Produced by Don Kretz, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the DP Team [Illustration] SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 481 NEW YORK, MARCH 21, 1885 Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XIX, No. 481. Scientific American established 1845 Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year. Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year. * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS.--The Righi Railroad.--With 3 engravings. The Chinese Pump.--1 figure. The Water Clock.--3 figures. New Self-propelling and Steering Torpedoes. Dobson and Barbour's Improvements in Heilmann's Combers.--1 figure. Machine for Polishing Boots and Shoes. II. TECHNOLOGY.--The Use of Gas in the Workshop.--By T. FLETCHER.--Placing of lights.--Best burners.--Light lost by shades.--Use of the blowpipe.--Gas furnaces.--Gas engines. The Gas Meter.--3 figures. The Municipal School for Instruction in Watchmaking at Geneva.--1 engraving. III. ELECTRICITY, ETC.--Personal Safety with the Electric Currents. A Visit to Canada and the United States; or, Electricity in America in 1884.--By W.H. PREECE. IV. ARCHITECTURE.--The House of a Thousand Terrors, Rotterdam.--With engraving. V. GEOLOGY.--On the Origin and Structure of Coal,--With full page of illustrations. VI. POLITICAL ECONOMY.--Labor and Wages in America.--By D. PIDGEON.--Who and what are the operatives.--Native labor.--Alien employes.--Housing of labor.--Sobriety.--Pauperism.--Artisans' homes.--Interest of employer in the condition of his employes.--Wages in Europe and America.--Expenditures of workingmen.--Free trade and protection. VII. MISCELLANEOUS.--Ice Boat Races on the Mueggelsee, near Berlin.--With engraving. VIII. BIOGRAPHY.--DUPUY DE LOME--With portrait. * * * * * THE RIGHI RAILROAD. In the year 1864, the well-known geographer, Heinrich Keller, from Zurich, on ascending to the summit of the Righi Mountain, in the heart of Switzerland, discovered one of the finest panoramic displays of mountain scenery that he had ever witnessed. To his enthusiastic descriptions some lovers of nature in Zurich and Berne listened with much interest, and in the year 1865, Dr. Abel, Mr. Escher von der Luith, Aulic Councilor, Dr. Horner, and others, in connection with Keller himself, subscribed money to the amount of 2,000 marks ($500) for the purpose of building a hotel on the top of the mountain overlooking the view. This hotel was simple enough, being merely a hut such as is to be found in abundance in the Alps, and which are built by the German and Austrian Alpine Clubs. At present the old hotel is replaced by another and more comfortable building, which is rendered accessible by a railway that ascends the mountain. Mr. Riggenbach, director of the railway works at Olten, was the projector of this road, which was begun in 1869 and completed in 1871. Vitznau at Lucerne is the starting point. The ascent, which is at first gradual, soon increases one in four. After a quarter of an hour the train passes through a tunnel 240 feet in length, and over an iron bridge of the same length, by means of which the Schnurtobel, a deep gorge with picturesque waterfalls, is crossed. At Station Freibergen a beautiful mountain scene presents itself, and the eye rests upon the glittering, ice-covered ridge of the Jungfrau, the Monk, and the Eiger. Further up is station Kaltbad, where the road forks, and one branch runs to Scheideck. At about ten minutes from Kaltbad is the so-called "Kanzli" (4,770 feet), an open rotunda on a projecting rock, from which a magnificent view is obtained. The next station is Stoffelhohe, from which the railroad leads very near to the abyss on the way to Righi-Stoffel, and from this point it reaches its terminus (Righi-Kulin) in a few minutes. This is 5,905 feet above the sea, the loftiest and most northern point of the Righi group. [Illustration: FIG. 1.--STARTING POINT OF THE RIGHI RAILROAD.] [Illustration: FIG. 2.--THE RIGHI RAILROAD.] The gauge of this railroad is the same as that of most ordinary ones. Between the rails runs a third broad and massive rail provided with teeth, which gear with a cogwheel under the locomotive. The train is propelled upward by steam power, while in its descent the speed is regulated by an ingenious mode of introducing atmospheric air into the cylinder. The carriage for the passengers is placed in both cases in front of the engine. The larger carriages have 54 seats, and the smaller 34. Only one is dispatched at a time. In case of accident, the train can be stopped almost instantaneously. [Illustration: FIG. 3.--NEW LOCOMOTIVE ON THE RIGHI RAILROAD.] We give herewith, from _La Lumiere Electrique_, several engravings illustrating the system. Fig. 1 shows the starting station. As may be seen on Figs. 2 and 3, the method selected for obtaining adhesion permits of ascending the steepest gradients, and that too with entire security. * * * * * HIGH SPEED STEAM ENGINE. The use of rapidly rotating machinery in electric lighting has created a demand for engines running from 400 to 1,200 revolutions per minute, and capable of being coupled directly to a dynamo machine. We have already illustrated several forms of these engines, and now publish engravings of another in which the most noticeable feature is the employment of separate expansion valves and very short steam passages. Many high-speed engines labor under the well-grounded suspicion of being heavy steam users, and their want of economy often precludes their employment. Mr. Chandler, the inventor of the engine illustrated above, has therefore adopted a more elaborate arrangement of valves than ordinarily obtains in engines of this class, and claims that he gains thereby an additional economy of 33 per cent. in steam. The valves are cylindrical, and are driven by independent eccentrics, the