Marvels of Modern Science

Marvels of Modern Science

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Title: Marvels of Modern Science
Author: Paul Severing
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6139] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on November 19, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARVELS OF MODERN SCIENCE ***

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MARVELS OF MODERN SCIENCE
By PAUL SEVERING
Edited by THEODORE WATERS
1910

CONTENTS


CHAPTER I
FLYING MACHINES Early attempts at flight. The Dirigible. Prof. Langley's experiments. The Wright Brothers. Count Zeppelin. Recent aeroplane records.


CHAPTER II
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY Primitive signalling. Principles of wireless telegraphy. Ether vibrations. Wireless apparatus. The Marconi system.


CHAPTER III
RADIUM Experiments of Becquerel. Work of the Curies. Discovery of Radium. Enormous energy. Various uses.


CHAPTER IV
MOVING PICTURES Photographing motion. Edison's Kinetoscope. Lumiere's Cinematographe. Before the camera. The mission of the moving picture. Edison's latest triumph.


CHAPTER V
SKY-SCRAPERS AND HOW THEY ARE BUILT Evolution of the sky-scraper. Construction. New York's giant buildings. Dimensions.


CHAPTER VI
OCEAN PALACES Ocean greyhounds. Present day floating palaces. Regal appointments. Passenger accommodation. Food consumption. The one thousand foot boat.


CHAPTER VII
WONDERFUL CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE Mating Plants. Experiments of Burbank. What he has accomplished.


CHAPTER VIII
LATEST DISCOVERIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY Prehistoric time. Earliest records. Discoveries in Bible lands. American explorations.


CHAPTER IX
GREAT TUNNELS OF THE WORLD Primitive Tunnelling. Hoosac Tunnel. Croton aqueduct. Great Alpine tunnels. New York subway. McAdoo tunnels. How tunnels are built.


CHAPTER X
ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSEHOLD Electrically equipped houses. Cooking by electricity. Comforts and conveniences.


CHAPTER XI
HARNESSING THE WATER-FALL Electric energy. High pressure. Transformers. Development of water-power.


CHAPTER XII
WONDERFUL WAR SHIPS Dimensions, displacements, cost and description of battleships. Capacity and speed. Preparing for the future.


CHAPTER XIII
A TALK ON BIG GUNS The first projectiles. Introduction of cannon High pressure guns. Machine guns. Dimensions and cost of big guns.


CHAPTER XIV
MYSTERY OF THE STARS Wonders of the universe. Star Photography. The infinity of space.


CHAPTER XV
CAN WE COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER WORLDS? Vastness of Nature. Star distances. Problem of communicating with Mars. The Great Beyond.

Introduction
The purpose of this little book is to give a general idea of a few of the great achievements of our time. Within such a limited space it was impossible to even mention thousands more of the great inventions and triumphs which mark the rushing progress of the world in the present century; therefore, only those subjects have been treated which appeal with more than passing interest to all. For instance, the flying machine is engaging the attention of the old, the young and the middle-aged, and soon the whole world will be on the wing. Radium, "the revealer," is opening the door to possibilities almost beyond human conception. Wireless Telegraphy is crossing thousands of miles of space with invisible feet and making the nations of the earth as one. 'Tis the same with the other subjects,--one and all are of vital, human interest, and are extremely attractive on account of their importance in the civilization of today. Mighty, sublime, wonderful, as have been the achievements of past science, as yet we are but on the verge of the continents of discovery. Where is the wizard who can tell what lies in the womb of time? Just as our conceptions of many things have been revolutionized in the past, those which we hold to-day of the cosmic processes may have to be remodeled in the future. The men of fifty years hence may laugh at the circumscribed knowledge of the present and shake their wise heads in contemplation of what they will term our crudities, and which we now call progress. Science is ever on the march and what is new to-day will be old to-morrow. We cannot go back, we must go forward, and although we can never reach finality in aught, we can improve on the past to enrich the future. If this volume creates an interest and arouses an enthusiasm in the ordinary men and women into whose hands it may come, and stimulates them to a