]
DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
Who saw what ferns and palms were pressed
Under the tumbling mountain’s breast,
In the safe herbal of the coal?
But when the quarried means were piled,
All is waste and worthless, till
Arrives the wise selecting Will,
And, out of slime and chaos, Wit
Draws the threads of fair and fit.
Then temples rose, and towns, and marts,
The shop of toil, the hall of arts;
Then flew the sail across the seas
To feed the North from tropic trees;
The storm-wind wove, the torrent span,
Where they were bid the rivers ran;
New slaves fulfilled the poet’s dream,
Galvanic wire, strong-shouldered steam.
EMERSON.
DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
BY
ROBERT ROUTLEDGE, B.Sc.,
SOMETIME ASSISTANT EXAMINER IN CHEMISTRY AND IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
THIRTEENTH EDITION
REVISED AND PARTLY RE-WRITTEN, WITH ADDITIONS
CONTAINING FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED
BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
1900
PREFACE.
In the following pages an attempt has been made to present a popular
account of remarkable discoveries and inventions which distinguish the
XIXth century. They distinguish it not merely in comparison with any
previous century, but in comparison with all the centuries that have
preceded, in regard to far-reaching intellectual acquisitions, and to
material achievements, which together have profoundly affected our ways
of thinking and our habits of life. In the latter, the enormously
increased facilities of locomotion and international communication due
to railways and steam navigation have wrought the greatest changes.
These inventions depending primarily upon that of the steam engine, this
first claims our notice, although properly assignable to a period
preceding our era by a few years. Again, much of our material
advancement is connected with improvements in the manufacture of iron
and its applications in the form of steel, which have been especially
the work of the last half of the century. So great has been the progress
in this department, that for the present edition it has been found
necessary to re-write altogether the article devoted to it. Our social
conditions have also been greatly modified by the celerity of verbal
intercourse afforded by the telegraph and the telephone, and these
inventions have received appropriate notice in this work. In every
branch of science also we have reason to be proud of the discoveries our
era can claim, for they vastly excel in number and are not inferior in
range to those of all the ages taken together. From so large a field,
selection was of course necessary; and the instances selected have been
those which appeared to some extent typical, or those which seemed to
have the most direct bearing on the general advance of our time. The
topics comprise chiefly those great applications of mechanical
engineering and arts, and of physical and chemical science, in which
every intelligent person feels concerned; while some articles are
devoted to certain purely scientific discoveries that have excited
general interest.
The author has aimed at giving a concise but clear description of the
several subjects; and that without assuming on the part of the reader
any knowledge not usually possessed by young persons of either sex who
have received an ordinary education. The design has been to treat the
subjects as familiarly as might be consistent with a desire to impart
real information; while the popular character of the book has not been
considered a reason for regarding accuracy as unnecessary. On the
contrary, pains have been taken to consult the best authorities; and it
is only because the sources of information to which the author is under
obligation are so many, that he cannot acknowledge them in detail.
The present edition has been revised throughout, and such changes have
been made as were required to bring the matter into accordance with the
progress that has taken place since this book was first published in
1876. But details given in the former editions have at the same time
been retained where they served to indicate the successive stages of
improvement. It would, for example, be impossible in a section on steam
navigation, to omit some notice of the _Great Eastern_, and therefore
the drawings and the account of the construction of that remarkable ship
that appeared in the first edition, have been left with but slight
alterations in the present volume, although the vessel has since been
broken up. On the other hand, two sections are devoted to projects which
the XIXth century has not seen realised; but the XXth century will in
all probability shortly witness the completion of one or other of the
great canal schemes; and if the first submarine tunnel is destined not
to be one connecting England with the Continent, it will be one uniting
Great Britain with her sister isle.
1899.
* * * * *
For permission to make use of illustrations in this volume the author’s
and publishers’ thanks are due to the several proprietors of _The
Graphic_ (for Plates I., XI., and XII.)—of _The Engineer_ (for sketch
design of the Great Wheel, map and views of the Tower Bridge)—of _The
Scientific American_ (map of North Sea Canal); also to Mr. Walter B.
Basset (for Plate V.)—to “The Cassier Magazine Company” (for Edison’s
Kinetographic Theatre and the Hotchkiss Gun)—to “The Century Company”
(for portrait of M. Tesla, from a photograph by Sarony)—to “The
Incandescent Gas Light Company” (for cuts of burners, etc.)—to _The
Engineering Magazine_, and _The Engineering News_, both of New York—to
the Remington Company—to Mr. W. W. Greener, of Birmingham (for cuts of
rifles, etc., from his comprehensive book on “The Gun”)—to _The
Photogram_, Limited—to the Proprietors of _Nature_—to the Linotype
Company—and to Captains Hadcock and Lloyd (for illustrations of modern
artillery from their great work on the subject).
