Foreign Literature and Science. 161 



ground which is situated in the vicinity of the projected ob- 

 servatory, has been made by shares, or stock, the interest 

 of which will be paid by means of 12,000 florins, (more than 

 25,000 francs,) which are insured annually to the establish- 

 ment by the government and the city of Brussels. One of 

 the principal stockholders is M. Drapier, advantageously 

 known by various scientific publications. — Rev. Enc. Aug- 

 gust, 1826. 



4. Powder Mills. — Although great care is taken to ex- 

 clude from these manufactories all articles of iron, and to sub- 

 stitute copper and other metals, in the metallic parts of the 

 machinery, which will not strike fire, yet it is well known that 

 explosions, attended with disastrous consequences, are very 

 frequent. Excited by an occurrence of this nature, M. Au- 

 bert, Col. of artillery, was induced, in conjunction with Capt. 

 Tardy, to resume some experiments which he had unsuccess- 

 fully tried, to ascertain, whether gunpowder would not ex- 

 plode by the shock of copper. The result of these renewals 

 wa£ that powder would inflame by the stroke of copper upon 

 copper, or upon the alloys of copper. This gave rise to fur- 

 ther investigations, in presence of the committee of safety, 

 and it was ascertained that gunpowder could be exploded by 

 the stroke of iron upon iron ; iron upon copper ; copper upon 

 copper; iron upon marble; and by using the balistic pen- 

 dulum, by lead upon lead; and with suitable precautions 

 even by lead upon wood. The experiments were successful 

 both with English and French powder. The experiments 

 most clearly show, that in all the manipulations of a powder 

 manufactory, all violent shocks and percussions should be 

 carefully avoided, since they may occasion the disengagement 

 ©f sufficient heat to produce the inflammation of powder. 



Bui. d' Encouragement, Juin, 1826. 



5. New Phenomena of Vapour, observed by Clement De- 

 sormes. — This philosopher communicated, on the 4th of De- 

 cember, to the Royal Academy of Sciences, some singular 

 results relative to steam. When compressed in a boiler, and 

 issuing in a violent and hissing jet, through an orifice made 

 in a pretty large plate of a flat disk, if metal be presented to 

 it, at a little distance from the orifice, the disk is strongly re- 

 pelled ; but if it be brought near and placed against the plate, 

 as if to close the orifice, although the steam issues on all sides 



Vol. XIII.— No. 1. 21 