spindle of the cut-off valve passing through the center of the main valve. The upper valve is exposed to the steam on its top face, and works in a cylinder with a groove cut around its inner surface. As soon as the lower edge of the valve passes below the bottom lip of the groove, the steam is cut off from the space between it and the main valve, which is fitted with packing rings and works over a latticed port. This port opens directly into the cylinder. The exhaust takes place chiefly through a port uncovered when the piston is approaching the end of its stroke. The remaining vapor left in the cylinder is exhausted under the lower edge of the main valve, until cushioning commences, and the steam from both upper and lower ports is discharged into the exhaust box shown in Fig. 2. The speed of the engine is controlled by a centrifugal governor and an equilibrium valve. This is a "dead face" valve, and when the engine is running empty it opens and closes many times per minute. The spindle on which the valve is mounted revolves with the governor pulley, and consequently never sticks. To prevent the small gland being jammed by unequal screwing up, the pressure is applied by a loose flange which is rounded at the part which presses against the gland. The governor is adjustable while the engine is running. [Illustration: IMPROVED HIGH SPEED STEAM ENGINE.] Another economy claimed for this engine is in the use of oil. The cranks and connecting rods work in a closed chamber, the lower part of which is filled with oil and water. The oil floats in a layer on the surface of the water, and at every revolution is splashed all over the working parts, including the interior of the cylinder, which it reaches through holes in the piston. The oil is maintained exactly at one level by a very ingenious arrangement. The bottom of the crank chamber communicates through a hole, C, with an outer box, which receives the water deposited by the exhaust steam. The level of this water is exactly determined by an overflow hole, B, which allows all excess above that level to pass into an elbow of the exhaust pipe, out of which it is licked by the passing steam and carried away. Thus, as the oil is gradually used the pressure of the water in the other leg of the hydrostatic balance raises the level of the remaining portion. When a fresh supply of oil is poured into the box, it forces out some of the water and descends very nearly to the level of the hole, B. The engine is made with either one or two cylinders, and is, of course, single-acting. The pistons and connecting rods are of forged steel and phosphor-bronze. The following is a list of their sizes: _Single Engines_. ----------------------------------------------------------- Brake | | | | | Horsepower| Bore of | Revolutions| | | at 62 lb.| Cylinder. | per minute.| Height. |Floor Space.| Boiler | | | | | Pressure. | | | | | ----------|-----------|------------|---------|------------- | in. | | in. | in. in. | 2¼ | 4 | 1,100 | 26 | 14 by 14 | 3½ | 5 | 1,000 | 28 | 14 " 15 | 6 | 6½ | 800 | 30 | 16 " 16 | 10 | 8 | 700 | 32 | 18 " 18 | ----------------------------------------------------------- _Double Engines_. ----------------------------------------------------------- Brake | | | | | Horsepower| Bore of | Revolutions| | | at 62 lb.| Cylinder. | per minute.| Height. |Floor Space.| Boiler | | | | | Pressure. | | | | | ----------|-----------|------------|---------|------------- | in. | | in. | in. in. | 4½ | 4 | 1,100 | 26 | 14 by 20 | 7¼ | 5 | 1,000 | 28 | 14 " 20 | 12 | 6½ | 800 | 30 | 16 " 26 | 20 | 8 | 700 | 32 | 18 " 32 | ----------------------------------------------------------- The manufacturer is Mr. F.D. Bumstead, Hednesford, Staffordshire.--_Engineering_. * * * * * THE CHINESE PUMP. If a glass tube about three feet in length, provided at its upper extremity with a valve that opens outwardly, and at its lower with one that opens inwardly, be dipped into water and given a series of up and down motions, the water will be seen to quickly rise therein and finally spurt out at the top. The explanation of the phenomenon is very simple. Upon immersing the tube in the water it fills as far as to the external level of the liquid, and the air is expelled from the interior. If the tube be suddenly raised without removing its lower extremity from the water, the valve will close, the water will rise with the tube, and, through the velocity it has acquired, will ascend far above its preceding level. Now, upon repeating the up and down motion of the tube in the water five or six times, the tube will be filled, and will expel the liquid every time that the vertical motion occurs. [Illustration: THE CHINESE PUMP.] We speak here of a _glass_ tube, because with this the phenomenon may be observed. Any tube, of course, would produce the same results. The manufacture of the apparatus is very simple. The tube is closed above or below, according to the system one desires to adopt, by means of a perforated cork. The valve is made of a piece of kid skin, which is fixed by means of a bent pin and a brass wire (Fig. 2). It is necessary to wet the skin in order that it may work properly and form a hermetic valve. The arrangement of the lower valve necessitates the use of a tube of considerable diameter (Fig. 1). We would advise the adoption of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. Under such circumstances a tube half an inch in diameter and about 3 feet in length will answer very well. It is better yet to simply use one's forefinger. The tube is taken in the right hand, as shown in Fig. 3, and the forefinger placed over the aperture. The finger should be wetted in order to perfect its adherence, and should not be pressed too hard against the mouth of the tube. It is only necessary to plunge the apparatus a few inches into the liquid and work it rapidly up and down, when the water will rise therein at every motion and spurt out of the top. This is an easy way of constructing the _Chinese Pump_, which is found described in treatises upon hydraulics. Such a pump could not, of course, be economically used in practice on account of the friction of the column of water against a wide surface in the interior of the tube. It is necessary to consider the pistonless pump for what it is worth--an interesting experimental apparatus that any one can make for himself.