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
STEAM ENGINES 3
THE LOCOMOTIVE 14
PORTABLE ENGINES 24
THE STEAM HAMMER 25
IRON 29
IRON IN ARCHITECTURE 72
BIG WHEELS 81
TOOLS 85
THE BLANCHARD LATHE 96
SAWING MACHINES 98
RAILWAYS 101
THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAYS 114
THE PACIFIC RAILWAY 116
INCLINED RAILWAYS 125
STEAM NAVIGATION 129
RIVER AND LAKE STEAMBOATS OF AMERICA 144
SHIPS OF WAR 149
FIRE-ARMS 169
THE MILITARY RIFLE 178
RIFLED CANNON 190
MACHINE GUNS 218
TORPEDOES 227
SHIP CANALS 249
THE SUEZ CANAL 251
THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL 262
THE NORTH SEA CANAL 271
THE PANAMA AND NICARAGUA CANAL PROJECTS 272
IRON BRIDGES 276
GIRDER BRIDGES 280
SUSPENSION BRIDGES 284
CANTILEVER BRIDGES 291
THE TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON 297
THE GREAT BROOKLYN BRIDGE 303
PRINTING MACHINES 305
LETTERPRESS PRINTING 306
PATTERN PRINTING 321
HYDRAULIC POWER 324
PNEUMATIC DISPATCH 340
ROCK BORING 349
THE MONT CENIS TUNNEL 351
ROCK-DRILLING MACHINES 355
THE CHANNEL TUNNEL 364
THE ST. GOTHARD RAILWAY 371
LIGHT 380
SOME PHENOMENA OF LIGHT 382
VELOCITY OF LIGHT 384
REFLECTION OF LIGHT 388
REFRACTION 397
DOUBLE REFRACTION AND POLARISATION 399
CAUSE OF LIGHT AND COLOUR 408
THE SPECTROSCOPE 416
CELESTIAL CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 436
ROENTGEN’S X RAYS 445
SIGHT 452
THE EYE 454
VISUAL IMPRESSIONS 468
ELECTRICITY 481
ELEMENTARY PHENOMENA OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM 483
THEORY OF ELECTRICITY 487
ELECTRIC INDUCTION 488
DYNAMICAL ELECTRICITY 490
INDUCED CURRENTS 502
MAGNETO-ELECTRICITY 507
THE GRAMME MAGNETO-ELECTRIC MACHINE 511
ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND ELECTRIC POWER 519
THE NEW ELECTRICITY 538
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH 547
TELEGRAPHIC INSTRUMENTS 553
TELEGRAPHIC LINES 572
THE TELEPHONE 581
LIGHTHOUSES 593
PHOTOGRAPHY 607
PHOTOGRAPHY IN COLOURS 630
PRINTING PROCESSES 632
STEREOTYPING 632
LITHOGRAPHY 636
OTHER PROCESSES 640
THE LINOTYPE MACHINE 645
RECORDING INSTRUMENTS 653
THE PHONOGRAPH 665
AQUARIA 675
THE CRYSTAL PALACE AQUARIUM 677
THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM 682
GOLD AND DIAMONDS 687
GOLD 687
DIAMONDS 696
NEW METALS 714
INDIA-RUBBER AND GUTTA-PERCHA 724
INDIA-RUBBER 724
GUTTA-PERCHA 728
ANÆSTHETICS 731
EXPLOSIVES 740
MINERAL COMBUSTIBLES 751
COAL 751
PETROLEUM 757
PARAFFIN 761
COAL-GAS 764
COAL-TAR COLOURS 781
THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF THE AGE 801
NOTES 811
INDEX 813
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
Heading—Rain, Steam, and Speed (after Turner) 1
1. Portrait of James Watt 3
2. Newcomen’s Steam Engine 4
3. Watt’s Double-action Steam Engine 5
4. Governor and Throttle-Valve 6
4_a_. Watt’s Parallel Motion 8
5. Slide Valve 9
6. Section of Gifford’s Injector 11
7. Bourdon’s Pressure Gauge 12
8. Steam Generator 13
9. Section of Locomotive 15
10. Stephenson’s Link Motion 17
10_a_. G. N. R. Express Passenger Locomotive 19
10_b_. Joy’s Valve Gear 20
11. Locomotive after Explosion 22
12. Hancock’s Steam Omnibus 22
13. Nasmyth’s Steam Hammer 27
14. Merryweather’s Steam Fire-Engine 28
15. A Foundry 29
16. Aerolite in the British Museum 31
17. Blast Furnace 41
18. Section and Plan of Blast Furnace (obsolete type) 42
19. Section of a Reverberatory Furnace 45
20. Fibrous Fracture of Wrought Iron 47
21. Cup and Cone 49
22. Section of Blast Furnace 51
23. Experiments at Baxter House 58
24. Bessemer Converter 63
25. Model of Bessemer Steel Apparatus 65
26. Section of Regenerative Stoves and Open Hearth 68
26_a_. Rolling Mill 71
26_b_. The Eiffel Tower in course of construction 73
26_c_. The Eiffel Tower 75
26_d_. St. Paul Building, N. Y. 77
26_e_. Manhattan Insurance Co.’s Building in course of 79
erection
26_f_. Manhattan Insurance Co.’s Building nearly completed 80
26_g_. Original Design for the Great Wheel 82
27. Portrait of Sir Joseph Whitworth 85
28. Whitworth’s Screw Dies and Tap 86
29. Screw-cutting Lathe 87
30. Whitworth’s Measuring Machine 89
31. Whitworth’s Drilling Machine 91
32. Whitworth’s Planing Machine 93
33. Pair of Whitworth’s Planes or Surface Plates 94
34. Interior of Engineer’s Workshop 95
35. Blanchard Lathe 96
36. Vertical Saw 98
37. Circular Saw 99
38. Pit-Saw 100
39. Box Tunnel 101
40. Coal-pit, Salop 102
41. Sankey Viaduct 103
42. Rails and Cramp-gauge 104
43. Fish-plate 105
44. Section of Rails and Fish-plates 106
45. Conical Wheels 107
46. Centrifugal Force 107
47. Points 108
48. Signal Box on North London Railway 109
49. Post Office Railway Van 111
50. Gower Street Station, Metropolitan Railway 115
51. Map of the Route of Pacific Railway 117
52. Trestle Bridge 118
53. American Canyon 119
54. “Cape Horn” 121
