NEW LOCOMOTIVE APPLIANCES.
THE KITE—THE AEROPHANE—ICE YACHTS—SAILING TRUCKS—WATER VELOCIPEDES.
The kite, known from the earliest times, and constructed by a number
of people, is a very familiar object, which we shall not describe; for
we will now speak of some similar appliances of a more interesting and
uncommon description.
[Illustration: Fig. 475.—Mr. Penaud’s “High-flier.”]
M. Penaud has invented some appliances in which twisted india-rubber
is the principal agent. Fig. 475 represents a sort of kite, which
rises in the air if one twists and then looses the india-rubber round
the central bow. Fig. 476 represents another kind of invention; it is
an “aerophane,” with a screw at the back, so fixed that it receives
no shock from striking against any obstacle. After having twisted the
india-rubber, and loosened our hold of the apparatus in a horizontal
position, it will first descend for an instant, then, acquiring
increased speed, it rises seven or eight feet from the ground, and
describes a regular movement in the air for a distance of about fifty
yards; the motion lasts for several seconds.
Some models have also been constructed capable of traversing a distance
of over seventy yards, remaining for thirteen seconds in the air, as
lightly poised as a bird, and without any connection with the ground.
During the whole time the rudder restrains with perfect exactitude the
ascending and descending movements as they occur; and we can plainly
observe the various oscillations like those of sparrows, or more
especially woodpeckers. At last, when the movements are coming to an
end, the apparatus falls gently to the ground in a slanting line.
[Illustration: Fig 476.—M. Penaud’s “Aerophane.”]
M. Penaud has also succeeded in constructing a mechanical bird, that
we have seen set in motion, which will continue flying for several
seconds; we give an illustration of it in fig. 477.
Another scientist, M. Tatin, has also produced some remarkable results.
His efforts have been unceasingly directed towards the reproduction of
the flight of a bird by means of more or less complicated arrangements.
He has endeavoured to discover in the small appliances made with
indiarubber, and used by MM. Penaud and Hureau de Villeneuve, what
were the best shapes in which to reproduce the wings, in order to adapt
them to a large apparatus acting by compressed air. After several
attempts, he decided on the employment of long, narrow wings. Wenham
had previously proved that a wing may be equally effectual whether
it be narrow or wide, and M. Marcy has also declared that birds with
a quick, narrow wing-stroke have always very long wings. By means of
these long, narrow wings (fig. 478) M. Tatin has reduced the time
during which the wing reaches a suitable position for acting on the air
when it first descends. Granted the fact, so long established, that a
bird flies more easily if it rests its wing against a great volume of
air, it will be understood that the maximum speed of movement will also
be the most advantageous as regards the reduction of expended force.
The inventor, finding that he could not prevent his mechanical birds
from losing force in proportion as they attained considerable speed,
remedied this defect by _placing the centre of gravity in front_.
In consequence of this, the bird in full flight preserves the same
equilibrium as the bird hovering in the air, and its speed is, to a
certain extent, passive, the mass of air pressing of its own accord
against the wings, all expenditure of force therefore being utilized
for suspension. Thus has M. Tatin been enabled to increase the weight
of his appliances, without increasing the motive power, and yet obtains
a double course.
[Illustration: Fig. 477.—Mechanical bird.]
The movement made by the wing round a longitudinal axis, by means
of which it always exposes its lower surface in front on rising, is
obtained by the mechanism illustrated in fig. 478 _a_.
M. TATIN’S BIRD.
This apparatus, looked at sideways or from behind, is composed of a
light wooden frame, on which are two small supports crossed by an
axletree so as to form two cranks. This axle receives a circular
movement from an india-rubber spring. The crank on the foremost plane
causes the rising and falling of the wings, which move round a common
axis, and pass the dead points as the cranks of a locomotive do—so the
action is maintained.
[Illustration: Fig. 478.—M. Tatin’s bird.]
[Illustration: Fig. 478 _a_.—Detail of fig. 478.]
But the wing does not only move as a whole; every part of it,
particularly as it rises, shows a tendency to inclination, which
is most marked towards the extremity; the part near the body alone
preserves an invariable obliquity. M. Tatin was of opinion that it is
with the screw that it is necessary to direct the twisting movement;
and to obtain it with all its transitions, he has substituted for silk
wings, which fold up, some wings composed entirely of strong feathers,
arranged in such a manner that they slipped one over the other when
in motion. The arrangement was perfect, but still not suitable for
adaptation to the large bird. The inventor therefore again returned to
the use of the silk wings, which he appears to have definitely adopted.
