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What Causes the Milk A SUGGESTION by a corn to Warm while In mittee of the National Transit ? Farmers' Union that the design
of milk carrying vehicles should be investigated intrigued us. We wrote for further information on this point, and were informed by the N.F.U. that what it had in mind was the effect (1) of a covering to keep down the temperature of the milk, (2) of improving the flow of air between the churns while in transit. It is thought that any rise in temperature is more likely to be caused by letting churns stand in a stationary lorry.
Electrical Energy DisA N interesting sche in e,
tributor Assists originating in America, is
Normal Brakes , , the employment of eddy-cur
rent energy dissipators as auxiliaries to the normal brakes. The device is geared direct to the propeller shaft, and works by converting the torque into electrical energy and dissipating it as heat. Excitation and control of the dissipator are maintained by a dynamo, and are independent of the lighting and ignition system. The retarder cuts in automatically at predetermined speeds, also when the brake pedal is slightly depressed or the accelerator released. An instance of the use of the system has been given. A vehicle weighing about 20 tons could travel down a 10 per cent. _gradient at, say, 40 m.p.h. With the normal brakes alone, it proceeds at a slow speed and causes wear and tear not only on the brakes but also on the transmission and engine. With a suitable energy dissipator, such a vehicle was found to be able to travel A22 at the upper limit with reasonable safety, and after 2,500 miles, inspection showed that the brake facings still bore the original machining marks and were not even bedded-in. Such a result.might render possible additional trips, subject, of course, to speed restrictions. The important difficulty is, however, that the weight of the original equipment was about 700 lb., but it is hoped to reduce this.
Will Coaches Stand up PEOPLE using London to Strenuous City Bus Transport buses are enjoy Work ? ing the luxury of the coaches
loaned by members of the Passenger Vehicle Operators Association. They make a pleasant contrast to some of the older and more austere vehicles, but Londoners have not yet become accustomed to hailing them, and many are to be seen travelling comparatively light. It WM be interesting to study the performance of these vehicles, which were designed primarily for long-distance operation, and will now have to stand up to the arduous conditions and constant stopping and starting of the London traffic. Presumably, the rear-axle ratio, for example, will remain unaltered and the high ratio be retained. In this circumstance, the engine, clutch and the remainder of the transmission will be heavily loaded, perhaps not overloaded, but, nevertheless, operated under heavier stresses than ever before. Throughout the chassis the component parts will be subjected to severe wear, the brake parts more especially so. Continuous stopping and starting will also undoubtedly play a part in accelerating body movement and wear. Crossing the Lines FROM the United States Makes Tyres Hum a I comes a report concerning a Warning new road safety device known
as the "singing highway." The six lanes of a new road in New Jersey are being separated by concrete strips. They are scored in such a way that they emit loud humming noises as the wheels of a vehicle pass over them. This country might well copy the idea. In our case, of course, the score marks would be arranged to play The Red Flag."
Scheme for Savings AT the factories where Devised by Lodge "Lodge sparking plugs are Workers manufactured, the workers
are certainly taking the National Savings drive seriously A few weeks ago they adopted a new scheme in which each participant gives the company a written authority to deduct a sum for savings from the weekly wage packet. In this way more money has been put into savings each week than was the case previously
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during the average month. The amounts vary from 5 to 25 per cent. of the pay, and the movement is spreading rapidly The savings go either into Certificates or the Trustee Savings Bank.
What Makes People nURING a recent confer Like or Dislike Their 1--'ence of the Institute of
Work Industrial Administration, dis
cussion centred around the subject, " What Makes People Like Work?" Aboiyt 60 senior managers took part. As a result, the following motion was adopted almost unanimously: " We recognize that the will to work is inherent in the healthy individual. Any apparent lack of such will must, therefore, arise not from the character al the individual, but from the ' work climate.' increase of output, other than that achievable by technical development, can, therefore, be best accomplished by measures, by the management, which so change the climate of work as to allow the natural enthusiasm of the individual and group to develop."