Show L machines ill that are I 1 1 almost human I 1 by dv i y E EC C the tl 0 ONE NI of the mo moil mott tt remarkable ro bots yet produced by cleat lif hai has stood guard for enny lears car over the enormously vidu valuable able library of thi pope in the I 1 at vatican city italy it protect lie book books dOCU documents MeLtS and other arcas reas urea ures from the ravages of the weather meather and of time it U Is on the job duent four hours cery day and since it first no ce glen glien ite its instructions and find put to work it hii h lii ii performed its duties without once breaking down or calling tor for out bide aide help the heart of this robot ie Is a thermostat a deco that Is highly sen active to heat beat and humidity humidify it automatically leally controls the humidity and temperature in the pope popes library and it has halted the deierl oration that romes extra me tenth cr er bad had worked on the priceless books for centuries rome Is cither either very dry or very humid very hot or extremely cold these sudden changes and find wide ranges of humidity and tempera turo turn were causing the library to crumble lato into dust the robot Is set at the exact temperature pera ture and humidity that ll 11 best for the library and when the hu or temperature reaches beyond that point cither either way the thermostat starts a weather machine that quickly brings the temperature pera ture und and humidity back to where they should be the thermostat measures heat and cold and Is highly sensitive to moisture in the air it trips other into action in to thola sands of cellars throughout the country it Is standing aard guard over the me furnace manipulating dampers and drafts to increase or the heat as it Is instructed to do it has replaced thousands of 0 men from watching boiling caldrons or vats the the Is used to turn on the phonograph washing machine electric lights and perform many tasks theretofore in trusted only to human beings the principle of the tl thermostat Is used in the thousands thousand of automatic acors that have been installed in homes and that are used by food packing plants A thermostat robot signal signals men u in new lork city to turn on the street lights when the city Is to about to be darkened by a storm the device Is on the root roof of a balading ball ding where the street light controls are located when an tin electrical storm Is approaching the robot rings a bell to warn the operators to notify the electric generating sta eions to increase th alie power over the net network vork of electric lines that carry current throughout the city this Is done whenever a sudden storm brings on premature darkness calling for more light than Is ordinarily used A new development of the ther tells builders if their lum turn oer Is prop properly erIv seasoned sei it operates on the principle that the elec conductivity of wood varies with its moisture content green wood or wood that Is not properly seasoned has more than proper properly ly seasoned lumber the device consists of a simple indicator and two contact point and a dial the needle on the dial Is set to show the range of mols ture content that would be accept able for the quality of lumler desired for tha tho building operation if the needle Is deflected off the scale for which it Is set when the test tnt Is made there Is too much moisture in the he wood the delce dei ice also Is need by paint ers rs to determine if a houe or oth er building can be painted after a rainstorm it shows whether the wood Is 1 too damp to hold the p aint the thermostat robot I 1 as a peculiar use in keeping billiard bills alive ivory billiard balls catch old cold when subjected to a tempera ture arp of CO 0 degrees for only a few minutes and their life iq 1 greatly shortened they can live only three months after catching cold eold the life of ivory billiard balls Is five times as long if chev are kept in a temperature of 70 dp degrees rees than if they are forced to ili hie e in a tern rutur of CA drem UZI 0 1931 western NM nov milon |