By means of certain modifications which he has recently introduced
in his larger apparatus—viz., a change in the shape of the wings,
variation of the amplitude in the flapping, etc., M. Tatin has been
enabled to make great progress. The bird, acting by means of compressed
air, at first could only raise three-quarters of its own weight, but
finally lifted itself entirely. And we must take into consideration
that the apparatus has to struggle against the weight of the steering
apparatus, which nullifying the vertical and horizontal reactions of
the bird during flight, constantly fulfils the office of regulator.
[Illustration: Fig. 479.—Back view of apparatus.]
We will now pass to the consideration of two ingenious appliances of a
very clever inventor, M. Salleron.
SMALL ATMOSPHERIC BOAT.
The little boat shown in fig. 480, which is about the size of
an ordinary plaything, is a very ingenious, if not a practical,
application of the specific lightness of air acting as a propelling
force. In this instance steam plays but a secondary part, which
consists in carrying off the air that causes the moving of the boat.
[Illustration: Fig. 480.—Atmospheric boat.]
The apparatus, as represented in fig. 481, is of extreme simplicity,
as will be seen at a glance. A small cylindrical boiler, B, connected
with a capillary tube, is placed on two supports over a spirit-lamp,
in such a manner that the opening from which the steam issues is
directly opposite the mouth of the tube, T. This tube, after forming a
sudden inclination, terminates at the back of the boat in an inclined
drain, R. The steam driven through the tube, T, carries along with it
a certain quantity of air, which, forced under the water, propels the
boat along. The little vessel soon reaches considerable speed, leaving
a long track behind it. It will be seen that this is not a mechanical
apparatus, capable of absorbing force or diminishing the action of
steam by causing its condensation.
[Illustration: Fig. 481.—Section of “atmospheric” boat.]
Let us now calculate the force engendered by this apparatus. We know
that a litre of water at boiling point gives 1,700 times its volume.
The steam, as it quickly issues from the opening of the boiler,
carries along at least ten times its volume, or 17,000 litres of air,
which, driven under the water, assumes an ascending force equal to the
difference of the densities of water and air, or about the weight of
the displaced water. Therefore in a litre of water transformed into
1,700 litres of the steam, which carries off into the water 1,700 ×
10 = 17,000 litres of air, a force is developed represented by 34,000
kilograms. In fact, by reason of the inclined position of the drain
on which the pressure of air acts, and its restricted dimensions,
the quantity of force employed in the propulsion of the boat is but
a fraction of the total force produced. Moreover, the resistance of
traction increases with the size of the boat, and as the dimensions
of the inclined pipe cannot be indefinitely enlarged, the result is
that the propulsive action is soon insufficient, so that the invention
is not, in its present condition, applicable to navigation on a large
scale. Its superiority to the steam-engine cannot, therefore, be
demonstrated; and we are only now discussing the contrivance in order
to show that it is possible, with only moderately powerful generators
and extremely simple mechanical appliances, to obtain considerable
dynamic effects, susceptible of more serviceable application than is
commonly believed.
CIRCULATING FOUNTAIN.
The apparatus given in fig. 482 is the subject of a very charming
experiment, showing the influence of capillarity on the movements
of liquids. Two glass balls, B B´, are connected by two tubes; one
straight and of rather large diameter, the other extremely slender,
and winding in and out in a more or less complicated manner. The large
tube passes into ball B´, and forms a slender point, J, at the orifice
of the narrow tube. At the lower end of the ball is a bulb, which is
closed with a cork, and contains a coloured liquid. The apparatus is
fixed to a board with a ring at each end, by which it can be hung on
the wall. When commencing the experiment, it should be hung so that
the ball B´ is uppermost. The liquid then flows through into the ball
B, without presenting any particular phenomenon. The apparatus is then
turned, and the liquid descends again with great speed, shoots through
the opening, J, and rises into the twisted tube. The air displaced from
ball B´ also rises, however, and mingles with the liquid, and it can be
seen circulating through the winding tube in a number of air-bubbles,
mingled with drops of liquid, gradually transmitting the pressure of
the column contained in the upper ball and straight tube; so that by
means of a similar phenomenon to that of the fountain of Nero, the
liquid rises higher than the level of the reservoir, a part falling
into ball B, which causes the experiment to be a little prolonged. This
circulation of air-bubbles and coloured drops through the twisted tube
of the apparatus has a very pretty effect.
[Illustration: Fig. 482.—Circulating fountain.]
THE PNEUMATIC PENCIL.
This ingenious invention is productive of results similar to Edison’s
electric pen. It is the invention of an American gentleman, Mr. J.
