The Boy's Playbook of Science Part 45

(Fig. 366.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 366. A A A. Inverted gas jar supported by the ring stand. B. The red-hot urn heater. C C. The air thermometer, with the coloured liquid stationary at C. D. The syphon for drawing off the cold water, and bringing the hot down close to the bulb of C C.]

The diffusion of heat through water does not take place like that of solids, but is effected by the motion of the particles of the water.

When heat is applied to the bottom of a vessel containing water, such as an inverted gla.s.s shade, the first effect is to expand the layer of water which is first affected by the heat; this expanded layer being specifically lighter than the cold water above, it rises to the upper part of the gla.s.s shade, and its place is immediately taken by other, colder and heavier, water, which in like manner moves upwards, and is again succeeded by a fresh portion. Now, the first and succeeding strata [Page 382] of water all carry off so much heat, and thus by the convective or carrying power of the water the heat is diffused finally in the most perfect manner through the whole bulk of fluid; and indeed, the movement itself of the particles of water may easily be watched by putting a little paper pulp at the bottom of the inverted gla.s.s shade containing the water. (Fig. 367.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 367. A. A. Inverted gla.s.s shade containing water and some paper pulp. B. Burning spirit lamp placed under _one_ side of the gla.s.s; the pulp shows the rising of the heated water and the sinking of the cold, in the direction indicated by the arrows.]

This bad conducting power is not merely confined to water, but is likewise apparent with oil and other fluids, and if some water is frozen at the bottom of a long test-tube by means of a freezing mixture, oil may then be poured upon it, and some alcohol above the latter. If the flame of a spirit-lamp is now applied to the alcohol at the top of the tube it may be entirely boiled away, and no heat will travel down the oil and communicate with the ice, and even after the alcohol has been evaporated away the tube can be filled up with water; this may also be boiled, and whilst demonstrating the bad conducting power of the oil, the curious anomaly is observed of a vessel or tube containing ice at the bottom and boiling water at the top, and further showing the wisdom of the Supreme Creator in preventing the freezing of the water of lakes, rivers, and seas, by the exceptional law of the expansion of water by cold. It is evident from what has been stated that liquids acquire and lose their heat by means of those currents and movements of the particles of water which have already been partly explained. Whatever interferes with this movement must prevent the pa.s.sage of heat, and consequently thick viscous liquids are always difficult to boil, and in consequence of their motion being impeded they rise to too high a temperature and are burnt. This fact is remarkably apparent in the manufacture of nice white lump sugar; as the syrup is evaporated it becomes very thick, and if boiled over a fire might frequently be burnt, but it is boiled by the heat of steam, and under a vacuum produced by an air-pump, and thus the sugar-boiler is enabled to avert all danger from burning.

[Page 383]

It is, then, by a continual and perpetual motion, involving circulation of the particles, that heat travels through water; and the fact already described is still further elucidated by one of Professor Griffith's simple but telling experiments. A gla.s.s tube, about three feet in length and half an inch in diameter, is bent as at A (Fig. 368), and then being filled with water, is suspended by a string attached to any convenient support inside a copper dish containing water, so that the straight end is at the top of the water, and the curved end at the bottom. Just before it is used some ink or other colouring matter is poured into the copper pan of water; and it should not be added till the moment the experiment is to begin, as any rise of temperature in the room promotes circulation, and interferes with the colourlessness of the water in the tube, which is compared with the inky fluid in the basin. Directly heat is applied the hot water rises to the top of the copper vessel, and thence gradually up the tube; and this movement is rendered visible by the hot coloured liquid matter creeping slowly up the tube, and displacing the colourless water, which falls gradually into the copper pan. (Fig. 368.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 368. A. The bent gla.s.s tube full of water. B B. The copper pan containing coloured water. The arrows show the circulation of the water.]

