| Show a size of an atom how large is an atom perhaps the simplest though not the most ex act way of arriving at a rough esti mate of the size of atoms Is by meas the thickness of a soap bubble film where it Is as thin as possible just before it bursts says a writer such a film it composed of atoms must be something like a pebble wall now a pebble wall would not stand it it were not several pebbles thick and it we had reason to suppose that it was about a dozen pebbles thick we could easily make an estimate of the size of a pebble by measuring the thickness of the wall that is the case with the thinnest region of a soap film it Is found to have a very nite and uniform thickness it is the thinnest thing known and by refined optical means its thickness can be accurately measured it must contain not less than something like a dozen atoms in its thickness and yet it is only about the twenty millionth of an inch in thickness by direct measure ment so that the diameter of an atom comes out between one dred millionth and one three hundred millionth of an inch in other words from about to of atoms can lie edge to edge in a linear inch automat compass M heit a french inventor has de a new type of compass which is of an automatic nature the di of the compass by this ar ran gement is automatically registered minute by minute so that by consult ing the chart the ship s officers can ascertain the route traversed at any time during the passage the corn pass card instead of having at its center an agate resting on a fixed steel point Is fixed on a steel pivot which rests on a fixed agate the latter is immersed in a drop of mer cury which serves to conduct the cur rent of electricity that makes the registering of the movements of the apparatus possible A useful toaster every woman who has to do the cooking has at different times received burns by coming in contact either with the fire or from the heat of the utensil she Is using very often these burns are serious and leave scars which can never be effaced but the pain caused is the main consider atlon especially in toasters and broil ers is the danger of a burn the great est and a woman who is not very careful is sure to get them to make the toasting of bread and other similar articles easy and less dangerous a wisconsin man hab in rented the toaster shown in the ulus toasts both 8 des it has many advantages and a very simple and convenient alten sil the toaster proper Is similar to those now in use and Is pivotally at cached to two parallel bars these bars are again pivotally fastened to the handle A small projection in the handle prevents the bars from swing ing too tar forward but tends to hold the grate always in the position here shown the patentee Is ell of ka cine wis feed ng hab ts of salmon why do salmon take a fly asks horace G hutchison in his new boob on fishing this Is a question often asked the more so as scientists tell us that salmon do not feed in fresh water a statement which however cannot be accepted by anglers this is not a scientific treatise on the sub eject but we may fairly ask scientists when we see salmon caught with worm prawn or minnow which they often take into their gullets as a trout will do what they are doing with them therea that salmon are rarely caught with anything in their stomachs Is quite true but it may be that it is only the hungry fish which take a fly or a bait and those whose stomachs are empty or it may be that the salmon s power of ejecting food Is so great in the struggle to free himself that he ejects everything in his stomach well then why does he take a flyd Is it from curiosity the fact of catching him with natural bait which he Is attempting to swallow is conclusive evidence that he does feed in fresh water sawdust sh ps sawdust lends itself to many uses not least of which seems to be the making of the new or stone wood which Is interesting ship bu iders in england france and ger many this material is a mixture of sawdust with certain minerals formed into slabs under hydraulic pressure and its special claims are and freedom from slipperiness when wet it makes decks sate to walk upon and parti alons that do not burn the product Is very close in texture does not crack Is impervious to dry rot can be given any color and can be worked with tools like any hard wood han sas city star makes water unusable in india polluted water in wells tanks canals and other receptacles used by the natives Is dosed with ker asene oil or chemicals in order to ren der it unpalatable so the natives will not incur disease by using it tor drink ing purposes telegraphy the navy department has decided to assume control of all wireless tele graph stations on the coast and to prohibit the operation of such stations by private persons or corporations |