W. Brickenridge, of Lafayette, Indiana. The illustration (fig. 483)
explains the mechanism of the pneumatic pencil. The whole apparatus is
figured on the left side of the picture, while the longitudinal section
of the pencil is shown on the right, the small cut at the top being
a vertical section of a portion of the motive power. Compressed air
furnishes the power of pressure, which is accomplished by means of a
perforating needle.
If the treadle is put in motion, a backward and forward movement is
imparted to a flexible diaphragm, as in the upper section in the
centre of the illustration. By this movement the air is permitted
to enter, and is compressed by the diaphragm into the flexible tube
with which the diaphragm is connected. The air is thus brought into
contact with another diaphragm at the end of the tube and presses
on it. The pencil is fixed to the latter. When it is desired to use
the pencil the apparatus is set in motion, and by a series of sharp,
quick perforations, any writing can be traced, as by the electric pen.
This indentation can be copied over and over again in a press, the
writing acting as the negative; and if ink be first run over it, as
in a stencil plate, by a proper “roller,” the latter will come out as
plainly as possible.
[Illustration: Fig. 483.—Pneumatic pencil.]
TUBE WELLS.
The principle upon which the tube well depends is very simple. It is
well known that in certain localities water lies a short distance
beneath the surface of the ground, and a very little trouble would
satisfy us upon the point, and render us quite independent of the water
companies’ supply. On the supposition that the water exists underneath
our garden at, say, twenty-five feet beneath the surface of the ground,
we have only to drive into the soil a tube for that distance, and by
the assistance of a common pump we shall obtain a pure supply of water.
We will now proceed to describe the manner in which these wells are
sunk. The first step is to fix a platform firmly upon the ground and
bore a hole, by which the tube is to enter the ground. This tube
should be very thick, with an aperture of two inches or rather
less, and three or four yards in length. The lower portion should be
pierced with holes, as in the illustration, and terminating in a point
of extremely fine-tempered steel. This tube can be driven into the
ground by mallets, or by the suspended hammer, worked as shown in the
illustration (fig. 484). This work will be easily accomplished, and
when the first length of tube has been driven in, another can be fixed
to it and hammered down in the same way.
[Illustration: Fig. 484.—Tube Well.]
When the tubes have been driven to the depth indicated it will be as
well to let down a sounding line, a simple cord sustaining a pebble. If
the stone be pulled up dry, another length of tube can be added, or the
tubes can be pulled up, and another trial made. If, on the contrary,
the pebble come up wet, the object is accomplished, and a small pump
can be fixed to the upper end of the tube, as in fig. 485. At first
the water will be found a little thick and muddy, in consequence of
the disturbance of the soil and the particles adhering to the end of
the first tube; but after an hour or so it will be found that the
water has become quite clear. It need scarcely be said that if the
water possesses sufficient ascensional force to rise to the level of
the ground a pump need not be employed. An Artesian Well will, in that
case, be the result.
The operation described on page 456 can usually be performed without
any difficulty. Sometimes, however, the tube may come in contact with a
large stone, and in that case the experiment must be tried elsewhere;
but, as a rule, the pointed tube, in consequence of its small size
and penetrative power, pushes any moderately-sized obstacle aside,
readily turns aside itself, or passes between pieces of stone to the
desired depth. Nine times out of ten the operation will be successful,
and the experiment will not occupy more than an hour, under ordinary
circumstances, and the tubing (and pump) may be obtained at a moderate
price, which can even be diminished by arrangement. Ordinary wells are
relatively very difficult to sink, and the soil thrown out from the pit
is in the way, while a parapet is necessary to protect the opening.
Besides, should water not be found after much work, the expense and
trouble of digging will be uselessly incurred. Thanks to the tube
system, we can search or probe for water anywhere with ease, and if we
do not find it in one spot we can easily move on to another without
incurring any serious trouble or expense.
[Illustration: Fig. 485.—Abyssinian Pump.]
We believe the idea of these “instantaneous wells” originated in the
United States during the War of Secession, when some soldiers of the
Northern army sunk rifle barrels into the ground, and obtained water
in a barren land. To Mr. Norton the development of the idea is due,
and in the Abyssinian Expedition the utility of the notion was fully
demonstrated. Since that time M. Donnet of Lyons has modified and
improved the tube-well, and arranged all the materials, including wider
tubing and the hammers upon a carriage, thus giving greater facilities
to the workmen and to those desirous of sinking such wells.
The general arrangement of M. Donnet, and the carriage with its
equipments utilized, is depicted in fig. 484; the actual sinking of the
well is carried out just as originally performed by Mr. Norton.