The principle of the circulation of the particles of water being once understood, it is easy to comprehend how it is applied to the heating of buildings by what is called the "Hot Water Apparatus." A coil of pipe is enclosed in a proper furnace, and the bottom end communicates with a pipe coming from a second tube or set of coils, placed above it in another apartment, whilst the top of the latter coil communicates with the top pipe of the first coil. When the fire is lighted, the circulation through the first coil of pipe commences, and is communicated to the second, and from that back again to the first; so that the "hot water system" [Page 384] involves an endless chain of pipes of water, provided with proper safety valves to allow for the escape of any expanded air or steam; and serious accidents have occurred in consequence of persons neglecting to look after the perfection of this safety valve. The fearful accident which occurred to the hot water casing around one of the funnels of the _Great Eastern_ offers a painful but memorable example of the heating of water, and of the dangers that must arise if the pipe, casing, or other vessel which contains it, is not provided with an escape or safety valve, which must always be in _good working order_.

Mr. Jacob Perkins, in 1824, made his name remarkable for experiments with the circulation of water through tubes, and his account of the invention and improvement of the "Steam Gun," in which the improvement consists chiefly in the circulation of water through coils of pipe, is so important that we give it verbatim, with a drawing of the steam gun; and the author is enabled to vouch for the accuracy of the statements made in the description of the apparatus, as he purchased one of the improved steam guns, and exhibited it at the Polytechnic Inst.i.tution, where it discharged three hundred bullets per minute.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 369. The charging tube and gun-barrel of steam gun.]

"The expansive power of steam has often been proposed as a subst.i.tute for gunpowder, for discharging b.a.l.l.s and other projectiles; the great danger, however, which was formerly thought to be inseparably connected with the generation and use of steam, at so extraordinary a pressure as appeared necessary to produce an effect approximating to that of gunpowder, prevented scientific men from testing the power of this new agent by experiment. It was also apparent that the apparatus which was ordinarily used for generating steam for steam-engines was wholly inadequate to sustain the necessary pressure, and that one [Page 385]

of a totally different character must be contrived before steam could be sufficiently confined to come into compet.i.tion with its powerful rival.

"In the year 1824, Mr. Jacob Perkins succeeded in constructing a generator of such form and strength, as allowed him to carry on his experiments with highly elastic steam without danger, although subjected to a pressure of 100 atmospheres. The principle of its safety consisted in subdividing the vessel containing the water and steam into chambers or compartments, so small, that the bursting of one of them was perfectly harmless in its effects, and only served as an outlet, or safety valve, to relieve the rest.

"Although Mr. Perkins' generator was originally intended for working steam engines (it having long been evident to him that highly elastic steam used expansively would be attended with considerable economy), the idea occurred to him, in the course of his experiments, that he had already solved the problem of safely generating steam of sufficient power for the purposes of _steam gunnery_; and that the steam which daily worked his engine possessed an elastic force quite adequate to the projection of musket b.a.l.l.s. He therefore caused a gun to be immediately constructed, and connected by a pipe to the generator, the first trial of which fully realized his most sanguine antic.i.p.ations. Its performance, indeed, was so extraordinary and unexpected, that it gave rise to a paradox, which was difficult of explanation--viz., that _steam, at a pressure of only forty atmospheres, produced an effect equal to gunpowder_; whereas it was known that the combustion of gunpowder was attended with a pressure of from 500 to 1000 atmospheres.

"Mr. Perkins gives the following explanation of this apparent discrepancy, by referring to the small effect produced by fulminating powder, compared to gunpowder, although many times more powerful; he supposes that the action of fulminating powder, however intense, does not continue sufficiently long to impart to the ball its full power. The explosion of gunpowder, although not so powerful at the _instant of ignition_, is nevertheless, in the aggregate, productive of greater effect than that of fulminating powder, because the _subsequent expansion continues_ in action upon the ball (but with decreasing effect), until it has left the barrel. The action of steam differs from either of these agents, inasmuch as it _continues in full force until the ball has left the barrel_; and to this is a.s.signed the cause of its superiority.

