Passing Comments
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Bus Passengers May TO choose suitable materials Walk on Thin Plastic A for covering the floors of Floors buses and coaches is often a
problem. They must be long wearing, free from cracking, provide a good non-skid surface, and not tend to creep as a result of stretching or shrinking; this dimensional stability is important, otherwise the covering may rise in " blisters " or ruck Lately, plastics have come into the picture for this purpose. A new American material is a synthetic polymer hot-rolled on to a burlap backing of high quality. This is supplied in a range of colours and ribbed or plain. The thickness varies from .125 in for the plain to .14 in. for the ribbed.
A Prototype Gas THE prototype of a gas Turbine To be Tried L turbine power unit, which
on the Road . . has been designed in America,
will shortly be tested in a car. With a high power-to-weight ratio, the engine, complete with darbox, scales 140 lb., and it developed
200 b.h.p. in the bench tests. The unit has been A20
brought to a reasonable size for a vehicle chassis, being 42 ins, long and 22 ins, in diameter. Although this development in design may not reach the commercial-vehicle .world for some years, it may be regarded as a potential unit to replace the reciprocating engine, as it has advantages of exceptionally smooth running, simplicity in design and high power for size and weight.
Tyres Found Blown MEWS comes from• the Up After Seven Years 4. Antarctic of an interesting In Antarctic. example of the longevity of
some tyres. Here, a representative of the Armour Research Foundation discovered the gigantic "Snow Cruiser" left there seven years ago by Admiral Byrd's expedition. The 10-ft. Goodyear tyres of this were not only in first-class condition but had a surprising degree of inflation. When the . vehicle was left, the wheels had been retracted so that the body rested on the ground. They were covered with a tarpaulin to protect them from the sun until the snow could drift o'er,
Penny Wise May THE Post Office is saving Sometimes be Pound some £6,000 a year by Foolish using tap water instead of dis tilled water to top-up batteries, Analysis of the water supplies in certain areas disclosed that there were little or no harmful impurities which attacked battery cells. A table of these impurities and the strength in which they might exist in water without damaging the batteries was circulated to all concerned in the respective departments. An analysis of the water supply was then obtained from the water companies, and in hundreds of cases it was found that the supply was within the desired specification. This form of economy is not to be generally recommended, as nobody can say how water may change in its constitution, however harmless it might appear when first tested. Searching for Reasons nNE of the most interesting Why Carbon Black ‘-jitems in the equipment of
!mproves Rubber . . the Port Dunlop technical
department is an electron microscope. With this, investigations are being conducted with a view to solving such problems as the reason wily the special carbon black, known as chInnel black, is so essential to the good wearing qualities of rubber used for tyre treads, conveyor belts, etc. The particles of black are so fine that they are invisible individually under the ordinary microscope, hut the electron type is about 50 times more powerful, and the particles can not only be seen by it but measured. Channel black is imported from America where it is obtained as a product of the incomplete combustion of natural gas. So far nothing has been found to equal it.