220 



A' A fURli 



[July 6, 1905 



diagrams, expressed in English units, have been pre- 

 pared by the translator. The design of the details of 

 the more important types of turbines is then investi- 

 gated, and such details as the shape, the construction, 

 and the strength of the blades, and the design of the 

 bearings of the shafts are fully dealt with. 



In section iv., a full description is given of the 

 various types of steam turbine which have so far been 

 constructed and have been practically successful, and, 

 in the case of several, the results of experiments by 

 trained observers are given in detail. This portion of 

 the book will be found of particular value to users 

 of steam power who are anxious to have some know- 

 ledge of the relative merits of the various types of 

 turbine now on the market. The application of the 

 steam turbine to marine purposes is scarcely dealt 

 with in as full and comprehensive a manner in Dr. 

 Stodola's book as the rest of the subject, and a little 

 more information might well have been given as to 

 the relative merits of the steam turbine and the re- 

 ciprocating engine for various purposes. 



The last section of the book deals with some of the 

 more advanced scientific problems, treated largely 

 from a mathematical point of view, which occur in 

 connection with the theory and construction of the 

 turbine. We might instance such problems as that 

 of the distribution of pressure in any cross section of 

 an expanding gas or steam jet, the deflection, due to 

 its own weight, of a horizontal disc of variable thick- 

 ness, and the straightening out of such rotating discs 

 under the action of centrifugal forces. 



In an appendix, the possible future of the heat 

 engine is briefly discussed; the main directions in 

 which increased economy may be hoped for appear to 

 be in the decrease of the passive resistances, such as 

 friction, &c., in the supply of the heat to the motor 

 only at the highest possible temperature and in the 

 abstraction of the waste heat only at the lowest 

 possible temperature, and in the avoidance, so far as 

 possible, of all non-reversible changes of condition. 

 Dr. Stodola is of opinion that in the future a heat 

 motor which combines the high thermal results of the 

 gas engine with the constructive advantages of the 

 steam turbine will supplant all other types. Such a 

 motor will be found in the gas turbine, a motor which 

 at present has not reached practical constructive 

 stages. 



(2) After a brief account of the historv of the steam 

 turbipe fron^ the days of Hero, and a discussion of 

 the lines upon which recent invention has proceeded, 

 Prof. Musil gives a very useful bibliography ; then, as 

 is usual in books on this subject, there follows a 

 classification of the various steam turbines now in use. 

 The theory of the well known Laval nozzle is then 

 dealt with mathematically, and the proportions of such 

 nozzles are worked out in detail ; the results of experi- 

 mental investigation into this question are given, and 

 the effect on the flow through such nozzles of super- 

 heating the steam is discussed. The thermodynamic 

 problems involved in this branch of the theory' of the 

 turbine are also treated by the author with 'the aid 

 of entropy diagrams. 



The remainder of the book is devoted to detailed 

 NO. 1862, VOL. 72] 



descriptions of several types of turbines, beginning 

 with the Laval, which is described in detail with a 

 number of illustrations. The important problems due 

 to the use of a flexible shaft in this turbine are investi- 

 gated, also the question of the governing of the tur- 

 bmc. The steam consumption of this type when under 

 test is given in a series of tables, and the relation 

 of the actual steam consumption to the theoretical is 

 dealt with in some detail. The second type of turbine 

 taken up is the Parsons, again illustrated with a 

 number of well drawn plates, and here also the 

 question of the governing of the turbine forms an 

 important section; details of the actual steam con- 

 sumption under varying loads are given, and the 

 results have been put into the form of a series of 

 curves, which will be of great use to the student. 



It may tje well to point out that Prof. Musil ex- 

 pressly excludes from, the scope of his text-book the 

 application of the steam turbine to marine purposes. 

 The other types of turbines which are dealt with by 

 Prof. Musil include the Zoelly, the Riedler-.Stumpf. 

 the Curtis, and the Rateau. For each type good de- 

 scriptions of the mechanical details are given, with 

 very clearly drawn illustrations, and in the case of the 

 Zoelly and the Rateau results of tests are also given. 

 Prof. Musil's book will be found of especial value by 

 students in engineering colleges, and by draughts- 

 men in those engineering works where turbines are 

 now built. T. H B 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



An .higler's Hours. By H. T. Sherringham. Pp. 

 xn + 264. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 

 1905.) Price 6s. net. 

 Mr. Sherringham deserves the thanks of all anglers 

 who have an idle hour and no fishing for having 

 re-published his essays in book form, and he who is 

 forced by sad circumstances to enjoy his fishing 

 vicariously will find his time well spent In our scribe's 

 company. There is a pleasant and old-world flavour 

 in his style; whether he rises earlv to catch tench 

 while the dew is still thick, or drowses away his 

 Sunday afternoon in the July heat of a sunnv ga'rden, 

 he is an entertaining companion, who boldly 'confesses 

 to his crimes in the first person or conceals his 

 triumphs, like Julius Csesar, in the third with equal 

 art. But there is instruction in his essays too, such 

 mild instruction as may best suit an idle'r, and much 

 shrewd observation of the habits of fishes delicately 

 imparted in pointing the moral of a failure or adorning 

 the tale of a success. 



Many important considerations are thus put forward 

 and discussed ; for instance, the possibilities of the flv 

 as a lure for other fish than trout and their kind, and 

 the hopes held out to the fisherman who finds himself 

 by some sluggish southern stream if he will only not 

 despair but go forth and tempt the Cvprinids that 

 haunt Its troutless waters with flies and tackle suited 

 to their tastes. 



Again, there is the harmless, necessary worm; Mr 

 Sherrington handles him gentlv (especially 'when 

 dragging him from his burrow),' and adjures us to 

 treat him as a friend in need and no mere despicable 

 device for luring fish to an undeserved and unedify- 

 ing end. We may be cursed with the instincts of 'a 

 poacher, but must confess to a leaning towards that 

 conception of the angler's art which advocates the 