"In the year 1826, Mr. Perkins had so perfected the mechanism of the gun and generator that, at an exhibition and trial of its power, in the presence of the Duke of Wellington and other distinguished officers of the Ordnance Department, b.a.l.l.s of an ounce weight were propelled, at the distance of thirty-five yards, through an iron plate one-fourth of an inch in thickness; also, through eleven hard planks, one inch in thickness, placed at distances of an inch from each other. Continuous showers of b.a.l.l.s were also projected with such rapidity, that when the barrel of the gun was slowly swept round in a horizontal direction, a plank, twelve feet in length, was so completely perforated, that the line of holes nearly resembled a groove cut from one of its ends to the other.

[Page 386]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 370. Perkins's steam gun.]

[Page 387]

"A is an _iron furnace_, containing a continuous coil of iron tubing, 80 feet in length, 1 inch of external and 5/8th inch of internal diameter, within which the fire is made; the upper end of this tube, B, called the flow-pipe, is extended any required distance to the top of the generator.

"The furnace is provided with a very ingenious _heat governor or regulator_, by which the intensity of the fire is always proportionate to the temperature which it may be requisite to maintain in the tubes.

"H is an iron box, containing a series of levers, _b b b_; _c_, a nut screwed upon the flow-pipe, and in contact with the short arm of the lowest of the levers. E. A lever, from one end of which is suspended the damper _f_, and from the other end the rod _g_, which rests upon the long arm of the highest of the levers, _b b b_. When the apparatus has arrived at the required temperature, the nut _c_ is screwed down until it bears upon the lever. Any farther increase of temperature will expand or lengthen the flow-pipe, and depress the short arm of the lever, which is in contact with the nut. The combined and multiplied action of the levers will then elevate the rod _g_, and the damper _f_ will descend to check the draught. When the fire slackens, and the apparatus cools, the action of the levers will be reversed, and the damper will open. The s.p.a.ce through which the damper moves, compared with the nut _c_, is as 200 to 1.

"C is the _generator_, composed of a strong iron tube, 3 inches diameter and 6 feet in length, within which are eight smaller tubes, having their ends welded to the ends of the larger tube. These small tubes communicate at the top with the _flow-pipe_ B, and at the bottom with the _return-pipe_ D, which is continued to the bottom of the furnace-coil of tubing. The circulation in the tubes is occasioned by the difference in the specific gravities of the water composing the ascending and descending currents; the portion contained in the flow-pipe and fire coil becoming expanded by the heat, ascends by its superior levity; while that contained in the small tubes of the generator, having given off its heat, acquires increased density, and descends through the return-pipe D to the bottom of the furnace-coil, to take the place of the ascending current. When the hot-water current has arrived at a temperature of 212 and upwards, cold water is injected into the generator, and becomes converted into steam by its contact with the small tubes; the rapidity of evaporation and the pressure of the steam depending, of course, upon the temperature of the hot-water current, which at 500 will cause a pressure within the tubes of 50 atmospheres, or 750 lbs. upon the square inch. The whole apparatus is proved to be capable of sustaining a pressure of 200 atmospheres, or 3000 lbs. upon the square inch.

"G. A force pump for injecting water into the generator.

"I. The indicator for exhibiting the pressure of the steam in the generator, and of the water in the boiler; it may be connected with either by means of the valves attached to the levers.

"J. Valve to regulate the pressure of water.

"J 1. Valve to regulate the pressure of steam.

"K. The steam pipe.

"L. The gun.

"M. The discharging lever acting upon the valve N.

"O. The discharging c.o.c.k, by a simple adjustment in which b.a.l.l.s are transferred from the charging tube P to the gun barrel, _singly_ or in a _continuous shower_.]

"As the perfection and introduction of the steam gun was not a field for private enterprise, and the British Government having declined to inst.i.tute experiments at its own expense, Mr. Perkins was reluctantly compelled to leave the project, and to engage in others of a more lucrative, although, perhaps, of a less important nature. He did not suspend his operations, however, until he had constructed for the French Government _a piece of artillery which discharged b.a.l.l.s weighing five pounds at the rate of sixty per minute_.