55. Snow Plough 122
56. First Steam Railroad Train in America 123
57. Railway Embankment 124
57_a_. Train ascending the Rigi 126
57_b_. At the summit of the Rigi 127
58. The _Great Eastern_ at Anchor 129
59. Casting Cylinder of a Marine Steam Engine 131
60. Screw Propeller 132
61. Section of _Great Eastern_ Amidships 134
62. The _Great Eastern_ in course of construction 135
63. The _Great Eastern_ ready for launching 136
64. Comparative sizes of Steamships 137
65. The ss. _City of Rome_ 138
66. The _Castalia_ in Dover Harbour 140
67. The same—End View 141
68. Bessemer Steamer 142
68_a_. A Whaleback Steamer, No. 85, built at West 146
Superior, Wisconsin
69. H.M.S. _Devastation_ in Queenstown Harbour 149
70. Section of H.M.S. _Hercules_ 151
71. Section of H.M.S. _Inconstant_ 153
72. Section, Elevation and Plan of Turret of H.M.S. 154
_Captain_
73. H.M.S. _Captain_ 155
74. Diagram of H.M.S. _Captain_ 158
75. Ditto 159
76. H.M.S. _Glatton_ 162
77. H.M.S. _Thunderer_ 163
78. The _König Wilhelm_ 165
78_a_. The _Victoria_ leaving Newcastle-on-Tyne 166
78_b_. Firing at Floating Battery 168
79. Krupp’s Works at Essen, Prussia 169
80. Trajectory of a Projectile 174
81. Diagram for Trajectory of a Projectile 176
82. Muzzle-loading Musket and Rifles (obsolete 179
patterns)
83. The Minié Bullet 181
84. Greener’s Expanding Bullet 182
85. The Chassepot Rifle—Section of the Breech 183
86. Section of the Martini-Henry Lock 185
87. The Martini-Henry Rifle 186
88. The Mannlicher Magazine Rifle 188
89. The Magazine and Breech of the Mannlicher Rifle 189
90. 32–pounder, 1807 191
91. Whitworth Rifling and Projectile 193
92. 600–pounder Muzzle-loading Armstrong Gun 194
93. 35–ton Fraser Gun 195
94. Section of 9–in. Fraser Gun 196
95. Millwall Shield after being battered with Heavy 200
Shot—Front View
96. Rear View of the Millwall Shield 200
97. Comparative Sizes of 35 and 81–ton Guns 201
98. Diagram of Velocities and Pressures 205
99. Elswick 4·7–in. Q. F. Gun on Pivot Mounting 207
100. The Moncrieff Gun raised and ready for firing 209
101. Moncrieff Gun lowered for loading 209
102. 68–ton Gun on Elswick Hydro-Pneumatic Mounting 211
103. Mallet’s Mortar 213
104. 32–pounder Krupp Siege Gun, with Breech-piece open 214
105. The Citadel of Strasburg after the Prussian 215
Bombardment
105_a_. The Shrapnel and Segment Shells 217
105_b_. The Gatling Gun—Rear View 219
105_c_. The Gatling Gun—Front View 221
105_d_. The Montigny Mitrailleur 222
105_e_. A Hotchkiss Gun 224
106. Harvey’s Torpedo.—Working the Brakes 227
107. Submerged Torpedo 228
108. Mode of Firing Torpedo 230
109. Explosion of Whitehead’s Torpedo 231
110. Effect of the Explosion of Whitehead’s Torpedo 232
111. Experiment with a Torpedo charged with 10 lbs. Gun 233
Cotton
112. Explosion of Torpedo containing 67 lbs. Gun Cotton 234
113. Explosion of 432 lbs. Gun Cotton in 37 ft. Water 235
114. The same in 27 ft. Water 235
115. Section of Priming Case and Exploding Bolt 236
116. Harvey’s Torpedo 237
117. The same 238
118. The same 239
119. Official Trial of “Harvey’s Sea Torpedo” 239
120. Model of Submarine Guns 240
121. The Warner Experiment off Brighton 241
122. Portrait of M. Lesseps 249
123. The Sand-Glass 253
124. A Group of Egyptian Fellahs and their Wives 254
125. Dredges and Elevators at Work 255
126. Map of the Suez Canal 256
127. Port Saïd, the Mediterranean Entrance to the Suez 257
Canal
128. Bird’s-eye View of Port Saïd 258
129. One of the Breakwaters at Port Saïd 259
130. Lake Timsah and Ismaïlia 259
131. Railway Station at Ismaïlia 260
132. The Viceroy of Egypt cutting Embankment 261
133. Map of the Manchester Ship Canal, Western Portion 263
134. Map of the Manchester Ship Canal, Eastern Portion 263
135. A Cutting for the Manchester Ship Canal 265
136. Blasting Rocks for the Manchester Ship Canal 266
137. Manchester Ship Canal Works, Runcorn 267
137_a_. The French Steam Navvy 268
137_b_. The English Steam Navvy 269
137_c_. Sketch Map of the North Sea Canal 271
138. Britannia Bridge, Menai Straits 276
139. Diagram showing Strains 278
140. Ditto 279
141. Girder 279
142. Ditto 279
143. Ditto 280
144. Section of a Tube of the Britannia Bridge 281
145. Albert Bridge, Saltash 283
146. Clifton Suspension Bridge, near Bristol 285
147. Section of Shaft 286
147_a_. Clifton Suspension Bridge, Niagara 288
147_b_. Living Model of the Cantilever Principle 291
147_c_. Principal Dimensions of the Forth Bridge 294
147_d_. Map of the Tower Bridge and its Approaches 299
147_e_. The Tower Bridge 301
147_f_. Sketch 302
148. Newspaper Printing-Room 305
149. Inking Balls 306
150. Inking Roller 306
151. Diagram of Single Machine 308
152. Diagram of Perfecting Machine 309
153. Cowper’s Double Cylinder Machine 309
154. Tapes of Cowper’s Machine 310