--_La Nature_. * * * * * THE WATER CLOCK. _To the Editor of the Scientific American_: Referring to the clepsydra, or water clock, described and illustrated in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT of December 20, 1884, it strikes me that the ingenious principle embodied in that interesting device could be put into a shape more modern and practical, doing away with some of its defects and insuring a greater degree of accuracy. [Illustration: Fig 1.] I would propose the construction given in the subjoined sketch, viz.: The drum, A (Figs. 1 and 3), is mounted in a yoke suspended in such a manner as to bring no unnecessary, but still sufficient, pressure on the friction roller, B, to cause it to revolve the friction cone, C (both cone and roller being of wood and, say, well rubbed with resin so as to increase adhesion). [Illustration: Fig 2.] The friction roller should be movable (on a screw thread), but so arranged that it can be fixed at any point, say by a lock nut, screw, clamp, or other simple means. It will be evident that, by shifting the roller, a greater or less speed of the cone can be effected, and as to the end of the cone's axis an index hand sweeping an ordinary clock face is attached, the speed of this index hand can be regulated to a nicety, in proportion to that of the drum. Of course, before fixing the size and proportion of the disk and cone, the number of revolutions of the drum in a given time must be ascertained by experiment. For instance, the drum being found to make 15 revolutions in 12 hours, the proportions would be: Circumference of roller = 12 units. Circumference of middle part of cone = 15 units. Or, the drum making 2½ revolutions in 3 hours, equal to 9 revolutions in 12 hours: Circumference of roller = 12 units. Circumference of middle part of cone = 9 units. Any slight inaccuracy can be compensated by the cone and disk device. The drum, or cylinder, is caused to gradually revolve by a weight attached to an endless cord passing once around the drum. The latter might be varnished to prevent slipping. The weight should be provided with an automatic wedge, allowing it to be slipped along the cord in an upward direction, but preventing its descent. The weight is represented partly in section in the engraving. This weight should not be quite sufficient to revolve the drum, it being counterbalanced by the liquid raised in the chambers of the drum. The liquid, however, following its tendency to seek the lowest level, gradually runs back through the small hole, D, in the partitions, but is continually raised again, with the chamber it has just entered, by the weight slightly turning the cylinder as it (the weight) gradually gains advantage over the as gradually diminishing weight of each chamber raised. As to the drum, the same might be constructed as follows, viz.: First solder the partitions into the cylinder, making them slanting or having the direction of chords of a circle (see Fig. 2). The end disks should be dish shaped, as shown. Place them on a level surface, apply heat, and melt some mastic or good sealing wax in the same. Then adjust the cylinder part, with its partitions, allowing it to sink into the slight depth of molten matter. In this way, or perhaps by employing a solution of rubber instead of the sealing wax, the chambers will be well isolated and not liable to leak. The water is then introduced through the center openings of the disks before hermetically sealing the drum to its axis. [Illustration: Fig. 3.] The revolving parts of the clock being nicely balanced, a pretty accurate timepiece, I should think, would be the result. It is needless to mention that the "winding" is effected by slipping the weight to its highest point. Of course I am far from considering the above an "instrument of precision," but would rather look upon it in the light of a contrivance, interesting, perhaps, especially to amateur mechanics, as not presenting any particular difficulties of construction. ED. C. MAGNUS. Crefeld, January 5, 1885. * * * * * NEW TORPEDO. We illustrate a new form of self-propelling and steering torpedo, designed and patented by Mr. Richard Paulson, of Boon Hills, Langwith, Notts. That torpedoes will play an important part in the next naval war is evident from the fact that great activity is being displayed by the various governments of the world in the construction of this weapon. Our own Government also has latterly paid great attention to this subject. The methods hitherto proposed for propelling torpedoes have been by means of carbonic acid or other compressed gas carried by the torpedoes, and by means of electricity conveyed by a conductor leading from a controlling station to electrical apparatus carried by the torpedo. The first method has, to a considerable extent, failed on account of the inefficient way in which the compressed gas was employed to propel the torpedo. The second is open to the objection that by means of telephones placed in the water or by other signaling apparatus the torpedo can be heard approaching while yet at a considerable distance, and that a quick speeded dredger, kept ready for the purpose when any attack is expected, can be run between the torpedo and the controlling station and the conductor cut and the torpedo captured. The arrangements for steering by means