"The gun and generator exhibited at the Polytechnic Inst.i.tution during the time that Mr. Pepper was the Resident Director were the production of Mr. A. M. Perkins, of London, who has invented an entirely _new method of generating steam_, which has been successfully applied to steam engines, and is at once so simple, safe, and economical, as to leave little doubt that, with its aid, the steam gun will ere long rank amongst the first instruments of warfare.

[Page 388]

"The gun, except in a few minor mechanical details, does not differ from that originally constructed by Mr. Jacob Perkins.

"The novelty which distinguishes the generator from all others, consists in the manner of conveying the heat from the fire to the water, _without exposing the generator to the action of the fire_. This is accomplished by means of the circulation, in iron tubes, of a current of hot water, which is entirely separate from, and independent of, that to be evaporated in the generator.

"The following are the princ.i.p.al advantages which this generator possesses over all others: _Freedom from all wear or deterioration consequent upon exposure to the fire_, an important quality in a generator that is to be subjected to great pressure, inasmuch as its original strength remains unimpaired; _no accident can arise from want of water in the generator_, and the precautions indispensably requisite when a generator is in contact with the fire are quite unnecessary, as the water may be drawn off with impunity without producing the least injurious effect, and the grossest neglect is followed by no worse consequences than an inefficient supply of steam; _an explosion of the generator is impossible_, as the temperature of the furnace-coil always exceeds that of any other part of the apparatus, and consequently, being the weakest part, is invariably the first to yield when the pressure is carried beyond the strength of the pipes; _economy of fuel is also obtained, with a small amount of fire surface_. The circulation of the water has likewise the effect of preserving the fire-coil from the decay to which boilers are liable; many such coils, which have been in constant use for eight years, being apparently as good as when first erected.

"The whole apparatus is exceedingly simple, and will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying diagram. (Fig. 370.)

"The steam has often been raised to a pressure of 700 lbs. on the square inch, but _one-third_ of that pressure is sufficient to completely _flatten the b.a.l.l.s_ when discharged against an iron target one hundred feet distant from the gun; and a pressure of 400 lbs. per square inch, at the same distance, _shivers the ball to atoms_, with the production in a dark room of a visible flash of light. Steam guns are generally mounted upon a ball and socket joint, which allows the barrel to move freely in every direction."

The conduction of heat through gases is also very slow when heat is applied to the upper part of any stratum of air. Heat appears to be diffused through air only by the circulation and rising of the heated and lighter strata, and the sinking of the colder currents which take their places; hence the danger of sitting in a room under an open skylight. A current of cold air may descend upon the head of the individual, whilst the warmer air takes some other opening to escape from. No doubt the movement of heated volumes of air is subject to definite laws, which apply themselves under every case, but are rather difficult to grasp when the subject of ventilation is concerned. The philosophical ventilator is often dreadfully teased by the inversion of all that he had [Page 389] planned, or the total failure of his apparatus. No specific mode of ventilation can be found to suit all rooms and buildings; they are like the patients of a physician who cannot be cured by one medicine only, but must have a treatment adapted properly to each case. If the fires, candles, gas, or oil-lamps, doors, windows, and chimneys, were always under the control of the scientific ventilator, his task would be very simple, but it is well understood that a ventilating system which answers well if certain doors communicating with lobbies are closed, fails directly they are accidentally opened. The watchful care of the ventilator must begin with the lowest area door, and in his calculations he must study the effect of every other door or window that may be opened, so that if a scientific man undertakes to ventilate a house, he must have a well-drawn plan hung up in the hall, and it must be clearly understood by the inmates that any interference with that plan will prejudice the whole.

