so 



NATURE 



[September ii, 1919 



500 kilowatts to 25,000 kilowatts, and the consumption 

 of steam had fallen from 17 lb. per kvv.-hour to 

 103 lb. per kw.-hour. Turbines have become the 

 recognised means of generating electricity from steam 

 on a large scale, although they have not suf)erseded 

 the Watt engine for pumping mines or the drawing 

 of coal, except in so far as it is a means for generating 

 electricity for these purposes. In the same period the 

 engine-power in the mercantile marine had risen from 

 3900 of the King Edward to 75,000 of the Mauretania. 



As regards the Royal Navy, the engine-power of 

 battleships prior to the war had increased from 

 12,000 i.h.p. to 30,000 s.h.p., while the speed ad- 

 vanced from 17 knots to 23 knots, and during the 

 war, in ships of the Queen Elizabeth class, the power 

 amounted to 75,000 s.h.p., with a speed of 25 knots. 

 In cruisers similar advances were made The i.h.p. 

 of the Powerful was 25,000, while the s.h.p. of the 

 Queen Mary was 78,000, with a speed of 28 knots. 

 During the war the power obtained with geared tur- 

 bines in the Courageous class was 100,000 s.h.p., with 

 a speed of 32 knots, the maximum power transmitted 

 through one gear-wheel being 25,000 h.p., and through 

 one pinion 15,500 h.p. ; while in destroyers speeds up 

 to 39 knots have been obtained. The aggregate horse- 

 power of war and mercantile turbined vessels through- 

 out the world is now about 35,000,000. 



These advances in power and speed have been made 

 possible mainly by the successive increase in economy 

 and diminution of weight derived from the replace- 

 ment of reciprocating engines by turbines direct- 

 coupled to the propellers, and later by the introduction 

 of reduction gearing between the turbines and the 

 propellers; also bv the adoption of water-tube boilers 

 and of oil-fuel. With these advances the names of 

 Lord Fisher, Sir William White, and Sir Henry Oram 

 will always be associated. 



The Work of Sir William White.—With the great 

 work of the Royal Navy fresh in our minds, we can- 

 not but recall the prominent part taken by the late 

 Sir William White in its construction. His sudden 

 death, when president-elect for 1913, lost to the nation 

 and to the association the services of a great naval 

 architect who possessed remarkable powers of pre- 

 vision and dialectic. He was Chief Constructor to 

 the .Admiralty from 1885 to 1901, and largely to him 

 was due the efficiency of our vessels in the great war. 



White often referred to the work of Brunei as the 

 designer of the Great Eastern, and spoke of him as 

 the originator of the cellular construction of (Tie 

 bottoms of ships, since universally adopted, as a 

 means of strengthening the hull and for obtaining 

 additional safety in case of damage. Scott Russell 

 was the builder of this great pioneer vessel, the fore- 

 runner of the .Atlantic liners, and the British Associa- 

 tion mav rightlv feel satisfaction in having aided him 

 when a voung man bv pecuniary grants to develop 

 his researches into the design and construction of 

 ships and the wave-line form of hull which he 

 originated, a form of special importance in paddle- 

 wheel vessels. 



So much discussion has taken place in the last 

 four vears as to the best construction of ship to resist 

 torpedo attack.s that it is interesting to recall briefly 

 at the present time what was said by White in hi.s 

 Cantor lectures to the Royal Society of Arts in 

 igo6 : — " Great attention has been bestowed upon 

 means of defence against underwater torpedo attacks. 

 From the first introduction of torpedoes it was recog- 

 nised that extreme watertight subdivision in the 

 interior of warships would be the most important 

 means of defence. Experiments have been made with 

 triple watertight skins forming double cellular sides, 

 the compartments nearest the outer bottom being | 



NO. 2602, VOL. 104] 



filled, in some cases, with water, coal, cellulose, or 

 other materials. .Armour-plating has been used both 

 on the outer bottom and on inner skins." He also 

 alludes to several Russian ships which were torpedoed 

 by the Japanese, and he concludes by saying : — " Up 

 to date the balance of opinion has favoured minute 

 watertight subdivisions and comparatively thin water- 

 tight compartments, rather than the use of interna! 

 armour, the use of which, of course, involves large 

 expenditure of weight and cost." 



The present war has most amply confirmed his 

 views and conclusions, then so lucidly and concisely 

 expressed. 



While on the subject of steamships, it may perhaps 

 be opportune to say one word as to their further 

 development. The size of ships had been steadily 

 increasing up to the time of the -war, resulting In a 

 reduction of power required to propel them per ton 

 of displacement. On the other hand, thanks to their 

 greater size and more economical machinen,', speeds 

 have been increased when the traffic has justified the 

 greater cost. The limiting factor to fur-ther increase 

 in size is the depth of water in the harbours. With 

 this restriction removed there is no obstacle to build- 

 ing ships up to, 1000 ft. in length or more, provided 

 the volume and character of the traffic are such as 

 to justify the capital outlay. 



Tungsten Steel. — ^Among other important pre-war 

 developments that have had a direct bearing upon the 

 war, mention should be made of the discovery and 

 extensive use of alloys of steel. The wonderful pro- 

 perties conferred upon steel by the addition of tungsten 

 were discovered bv Muschet in 1868, who has not 

 been sufficiently credited with his share in making the 

 Bessemer process a practical success, and later this 

 alloy was investigated and improved by Maunsel 

 White and Taylor, of Philadelphia. The latter showed 

 that the addition of tungsten to steel has the fol- 

 lowing elfect : — That after the steel has been quenched 

 at a very high temperature near its melting point, it 

 can be raised .to a much higher temperature than is 

 possible with ordinaf-y carbon tool-steel without losing 

 its hardness and power of cutting metal. In other 

 words, it holds the carbon more tenaciously in th<; 

 hardened state, and hence tungsten-steel tools, eyeii 

 when red-hot, can cut ordinary mild steel. It has 

 revolutionised the design of machine tools, and has 

 increased the output on heavy munition work by 

 100 per cent., and in ordinary engineering by 50 per 

 cent. 



The alloys of steel and manganese with which Sir 

 Robert Hadfield's name is associated have proved of 

 utility in immensely increasing the durability of rail- 

 way and tramway points and crossings, and for the 

 hard teeth of machinery for the crushing of ston<! 

 and other materials, and, in fact, for any purposes 

 where great hardness and strength are essential. 



Investigation of Gaseous Explosions. — Brief refer- 

 ence must also be made — and it will be gratifying to 

 do so — to the important work of one of the com- 

 mittees of the British Association appointed in 1908, 

 under th^ chairmanship of the late Sir William 

 Preece, for the investigation of gaseous explosions, 

 with special reference to temperature. The investiga- 

 tions of the committee are contained in sever) yearly 

 reports up to 1914. Of the very important work of 

 the comniittee T wish to refer to one investigation in 

 particular, which has proved to be a guiding star to 

 the designers and manufacturers of internal-combus- 

 tion engines in this country. The members of the 

 committee more directly associated with this particular 

 investigation were Sir Dugald Clerk, Prof. Callendar, 

 and the late Prof. Bertram Hopkinson. 



The investigation showed that the intensity of the 