of an electrical conductor from a controlling station are also open to the latter objection. The torpedo we now illustrate, in elevation in Fig. 1, and in plan in Fig. 2, is designed to obviate these objections, and possesses in addition other advantages which will be enumerated in the following description. As stated above, the torpedo is self-propelling, the necessary energy being stored up in liquefied carbonic acid contained in a cylindrical vessel, E, carried by the torpedo. The vessel, E, communicates, by means of a small bent pipe extending nearly to its bottom, with a small chamber, B, the passage of the liquid being controlled by means of the cock or tap, F. The chamber, B, is in communication, by means of a small aperture, with the nozzle, G, of an injector, T, constructed on the ordinary principles. The liquid as it passes into the chamber, B, volatilizes, and the gas passes through the nozzle of the injector, which is surrounded by water in direct communication with the sea by means of the opening, W. The gas imparts its energy in the well-known manner to the water, being itself entirely or partially condensed, the water thus charged with carbonic acid gas being forced through the combining cone of the injector at a very high speed and pressure. Preferably the water is here divided into two streams, each driving a separate rotary motor or turbine, H, themselves driving twin screws or propellers, I. The motors exhaust into the hollow shafts, J, of the propellers, which are extended some distance beyond the propellers, so that the remaining energy of the water may be utilized to aid in propelling the torpedo on the well known principle of jet propulsion. The torpedo is preferably steered by means of the twin screws. A disk or other valve, A, is pivoted in an aperture in a diaphragm dividing the outlet of the injector, and is operated by means hereafter described, so as to diminish the stream of water on one side and increase it on the other, so that one motor, and consequently the corresponding propeller, is driven at a higher speed than the other, and so steers the torpedo. [Illustration: PAULSON'S SELF PROPELLING AND STEERING TORPEDO.] The valve, A, is operated automatically by the following arrangement: A mariner's compass, P, placed in the head of the torpedo has its needle connected to one pole of a powerful battery, D. A dial of non-magnetic material marked with the points of the compass is capable of being rotated by the connections shown. This dial carries two insulated studs, _p_, each electrically connected with one terminal of the coils of an electromagnet, K, whose other terminal is connected to the other pole of the battery. These two magnets are arranged on opposite sides of an armature fixed on a lever operating the disk or valve, A. Before launching the torpedo the dial is set, so that when the torpedo is steering direct for the object to be struck, or other desired point, one end of the needle of the compass, P, is between the steeds, _p_, but contact with neither, the needle of course pointing to the magnetic north. Should the torpedo however deviate from this course, the needle makes contact with one or other of the studs according to the direction in which the deviation takes place, and completes the circuit through the corresponding electromagnet, which attracts the armature and causes the disk to move, so as to diminish the supply of water to one motor and increase it to the other, and so cause the torpedo to again assume the required direction. Supposing the object which it is intended that the torpedo should strike be a large mass of iron, such as an ironclad, the needle will be attracted, and, making the corresponding contact, will cause the torpedo to be steered directly away from the object. In order to prevent this, a second compass, Q, is mounted in the front of the torpedo, and when attracted by a mass of iron, it short-circuits the battery, D, and thus prevents the armature being attracted, and consequently the torpedo from deviating. This needle is also capable of slight movement in a vertical plane, so that when passing over or under a mass of iron it is attracted downward or upward, and completes a circuit by means of the stops, which operate so as to explode the charge. The charge can also be exploded in the ordinary manner, viz., by means of the firing pin, X, when the torpedo runs into any solid object. The depth at which the torpedo travels below the surface of the water is regulated by means of a flexible diaphragm, M, secured in the outer casing and connected to a rod sliding freely in fixed bearings. A spiral or other spring, O, is compressed between a color on the rod and an adjustable fixed nut, by which the tension of the spring is regulated so that the pressure of water on the diaphragm, A, when the torpedo is at the desired depth just counterbalances the pressure of the spring, the diaphragm being then flush with the outer casing. The rod is connected by suitable levers to two horizontal fins, S, pivoted one on either side of the torpedo, so that they shall be in equilibrium. Should the torpedo sink too deep or rise too high, the diaphragm will be depressed or extended, and will operate on the lines so as to cause the torpedo to ascend or descend as the case may be. In order to avoid the risk of a spent torpedo destroying a friendly vessel, a valve is arranged in any suitable part of the outer casing, and is weighted or loaded with a spring in such a manner that when under way the pressure of the water keeps the valve closed, but when it stops the valve opens and admits water to sink the torpedo. In our description we have only given the main features of the invention, the inventor having mentioned to us, in confidence, several improvements designed to perfect the details of his invention, among which we may mention the steering arrangement and arrangements for attacking a vessel provided with what our contemporary, _Engineering_, not inaptly terms a "crinoline," _i. e._, a network for keeping off torpedoes. The transverse dimensions of our engravings have been considerably augmented for the sake of clearness.