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Pluto, v. 1, issue 3, July 1940

Page 10

               It's Been Proven
        A DEPARTMENT - - - - - - - - - -  BY RAJOCZ

   To the best of my knowledge, there is no existing fan-science column, and yet all of the pros at some time or other feature science articles and questions. To remedy this situation, this column has been conceived.

*           *          *            *             *                *
   Men of 3,000 years ago shaved with bronze razors. Rabbits are extremely sensitive to colored light, thriving under some hues and growing weak and sickly under others. Birds require only two ounces of body fat to supply enough energy for a 2,000 mile flight. Our eyes record eighty-seven percent of all the impressions received by the human body. Ants outnumber any other single species of animal life. Electricity trees in central India carry enough current in their leaves to shock a person and to influence a compass needle. A space ship could travel to the moon in 31/2 hours by standing still. The moon, swinging on her orbit, would overtake it. 
   Do you know what is the size of the largest reflecting telescope now in use and where it is located? The 200-inch telescope is not in use yet; therefore that answer would be wrong. Besides, are you sure that the 200-inch telescope is a reflector? The largest reflecting telescope now in use is the 101-inch reflector at Mt. Wilson, Pasadena, Califorina. It was first put into use during 1904 and is sponsored by the Carnegie Institution. 
   Here are some facts concerning the 200-inch reflector. It is composed of Pyrex, a special form of glass. After being cast, it had to be cooled gradually, and this process took over one year. Three years were spent in grinding it. This grinding process had to be slow because any heat generated in grinding and polishing the lens would cause a flaw in it. When the largest telescope in the world is trained on the heavens, it will bring to astronomers at Mt. Palomar, California, the light that started earthward from distant suns and planets one billion years ago. The telescope is expected to penetrate four times as far into space as any instrument existing at present.
   A perpetual motion clock is now in existence and in working order. No spring, no winding, no batteries nor current, no magnets nor selenium cells. Yet it runs! It is activated by changes of temperature. A variation of only one degree centigrade in the air-temperature is enough to keep the clock going for 120 hours, and it varies less than a minute a year in accuracy. The motive element is contained in a U-shaped tube, of Pyrex glass fixed in a drum. One end of the tube is exposed to room temperature, the other end is shielded by insulating material and a cap. Inside the tube, at the base of the "U", is mercury; above it, on each side, a liquid gas; and at the top of the tube, the saturated vapor of the gas. As the temperature rises, the vapor in the exposed side expands, pushing the mercury toward the insulated end, compressing the gas in the latter. The shift of mercury changes the center of gravity and the drum revolves slightly, storing energy. As the temperature drops, the drum rocks back storming more energy.

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It's Been Proven A DEPARTMENT - - - - - - - - - - BY RAJOCZ To the best of my knowledge, there is no existing fan-science column, and yet all of the pros at some time or other feature science articles and questions. To remedy this situation, this column has been conceived. * * * * * * Men of 3,000 years ago shaved with bronze razors. Rabbits are extremely sensitive to colored light, thriving under some hues and growing weak and sickly under others. Birds require only two ounces of body fat to supply enough energy for a 2,000 mile flight. Our eyes record eighty-seven percent of all the impressions received by the human body. Ants outnumber any other single species of animal life. Electricity trees in central India carry enough current in their leaves to shock a person and to influence a compass needle. A space ship could travel to the moon in 31/2 hours by standing still. The moon, swinging on her orbit, would overtake it. Do you know what is the size of the largest reflecting telescope now in use and where it is located? The 200-inch telescope is not in use yet; therefore that answer would be wrong. Besides, are you sure that the 200-inch telescope is a reflector? The largest reflecting telescope now in use is the 101-inch reflector at Mt. Wilson, Pasadena, Califorina. It was first put into use during 1904 and is sponsored by the Carnegie Institution. Here are some facts concerning the 200-inch reflector. It is composed of Pyrex, a special form of glass. After being cast, it had to be cooled gradually, and this process took over one year. Three years were spent in grinding it. This grinding process had to be slow because any heat generated in grinding and polishing the lens would cause a flaw in it. When the largest telescope in the world is trained on the heavens, it will bring to astronomers at Mt. Palomar, California, the light that started earthward from distant suns and planets one billion years ago. The telescope is expected to penetrate four times as far into space as any instrument existing at present. A perpetual motion clock is now in existence and in working order. No spring, no winding, no batteries nor current, no magnets nor selenium cells. Yet it runs! It is activated by changes of temperature. A variation of only one degree centigrade in the air-temperature is enough to keep the clock going for 120 hours, and it varies less than a minute a year in accuracy. The motive element is contained in a U-shaped tube, of Pyrex glass fixed in a drum. One end of the tube is exposed to room temperature, the other end is shielded by insulating material and a cap. Inside the tube, at the base of the "U", is mercury; above it, on each side, a liquid gas; and at the top of the tube, the saturated vapor of the gas. As the temperature rises, the vapor in the exposed side expands, pushing the mercury toward the insulated end, compressing the gas in the latter. The shift of mercury changes the center of gravity and the drum revolves slightly, storing energy. As the temperature drops, the drum rocks back storming more energy.