London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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Tl-IE MCDDERN MARVEL 'JTSTANDING developments which have been taking place in the field of metal- lurgy rank copper as one of the most important metals of the decade. When one thinks of the variety of new uses for this metal, one must be impressed by the great volume of research that was necessary to find out what copper can con- tribute to the Power Age. Copper has long been used as an imp1'over of steel wherever maximum strength is required and corrosion resisting qualities essential. Although it strengthens steel, copper does not increase the carbon content. but leaves the alloy free for welding purposes. Beryllium-copper is another alloy. and it is used in diverse ways, such as the making of tools with hard, sharp edges. A cold chisel tipped with beryllium-copper will cut a rolled steel bar with ease. Hammers of this metal will forge iron with the greatest facility. In addition, its great resistance to fatigue makes it especially suitable for the manufacture of springs. But to find out all the really significant uses for which copper is being prepared. one must visit the mill. There, copper-chromium, copper- manganese, copper-molydenum, and copper bearing steels are being investigated in the research department in the hope of making some new startling discovery. Most copper developments in the practical stage are a direct contribution to the consumer, In particular, building materials of copper and its alloys are being substituted for steel. It is now possible for a man to have a home of steel rust-proofed by copper, with a copper roof on which is a patina of age-old green put on in a few weeks. In the kitchen, the copper plumb- ing and stove will probably outlast the owner. If his house is an old one. he may redecorate it with transparent colored shingles of copper. Then, if he wishes to commute to the city, copper-lead bearings in his car will allow him to travel fast with little fear of a burn-out. This increase in the employment and the uses of copper may be traced to the genii of modern applied research. Its resistance to corrosion combined with the qualities of strength and hardness resulting in its alloys make copper a formidable opponent in the con- tinual challenge of industrial progress. -Gordon Jeffery, IV C. S O U T H C . I. ,f -'1' ' , - .. nb IN BIRD LUKE HE colorful little songsters flitting among our trees are a constant source of interest -so the second form zoologists of last year thought. Under the able leadership of Mr. Calvert numerous students answered the call of the wild, and shattered the silence of the woodland with their heavy footsteps and harsh whispers Rising with the sun, they armed themselves with field glasses and notebooks and, pushing into the wilderness, took up the search with zest. A Hash of crimson-a delighted whisper -and pencils scratched the words 'tScarlet Tanager ! The call of tee-cher, tee-cher. sent them stumbling on to find a rarer specimen- the sombre little oven-bird. After filling pages with hastily scribbled words the tired students followed their guide lwho did not seem at all fatigued! to the car. Resting in its modern cushioned seats-so dif- ferent from the grassy knolls of the woods- the bedraggled bird-lovers were borne swiftly homeward to be received by parents, groaning over torn apparel and unsightly shoes. How- ever, the pupils did not see their parents' point of view and greatly appreciated Mr. Calvert's kindness. -Two Bird Enthusiasts. ARE AIR-RAIDS A MENACE? RITERS and speakers have terrified the people by lurid descriptions of the death, destruction and chaos that an aerial attack on a citv would produce. As for me, I do not lselieve that an attack on a prepared city could be successfully carried out. The following is my theory concerning an attempted raid: A squadron of huge bombers takes to the air for an attack on an important city. Above and behind it, for protection, cruise two or three squadrons of attack-planes. As the armada nears its objective, ground-detectors pick up the sound of their motors and a warning is flashed to the endangered city. Immediately, fast intercepters roar into the sky to meet the oncoming enemy. These planes Page Thirty-nine

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- .-- artery-aeirifir VWNV- 57 1-ff. as 1 4 12? 1 -K K V X I H f R 5. , -. .fwaqi is 5 f 1 inning 1 IIIINUUE 1 I , f sr .fi . T2 - 3 'Tit' 1- fc .IWY 7274 ,I fi, if if '1 YE kai -f 'f-A Q f ei N Qsbi5 -,ails-lllllll l Mm ,5 ,ff 'pix' x 17 ,, ff IX!! YQJQQTT,-27. .- i . XTX 2 : ff? . :EZ , ff K T Editors: Graeme Cameron and Rowland Hill Tl-IE DAVID DUNLOP OBSERVATOBY HIS year Canada again stepped into the scientific limelight by constructing an observatory which houses the largest telescope in the British Empire and the second largest in the world. This is the Dunlap Observatory. situated about twelve miles north of Toronto and half a mile east of Yonge Street on a height eight hundred feet above sea level. The David Dunlap Observatory was the gift of Mrs. J. D. Dunlap to the University of Toronto as a memorial to her husband. The late Mr. Dunlap and his wife were both very interested in astronomy and it was because of this interest and through the suggestion of Dr. Chant of the University of Toronto that Mrs. Dunlap so generously made this contribution. The Dunlap Observatory, which was for- mally opened on May 31, 1935, consists of two buildings: a steel structure which houses the big reflecting telescope with its seventy-fours inch mirror, and an administration building. The circular steel building was the most difficult to construct. To avoid heated air currents which would interfere with the obser- vations, the circular drum and the hemispherical dome have double walls. Air is permitted to enter the building by an open space at the base and circulates to the top, leaving through baffle plated openings at the top of the dome. At night the building is thrown open and the temperature within quickly assumes the out- side tempe1'ature. Even in cold Weather the structure cannot be heated because of the hot- air currents, and the observers have to Wrap up warmly. The dome rests on rollers on a