--_Mech. World._ * * * * * DUPUY DE LOME. M. Dupuy De Lome died on the 1st Feb., 1885, at the age of 68. It may be questioned whether any constructor has ever rendered greater services to the navy of any country than those rendered by M. Dupuy to the French Navy during the thirty years 1840-70. Since the fall of the Empire his connection with the naval service has been terminated, but his professional and scientific standing has been fully maintained, and his energies have found scope in the conduct of the great and growing business of the _Forges et Chantiers_ Company. In him France has undoubtedly lost her greatest naval architect. The son of a naval officer, M. Dupuy was born in October, 1816, near L'Orient, and entered _L'Ecole Polytechnique_ when nineteen years of age. In that famous establishment he received the thorough preliminary training which France has so long and wisely provided for those who are to become the designers of her war-ships. After finishing his professional education, he came to England about 1842, and made a thorough study of iron shipbuilding and steam navigation, in both of which we then held a long lead of France. His report, subsequently published under the title of "Memoire sur la Construction des Batiments en Fer"--Paris, 1844--is probably the best account given to the world of the state of iron shipbuilding forty years ago: and its perusal not merely enables one to gauge the progress since made, but to form an estimate of the great ability and clear style of the writer. We may assume that this visit to England, coming after the thorough education received in Francem did much toward forming the views to which expression was soon given in designs and reports on new types of war ships. [Illustration: M. DUPUY DE LOME.] When the young constructor settled down to his work in the arsenal at Toulon, on his return from England, the only armed steamships in the French Navy were propelled by paddle-wheels, and there was great opposition to the introduction of steam power into line-of-battle ships. The paddle-wheel was seen to be unsuited to such large fighting vessels, and there was no confidence in the screw; while the great majority of naval officers in France, as well as in England, were averse to any decrease in sail spread. M. Dupuy had carefully studied the details of the Great Britain, which he had seen building at Bristol, and was convinced that full steam power should be given to line-of-battle ships. He grasped and held fast to this fundamental idea; and as early as the year 1845 he addressed a remarkable report to the Minister of Marine, suggesting the construction of a full-powered screw frigate, to be built with an iron hull, and protected by a belt of armor formed by several thicknesses of iron plating. This report alone would justify his claim to be considered the leading naval architect of that time; it did not bear fruit fully for some years, but its recommendations were ultimately realized. M. Dupuy did not stand alone in the feeling that radical changes in the construction and propulsion of ships were imminent. His colleagues in the "Genie Maritime" were impressed with the same idea: and in England, about this date, the earliest screw liners--the wonderful converted "block ships"--were ordered. This action on our part decided the French also to begin the conversion of their sailing line-of-battle ships into vessels with auxiliary steam power. But M. Dupuy conceived and carried out the bolder scheme of designing a full-powered screw liner, and in 1847 the Napoleon was ordered. Her success made the steam reconstruction of the fleets of the world a necessity. She was launched in 1850, tried in 1852, and attained a speed of nearly 14 knots an hour. During the Crimean War her performances attracted great attention, and the type she represented was largely increased in numbers. She was about 240 ft. in length, 55 ft. in breadth, and of 5,000 tons displacement, with two gun decks. In her design boldness and prudence were well combined. The good qualities of the sailing line-of-battle ships which had been secured by the genius of Sané and his colleagues were maintained; while the new conditions involved in the introduction of steam power and large coal supply were thoroughly fulfilled. The steam reconstruction had scarcely attained its full swing when the ironclad reconstructor became imperative. Here again M. Dupuy occupied a distinguished position, and realized his scheme of 1845 with certain modifications. His eminent services led to his appointment in 1857 to the highest office in the Constructive Corps--Directeur du Materiel--and his design for the earliest seagoing ironclad, La Gloire, was approved in the same year. Once started, the French pressed on the construction of their ironclads with all haste, and in the autumn of 1863 they had at sea a squadron of five ironclads, not including in this list La Gloire. It is unnecessary to trace further the progress of the race for maritime supremacy; but to the energy and great ability of M. Dupuy de Lome must be largely attributed the fact that France took, and for a long time kept, such a lead of us in ironclads. In the design of La Gloire, as is well known, he again followed the principle of utilizing known forms and dimensions as far as was consistent with modern conditions, and the Napoleon was nearly reproduced in La Gloire so far as under-water shape was concerned, but with one gun deck instead of two, and with a completely protected battery. So long as he retained office, M. Dupuy consistently adhered to this principle; but he at the same time showed himself ready to consider how best to meet the constantly growing demands for thicker armor, heavier guns, and higher speeds. It is singular, however, especially when his early enthusiasm for iron ships is remembered, to find how small a proportion of the ships added to the French Navy during his occupancy of office were built of anything but wood. Distinctions were showered upon him. In 1860 he was made a Councilor of State, and represented the French Admiralty in Parliament; from 1869 to 1875 he was a Deputy, and in 1877 he was elected a Life Senator. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences and of other distinguished scientific bodies. Of late his name has been little connected with ship design; but his interest in the subject was unabated. In 1870 M. Dupuy devoted a large amount of time and thought to perfecting a system of navigable balloons, and the French Government gave him great assistance in carrying out the experiments. It does not seem, however, that any sufficient success was reached to justify further trials. The theoretical investigations on which the design was based, and the ingenuity displayed in carrying out the construction of the balloon, were worthy of M. Dupuy's high reputation. The fleet that he constructed for France has already disappeared to a great extent, and the vessels still remaining will soon fall out of service. But the name and reputation of their designer will live as long as the history of naval construction is studied.--_The Engineer_. * * * * * THE USE OF GAS IN THE WORKSHOP. At a recent meeting of the Manchester Association of Employers, Foremen, and Draughtsmen of the Mechanical Trades of Great Britain, an interesting lecture on "Gas for Light and Work in the Workshop" was delivered by Mr. T. Fletcher, F.C.S., of Warington. Mr. Fletcher illustrated his remarks with a number of interesting experiments, and spoke as follows: There are very few workshops where gas is used so profitably as it might be; and my object to-night is to make a few suggestions, which are the result of my own experience. In a large space, such as an erecting or moulder's shop, it is always desirable to have all the lights distributed about the center. Wall lights, except for bench work, are wasteful, as a large proportion of the light is absorbed by the walls, and lost. Unless the shop is draughty, it is by far the best policy to have a few large burners rather than a number of small ones. I will show you the difference in the light obtained by burning the same quantity of gas in one and in two flames. I do not need to tell you how much the difference is; you can easily see for yourselves. The additional light is not caused, as some of you may suppose, by a combined burner, as I have here a simple one, burning the same quantity of gas as the two smaller burners together; and the advantage of the simple large burner is quite as great. It is a well-known fact that the larger the gas consumption in a single flame, the higher the duty obtained for the gas burnt. There is a practical limit to this with ordinary simple burners; as when they are too large they are very sensitive to draught, and liable to unsteadiness and smoking. I have here a sample of a works' pendant or pillar light, which, not including the gas supply-pipe, can be made for about a shilling. For all practical purposes I believe this light (which carries five No. 6 Bray's union jets, and which we use as a portable light at repairs and breakdowns) is as efficient and economical a form as it is possible to make for ordinary rough work. The burners are in the best position, and the light is both powerful and quite shadowless; giving, in fact, the best light underneath the burners. It must, of course, be protected in a draughty shop; and on this protection something needs to be said. Regenerator burners for lighting are coming into use; and, where large lights are required for long periods, no doubt they are economical. Burners of the Bower or Wenham class would be worth adopting for main street or open space lighting in important positions; but when we consider that, with the fifty-four hours' system in workshops, artificial light is only wanted, on an average, for four hundred hours per annum, we may take it as certain that, at the present prices of regenerator burners, they are a bad investment for use in ordinary work. We must not forget that the distance of the burner from the work is a vital point of the cost question; and, for all except large spaces, requiring general illumination, a common cheap burner on a swivel joint has yet to meet with a competitor. Do not think I am old-fashioned or prejudiced in this matter. It is purely a question of figures; and my condemnation of regenerator burners applies only to the general requirements in ordinary engineering and other work shops where each man wants a light on one spot only. Some people think that clear glass does not stop any light. This is a great mistake, as you will find it quite easy to throw a distinct shadow of a sheet of perfect glass on a white paper, as I will show you. Opal and ground glass throw a very strong shadow, and practically waste half the light. It is better to have a white enameled or whitewashed sheet-iron reflecting hood, which will protect the sides from wind, if such an arrangement suits other requirements. I have endeavored in the engraving below to reproduce the shadows thrown by different samples of glass. This gives a fair idea of the actual loss of light involved by glass shades. When lights are suspended, it is a common and costly fashion to put them high up. When we consider that light decreases as the square of the distance, it will be readily understood that to light, for instance, the floor of a