Natural Philosophy. — Mechanics. 197 
then gently passing the right hand along the back, sensible electri- 
cal shocks will be felt in the left-hand. — Phil. Mag. (vol. x. p. 46). 
MECHANICS. 
9- Mr Babbage's Calculating Engine.— It gives us great 
pleasure to be able to state, that there is every probability of Mr 
Babbage being enabled, by pecuniary aid from Parliament, to 
construct his machinery for calculating and printing mathemati- 
cal tables. A Committee of the most distinguished Members of 
the Royal Society of London, have transmitted the following 
report (dated May 1. 1823), to the Lords Commissioners of his 
Majesty’s Treasury, and we earnestly hope, that no narrow 
views of economy will disappoint the just expectations of the 
scientific world : 
64 That it appears to the Committee, that Mr Babbage has 
displayed great talents and ingenuity, in the construction of his 
machine for computation, which the Committee think fully ade- 
quate to the attainment of the objects proposed by the inventor ; 
and that they consider Mr Babbage as highly deserving of public 
encouragement in the prosecution of his arduous undertaking.” 
10. Tenacity of Iron-wire not altered by Heat. — A set of ex- 
periments have been made by Colonel Dufour at Geneva, for 
the purpose of ascertaining if the tenacity of iron-wire was al- 
tered by different degrees of temperature, between several de- 
grees below the freezing point, and the heat of boiling water. 
The wire which he used was 0.85 of a millimetre in diameter, 
or No. 4. of commerce, the absolute force of which was between 
46 and 48 kilogrammes. Having made it pass through a 
frigorific mixture of — 22J° centigrade, he found that it broke, 
where it was not cold, with 47 kilogrammes in two experiments, 
and with 46 in another. He then made the same experiment 
in a temperature of 92 \° cent. The wire broke in the first ex- 
periment beyond the heated part, with 45 J kilogrammes ; and in 
the 2d experiment within the heated part with 46^ kilogrammes. 
He next heated one part of the wire to 92J° cent., and cooled 
another with the frigorific mixture. The wire now broke between 
the heated and cooled part with 45 J kilogrammes. Hence it fol- 
lows that the tenacity is not affected within these limits of tem- 
perature.— Bibl. Univers. Mars 1823, p. 220. 