155. Hopkinson and Cope’s Perfecting Machine 311
156. Section of Casting Apparatus 314
157. Diagram of the Walter Press 315
158. Hoe’s Type Revolving Cylinder Machine 317
159. Hoe’s “Railway” Machine 319
160. Napier’s Platen Machine 320
161. Roller for Printing Wall-Papers 322
162. Machine for Printing Paper-Hangings 323
163. Chain Testing Machine 324
164. Pascal’s Principle 325
165. Collar of Hydraulic Cylinder 326
166. Hydraulic Press 327
167. Section of Hydraulic Lift Graving Dock 331
168. Section of Column 332
169. Sir W. Armstrong’s Hydraulic Crane 335
170. Raising Tubes of Britannia Bridge 336
171. Press for Raising the Tubes 337
172. Head of Link-Bars 338
173. Apparatus to Prove Transmission of Pressure 339
174. Pneumatic Tubes and Carriages 340
175. Diagram of Tubes, &c. 342
176. Sending and Receiving Apparatus 343
177. Section of Receiving Apparatus 344
178. Sommeiller Boring Machines 349
179. Transit by Diligence over Mont Cenis 353
180. Burleigh Rock Drill on Tripod 356
181. The same on Movable Column 358
182. The same Mounted on Carriage 359
183. Diamond Drill Crown 360
184. Diamond Drill Machinery 363
185. Chart of the Channel Tunnel 367
186. Section of the Channel Tunnel 368
187. View of Dover 369
187_a_. Map of the St. Gothard Railway 372
187_b_. The Uppermost Bridge over the Maïenreuss 375
187_c_. The Bridges over the Maïenreuss, near Wasen 377
187_d_. Windings of the Line near Wasen 378
188. Contrasts of Light 380
189. Rays 382
190. Diagram 383
191. Telescopic Appearance of Jupiter and Satellites 384
192. Diagram 386
193, 194, 195. Diagrams 388
196. Diagram 389
197. Polemoscope 390
198. Apparatus for Ghost Illusion 391
198_a_. The Ghost Illusion 393
199. Illusion produced by Mirrors 394
200. A Stage Illusion 395
201. View of Venice—Reflections 396
202. Refraction 397
203. Diagram 398
204, 205. Diagrams of Crystals 400
206. Diagram 401
207. Diagram 403
208. Diagram 404
209. Polariscope 406
210. Section showing Polarisation 407
211. Iceland Spar, showing Double Refraction 407
212. Diagram 408
213. Diagram 410
214. Diagram 412
215. Portrait of Professor Kirchhoff 416
216. Diagram 417
217. Newton’s Experiment 418
218. Bunsen’s Burner on Stand 421
219. Spectroscope with one Prism 423
220. Miniature Spectroscope 426
221. The Gassiot Spectroscope 427
222. Browning’s Automatic Adjustment of Prisms 429
223. Apparatus for Spark Spectra 430
224. The Sorby-Browning Micro-Spectroscope 433
225. Section of Micro-Spectroscope, with Micrometer 434
226. Diagram 435
227. Section of Micro-Spectroscope 436
228. Solar Eclipse, 1869 439
229. The Planet Saturn 441
230. Solar Prominences, No. 1 442
231. Ditto, No. 2 443
232. Section of Amateur Star Spectroscope 444
232_a_. X. Ray Photo of Living Hand, Exposure 4 minutes 446
232_b_. Skiagraph of a Hand by Dr. Roentgen 448
232_c_. Metal objects photographed through Calico and sheet 450
of Aluminium
232_d_. Skiagraph of Layers of various substances 451
233. Portrait of Professor Helmholtz 452
234. Vertical Section of the Eye 454
235. Section of Retina 456
236. Diagram 457
237. Muscles of Eyes 459
238. Diagram 461
239. Diagram 464
240. Diagram 465
241. Ruete’s Ophthalmoscope 466
242. Diagram 467
243. Wheatstone’s Reflecting Stereoscope 469
244. Diagram 470
245. Diagram 471
246. The Telestereoscope 473
247. Lines 475
248, 249. Diagrams 476
250, 251. Diagrams 477
251_a_. Edison’s Kinetographic Theatre 479
252. Portrait of Sir W. Thomson 481
253. A simple Electroscope 485
254. The Gold-leaf Electroscope 489
255. The Leyden Jar 490
256. A Voltaic Element 491
257. Ampère’s Rule 492
258. Galvanometer 493
259. Daniell’s Cell and Battery 495
260. Grove’s Cell and Battery 495
261. Wire Ignited by Electricity 496
262. Duboscq’s Electric Lantern and Regulator 497
263. Decomposition of Water 498
264. Electro-plating 499
265. A Current producing a Magnet 500
266. An Electro-magnet 501
267. Ruhmkorff’s Coil 503
268. Discharge through Rarefied Air 504
268_a_. Large Induction Coil at the Old Polytechnic 505
Institution, London
269. Appearance of Spark on Looking-glass 507
270. Magneto-electric Spark 508
271. A Magnet producing a Current 509
272. Clarke’s Magneto-electric Machine 509
273. Magneto-electric Light 510
274. Diagram 511
275. Gramme Machine 512
276. Insulated Coils 513
277. Hand Gramme Machine 513
278. Gramme Machine, with eight Vertical Electro-Magnets 516
279. Gramme Machine, with Horizontal Electro-magnets 517
280. Gramme Machine 519
280_a_. The Alliance Machine 520
280_b_. Wilde’s Machine 521
280_c_. Siemens’ Dynamo 522
280_d_. The Brush Dynamo 523
280_e_. Siemens’ Regulator 524
280_f_. Jablochkoff Candle 525
280_g_. Electric Lamp 526
280_h_. Incandescent Lamp 529
280_i_. Poles with Single Arms for Suburban Roads.—The 533
Ontario Beach Railway, Rochester, N.Y.
