Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 146, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 June 1910 — POPULAR SCIENCE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POPULAR SCIENCE

new method of producing thin metallic films by volatilization in a vacuum was described at a recent meeting of the Academy of Sciences, Paris, by Prof. L. Houllevigue. The metal to be deposited is first disposed in a layer on a platinum wire, which is then heated in a high vacuum. The film forms on a plate of glass, which is kept in rotation near the heated wire. In this manner thin films have been produced of gold, silver, platinum, iron, copper, zinc, tin and cadmium. Up to the present time, says F. L. Hess, the most important use of tungsten is as an alloy for steel tools. From 16 to 20 per cent of tungsten Is ordinarily used for tools. It enables the steel to hold temper in a much higher temperature than ordinary carbon steel. A lathe may be speeded up until the chips flying from the tool are so hot that they turn blue. It is estimated that about five times as much work can be done with such a tool as with one made of ordinary steel. In scientific annals the Beagle, in which Darwin made his first exploring expedition, is almost as sacredly remembered as "Old Ironsides” in American history. This ship has long been lost from sight, and nobody knew exactly what had become of it. Toyozi Noda now writes to Nature that the Beagle was broken up In Japan, where It was used as a training ship until 1899, and that a part of Its ribs has recently been found In use as a stand for stones piled up near the temple of Sultengu, near the Oakl shipbuilding yard. The predaceous beetle, Clerus formlcarlus, which has been found useful in the United States as an enemy of the pine-boring Scolytidse, is to be Introduced In Ceylon to make war upon the “shot-hole borers” which are ravaging the tea plants. In that island. The experimenters are only doubtful as to whether the imported insects will thrive in the tropical climate of Ceylon. The need of a foe capable of dealing effectually with the borers is emphasized by ijie fact that an allied species of borers is attacking the camphor plants also. On the night of Jan. 21 some of the residents of Lake avenue, Chicago, were alarmed by what seemed to be a long-continuing earthquake, which jarred tables, Bhook curtains and moved pictures on the walls. It was found that these startling effects had been produced by the pounding of" the waves on the shore of the lake where the • ice had suddenly gone out, thus permitting the impact of the waves to come direct against the frozen soil. In that condition the ground was rendered more elastic and the force of the blows was transmitted to a considerable distance from the ghore. During his recent expedition in the Himalayas, Dr. T. G. Longstaff discovered a new chain of the Karakoram range, containing a group of Immense peaks, one of which, Teram Kangri, situated in about latitude 35 degrees. 30 minutes, longitude 77 degrees, rises, according to his measurements, to the stupendous height of 27,610 feet. Only Mount Everest, Kinchinjunga, K 2 and Makalu are known to have a greater height than this. The newly-discov-ered peak is said to he the culminating point of a totally distinct massif, which has hitherto appeared on no map. Dr. Longstaff has also discovered that the Siachen (Salchar) glacier is the longest in the Himalayas, and probably the largest outside Alaska an<J the polar regions. Its length is more than forty-four miles.