moulding shop, a burner 6 feet from the floor will do as much work as four burners, the same size, placed 12 feet from the floor. It is therefore a most important matter that all lights should be as low as possible, consistent with the necessities of the shop, as not only is the expense enormously increased by lofty lights, but the air becomes more vitiated and unpleasant, interfering with the men's power of working. Any lights suspended, and, in fact, all workshop lights, must have a ball-joint or universal swivel at the point where they branch from the main, as they are liable to be knocked in all directions, and must, therefore, be free to move to prevent accidents. It is better to have wind-screens, if necessary, rather than glass lanterns, as not only does the glass stop a considerable amount of light when clean, but it is in practice constantly dirty in almost every workshop or yard. [Illustration: PILLAR LIGHT OR PENDANT FOR WORKSHOPS.] For bench work and machine tools, each man must have his own light under his own control; and in this matter a little attention will make a considerable saving. The burners should be union jets--_i. e._, burners with two holes at an angle to each other--not slit or batswing, as the latter are extremely liable to partial stoppage with dust. Where batswing burners are used, I have often seen fully 90 per cent. more or less choked and unsatisfactory; whereas a union jet does not give any trouble. It is not generally known that any burner used at ordinary pressures of gas gives a much better light when it is turned over with the flat of the flame horizontal, until the flame becomes saucer-shaped, as I show you. You can see for yourselves the increase in light; and in addition to this the workman has the great advantage of a shadowless flame. In practice, a burner consuming 5 cubic feet of gas per hour with a horizontal flame is a better fitter's than an upright burner with 6 cubic feet per hour. I do not believe in the policy of giving a man a poor light to work by--it does not pay; and I never expect to get a man to work properly with smaller burners than these. We have a good governor on the main: and the lights are all worked with a low pressure of gas, to get the best possible duty. As a good practical light for a man at bench moulding, the one I have here may be taken as a fair sample. It is free to move, and the light is as near the perfect position as the necessities of the work will permit. When the light is not wanted, by simply pushing it away it turns itself down; the swivel being, in fact, a combined swivel and tap. [Illustration: LOSS OF LIGHT BY GLASS SHADES.] You will see on one of the lights I have here, a new swivel joint, which has been patented only within the last few days. The peculiarity of this swivel is that the body is made of two hemispheres revolving on each other in a ground joint. It will be made also with a universal movement; and its special advantage, either for gas, water, or steam, is that there is no obstruction whatever to a free passage--in fact, the way through the swivel body is larger than the way through the pipes with which it is connected. It can easily be made to stand any pressure, and if damaged by grit or dirt it can be reground with ease as often as necessary without deterioration, whereas an ordinary swivel, if damaged by grit, has to be thrown away as useless. [Illustration] For meals, where a steam-kettle is not used, it is the best policy to have a cistern holding about 1½ pints for each man, and to boil this with a gas-burner. The lighting of the burner at a specified time may be deputed to a boy. If the men's dinners have to be heated, it is easy to purchase ovens which will do all the work required by gas at a much cheaper rate than by coal, if we consider the labor and attention necessary with any coal fire. Not that gas is cheaper than coal; but say we have 100 dinners to warm. This can be done in a gas-oven in about 20 minutes, at a cost for gas of less than 1d.; in fact, for one-fourth the cost of labor only in attending to a coal fire, without considering the cost of wood or coals. Gas, in many instances, is an apparently expensive fuel; but when the incidental saving in other matters is taken into consideration, I have found it exceedingly profitable for all except large or continuous work, and in many cases for this also. I only need instance wire card-making and the brazing shops of wire cable makers to show that a large and free use of gas is compatible with the strictest economy and profitable working. Of all the tools in a workshop, nothing saves more time and worry than two or three sizes of good blowpipes and an efficient blower. I have seen in one day more work spoilt, and time lost, for want of these than would have paid for the apparatus twice over; and in almost every shop emergencies are constantly happening in which a good blowpipe will render most efficient service. Small brazing work can often be done in less time than would be consumed in going to the smith's hearth and back again, independently of the policy of keeping a man in his own place, and to his own work. The shrinking on of collars, forging, hardening, and tempering of tools, melting lead or resin out of pipes which have been bent, and endless other odd matters, are constantly turning up; and on these, in the absence of a blowpipe, I have often seen men spend hours instead of minutes. Things which need a blowpipe are usually most awkward to do without one; and men will go fiddling about and tumbling over each other without seeing really what they intend to do. They are content, as it all counts in the day's work; that it comes off the profits is not their concern. It will, perhaps, be new to many of you that blowpipes can easily be made in a form which admits of any special shape of flame being produced. I have made for special work--such as heating up odd shapes of forgings, brands, etc.