280_j_. The Glynde Telepherage Line, on the system of the 534
late Fleeming Jenkin
280_k_. Diagrams 540
280_l_. The Tesla Oscillator 542
280_m_. M. Nikola Tesla 543
281. Portrait of Professor Morse 547
282. Double-Needle Instrument 554
283. Electro-magnetic Bells 555
284. Portable Single-Needle Instrument 556
285. Connections of Telegraph Line 558
286. Morse Recording Telegraph 559
287. Morse Transmitting Key 561
288. Morse Transmitting Plate 562
289. Step-by-step Movement 567
290. Froment’s Dials 567
291. Wheatstone’s Universal Dial Telegraph 568
292. Mirror Galvanometer 571
293. Telegraph Post and Insulators 573
294. Ditto 573
295. Wire Circuit 574
296. Wire and Earth Circuit 574
297. Submarine Cable 575
298. Making Wire for Atlantic Cable 577
299. Instrument Room at Valentia 578
300. Breaking of the Cable 579
301. Atlantic Telegraph Cable, 1866 580
302. Diagram 580
302_a_. Reiss’s Musical Telephone 584
302_b_. Bell’s Musical Telephone 585
302_c_. Superposition of Currents 587
302_d_. Bell’s Speaking Telephone 588
302_e_. Hughes’s Microphone 591
Lighthouse (heading) 593
303. Eddystone Lighthouse 594
304. Eddystone in a Storm 595
305. Revolving Light Apparatus 601
306. Stephenson’s Holophotal Light 604
307. Camera 607
308. Camera and Slide 615
309. Folding Camera 616
310. Lenses 617
311. Bath 619
311_a_. The Roll-Slide 622
312. Portrait of Aloysius Senefelder 632
313. Press for Stereotyping by Clay Process 633
313_a_. The Linotype Machine 645
313_b_. A Matrix 646
313_c_. Diagram of Movements 647
313_d_. A Line of Matrices 648
313_e_. A finished Line entering galley 649
313_f_. The Melting Pot and Mould Wheel 650
313_g_. The Finished Line 651
313_h_. Lines assembled into a “Form” 651
313_i_. Matrices dropping into Magazine 652
314. Recording Anemometer 653
315. Registration of Height of Barometer and Thermometer 655
316. Electric Chronograph 657
317. Negretti’s Deep-Sea Thermometer 661
318. Ditto, General Arrangement 662
319. Atmospheric Recording Instrument 663
319_a_. Traces of Vibrations of a Tuning-Fork 667
319_b_. Phonautographic Tracings of Different Vowel Sounds 667
319_c_. Diagram 668
319_d_. Phases of Sound Waves 668
319_e_. Edison’s Original Phonograph 670
319_f_. Diagrammatic Section of Phonograph 671
319_g_. The Graphophone 672
319_h_. Edison’s Perfected Phonograph 674
320. Domestic Aquarium 675
321. The Opelet 679
322. Viviparous Blenny 680
323. The Lancelet 681
324. Sea-Horses 683
325. Proteus anguinus 684
326. Mud-Fish 685
327. The Axolotl 686
328. Sorting, Washing, and Digging at the South African 687
Diamond Fields
329. Gold Miner’s Camp 689
330. Gold in Rocks 690
331. “Cradle” for Gold-washing 690
332. Pniel, from Jardine’s Hotel 702
333. Sifting at the “Dry Diggings” 703
334. Vaal River, from Spence Kopje 704
334_a_. Sketch Section of the Kimberley Diamond Mine 709
335. Portrait of Sir Humphrey Davy 714
336. Apparatus 717
337. Portrait of Mr. Thomas Hancock 724
338. Portrait of Sir James Young Simpson, M.D. 731
339. Railway Cutting 740
340. View on the Tyne 751
341. Fossil Trees in a Railway Cutting 752
342. Impression of Leaf in Coal Measures 753
343. Possible Aspect of the Forests of the Coal Age 754
344. The Fireside 756
345. View on Hyde and Egbert’s Farm, Oil Creek 761
346. View of City of London Gas-Works 764
347. Section of Gas-making Apparatus 765
348. The Retort 767
348_a_. Retort House of the Imperial Gas-Works 768
349. The Gas Governor 770
350. Bunsen’s Burner 772
351. Faraday’s Ventilating Gas-Burner 773
351_a_. Diagram 778
351_b_. Diagram 778
351_c_. Diagram 779
351_d_. Diagram 779
351_e_. Diagram 780
352. Apparatus for making Magenta 781
353. Iron Pots for making Nitro-Benzol 784
354. Section of Apparatus for making Nitro-Benzol 785
355. Apparatus for making Aniline 786
356. Section of Hollow Spindle 787
357. Portrait of J. Prescott Joule, F.R.S. 801
LIST OF PLATES.
PLATE I.
TO FACE
THE GREAT WHEEL IN ACTION _Title page_
PLATE II.
NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE 18
PLATE III.
THE GREAT STEAM HAMMER, ROYAL GUN FACTORY, WOOLWICH 28
PLATE IV.
THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY BUILDING 76
PLATE V.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE GREAT WHEEL AT EARL’S COURT 84
PLATE VI.
MOUNT WASHINGTON INCLINED TRACK 124
PLATE VII.
PIKE’S PEAK RAILROAD, ROCKY MOUNTAINS 128
PLATE VIII.
THE “CLERMONT” FROM A CONTEMPORARY DRAWING 130
PLATE IX.
THE “MARY POWELL” 144
PLATE X.
THE “NEW YORK” 148
PLATE XI.
H.M.S. “THE TERRIBLE” 168
PLATE XII.
THE 110–TON ARMSTRONG GUN 202
PLATE XIII.
THE FORTH BRIDGE 292
PLATE XIV.
THE TOWER BRIDGE IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION 298
PLATE XV.
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 304
PLATE XVI.
THE NORTH MOUTH OF THE GREAT TUNNEL, ST. GOTHARD RAILWAY 374
PLATE XVII.
SPECTRA (Coloured Plate) 422
[Illustration:
_Wind, Steam, and Speed_ (after TURNER).
]
INTRODUCTION.
Only by knowledge of Nature’s laws can man subjugate her powers and
appropriate her materials for his own purposes. The whole history of
arts and inventions is a continued comment on this text; and since the
knowledge can be obtained only by observation of Nature, it follows that
Science, which is the exact and orderly summing-up of the results of
such observation, must powerfully contribute to the well-being and
progress of mankind.