There are a few common principles which will guide in ventilation, and these are, first, the rise of hot and the fall of cold air; second, that if an aperture is provided at the top of a room for the escape of hot air, an equally large aperture must be left for the entry of cold air; third, the aperture for the escape of hot air must be adapted in size to the number of persons likely to enter the room, and the number of gas or other lights burning in it. During the daytime, moderate apertures for the exit and entrance of air may suffice, but these must be largely increased at night, when the room is filled with people and lighted up.

Expanding and contracting openings are therefore desirable, and they are to be regulated by rules stated on the plan of the ventilating system (already alluded to as being hung up in the hall) of the house which has submitted itself to a perfect system of ventilation, and no hall-keeper, footman, or butler should be allowed to remain in his post unless he undertakes to comprehend the system and work it properly by the written rules.

Dr. Angus Smith, in a very able paper "On the Air of Towns," says--"One of the conditions of health, and a most important, if not the most important of all, is to be found in the state of the atmosphere. As to the effect on the inhabitants, the question becomes exceedingly complicated; but the Registrar-General's returns are an unanswerable reply as to the results of the lethal influences of the district. Few people seem clearly to picture to themselves the meaning of a decimal plan in the percentage of death, and few clearly see that there are districts of England where the deaths at least in some years, and when no recognised epidemic occurs, are three times greater than in others.

When we hear of the annual deaths in some districts being 3.4 per cent., and in the whole of England 2.2, it is simply that 34 die instead of 22, whilst even that is too slightly stated, as the whole of England would show a lower death-rate if the towns were not used to swell it."

This quotation is given here to remind our readers of the important question of a supply of pure air as well as pure water and pure food; and if the agricultural labourer, with all his exposure to variable [Page 390] weather, can take the first place in the scale of mortality, and outlive the members of all other trades and professions, it is evident that the importance of pure air is not overrated.

Every effort ought, therefore, to be made in large schools, hospitals, and barracks, to enforce a rigid system of supply of fresh air, and a sewage or removal of the impure; and in the use of a certain test employed by Dr. Smith for the detection of organic matter in the air a number of approximations were obtained, which clearly demonstrated that 1 grain of organic matter was detected in 72,000 cubic inches of air in a room, and the same quant.i.ty in 8000 cubic inches taken from a _crowded_ railway carriage.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 371. A B. The gla.s.s tube. C. The spirit lamp, with a very large wick; if a little ether is mixed with the spirit in the lamp it increases the length of the flame. D. The effect of the ascension of air, increased by warming the top of the tube with the lamp D.]

To show the rising of heated air, a long gla.s.s tube, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, may be provided and held over the flame of a spirit lamp at an angle of sixty degrees. As the tube warms, the heated air rushes past the flame with great rapidity, and pulls it out or elongates it so much, that the sharp point of the spirit-flame [Page 391] will frequently be seen at the end of a tube ten feet six inches in length. The flame is, as it were, the sign-post that indicates the path or direction of the air. (Fig. 371.)

Upon the like principle, heated air may be dragged down the short arm of a syphon, provided the other arm is sufficiently long to impart a strong directive tendency to the upward current, and this mode of setting air in motion has been frequently proposed in numerous schemes for ventilation. In order to prove the fact that an inverted syphon will act in this manner, an iron pipe of three inches diameter and six feet long may be bent round during the construction into the form of a syphon, so that the short length is about one foot long, and the long length the remaining four feet, allowing one foot for the bend. If the interior of the long arm is first warmed by burning in it a little spirits of wine from a piece of cotton or tow wetted with the latter (which can be easily done by dropping in such a wetted piece into the bend of tube, so that it is just under the opening of the long part of the tube), the air is soon set in motion up the long pipe, and as it must be supplied with fresh volumes of air to take the place of that which rises, and as the only entrance for the fresh air can be _down_ the short arm of the syphon, the circulation soon commences, and it proceeds as long as the upper arm is kept sufficiently warm. If a flame is held over the mouth of the short arm, it is immediately dragged downward, whilst, if held at the mouth of the long pipe, the motion of the air is seen by the a.s.sistance of the flame to be in the contrary direction. (Fig. 372.)