J 843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



399 



NEW INVENTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 



BIELEFELD'S PATENT DRESSING GLASS STAND. 



In the construction of glass stands every kind of form has been given to 

 the frame and pillar supporting them, but it is somewhat remarkable that no 

 attempts have been made to improve the principle of construction : in seek- 

 ing graceful forms we appear to have hitherto forgotten to inquire whether 

 the mechanical structure may not be improved ; — a circumstance the more 

 remarkable, as the usual mode is admitted by every one to be very faulty. 

 The glass in all cases hangs on two stems, and turns on two pins : after 

 leaving the workman's hands, for a few days or weeks, the glass turns obe- 

 diently to our will, and retains the desired angle ; but soon a little obstinacy 

 shows itself; the glass seems bent on resuming its vertical position : a turn 

 is then given to the screws to keep it in its place : again another and another 

 turn gives us a brief control over the pertinacious mirror ; but. it is soon 

 found that every turn of the screw increases the evil, for, in pressing against 

 the glass, it mechanically forces the stem which holds it out of its proper up- 

 right position; and thus it is at length compelled to leave the glass, and take 

 its own course, or to endeavour to resist it by wedges, props, or other shifts. 

 Never yet, however, has this difficulty been overcome; for, by some strange 

 oversight, inventors have never sought a new principle of hanging. Mr. 

 Bielefeld, however, the inventor of the article before us, which be calls the 

 Qudr/iirirersal Glass Stand, has at length adopted the right course with com- 

 plete success. 



It will be at once seen that the simple stem which holds up the mirror can 

 be raised or lowered, so that it may be used either sitting or standing; that 

 the mirror itself can be turned to the right or the left, and set at every 

 possible angle : and it is also obvious that the screw which keeps the joint 

 tight can never cease to do so, as it acts on a principle the very reverse of the 

 screws on the old plan. The accompanying figures and description will ex- 

 plain the construction. 



Description .—a is a simple stem, sustaining the mirror, which can be 

 placed in a more or less vertical position by means of a joint fitted with a 

 thumb-screw, to admit of being tightened or loosened at pleasure, c is a 

 hollow shaft, or column, in which the stem a is made to slide freely, d is a 

 felt collar.'fitted on the end of the stem a, to ensure an equal bearing on the 

 hollow column, e is a collar, turning freely on the hollow column, and is 

 fitted with a screw stuffing-box, which allows the mirror to be fixed at any 

 degree of elevation, and at the same time admits of its being turned either to 

 the right or to the left. / is the foot, which is made to screw off or on, by 

 which means it may be packed in the smallest possible compass,— a great 

 desideratum in exportation. 



ARMSTRONG'S HYDRO-ELECTRIC MACHINE. 



The machine which, under the above name, is attracting crowds of ad- 

 mirers' to the Polytechnic Institution, is an apparatus contrived by Mr. Arm- 

 strong (au enthusiastic scientific gentleman of Newcastle) for the purpose of 

 collecting, on a large scale, the electricity generated by the friction of par- 

 tiallv condensed steam. The vivid streams of electric fluid which are drawn 

 from every part of the machine, and which appear almost inexhaustible, fill 

 the reflective beholder with a mixed feeling of awe, of pleasure, and of pride ; 

 of awe, at beholding so vast an accumulation of a power so fearful— of plea- 

 sure, at its novelty and beauty— and of pride, that man has attained the 

 power of making 'subservient to his will, this mysterious agent, apparently 

 more concentrated than the forked lightning, one shock of which, if passed 

 through his body, would stretch him a lifeless corpse. The victory of mind 

 over force is indeed daily extending, whether it be exercised over beasts or 

 the elements, whether steam or electricity. 



This discovery, like many others which are now changing the pursuits anil 

 opinions of men, is of very recent origin, bearing date but two or three years 

 ago. It appears that an attendant to a fixed engine at Newcastle, whilst 

 standing in a current of steam rushing from a leaky valve in the boiler, ex- 

 tended his hand towards it, and perceiving a slight spark, concluded that the 

 boiler was full of fire. Mentioning his suspicions to Mr. Armstrong, the latter 

 tried it, and from thence proceeded with experiments, which have ended in 

 the production of the present machine. It is said that from the fall of an 

 apple, Newton worked out his beautiful theory ol gravitation — that the 

 swinging of a lamp in a cathedral, suggested to Galileu the law - of tl 

 dulum — and although we would not put this new discovery on a par with 

 these, yet it is of the same nature. Thanks to t!:i wide diffusion of scientific 

 knowledge, there are now multitudes of minds who, imbui 'I with true philo- 

 sophic zeal, beholding an accident or an isolated experiment, which formerly 

 would be viewed with the eye of superstition or considered as the result of 

 chance and unaccountable, would immediately consider its cause and effect, 

 and see in what manner it might assist in the advancement of science. 



