Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/212

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��would occupy the entire space behind the curtain of falhng water, as far as their presence could be concealed from the view of those on the adjacent banks.

It is scarcely necessary to state thai- during the fourteen hours of enforced quiet and rest, while the waters of the Great Lakes are diverted through a maze of penstocks, to dash upon thousands of turbines, the sight of a serried array of mechanical devices, lining the cliffs of Niagara, would be sadly out of harmony with the otherwise gloomy grandeur of the gorge.

Although this period covers the time ordinarily devoted to slumber, still in the evening and during the early forenoon, tourists and others would constantly gaze upon Niagara at rest.

To remedy this feature, one per cent or less of the river's volume would be allowed to pass the dam, and flow over the brink. It would generate a thin cur- tain of water, just enough to hide the massive scaffolding and the maze of wheels. By simple hydraulic devices, this small amount of water could be largely transformed into spray. A deli- cate lace-like "bridal veil" would screen cliffs and every trace of commercialism.

The initial outlay would scarcely ex- ceed two hundred million dollars. This is equivalent to a capital outlay of twen- ty-seven dollars per annual horsepower, based upon continuous use. The annual interest charge would be less than a dol- lar seventy-five. This approximates the rates of two dollars per annum in Ice- land and of three dollars on the west coast of Norway. At present the elec- tric power of Niagara costs twenty dol- lars per annum.

It would mean the creation of an in- dustrial metropolis, surpassing any now existing on the face of the globe. No cinders or soot would pollute its atmos- phere; no towering chimneys would rise against the sky-line. Industries of the most varied nature, car1)i(les, carl)orun- dum. aluminum, cynamid, chlorin, alka- lies, steel, copper, and many minor branches — all dependent upon the elec- tric current — would gravitate to this point. It would become in very truth — perhaps in name — the clcctropolis of America!

��Popular Science Monthly

A Mile-a-Minute with an Air- Driven Sled

��IT was doughty old Count von Zep- pelin who first pointed the way to- ward locomotion with an air propeller. More than fifteen years ago, when he first planned the giant, rigid airships which are now known by his name, he had to conduct a series of experiments in order to obtain propellers of sufficient thrust for his huge untried craft. Ac- cordingly he mounted them upon a boat and made experiments on Lake Con- stance. The speeds which he attained were not more than twelve miles an hour, but they were sufficient to prove that he could urge his first giant vessel through the air at forty miles an hour.

The idea reappeared in France at a later date. Ordinary launches as well as specially constructed hydroplanes were driven on the Seine by propellers revolv- ing in air. Tissandier and Santos-Du- mont made speeds as high as fifty miles an hour on water. As in Count von Zep- pelin's case, their experiments were prompted by the thought of obtaining a system of propulsion for air boats. So successful were they that a few motor- cycles and automobiles appeared thus propelled.

Now comes an American manufactur- er who reduces the idea to commercial practice. He has constructed an air- propelled sled with which it is possible to obtain a speed of sixty miles an hour over ice or packed snow. An engineer- ing experiment, to test out the possibili- ties of an aircraft, has been developed commercially. The air-propelled ice- craft is now a vehicle of sport.

Notice the construction of the sled as it is depicted on our front cover. Upon a frame supported by the two rear run- ners a gasoline engine is carried, by which the air propeller is driven. A string-piece connects the motor-carrying frame with the single forward runner. There is room for two men. The rear man does the guiding with an automo- bile steering-wheel connected with the forward runner, which is pivoted so that it acts as a kind of rudder. Stop the motor and the whole sled can be checked and brought to a standstill very quickly by a powerful emergency brake.

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