--blowpipes constructed of perforated tubes formed to almost every conceivable shape; these being supplied with gas from the ordinary main and a blast of air from a Root's or foot blower. I have here an example of a straight-line blowpipe made for heating wire passed along it at a high speed. The same flame, as you no doubt will readily understand, can be made of any power and of any shape, and will work any side up; in fact, as a rule, a downward vertical or nearly vertical position is usually the best for any blowpipe. As an example of this class of work, I may instance the shrinking on of collars and tires, which, with suitable ring-burner and a Root's blower, could be equally heated in five minutes for shrinking on; in fact, the work could be done in less time than it would usually take to find a laborer to light a fire. When the rings vary much in size, the burners can easily be made in segments of circles. But then they are not nearly so handy, as each needs to be connected up to the gas and air supply; and it is, in practice, usually cheaper to have separate ring burners of different sizes. Of course, you will understand that a ½-inch gas-pipe will not supply heat enough to make a locomotive tire red hot, and that for large work a large gas supply is necessary. Our own rule for burners of this class is that the holes in the tube should be 1/8 to 1/10 inch in diameter, from ¼ to ½ inch pitch; and the area of the tube must be equal to the combined area of the holes. The gas supply-pipe must not be less than half the area of the burner-tube. Those of you who wish to study this matter further will, I think, find sufficient information in my paper on "The Construction of High-Power Burners for Heating by Gas," printed in the Transactions of the Gas Institute for 1883, and in the papers on the "Use and Construction of the Blowpipe" and "The Use of Gas as a Workshop Tool." [Illustration] No doubt many of you have been troubled with the twisting of some special light casting, and will, perhaps, spend hours in the risky operation of bending an iron pattern so as to get a straight casting. A ladleful of lead and tin, melted in a small gas-furnace, will, in a few minutes, give you a pattern which you can bend and adjust to any required shape. It enables you to make trials to any extent, and get castings with the utmost precision. There is also this advantage, that a soft metal pattern can be cut about and experimented with in a way which no other material admits of. Awkward patterns commence with us with plaster, wax, sheets of wet blotting paper pasted together on a shape or wood; but they almost invariably make their appearance in the foundry after being converted into soft metal by the aid of a gas-furnace. I refer, of course, to thin, awkward, and generally difficult castings, which, under ordinary treatment, are either turned out badly or require a great amount of fitting. As an illustration of the use of this system of pattern-making, I have here two castings of my own, from patterns which, under the ordinary engineer's system, would be excessively costly and difficult to make as well as these are made. The surface is a mass of intricate pattern work and perforations. To produce the flat original, as you see it, a small piece of the pattern is first cut, and from this a number of tin castings are made and soldered together. From this pattern, reproduced in iron for the sake of permanence, is cast the flat center plate you see. To produce the curved pattern I show you, nothing more is necessary than to bend the tin pattern on a block of the right shape, and we now get a pattern which would puzzle a good many pattern-makers of the old style. [Illustration] I will now show you by a practical utilization of the well known flameless combustion, how to light a coke furnace without either paper or wood, and without disturbing the fuel, by the use of a blowpipe which for the first minute is allowed to work in the ordinary way with a flame to ignite the coke. I then pinch the gas tube to extinguish the flame, allow the gas to pass as before, and so blow a mixture of unburnt air and gas into the fuel. The enormous heat generated by the combustion of the mixture in contact with the solid fuel will be appreciable to you all, and if this blast of mixed air and gas is continued, there is hardly any limit to the temperatures which can be obtained in a furnace. I shall be able to show you the difference in temperature obtained in a furnace by an ordinary air blast, by a blowpipe flame directed into the furnace, and by the same mixture of gas and air which I use in the blowpipe being blown in and burnt in contact with the ignited coke. In each case the air blast, both in quantity and pressure, is absolutely the same; but the roar and the intense, blinding glare produced by blowing the unburnt mixture into the furnace is unmistakable. The heat obtained in the coke furnace I am using, in less than ten minutes, is greater than any known crucible would stand. I am informed that this system of air and gas or air and petroleum vapor blast, first discovered and published by myself in a work on metallurgy issued in 1881, is now becoming largely used for commercial purposes on the Continent, not only on account of the enormous increase in the heat, and the consequent work got out of any specified furnace, but also because the coke or solid fuel used stands much longer, and the dropping, which is so great a nuisance in crucible furnaces, is almost entirely prevented; in fact, once the furnace is started, no solid fuel is necessary, and the coke as it burns away
{'title': 'Scientific American Supplement, No. 481, March 21, 1885 by Various', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}