A NEW SWIMMING APPARATUS.
[Illustration: Fig. 486.—Swimming apparatus.]
We have to mention a novel means of swimming, which may prove useful
to those who distrust the natural buoyancy of water and their own
powers of keeping afloat or swimming. The simple apparatus, shown in
fig. 486, is the invention of an American named Richardson, a citizen
of Mobile, U.S.
[Illustration: Fig. 487.—Nautical Velocipede.]
The machine consists, essentially, of a shaft, upon which a float is
fixed, and at the end of the shaft is a small screw propeller. The
shaft is put in motion by a wheel arrangement worked by the hands, and
by a crank moved by the feet. The swimmer rests upon the float, with
his head well above water. The float sustains him, while the propeller
forces him through the water, without his feeling fatigued, at the
rate of about five miles an hour. A certain amount of practice is
necessary to obtain complete command of the machine, but when mastered
the swimmer can proceed, without much exertion, at a rapid rate. The
apparatus itself is not difficult to make, and persons who have tried
it speak highly of its convenience and of the facilities it may afford.
Captain Boyton’s swimming-dress is another useful invention, but the
means of mechanical propulsion are wanting, while in this new apparatus
the swimmer can drive himself through the sea with ease and expedition,
and even a non-swimmer may thereby save life without danger to himself,
or the person he wishes to rescue.
[Illustration: Fig. 488.—Trained seal drawing canoe.]
The NAUTICAL VELOCIPEDE, which also deserves some notice at our
hands, is the invention of M. Croce-Spinelli, who tried it upon the
great lake of Vincennes and also on the Seine, when it was the object
of much curiosity; but when the Franco-German war broke out the
experiments were discontinued, and the inventor did not live to perfect
the apparatus. He fell a victim to his love for ballooning. But M.
Joberts, a practical machinist, has lately taken up the idea broached
by Croce-Spinelli, and has brought out a new water velocipede of very
ingenious construction, with satisfactory results. The machine is
described as follows. There are two hollow tin “floats” of cylindrical
form, and tapered at the ends. These floats are joined together by a
platform made of very light wood, on which the seat of the worker is
raised, and underneath is the machinery for propelling the velocipede.
The motive power is very simple, and corresponds to that employed to
propel the bicycle on land, by the feet of the rider, the wheel being
furnished with paddles in the water velocipede.
[Illustration: Fig. 489.—Double yachts.]
A rudder, which can easily be worked by cords, gives the velocipedist
complete control of the machine, the steering being performed by a
handle similar to that which the bicyclist uses to turn the machine
he rides. In fact, the “water” velocipede is an adaptation of the
“terrestrial” machine so familiar to all readers. This velocipede is
equally adapted for sea or lake progression, the waves of the former
being, under ordinary circumstances, no obstruction, for very little
motion is imparted to the sitter. For those desirous to bathe in deep
water the machine offers many facilities; and in the case of attack of
cramp or faintness, rescue would not be difficult, as the swimmer could
support himself upon the pointed cylinders of the water velocipede till
assistance arrived. On the other hand, it is very necessary to know how
to swim before attempting to work the machine.
[Illustration: Fig. 490.—Ice boats.]
Before describing the ice-yachts which are used in Canada when winter’s
cold grasp lies on water and land, we will mention a very curious
experiment in water locomotion made a year or two ago. The illustration
explains itself. It is not an imaginary sketch, it is the record of
fact.
This sagacious seal was exhibited in London, and was in the habit of
performing certain tricks, one item of his performance being to draw
the light canoe (as represented), and another accomplishment consisted
in “striking the light guitar,” to the astonishment of the spectators,
amongst whom was the writer. The instrument was placed between his
fins, or “flappers,” and the seal twanged it more or less melodiously.
He was very tame, and obedient to his master and trainer.
We all have heard of, even if we have not seen, the twin steamer
_Castalia_, which, pending the opening of the tunnel beneath the
Channel, was supposed to reduce sea-sickness to a minimum. The
_Castalia_ did not answer, however, but an American has planned
certain double yachts, of which we give an illustration. The
sailing-boats, as represented, have had much success upon the lake of
Cayuga, and are quite seaworthy,—in fact, it is impossible to overturn
them.
The weight of one of these yachts is about fifteen hundred pounds, and
the draught six inches. Having two keels they answer the helm very
readily. The boat, in the centre of the illustration, belongs to Mr.
Prentiss, and is called the _Pera Ladronia_. It is a very fast “ship.”
