The St. Louis Republic. [volume], November 01, 1903, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 51

About The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
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THE KEPUBLICrSUNjD&Y, NOVEMBER 1, 1903. .
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31
lit ALEXANDER GBAHAN BELL f MMISES AN A1SIP WAT WILL ELI I
Tests Have Proven. That-the-Famous Scientist's Invention Will Carry an Engine and-Its Operator How the Discovery Came to Be Made.
i s&
By 'GILBERT H. GROSVENOR, Editor of the National 'Geographic Magazine.
' --"' i.-""--'!- ' 'MPfrjr-j,.! ,,,i -nil. - The .total' weight.- Including- the three will be better understood when we realize : . , -XlKkCjiS"'"-'-?' " V'IU
KL'S '&&?. -" . floats. Is about 1J0 pounds. that it. carries twenty-flve square feet of "SJ.JCTi?Uf'3F
. '-rSSaA.-. -.w- DOWSPUR OF lUr supporting or horizontal" wins surface to "ifc J "'-jjjiP- ipHJIliMl M ji lT
e i " ' Bi-v-5?aa! ii. :.- HANDICAPPED .THETEST. ' "e Pound of weight, while a wild duck IfiKmr. m WmZlV1lHHnS
infill MyfesMPHHP&i
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Hal Mv - ; I
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TOOTEf FOR THE STO.TIAT REPUBLIC.
"Anyone who has ever watched a hsary
bird rise from the ground, has doubtless
noticed that it runs on the ground for a
few feet before It rises.
The bird must' acquire some momentum
before Its wings can lift its heavy body
Into the air.
The' natives in certain parts of the An
des understand this fact very well, and
by means of It catch the great Andean
ultures.
A small space Is shut In with a high
fence' and left open at the top. Thfn a
lamb or a piece of carton is placed on the
ground inside.
Presently a vulture sees the bait and
swoops down upon It: but when once he
has lighted on the ground Inside he can
not get out. for he has no running space
In which to acquire the momentum that
It necessary before his wings can lift him.
In the same way the first difficulty of
all flying machines Is to acquire the first
momentum that will lift the machine Into
the air.
To overcome this difficulty the flying
machine inventor usually shoots his ma
chine from a high platform, which makes
111 unnecessary for the machine to rise
immediately.
It may sab along on the same level as
the platform, or even fall a few feet,
until Its propellers have generated enough
speed to enable it to soar upward.
But If the flying machine cannot start
In a natural way. the chances are Its
method of working is not right, and it Is
doomed to failure.
And een If a machine could fly per
fectly alter it nad Deen started.show could
it get up again If it came down for food
or fuel at some point where there was
no platform and starting apparatus?
In a word, the solution of the whole
filing machine problem is to get a ma
chine that will start of Itself without be
ing shot off as if from the mouth of a
cannon.
MR. BEIIi WOULD CONBTRUCT
MAN-LIFTING KITE.
During the last four months Doctor
Alexander Graham Bell has been seeking
to construct a giant man-lifting kite, or
flying machine that could acquire by Itself
sufficient momentum to rise unaided from
the ground or surface of a lake.
His belief is that his machine In rising
would have to Imitate the start of a large
and heavy bird that Is, glide along the
surface for some distance with constant
ly Increasing speed until It rose of its
own momentum.
It may be said that Doctor Bell has
been successful and that he has de eloped
a form of gigantic kite, or flying machine,
which has this faculty of stratlng un
aided. The kite has power enough to lift a man
In fact, several men but before describ
ing It or how it has been evolved it will
be necessary to go back a few months.
In an article published In the National
Geographical Magazine last June. Doctor
Bell announced his intention of the tetra
hedral winged cell.
He described the wonderful combination
of strength, lightness and steadiness
which kites built of tetrahedral cells pos
sessed. Most Important of all. he showed how it
was possible bv the use of the tetrahedral
cell to build kites unlimited in size and In
which, however gigantic the kite, the ratio
of supporting surface to weight remained.
the same as In a small kite.
That is. by "his invention of the tetra
hedral cell. Doctor Bell demolished the old
time belief that the size of a kite or fly
ine machine was limited.
