88 LAWRENCE HARGRAVE. 



THE ONE-WHEELED OAR. 

 By Lawrence Hargrave. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N. S. Wales, September 4, 1907.'] 



It is the special privilege of members of tills Society to 

 have a journal as a sort of bank in which they can safely 

 deposit ideas of a more or less bizarre nature, which when 

 first presented appear ridiculous, but wiien printed and 

 circulated have a way of being first looked into and 

 examined critically by the most remote people, and their 

 merits recognised and acted on. Then, it may be after 

 many years, the invention, or an application of well known 

 laws, is brought to its place of origin as a valuable foreign 

 production. This being the unalterable way in which 

 humanity is built, must be accepted without demur. The 

 particular idea that is here described is a method of simpli- 

 fying land locomotion by making one wheel suffice where 

 two or more have previously been used. 



After many millions of boys had spun and whipped tops, 

 it was discovered that when the top is spun in fixed bear- 

 ings in a surrounding cage, the top and cage will remain 

 in any position, apparently defying gravity. This is the 

 gyroscope, and after thousands of men had spun gyroscopes, 

 one man substituted a torpedo for the cage and span the 

 top with its axis coinciding with that of the torpedo ; thus, 

 as in the Howell torpedo, combining motor and rudder. The 

 Howell torpedo was quite old when Schlick put the top 

 with the axis vertical and a torpedo boat for a cage, thus 

 practically preventing the boat from rolling. Then Brennan 

 span his tops on horizontal axes on a mono-rail car, and 

 found that it would not capsize : and now I want you to 

 see that there is a great advantage in spinning the top on 