Description. — It may be considered to consist esseutially of three parts; 

 a boiler 7' 6" by 3' 6" from which the steam passes, by two tubes in the top, 

 into the 2nd part, a long horizontal tube, from which issue 111 curved pipes, 

 terminated by wooden nuts with orifices -±, of an inch, allowing high- ; > 

 steam, mixed with a great quantity of condensed water, to rush upon the 3rd 

 part, the conductor, which is composed of four rows of brass pins, contained 

 in a zinc box, 7 ft. long by 1' 10" wide. The boiler is insulated by standing 

 on six strong glass legs; the funnel is suspended, and when the machine is 

 in action is raised up ; the conductor is in electric communication with the 

 earth. 



Theory. — It appears from the investigations of Dr. Faraday, that no por- 

 tion of the electricity is due to the steam ; it acts only as the driving 

 power to the particles of water which are condensed in the curved pipes. 

 That, in fact, it arises from the particles of water, rubbing against the small 

 orifice from which it rushes. Positive electricity is excited, which the con- 

 ductor instantly carries to the earth ; the water then, in order to return to 

 its normal state, robs the boiler of its share, and leaves it in an intensely 

 negative state. Thus we see, that although derived from a new source, 

 we have not to add to the list of thermo, magneto, chemico, and frictional 

 electricities, as the latter is quite sufficient to account for it. It may, indeed, 

 be compared to the common electrical machine, by considering the water to 

 correspond to the glass, and the boiler and tubes to the rubber. The Doctor 

 has shown, by experiments as simple as conclusive, that dry steam or air elicit 

 no electricity, but that if either hold in suspension particles of liquids or 

 solids, electricity is excited ; that in the case of water, it must not contain 

 a conducting substance, or none would be obtained ; and that if it contain 

 oil, turpentine, or other resinous substance, it produces electricity of an op- 

 posite kind. 



It appears strange — the only difference between steam and water at 212" 

 being the latent heat the former contains — that electricity cannot be produced 

 from both ; and it would lead us to consider steam as being a definite com- 

 pound of oxide of hydrogen + electricity + latent heat, the latter being in 

 a much weaker state of combination, and always being parted with before 

 the electricity. 



The reader is, we doubt not, aware that Faraday discovered, some years 

 ago, that carbonic acid gas, by being generated in immensely strong vessels, 

 may be compressed into a liquid state; that Thilorier discovered that, if 

 this liquid be allowed to rush into the air, part of it passes into the state of 

 gas, and, by the cold produced, freezes some of it into the solid state. Now 

 it would be an interesting experiment to ascertain if, by insulating the appa- 

 ratus, electricity could not be collected. The circumstances appear so simi- 

 lar, that we feel convinced that such would be the case. We should like to 

 bear of Mr. Addams, who has greatly improved upon Thilorier's apparatus, 

 whether he has tried it, and, if so, what is the result. 



The exceeding beauty of the experiments performed by this machine is 

 very striking. Water and other liquids have been decomposed by it ; and 

 every day, beyond the ordinary experiments with tin foil and wires in various 

 shapes, gunpowder is exploded, and shavings ignited, and the aurora borealis 

 imitated most splendidly. Metallic leaves and wires are exploded by dis- 

 charges from the huge battery, which is charged six times in one minute. 

 Although the battery can be charged in one-fourth of the time by this ma- 

 chine that it could be by the colossal plate machine that they used formerly, 

 showing, therefore, four times the intensity, it appears that the striking dis- 

 tance, that is, the length of flash, is not anything like so long. 1 



Mr. Bachhoffner, who gives an exceedingly clear lecture on the machine, 

 drew attention to an interesting spiral movement in the electric fluid, which 

 occasionally takes place in the aurora experiment, which cannot be accounted 

 for. We think it may possibly have some connexion with a fact which we 

 noticed, that, although the apparatus is not shifted at all, yet the discharges 

 do not take place in the same spot, but arc always shifting: it may be, be- 

 cause the electricity does not arrive at the same degree of tension on the 

 spot where a discharge has just taken place. 



1 On closely inspecting the paper on which the mi sploded, 



which was kindly given to us by Mr, Bai hhoffner, the coloured 

 are left were found, in several instances, to be composed "i an infinite 

 series of finer lines, placed at right angles to the general stn 



that at the time of the discharge tin y v i i 

 magnets. 



54 