Some of the services which have been rendered by science in promoting
human welfare are thus enumerated by an eloquent writer: “It has
lengthened life; it has mitigated pain; it has extinguished diseases; it
has increased the fertility of the soil; it has given new securities to
the mariner; it has furnished new arms to the warrior; it has spanned
great rivers and estuaries with bridges of form unknown to our fathers;
it has guided the thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to earth; it has
lighted up the night with the splendour of the day; it has extended the
range of the human vision; it has multiplied the power of the human
muscles; it has accelerated motion; it has annihilated distance; it has
facilitated intercourse, correspondence, all friendly offices, all
dispatch of business; it has enabled man to descend to the depths of the
sea, to soar into the air, to penetrate securely into the noxious
recesses of the earth, to traverse the land in cars which whirl along
without horses, to cross the ocean in ships which run ten knots an hour
against the wind. These are but a part of its fruits, and of its
first-fruits; for it is a philosophy which never rests, which has never
attained, which is never perfect. Its law is progress. A point which
yesterday was invisible is its goal to-day, and will be its
starting-point tomorrow.”—(MACAULAY).
Thus every new invention, every triumph of engineering skill, is the
embodiment of some scientific idea; and experience has proved that
discoveries in science, however remote from the interests of every-day
life they may at first appear, ultimately confer unforeseen and
incalculable benefits on mankind. There is also a reciprocal action
between science and its application to the useful purposes of life; for
while no advance is ever made in any branch of science which does not
sooner or later give rise to a corresponding improvement in practical
art, so on the other hand every advance made in practical art furnishes
the best illustration of scientific principles.
The enormous material advantages which this age possesses, the cheapness
of production that has placed comforts, elegancies, and refinements
unknown to our fathers within the reach of the humblest, are traceable
in a high degree to the arrangement called the “division of labour,” by
which it is found more advantageous for each man to devote himself to
one kind of work only; to the steam engine and its numerous
applications; to increased knowledge of the properties of metals, and of
the methods of extracting them from their ores; to the use of powerful
and accurate tools; and to the modern plan of manufacturing articles by
processes of copying, instead of fashioning everything anew by manual
labour. Little more than a century ago everything was slowly and
imperfectly made by the tedious toil of the workman’s hand; but now
marvellously perfect results of ingenious manufacture are in every-day
use, scattered far and wide, so that their very commonness almost
prevents us from viewing them with the attention and admiration they
deserve. Machinery, actuated by the forces of nature, now performs with
ease and certainty work that was formerly the drudgery of thousands.
Every natural agent has been pressed into man’s service: the winds, the
waters, fire, gravity, electricity, light itself.
But so much have these things become in the present day matters of
course, that it is difficult for one who has not witnessed the
revolution produced by such applications of science to realize their
full importance. Let the young reader who wishes to understand why the
present epoch is worthy of admiration as a stage in the progress of
mankind, address himself to some intelligent person old enough to
remember the century in its teens; let him inquire what wonderful
changes in the aspect of things have been comprised within the
experience of a single lifetime, and let him ask what has brought about
these changes. He will be told of the railway, and the steam-ship, and
the telegraph, and the great guns, and the mighty ships of war—
“The armaments which thunderstrike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake,
And monarchs tremble in their capitals.”
He will be told of a machine more potent in shaping the destinies of our
race than warlike engines—the steam printing-press. He may hear of a
chemistry which effects endless and marvellous transformations; which
from dirt and dross extracts fragrant essences and dyes of resplendent
hue. He may hear something of a wonderful instrument which can make a
faint beam of light, reaching us after a journey of a thousand years,
unfold its tale and reveal the secrets of the stars. Of these and of
other inventions and discoveries which distinguish the present age it is
the purpose of this work to give some account.
[Illustration: JAMES WATT]
STEAM ENGINES.
To track the steps which led up to the invention of the Steam Engine,
and fully describe the improvements by which the genius of the
illustrious Watt perfected it at least in principle, are not subjects
falling within the province of this work, which deals only with the
discoveries and inventions of the present century. But as it does enter
into our province to describe some of the more recent developments of
Watt’s invention, it may be desirable to give the reader an idea of his
engine, of which all the more recent applications of steam are
modifications, with improvements of detail rather than of principle.
Watt took up the engine in the condition in which it was left by
Newcomen; and what that was may be seen in Fig. 2, which represents
Newcomen’s atmospheric engine—the first practically useful engine in
which a piston moving in a cylinder was employed. In the cut, the lower
part of the cylinder, _c_, is removed, or supposed to be broken off, in
order that the piston, _h_, and the openings of the pipes, _d_, _e_,
_f_, connected with the cylinder, may be exhibited. The steam was
admitted beneath the piston by the attendant turning the cock _k_, and
as the elastic force of the steam was only equal to the pressure of the
atmosphere, it was not employed to raise the piston, but merely filled
the cylinder, the ascent of the piston being caused by the weight
attached to the other side of the beam, which at the same time sent down
the pump-rod, _m_; and when this was at its lowest position, the piston
was nearly at the top of the cylinder, which was open. The attendant
then cut off the communication with the boiler by closing the cock, _k_,
at the same time opening another cock which allowed a jet of cold water
from the cistern, _g_, to flow through the opening, _d_, into the
cylinder. The steam which filled the cylinder was, by contact with the
cold fluid, instantly condensed into water; and as the liquefied steam
would take up little more than a two-thousandth part of the space it
occupied in the gaseous state, it followed that a vacuum was produced
within the cylinder; and the weight of the atmosphere acting on the top
of the piston, having no longer the elastic force of the steam to
counteract it, forced the piston down, and thus raised the pump-bucket
attached to the rod, _m_. The water which entered the cylinder from the
cistern, together with that produced by the condensation of the steam,
flowed out of the cylinder by the opening, _f_, the pipe from which was
conducted downwards, and terminated under water, the surface of which
was at least 34 ft. below the level of the cylinder; for the atmospheric
pressure would cause the cylinder to be filled with water had the height
been less. The improvements which Watt, reasoning from scientific
principles, was enabled to effect on the rude engine of Newcomen, are
well expressed by himself in the specification of his patent of 1769. It
will be observed that the machine was formerly called the “fire engine.”
