THE CONQUEST OF NATURE 



"From this small model, which will in time become 

 as historic as the Rocket of Stephenson, and which is 

 only some few inches in diameter, the turbine has been 

 developed gradually in size. The cylindrical casings 

 which take the place of the complicated machinery of 

 the piston engine in the engine room of the Lusitania 

 contain drums, which in the high-pressure turbines are 

 8 feet in diameter and in the low-pressure n ft. 8 in., 

 and from which thousands of curved blades project, the 

 longest of which are 22 inches, and against which the 

 steam impinges in its course from the boiler to the con- 

 denser. 



"Not only has the steam turbine justified the con- 

 fidence of those who have labored so successfully in its 

 development, but no other great invention has pro- 

 ceeded from the laboratory stage to such an important 

 position in the engineering world in such a short space 

 of time. This would not have happened if some in- 

 herent drawback, such as lack of economy hi steam 

 consumption, existed, and as the turbine has been 

 proved to be, for land purposes, very economical, there 

 seems to be no reason to doubt that marine turbines, 

 working as they do at full load almost continually, 

 will show likewise that the coal bill is not increased, 

 but perhaps diminished by their use. 



"The records of the vibrations of the hull which 

 were taken during the trials by Schlick's instruments 

 showed that the vertical vibration was 60 per minute 

 on the run, which was due to the propellers, and which 

 may be further modified. The horizontal vibration 

 was almost unnoticeable, while the behavior of the 



[ I2 8] 