circular Page Thirty-eight track and may be rotated so that an opening may be made to face any part of the sky. Thus an extremely wide radius of action is given to the telescope. The huge reflecting telescope, which the building contains, consists of a mirror and a heavy supporting framework which directs it toward the sky. This mir1'or is 74 inches in diameter, 12 inches thick and 5,000 pounds in weight. Because of the rotation of the earth, the mirror is continuously moved by mechanism to keep the desired object in focus. Great accuracy was required in the construction of the great mirror and it has been determined by measurements and by photographs that in no place is its surface at fault more than one- millionth of an inch. The Administration Building is a short dis- tance from the dome. It supplies the Observa- tory with a suitable office for the study of the results obtained by the immense telescope. In this building there are also a library and an auxiliary telescope with a 19-inch mirror. Before the Observatory will be really pre- pared to do any valuable astronomical work, it will have to accumulate a basis of photo- graphical knowledge of the universe. This can only be obtained after several years of diligent labor. Practically all the work done will be carried on by means of these photographs and, therefore, great. care must be exercised in securing them. As soon as these fundamentals are taken care of, the David Dunlap Observa- tory will undoubtedly take a leading part in the eternal strife for more universal knowledge and will attain a foremost position among the observatories of the world. -Graeme Cameron, IV C. T H E i O R A C OL E

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impede the approach ot' the Q-'Ilt1l'ilY Iieet long enough for their own attack and pursuit planes to join the battle. If the attacking lieet suc- ceeds in overcoming this difficulty, it still has to run the gauntlet of deadly accurate anti- aircraft guns to reach its objective. Even though two or three of the bombers do succeed in reaching the metropolis, they still present no danger. In daytime, if they are carrying explosive bombs, they could not hit their targets because they would have to Hy high enough to escape the danger of a straiing from ground machine guns. At night. when they might be able to Hy low enough, they could not see their targets. If they are carry- ing gas bombs, they still can do no damage. Gas can hurt no one if it cannot reach the lungs. People, especially in Germany and France, are now being trained to don gas masks or enter gas-proof chambers at the first warning of an air attack. Consequently, the gas can reach no one to do any harm. What reason is there to terrify people with the aspect of deadly air raids? If you live in an unimportant city. the enemy will not bomb you: if you live in an important city, it will be protected, and the enemy will have small chance of dropping bombs on you. So-why worry? -Leonard Wray. IV C. l-IEAVY WATER LITTLE over a year ago Professor H. C. -L Wrey announced the discovery of heavy hy drogen and heavy water. Hydrogen has an atomic weight of one gramme, heavy hydrogen an atomic weight of two grammes. If this heavy hydrogen is united with oxygen, heavy water results. To distinguish hydrogen and heavy hydrogen, the latter is called Deuterium, and the heavy water Deuterium Oxide. Deuterium Oxide has a density of 1.074 as compared to that of water at 1. Its surface tension has been found to be the same as that of ordinary water. The exact proportion of heavy water in rain water has not been hxed, for results of experiments vary from one part in 4,000 to one part in 9,000. The most accurate experiments have placed it at the now accepted value of one part in 8,500 Page Forty Deuterium Oxide reacts more slowly tha11 does ordinary water. Photosynthesis is reduced by one-half when it takes place in concentrated Deuterium Oxide. Another reaction, that of making methane gas from aluminium carbide, is only IQ.. as rapid as with ordinary water. Deuterium Oxide is produced by reheated electrolysis of water, the residue each time being a greater concentration of the heavy water until the final residue is over 99'J heavy water. The Imperial Chemical Company in England, and the Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Com-- pany in Norway, are producing it in saleable quantities for experimental and practical pur- poses if desired. There is a sample sealed in a glass phial on exhibit at the University of Western Ontario. This was received from the Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Company. -Leverne Williams, Arts '39, U.W.O. MICROPHONE to LOUD SPEAKER N article that explained the whole science 4 of radio. even if it were possible. would be a dry, text-booky one. Therefore I do not intend to explain the why and wherefore of it-it would take a person much, much more versed in radio than I. This, then, is a short outline of the changes of electrical energy from the sound wave's entrance into the microphone to the reproduction by your loudspeaker. The low-frequency sound waves of a person speaking set up liuctuating electrical currents in the microphone. These feeble currents are greatly amplified by a series of thermionic tubes. When they are changed to a high- frequency by other tubes. the currents pass through another stage of amplification and are delivered to the transmitting aerial. These electrical currents, surging back and forth very rapidly from the aerial to the g1'ound. cause an atmospheric disturbance which sends out waves similar to those set up when a stone is dropped into water. These waves travel through the ether between the surface of the earth and an atmospheric layer of ionised gas. which reHects the waves in a curve following that of the earth. The waves are then picked up by the receiving aerial and changed into high-frequency currents. These currents must, however, be amplified before they can be of practical use. Next, they are passed on to a detector tube, which lit- erally cuts the frequency in two. The currents, after another stage of amplification, can now be changed back into sound waves by the loud- speaker, reaching us as the voice of the announcer. -Leonard Wray, IV C. THE ORACLE