[Illustration:
FIG. 2.—_Newcomen’s Steam Engine._
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 3.—_Watt’s Double-action Steam Engine._
]
“My method of lessening the consumption of steam, and consequently
fuel, in fire engines, consists of the following principles:—_First._
That vessel in which the powers of steam are to be employed to work
the engine (which is called the cylinder in common fire engines, and
which I call the steam-vessel), must, during the whole time the engine
is at work, be kept as hot as the steam that enters it; first, by
enclosing it in a case of wood, or any other materials that transmit
heat slowly; secondly, by surrounding it with steam or other heated
bodies; and thirdly, by suffering neither water nor any other
substance colder than the steam to enter or touch it during that
time.—_Secondly._ In engines that are to be worked either wholly or
partially by condensation of steam, the steam is to be condensed in
vessels distinct from the steam-vessels or cylinders, although
occasionally communicating with them,—these vessels I call condensers;
and whilst the engines are working, these condensers ought to be kept
at least as cold as the air in the neighbourhood of the engines by the
application of water or other cold bodies.—_Thirdly._ Whatever air or
other elastic vapour is not condensed by the cold of the condenser,
and may impede the working of the engine, is to be drawn out of the
steam-vessels or condensers by means of pumps, wrought by the engines
themselves or otherwise.—_Fourthly._ I intend in many cases to employ
the expansive force of steam to press on the pistons, or whatever may
be used instead of them, in the same manner in which the pressure of
the atmosphere is now employed in common fire engines. In cases where
cold water cannot be had in plenty, the engines may be wrought by this
force of steam only, by discharging the steam into the air after it
has done its office.—_Lastly._ Instead of using water to render the
pistons and other parts of the engines air- and steam-tight, I employ
oils, wax, resinous bodies, fat of animals, quicksilver, and other
metals in their fluid state.”
[Illustration:
FIG. 4.—_Governor and Throttle-Valve._
]
From the engraving we give of Watt’s double-action steam engine, Fig. 3,
and the following description, the reader will realize the high degree
of perfection to which the steam engine was brought by Watt. The steam
is conveyed to the cylinder through a pipe, B, the supply being
regulated by the throttle-valve, acted on by rods connected with the
governor, D, which has a rotary motion. This apparatus is designed to
regulate the admission of steam in such a manner that the speed of the
engine shall be nearly uniform; and the mode in which this is
accomplished may be seen in Fig. 4, where D D is a vertical axis
carrying the pulley, _d_, which receives a rotary motion from the
driving-shaft of the engine, by a band not shown in the figures. Near
the top of the axis, at _e_, two bent rods work on a pin, crossing each
other in the same manner as the blades of a pair of scissors. The two
heavy balls are attached to the lower arms of these levers, which move
in slits through the curved guides intended to keep them always in the
same vertical plane as the axis, D D. The upper arms are jointed at _f
f_ to rods hinged at _h h_ to a ring not attached to the axis, but
allowing it to revolve freely within it. To this ring at F is fastened
one end of the lever connected with the throttle-valve in a manner
sufficiently obvious from the cut. The position represented is that
assumed by the apparatus when the engine is in motion, the disc-valve,
_z_, being partly open. If from any cause the velocity of the engine
increases, the balls diverge from increased centrifugal force, and the
effect is to draw down the ring at F, and, through the system of levers,
to turn the disc in the direction of the arrows, and diminish the supply
of steam. If, on the other hand, the speed of the engine is checked, the
balls fall towards the axis, and the valve is opened wider, admitting
steam more freely, and so restoring its former speed to the engine. On
one side of the cylinder are two hollow boxes, E E, Fig. 3,
communicating with the cylinder by an opening near the middle of the
box. Each of these steam-chests is divided into three compartments by
conical valves attached to rods connected with the lever, H. These
valves are so arranged that when the upper part of the cylinder is in
communication with the boiler, the lower part is open to the condenser,
I, and _vice versâ_. The top of the cylinder is covered, and the
piston-rod passes through an air and steam-tight hole in it; freedom of
motion, with the necessary close fitting, being attained by making the
piston-rod pass through a _stuffing-box_, where it is closely surrounded
with greased tow. The piston is also packed, so that, while it can slide
freely up and down in the cylinder, it divides the latter into two
steam-tight chambers. In an engine of this kind, the elastic force of
the steam acts alternately on the upper and lower surfaces of the
piston; and the condenser, by removing the steam which has performed its
office, leaves a nearly empty space before the piston, in which it
advances with little or no resistance. On the rod which works the
air-pump, two pins are placed, so as to move the lever, H, up and down
through a certain space, when one pin is near its highest and the other
near its lowest position, and thus the valves are opened and closed when
the piston reaches the termination of its stroke. In the condenser, I, a
stream of cold water is constantly playing, the flow being regulated by
the handle, _f_. The steam, in condensing, heats the cold water, adding
to its bulk, and at the same time the air, which is always contained in
water, is disengaged, owing to the heat and the reduced pressure. Hence
it is necessary to pump out both the air and the water by the pump, J,
which is worked by the beam of the engine. In his engines Watt adopted
the heavy fly-wheel, which tends to equalize the movement, and render
insensible the effects of those variations in the driving power and in
the resistance which always occur. In the action of the engine itself
there are two positions of the piston, namely, where it is changing its
direction, in which there is no force whatever communicated to the
piston-rod by the steam. These positions are known as the “dead points,”
and in a rotatory engine occur twice in each revolution. The resistance
also is liable to great variations. Suppose, for example, that the
engine is employed to move the shears by which thick plates of iron are
cut. When a plate has been cut, the resistance is removed, and the speed
of the engine increases; but this increase, instead of taking place by a
sudden start, takes place gradually, the power of the engine being in
the meantime absorbed in imparting increased velocity to the fly-wheel.
