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Fo rd Soya-bean AAORE urgent .war demands Development is Ternon the Ford soya-bean facporarily Suspended . tory necessitate 'interruption of
that activity, with the result that research into products such as fibre from the beans has stopped. This does not mean that the interruption is permanent; it is expected that a separate company will take over this Ford plant and move it to another location, where the work of development in the line of substitutes for metal in short supply will be continued. * . *
Measurement of HE accurate measurement
Sound by . a Gasjet I of sound is a matter of conPhonometer. . . . siderable interest to the motor ing industry and road transport in general. In this connection the Swiss are now ' producing a device known as the Gasjet Phonometer, which measures on the hydrodynamic principle, and is produced by James Jaquet, Ltd., Thonnerstrasse, 19-25, Basle. The surface of a jet of air or other gas emerging from a suitably shaped nozzle is extremely sensitive to a disturbance of equilibrium. The new instrument comprises a nozzle, which is roughly elliptical in cross-scetion, and air or gas at low pressure from a cylinder with a reduction valve is emitted. Above the nozzle is a Pitot tube with a small trap disc. This leads to a simple pressure " level " with an alcohol filling, which acts as a projectile manometer. To use the device, first a steady jet of air is directed on to the Pitot tube, the manometer then registers a maximum displacement. If sound waves now fall
upon the section immediately above the nozzle, the jet pressure is at once reduced, and the indicator. recedes on the scale. It is necessary merely to graduate this scale according to the frequency and amplitude:of the incoming sound, or the instrument can be delivered already gauged. According to the length of the jet, ranges between 300 and 3,000 Hertz or between 2,000 and 11,000 Hertz can be measured with the same instrument. It can also be used in the sphere of ultra sound, measurements having been extended to a frequency of 16,000 Hertz.
Natural Gas Discovery r.,..AS is trapped under the bed
think the oil people, and they ? . .
are to drill a well through the bottom Over, a mile from the shore. If their, theory that gradual water intrusion has cut off gas supplies from the underwater oil fields, which connect up with those under the shore of the lake, is correct, wells drilled into these underwater stores should liberate •
e.norrhous quantities of gas. The project has been sanctioned by the Public Works Department of Ottawa. A pier over a mile long will be built. Drilling in such circumstances is exposed to storms not encountered on land, and piping the gas to the shore presents difficulties. Wells were drilled in the lake
• bed near Port Alma several years ago. This new one will, however, be four times the distance from high-water mark. There are to be three in all, but Only one is-expected to be completed this year.
FROM the Champion Sparking Plug Co., Ltd., comes useful advice concerning plugs employed on engines using 80octane fuel. Gap " growth' represents wear, cone-sion or erosion of the electrode wire,. which can be identified by small globular projections on the surface. If this occurs the plugs should be removed at regular intervals for cleaning and resetting to the original • specification. With magneto ignition, the gap is normally.018 in., and with coil ignition .022 in., unless otherwise specified when a high-voltage coil 4
• fitted. Producer gas with excessive sulphur content may cause rapid corrosion, the centre electrode often Sparking-plus Maker Gives Advice on Maintenance. . . .
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puffing" to a much larger size. An excessive gap results in missing at high speed, difficult starting and excessive strain on the magneto or coil. New Source of rHEMISTS of the U.S.A. Alcohol and Valuable '—Department. of Agriculture
By-products.
, have developed a new method .
of obtaining alcohol, which may, by reason of the by-products, influence' the price
of synthetic rubber. Dr. Egloff some time ago prophesied that the post-war price of synthetic rubber would be 7d. per lb., and there have been lower estimates. What this new process means in its effect on prices is unpredictab1e.-1•Wheat and sodium sulphite react to extract diastase from the wheat before it is cooked. The protein content is also extracted in practically pure form to the extent of 3 lb. per gallon of alcohol. This by-product cans be used as a food enricher for 'livestock or for the enrichment of bleached white flour. The process is being operated byth'e Park and Tilford Distilleries.