Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 146, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1911 — UNCLE SAM S LATEST SCIENTIFIC TRIUMPHS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

UNCLE SAM S LATEST SCIENTIFIC TRIUMPHS

UCLE SAM has very good reason to plume himself because of a number of important recent achievements that most distinctly make for progress. Some of triumphs have taken the form of new Inventions for doing things that were virtually impossible of accomplishment heretofore and others, none the less valuable, have been in the line of discov-

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eries of ways and means for doing things that have been done heretofore, but of doing them more easily, more quickly, more economically or more effectively than has heretofore been deemed possible. The national government has been taking the lead In scientific, mechanical and engineering development to a constantly increasing extent in late years. For, of course, the reader will understand that in speaking of Uncle Sam's current triumphs in the field of Invention and experiment, reference is made not to the federal government as represented by Its own experts and employes. Now the national government has always been a contributor to the cause of science and invention, there being dual reasons for its activity in such direction. On the one hand the central government, with paternal instinct, has been bound to contribute in every way to the wellbeing of the whole people and as is well known such benefit is more often than not conTerred through the instrumentality of scientific discoveries and inventions. Obviously then It is up to Uncle Sam to foster Yankee Ingenuity by every possible means. Yet the second incentive to federal activity tn this broad field has been even more of a spur than the first It arises from the fact that the national government is, to jjft extent

appreciated by comparatively few of oUr citisens, an operator of scientific laboratories, a manufacturer and a business corporation. Now with Uncle Sam in the actual conduct of arts and" industries on a greater scale, in some instances, than they are being carried on by any private corporation, it has become Imperative from the hard, practical business standpoint that the government shall have the benefit of the highest possible attainments in time and labor-saving equipment. In the effort to keep abreast of or a little ahead of the . world’s march of progress, the federal establishment has continually carried on tests and experiment with a view to disclosing new capabilities in instruments and apparatus of one kind or another that rank as commercial products and as such may be bought in the open market. But a large share of what has been accomplished these past few years has been due to new inventions evolved by government officials. And it is pleasing to note that there is an increasing disposition on part of the men on Uncle Sam's payroll to regard as federal property the inventions from which they might otherwise reap a fortune. There have, from time to time, been charges and rumors putting in question the ethics and honesty of men who derived private wealth from inventions alleged to have been worked out in government time and with the aid of facilities offered by a governmental position. Happily, however, such cases appear to be growing more rare and to counterbalance the Isolated instances we have examples such as recently afforded by Major Squier, assistant chief signal officer of the United States army, when he dedicated to the free use of the American people the patents covering his new system of multiplex telephony. Some of the most spectacular of Uncle Sam's current scientific triumphs are being worked out by the aid of the most powerful magnet in the world, which has recently been installed at a cost of >1,200 at the United States bureau of standards. This magnet la in effect an enlarged edition of the familiar toy from which small boys derive so much enjoyment and it may be whispered that the government scientists are getting a proportionate amount of excitement from the almost miraculous powers of this largest of all magnets. Primarily the new magnet is employed by the government experts for optical work of the most highly technical clmracter—a pushing back of the bounds of tW unknown in this scientific field—b'jaJFAW* i'. .... *

but this does not prevent the magnet from doing stunts of great popular interest now and then. When the magnet Is charged with its fuE electric current of 125 amperes a piece of meta, weighing hundreds of pounds might be bus pended at the pole pieces and the leakage, that is the “stray magnetic field” way out at the ends of the magnet is sufficient to support in all sorts of positions wrenches and bars of iron weighing as much as five or six pounds apiece, whereas wire nails in series of half a

dozen or more, end to end, are supported in horizontal position. One of the most amazing tricks performed by the magnet is to support a glass dish *by of a small piece of" iron placed inside the dish, —the power of magnetic attraction being exerted upon the iron through the thickness of the layer of glass. Another impressive illustration of the power of this monster magnet is afforded when a handful of nails are thrown in the air perhaps three or four feet away from the magnet. As though whisked in by an In-

visible hand and almost more quickly than the eye can follow the operation, these nails are one drawn to the highly magnetized surface. This new magnet, a world’s record breaker in size as well as in power, was constructed specially for the United States government by a firm of instrument makers in Switzerland. The circumstances connected with the designing of the magnet Illustrate how great minds may run in the same direction. Mr. Frederick Bates, the United States government expert who is at the head of the division of polarimetry at the bureau of standards and working in conjunction with other government scientists, just worked out the detailed plans for such a magnet when he discovered that the foreign instrument makers who ultimately built this one for our government had been covering the same ground at the same time, each Inventor unconscious of the activities of his rival on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Perhaps the most unusual attribute of this magnet is that it is made available for continuous use. this being accomplished by replacing ordinary insulated wires such as are commonly used with copper tape. This copper tape is surrounded by Insulating oil. Through this oil there are run coils of copper tubing about one-half inch in diameter and through this tubing cold water is circulated to carry off the enormous heat which is developed. In the same room with the new magnet is a yet newer invention —the product of government scientists —which promises great things. It is known as a vacuum gauge and it will enable more minute and more accurate measurement than has heretofore been possible in the case of a vacuum. One of the most notable of Uncle Sam’s scientific triumphs of the present year is the new system of multiplex telephony mentioned above and which by its disclosure of a method of transmitting a number of telephone messages simultaneously over the same wire is expected to greatly reduce the cost of long distance telephone conversation, in connection with the development of this new form of telephony which will make one wire do the work of ten. Major Squier and his associates have carried on some experiments which, though originally intended only as a means to an end, now promise to have a distinct value of their own in disclosing the possibilities of transmitting music by telephone. The music of a phonograph or graphopbone