From navigation in water, we now come to navigation _on_ water. The
ice-boats are much used in Canada, and their simple but effective
construction will be readily perceived from the accompanying
illustration. The Americans state that these ice-yachts can run before
a good breeze as fast as an ordinary train. There are, or were, models
of some such (Finland) yachts in the South Kensington Museum with two
sails. The American yacht, as a rule, has only one sail, and the owners
say—but we will not vouch for the truth of the allegation—that they
frequently run far ahead of the wind that primarily propelled them!
SAILING ON LAND.
It is quite possible to sail upon land, although this statement may
appear contradictory in terms. “The force of the wind upon sails,” says
Bishop Wilkins in his work, “Mathematical Magic,” printed in London in
1648, “can be applied to vehicles on land as well as to ships at sea.
Such conveyances,” he adds, “have long been in use in China and in
Spain, as well as in flat countries, such as Holland, where they have
been employed with great success. In the last-named country they are
propelled with greater speed than are ships before a fair wind; so that
in a few hours a boat containing several persons actually travelled
nearly two hundred miles, with no trouble to any one on board except
the steersman, who had little difficulty in guiding the boat.”
[Illustration: Fig. 491.—Sailing carriage of the 17th century, from a
drawing of the period.]
The astonishment expressed by the good bishop was quite justified, for,
as a matter of fact, a carriage or boat on wheels, with sails, as shown
in the illustration, achieved a distance of nearly thirty-eight miles
in an hour. This pace was quite unknown at that time; such a rate of
travelling had never entered the minds of people then. “Men running in
front of the machine after a while appeared to be going backwards, so
quickly were they overtaken and passed.” “Objects at a distance were
approached in the twinkling of an eye, and were left far in the rear.”
So it is evident that, had locomotion by steam not been adopted, the
mode of sailing on land would have eventually become the most rapid
mode of transit, and it is rather remarkable that it was never adopted
as a mode of travel.
[Illustration: Fig. 492.—On the Kansas Pacific Railway.]
But Bishop Wilkins had not to reproach himself on this account, for he
adapted the principle of the windmill to carriages, “so that the sails
would turn and move his car, no matter in what direction the wind was
blowing.” He proposed to make these sails act upon the wheels of a
carriage, and trusted to “make it move in any direction, either with
the wind or against it!” This suggestion has been lately adopted in the
United States, and it is curious that after two hundred and fifty years
no better mode for utilizing wind-power on land has ever been found.
Perhaps the ice-boats already mentioned may be the forerunners of some
new system of “land transport,” for which enormous kites have been made
available.
It is somewhat remarkable that if the introduction of railroads quite
“took the wind out of the sails” of any other mode of locomotion
on _terra firma_, it is that very iron track which has led to the
reintroduction of sails as a mode of progression upon the rails. In
the United States at the present time there are many vehicles propelled
by sails across the immense prairies at a pace, with a strong wind,
which equals that of the trains. We are indebted to Mr. Wood, of
Hayes City, Kansas, for the photograph from which the picture of the
sailing-waggon, invented by Mr. Bascom, of the Kansas Pacific Railway,
is copied. This carriage travels usually at thirty miles an hour, and a
speed of forty miles an hour has been obtained when the wind has been
high and blowing directly “aft.” The distance of eighty-four miles has
been accomplished in four hours when the wind was “on the beam,” or a
little forward of it, and on some curves with an almost contrary breeze.
The newest machine has four wheels, each thirty inches in diameter;
it is six feet in length, and weighs six hundred pounds. The sails
are carried upon two masts, and they contain about eighty-one square
feet of canvas. The main, or principal mast, is eleven feet high, four
inches in diameter at the base, and two inches at the top. As in the
case of the ice-boats, it is claimed for the sailing carriage that
it frequently outstrips the wind that propels it along the track.
On the other hand, there is a difference between the best sailing
points of the two kinds of vehicle. The ice-boat goes quickest with
the wind “dead aft,” the carriage makes best time with the wind “on
the beam”—_i.e._, sideways. The greater friction and larger surface
exposed to the influence of a side-wind no doubt will account for the
difference between the speed of the railway sailing-carriage and the
ice-boat.
Mr. Bascom informs us that the carriage we have described is in
frequent use upon the Kansas Pacific Railway, where it is employed to
transport materials for the necessary repairs of the line, telegraph,
etc., etc. It is a very cheap contrivance, and a great economizer of
labour. We all have noticed the cumbrous method of “trolly-kicking” by
“navvies” along the line. A trolly fitted with a sail would, in many
cases, and on many English lines, save a great deal of trouble, time,
and exertion to the plate-layers.