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Can Trains be Run by Perpetual Motion

The fallacies surrounding many ideas in perpetual motion are set forth in this interesting yarn which recounts some of the impossibilities suggested to solve the age old problem of getting power from nothing. Wheels with over-balance, sponge engines, gold leaf machines, and a railroad which appears as though it might actually work are recounted.

by HJALMAR LUERSSEN

OF ALL the mechanical brain-bugs that repeatedly surge over the country, the perpetual motion bug holds all records for depth and duration of sting. The perpetual motion idea has been recurring in cycles and minor cycles for over a thousand years, or since the birth of scientific thought, and magazine editors have recently noted that the virus has again affected inventors.

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College Has Study Enforcer
AN OLD machine owned by the University of Wisconsin is called the study enforcer. The unusual device is actuated by a clock-like mechanism and its mechanical fingers scoop a book off the desk and return another one until the student has completed reading the scheduled volumes.

New British Airmail Rocket Successfully Passes Initial Test

\ANOTHER step toward the establishment of rocket airmail was reached in England recently when a rocket perfected by Gerhard Zucker, German inventor, successfully completed a short test flight.

Carrying a load of 1200 letters, the rocket was fired from Brighton and made a two-mile trip without damaging its cargo. The letters were then removed and posted in the ordinary manner. Encouraged by results of the test flight, a British rocket syndicate is planning a series of extensive experiments.

FRAME TEACHES SWIMMING
Novices at swimming may acquire confidence with the aid of an odd mechanical device, just introduced in Germany. The swimmer lies on a floating frame supported at an adjustable height in the water by pontoons, and propels it forward by placing his feet in a pair of stirrups and kicking. Thus he learns the proper motions of the legs. Oar-like paddles may also be operated with the arms. The hinged propelling fins open automatically when pushed backward against the water.

It doesn’t seem like much of that light would actually hit each individual wire does it?

Contracting Wires Harness Sun’s Rays

THE long, exhausting search of scientists for a method of harnessing the rays of the sun has yielded the solar machine illustrated in the artist’s drawing above.

Operation of the machine is based upon the principle of contraction and expansion of tungsten wires. These wires are arranged lengthwise of a revolving drum, and the sun’s rays are directed against them by means of a parabolic mirror on each side.

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I love the last line of this article: “Two factors of importance, not outlined by the inventor, but which must be considered, are the gyroscopic effect of the motor and bumps in the road.”

That sort of like designing an airplane but neglecting to account for little things like taking off or landing.

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Hemisphere Drive Speedster

New French invention produces an entirely new system of drive which is remarkably flexible.

UNIQUE in the annals of automobile development is a new type of vehicle designed by a Frenchman, M. Lame, and demonstrated at the Lepine Exhibition. This tricycle type of automobile, powered with a three h.p. motor, was able to develop a maximum speed of 43 miles per hour. Its more modern version is shown on the cover of this issue.

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I’m thinking the ability to turn the drill on and off might be a little dangerous, not to mention really annoying to the dentist.

Patient In New Dental Chair Controls Drill and Gas

THE patient is king in a new painless dentistry chair now in use in a Chicago dentist’s office. When drilling becomes excessively painful the patient, by means of a button held in the left hand can turn off the drill. If the patient prefers to have the work continue, but wishes to eliminate the pain, he or she can press a bulb held in the right and administer a dose of pain killing gas.

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This seems like a poor design. Wouldn’t you want to put all the lock and bell mechanism on the inside of the door to prevent tampering? Also a combination lock with “dozens” of possible combinations does not exactly inspire confidence.

ELECTRIC DOOR LOCK REQUIRES NO KEY
No key is required to operate a novel electric door lock, recently exhibited in Chicago, Ill. The user merely has to push the right buttons selected from a circular row of eight, resembling a telephone dial, and the door will open. Pushing the wrong buttons not only fails to open the door, but sets off an alarm bell that rings for seven minutes. The owner can change the “combination” at will, and dozens of settings are possible.

Double Sails Propel Bather on Water Skis

Oval sails fastened to rods that are held at shoulder level propel the wearer of new water skis. The novel marine footgear, worn during a recent California water carnival, are made of a buoyant framework, covered with canvas to form watertight compartments. Tied at front and back, they enable the wearer to skim along the surface. Changing the angle of the sails permits traveling across the wind.

I suppose this would work if they didn’t have to talk…

Dry Ice Makes Breath Visible

MOTION picture directors can produce scenes in any climate by means of trick settings and clever mechanical devices. Critics have charged, however, that some snow scenes lacked realism because they lacked the usual phenomenon of breath becoming visible upon striking cold air.

Dr. Frank G. Nolan, Hollywood physician, has solved the problem. He has invented a device for motion picture actors that makes their breath visible in “frozen North” scenes taken in the sunshine of California. The device is similar to a dental plate and fits over the teeth of the actor.

The secret of the invention is that it enables the player to hold dry ice in the mouth without harmful results.

I’m not really sure how this is any more efficient than having an order window and a pickup counter. Though i’ll bet you’d get a lot less complaints if people had to write them out.

Tray on Trestle Serves at Drive-ln
DINE AT a new drive-in restaurant in Los Angeles and your food will come rolling out on a powered tray and stop at your car window. It’s the world’s first automatic “car-hop” and forerunner of others planned for California. The restaurant employs no car-hops, yet speeds service from 20 to 25 percent while saving 25 percent on labor costs, according to its owners. The patron drives into a stall and comes to a stop headed in toward the kitchen.

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I’m not sure if this is a sign of progress, or a sign that we have lower expectations for our children, but nowadays embedding a toothpick in the middle of candy is considered a big no-no. After all, how could any child resist a clove-raisin-gumdrop-walnut shell turtle?

Candy Turtle Party Favors Utilize Walnut Shells

For something unusual in the way of favors for a children’s party, make these candy turtles from gumdrops, raisins and walnut shells. Press a gumdrop into half of a walnut shell and then stick a toothpick through the exposed portion of the gum-drop along the length of the shell. Allow the point of the toothpick to project slightly so it looks like a tail and impale a raisin on the blunt end of the toothpick to serve as a head. Then press four cloves into the gum-drop to simulate the feet. A number of the turtles can be made up in just a few minutes.—William Swallow, Brooklyn, N. Y.