was the particular form of melody transmitted and the results were really surprising in many respects. For one thing the music as heard at the other end of the line was remarkably clear and sweet. Indeed it was seemingly more perfect tone production than that obtainable under any other conditions Inasmuch as the telephone served to entirely eliminate the “needle nose,” the one suggestion of the mechanical which talking machine Inventors have 1 never been able to entirely eliminate. It is believed that this disclosure of the possibilities of transmitting music by phcme will ultimately enable people to enjoy concerts by the best vocal and instrumental talent when seated in their own homes. This would, of course, prove an especial boon in the case of suburbanites and residents of the rural districts where the use of the telephone haa increased so tremendously in recent years. In the experiments with multiplex telephony the graphophohe music was employed to still further demonstrate the possibility of using a single wire for the transmission of various messages simultaneously, each independent of the others. For instance, on one occasion Caruso, by means of a "talker," sang on the line while "The Charge of the Light Brigade” (as recited into a separate transmitter close at hand) was carried over the same wire at the same time without in any way interfering with the famous tenor's voice. Of Uncle Sam’s recent innovations in technical equipment none blds fair to ultimately work greater wonders than the lately introduced Pulmotor. The Pulmotor is a delicately adjusted machine that occupied a portable case not much larger than the ordinary dresssuit case, and Its function is to bring back to life persons supposed to be dead. The government provided the first of these new miracle workers for the use of the newly established United States bureau of mines in its work of rescuing men overcome by the poisonous gases in coal mines, but the advent of the invention is opening up life-saving possibilities in other fields, as. for instance, at bathing beaches and in city hospitals—in short in any case where death is threatened through the filling of the lungs with gas or water. The Pulmotor is, in effect, an automatic breathing machine, its function being to draw the poisonous gases out of the lungs and to force into the lungs in turn the life-giving oxygen. The mechanism Includes a cylinder in which oxygen is stored under pressure, a blowing and suction valve actuated by two accordion bellows, and a hood or mask which fits over the mouth and nostrils of the patient, making an

air-tight connection between the human lungs and the mechanical lungs of the machine. It is said of this new invention that it will “make a. corpse breathe,” meaning that it will compel the diaphragm to move in a body in which life is wholly extinct. The new device costs SBOO, making it.one of the world’s most expensive pieces of rescue equipment, as it is certainly one of the most effective. Comparatively little experience is required for its succssful operation. Government officials have within the past few months invented several new machines for quickening and cheapening the manufacture of paper money and postage stamps and whereas these inventions may not find very extensive adoption outside the government workships, they will exert an important influence there. Among these new inventions is a remarkable combination machine which at one operation stamps the successive serial number on each bank note, impresses in color the official seal, cuts the sheets of money into individual notes and counts the bills —tasks that formerly required as many different machines and an immense expenditure of time. Another new invention is a machine which automatically trims at one stroke all four edges of a sheet of bank notes. A third new invention is a machine for automatically wetting the sheets of paper used in printing our currency—a chore that had for-

merly to be done by hand—and a fourth invention is a mechanism which neatly arranges in coils the postage stamps which are to be placed pn sale in vending or stamp-selling machines which it is planned to Introduce in this country following the example of Germany and other foreign countries. Much has been printed from time to time regarding the “machines that almost think” invented by the mechanical experts of the United States census bureau to aid Uncle Sam in the big task of counting noses. However, there is one invention, newer than any of the others regarding which little has been said. This is the automatic card-sorting machine, the function of which Is to sort mechanically the nimety odd million cards representing the of the United States —for, under our present system of card-indexing the country the census office has on file a bit of pasteboard to represent every man, woman and child in the republic. The new sorter sorts cards at a speed of from 300 to 325 per minute, sorting the cards into thirteen different drawers. The machine is operated by electricity and the sorting is done through the medium of sensitive needles which seek out the holes which have previously been punched in each card to record biographical facts and distribute the cards according to the location of these holes. Uncle Sam’s greatest business institution, the postoffice department, has lately fostered its share of new inventions aside from the stampvending machines with which it has long been experimenting. The late novelties Include an electric canceling machine for canceling the stamps on letters and postmarking the envelopes; a trolley system for handling mail in city postoffices and a belt conveyor system for the same purpose. Two clerks in the postoffice department lately invented a machine that cuts down work 20 per cent. In the money ordei branch of our postal headquarters, through its faculty in automatically printing the money order fees as the amounts of the paid money’ orders are recorded for auditing purposes. And finally, the department is on the eve of per fecting a remarkable new machine for the um of every postmaster throughout the country who conducts a branch of the new postal savings bank. This last-mentioned invention is suggestive in appearance of the familiar cash register, and its function is to mechanically fill out the deposit slips of the lately-established "poor man’s bank,” a work that had formerly to be done by hand. Not only will this new mechanical toiler save time and labor, but it will make diahonegty virtually impossible on-the part of any employe handling postal bank deposits.