken apout this. My own impression is that the manuscripts are always read, and Isay this after an unbroken experience of manuscripts returned. It would be the heizht of folly, after the publisher had spent a lot of money for wading through the great mass of stuff submitted, in the hope of finding gems—1t would be the heightof folly not to winnow. the stuff carefully. I believe the work is carefully and faithfolly done. “Oh! I dare say that after a reader had read about forty successive manuseripts from the same contributor, not one of them revealing the faintest gleam of hu- mor or the slightest scintilla of common sense, I dare say he might, when he came to the forty-first manuscript, now and then skip a dot over one of the i’s, or pos- ‘sibly not stop to scan very closely the cross on every t; but what I mean to say is he'd read it fairly, no doubt of that. *‘No, sir; the things are read; I'm sura of that; but are they read appreciatively f “A—ah! That's the question!”—New York Sun. 'A Bit of Sarcasm. Sarcasm generally doesn’t pay, unlessit be of the pleasant kind used by an Irish- man to his employer, a coal-dealer, who proposed to discharge bim .because he “couldn’t learn anything.”” “Well, I've learned one been with you,” said Pat. “What's that?"’ “That eighteen hundred make a ton.” Pat was retained.—Animal Friends. hing since I've SOME EARLY MORNING SIGHTS AND SGENES Have you ever been down on the water front and seen the day break? It you have, you know all about it, but if you * haven’t you have missed one of the sights of California.. And be it said, a sight that comparatively few of the £tate’s citizens ever witness. San Francisco is‘one of those peculiarly sitnated cities that commences to wake up 2t the end tbe sun strikes first, which being the eastern end is notremarkable aftePall. When the people of the West- ern Addition are still sound asleep, with o intention of rising for several hours, the water front is bustling with life. In fact the water front hardly getsto sleep before it commences to wake up again, and at this time of the year that is long before the eastern sky shows signs of light. Daybreak on the water front, however, is not an exhilarating sight, even to those Jake, the Bait-Seller. above is of an inky blackness, listening to the gurgling of the treacherous water among the piles beneath, is an experience not calculated to make a person feel lively, but it is one that will never be forgotten. At this season of the year day does not break until after the warships out on the bay have sounded two bells, A thick fog usually hanes over the City. How de- Anixiously Awaiting His Ship’s Boat. lovers of nature who see beauty in every- thing. Itislikely to be depressing and cause a feeling of melancholy. To walk along the deserted wharves, while the street lamps are still alight and the sky pressing this fog seems. It clings to the rigging of the ships and arops from the ends of the yardsin cold, clammy globules that make most dismal sounas when they strike the decks. By the feeble light it can be seen drifting along like an army of sheeted ghosts, swirling against the masts of the vessels a moment later to be carried out over the waters of the bay. Every- thing is dripping wet. The decks of the wharves look like lakes, and the first pedestrians hurry along shivering and doubled up as if they would warm the blood in their veins. ¢ The water front does not wake up all at once, byt bit by bit, one might say. While it is still dark a man can be seen going past a certain spot, and perhaps he has done the same thing at the same time for many years. Then comes another and then another. Bums wake up from be- hind lumber piles, or crawl out fromjun- der the wharves, -The night watchmen get out of the heavy blanket overcoats, that bave kept them warm during the long hours of darkness, and hurry home to ped. At this time many familiar characters make their appearance. Then come the firemen of the steamers, the vegetable peddlers and' longshoremen. The first man to appear on the water front in the early morning,except of course the police, is old Benny McLean. He usually comes on -before daylight, shuf- fling along with his hands in his pockets, skirmishing for & breakfast. The most tempting thing that could be offered DAYBREAK' ON THE CITY FRONT. Benny is a cocktail, andthat ~hat heis after. He knowsall the barkeepers down that way and most of them will give him a drink if hé will do a little work in re- turn, such as sweeping out or “‘tapping a fresh keg.” He may also take some of the lunch, He will tell you that in the good old days he was allowed to sleep un- der the bar in one of the placesiand saaly shake his head at the change in his for- tunes. Benpy hasa.fine thirst. In fact, that is the reason he appears so early. The fear of his life is that some morning a seloon will be open before he gets around, and he will be filled with remorse to know that he might have'had his @rink a few minutes sooner. Slowly and wearily a figure comes out of the shadows bearing & heavy hoop ALONG THE GITY WATER FRONT fishing-net. Surely that is the man who was at work on the streets yesterday. 'Tis he indeed, and he must be at work agai this morning at 7 o’clock. But times hard and he is in debt. The loss of an hour’s sleep is considerable, but ot to be considered if he can catch a few fish that will be s0 acceptable to the wife and chil- dren. It matters little what they are— crabs or flounders—they will save ‘a little money. Dozens of workingmen have done this very thing every morning during the last three years. Bometimes the result of their haul is all they have for breakfast. And if they €atch notning— Well, poor people have gone hungry before. The belated tar is a common sight on the front in the early morning. Jack got permission the day before to be absent on Benny McLean Skirmishing for a Meal. shore until the last'boat went out to the warship., But how fast the hours fisw. He was having such a good time witt’his friends he forgot all aboutit. It was so warm in the saloon and everybody was so glad to see him as long as he had money. Besides, they were all tyrants out on the warship, anyhow. What did he care for them? But wiih the morning comes re- pentance. His pockets are emply and-his one hope is that he can caich the provi- sion launch that comes over every morn- ing and coax those on board to let him go back in her, so the captain will not know of his “absence without leave.”” At about the time Jack thinks his boat-ought to be coming, he sees couple of his messmates, cold and miserable as himself, ‘sneakihg out of the shadows bent on working the same scheme on the captain. e B There are many bait-sellers on the front, but only one named Jake, and at this sea- son of the year that man is in his glory. Jake knows all about bait, and if you tell him where you are ‘going to fish he will glve you the right kind of stuff to puton your hook, Wriggling worms are dear to his heart, and he will: tell you that he caught them himself and *‘scoured”’ them so that they are tdugh. . Jake is a mystery in many ways. ‘He always aoes business on the front during the fishing season, but after that he disappears—where, no- body knows. And it is very likely that ncbody cares very much as long as he comes back next season with his incom- parable bait. Jake is always on hand at about daylight so as to supply those who take the early boat to the fishing-grounds, As the sun lights the sky a little more and the masts of the ships become plainly j outlined, while the mists go skurrying by, the silence of the night gives way to the | tramping of many feet and the rattling of wagons over the cobblestones. They come from all directions. Now and then there is a screech of a steam whistle and Ho'w' 'Many: an ' Honest kaingmm ‘Now Obtains His Breakfast. the splashing ot a paddle-wheei. Then the clang of a streetear bell, that brings a load of people down to the first boat, and the water front is wide awake while there 1s scarcely enough light to see.