When another plate is put between the shears, the power which the
fly-wheel has gathered up is given out in the slight diminution of its
speed occasioned by the increased resistance. But for the fly-wheel,
such changes of velocity would take place with great suddenness, and the
shocks and strains thereby caused would soon injure the machine. This
expedient, in conjunction with that admirable contrivance, the
“governor,” renders it possible to set the same engine at one moment to
forge an anchor, and at the next to shape a needle. One of the most
ingenious of Watt’s improvements is what is termed the “parallel
motion,” consisting of a system of jointed rods connecting the head of
the piston-rod, R, with the end of the oscillating beam. As, during the
motion of the engine, the former moves in a straight line, while the
latter describes a circle, it would be impossible to connect them
directly. Watt accomplished this by hinging rods together in form of a
parallelogram, in such a manner that, while three of the angles describe
circles, the fourth moves in nearly a straight line. Watt was himself
surprised at the regularity of the action. “When I saw it work for the
first time, I felt truly all the pleasure of novelty, _as if I was
examining the invention of another man_.”
[Illustration:
A B is half the beam, A being the main centre; B E, the main links,
connecting the piston-rod, F, with the end of the beam; G D, the
air-pump links, from the centre of which the air-pump-rod is
suspended; C D moves about the fixed centre, C, while D E is movable
about the centre D, itself moving in an arc, of which C is the
centre. The dotted lines show the position of the links and bars
when the beam is at its highest position.
FIG. 4_a_.—_Watt’s Parallel Motion._
]
Many improvements in the details and fittings of almost every part of
the steam engine have been effected since Watt’s time. For example, the
opening and closing of the passages for the steam to enter and leave the
cylinder is commonly effected by means of the slide-valve (Fig. 5). The
steam first enters a box, in which are three holes placed one above the
other in the face of the box opposite to the pipe by which the steam
enters. The uppermost hole is in communication with the upper part of
the cylinder, and the lowest with the lower part. The middle opening
leads to the condenser, or to the pipe by which the steam escapes into
the air. A piece of metal, which may be compared to a box without a lid,
slides over the three holes with its open side towards them, and its
size is such that it can put the middle opening in communication with
either the uppermost or the lowest opening, at the same time giving free
passage for the steam into the cylinder by leaving the third opening
uncovered. In A, Fig. 5, the valve is admitting steam below the piston,
which is moving upwards, the steam which had before propelled it
downwards now having free exit. When the piston has arrived at the top
of the cylinder, the slide is pushed down by the rod connecting it with
the eccentric into the position represented at B, and then the opposite
movement takes place. The slide-valve is not moved, like the old pot-lid
valves, against the pressure of the steam, and has other advantages,
amongst which may be named the readiness with which a slight
modification renders it available for using the steam “_expansively_.”
This expansive working was one of Watt’s inventions, but has been more
largely applied in recent times. In this plan, when the piston has
performed a part of its stroke, the steam is shut off, and the piston is
then urged on by the expansive force of the steam enclosed in the
cylinder. Of course as the steam expands its pressure decreases; but as
the same quantity of steam performs a much larger amount of work when
used expansively, this plan of cutting off the steam is attended with
great economy. It is usually effected by the modification of the
slide-valve, shown at C, Fig. 5, where the faces of the slides are made
of much greater width than the openings. This excess of width is called
the “_lap_,” and by properly adjusting it, the opening into the cylinder
may be kept closed during the interval required, so that the steam is
not allowed to enter the cylinder after a certain length of the stroke
has been performed. The slide-valve is moved by an arrangement termed
the eccentric. A circular disc of metal is carried on the shaft of the
engine, and revolves with it. The axis of the shaft does not, however,
run through the centre of the disc, but towards one side. The disc is
surrounded by a ring, to which it is not attached, but is capable of
turning round within it. The ring forms part of a triangular frame to
which is attached one arm of a lever that communicates the motion to the
rod bearing the slide. Expansive working is often employed in
conjunction with _superheated steam_, that is, steam heated out of
contact with water, after it has been formed, so as to raise its
temperature beyond that merely necessary to maintain it in the state of
steam, and to confer upon it the properties of a perfect gas. Experience
has proved that an increased efficiency is thus obtained.
[Illustration:
FIG. 5.—_Slide Valve._
]
The actual power of a steam engine is ascertained by an instrument
called the Indicator, which registers the amount of pressure exerted by
the steam on the face of the piston in every part of its motion. The
indicator consists simply of a very small cylinder, in which works a
piston, very accurately made, so as to move up and down with very little
friction. The piston is attached to a strong spiral spring, so that when
the steam is admitted into the cylinder of the indicator the spring is
compressed, and its elasticity resists the pressure of the steam, which
tends to force the piston up. When the pressure of steam below the
piston of the indicator is equal to that of the atmosphere, the spring
is neither compressed nor extended; but when the steam-pressure falls
below that of the atmosphere, as it does while the steam is being
condensed, then the atmospheric pressure forces down the piston of the
indicator until it is balanced by the tension of the now stretched
spring. The extension or compression of the spring thus measures the
difference between the pressure of the atmosphere and that of the steam
in the cylinder of the engine, with which the cylinder of the indicator
freely communicates.
From the piston-rod of the indicator a pencil projects horizontally, and
its point presses against a sheet of paper wound on a drum, which moves
about a vertical axis. This drum is made to move backwards and forwards
through a part of a revolution, so that its motion may exactly
correspond with that of the piston in the cylinder of the steam engine.
Thus, if the piston of the indicator were to remain stationary, a level
line would be traced on the paper by the movement of the drum; and if
the latter did not move, but the steam were admitted to the indicator,
the pencil would mark an upright straight line on the paper. The actual
result is that a figure bounded by curved lines is traced on the paper,
and the curve accurately represents the pressure of the steam at every
point of the piston’s motion. The position of the point of the pencil
which corresponds with each pound of pressure per square inch is found
by trial by the maker of the instrument, who attaches a scale to show
what pressures of steam are indicated.