This-old-time belief was baaed on the
fact that In the Hargrave and in all other
kites, except in the new Bell tetrahedral
celled kite, as the size Increased the
weight Increased as the cube, while the
sustaining or wing surface increased as
the square
Expressed differently, take two Har
grave kites, the second of which is in all
Its dimensions just double the first; the
second weighs eight times as much as the
first,- but Jt has only four times as much
sustaining or wing surface that is. the"
flying. -weight or the ratio of weight to
wln surface, of the larger kite Is Just
twice the flying weight of the smaller
kHes hence, when a certain size is reached
tbe.wlng surface is not sufficient to lift the
weight.
Kow.taxa two Kites omit oi iseii tetra-
- -f
hedral cells, the second of which Is twice
as large In all its dimensions.
The second weighs four'times as much
as the first, but it has four times as much
wing surface, so that the flying weight in
the smaller kite is no less than the flying
weight of the larger kite.' "
The fljinjr weight of a, kite ten tlmc3 pr
ono hundred- times larger would be the
same. .
All this waa so clearly demonstrated by
Doctor Bell in the artlcle.referred to that
It is unnecessary to enter into further ex
planation here.
Suffice It .to repeat that by his invention
of the tetrahedral cell Doctor Bell put an
end to the old law which said that ou
can build kites up to a certain size, but
no greater.
with the belltetrahedral cell jou can
build kites .as huge as jou pleas and
tney win fly.
PREMISE ON "WHICH
EXPERIMENTS ARE MADE.
One other fact stated by Doctor Bell in
the same articlo-should also be repeated
before I proceed further. ,
Doctor Bell's experiments. are based on
the premise that a kite in a ten';mi'e
breeze will also support the, man and en
gine when driven by a motor at the rate
of ten miles an'hour. -" " "
This proposition has not been actually
proved, but there can be little doubt that
it makes no difference whether theJtlte
is supported by the motion of the air
against it or by Its own motion agalnst'the
air. i
In a calm a kite' rises when it Is nulled
by a man or horse because of its motion
through the air: there is no reason to be
lieve that It would not also rise when
urged through the air by propellers.
A Kite tnen can be changed to a flying
machine by hanging a motor and propel
lers to It and dropping tfietstrtng which
attaches the kite to the -ground.
At hl laboratory in beautiful Baddeck
Doctor Bell has been building during the
last summer hundreds and., hundred of
tetrahedral cells, arjlng In size from
twenty-Bve centimeters to one.meter.
Some of them are cohered with light-red
silk weighing about forty grammes to the
square meter and others with nainsook, a
iery fine cotton about as light as, the
silk. ,
Some of the earlier cells were covered
with cheesecloth, but the cheese cloth
weighed so much, more than 100 grammes
to the square meter, that Doctor Bell has
discarded It.
The framework of the cells is usually
cf black spruce, which is light and strong.
Anv one can make a tetrahedral cell.
Take six sticks of equal length and place
three of them on a table so as to make
an equaltteral triangle.
Erect one of the the remaining 4stlcks
at each corner of the triangle ana bring
the tops together. It is the , old-fashioned
puzzle of making four triangles with six
matches.
Then cover any' two sides and you hae
your leiracnearal winged cell.
A number of cells outlined against the
sky. look like a flock of birds.
The. wings of a tetrahedral cell are also
llk?Ja,.,',lrJ'iV'alnRs ln tfcat they arc not
rigid like a board.
The silk coverlne yields to the pressure
or the wind as the feathers of a bird's
wing.
TRAMBWORK OF HOLLOW
ALUMINUM TUBING.
Hundreds of cells are now belnj: made
in which the framework consists of hol
low aluminum tubing.
The aluminum weighs very llttl more
than the wood and gives much greater
strengtb-to the frame.
Using these cells Just as a mason uses
bricks to build houses of different de
signs. Mr. Bell has Deen constructing kites
of every shape that a fertile brbain could
devise.
Steadiness ln the air and lifting power
have been the main object In all.
Some of "bis combinations 'are gigantic
exceeding twenty-fiver feet in length and
twelve and fifteen feet ln height and
width, but all are so light in spite of their
strength that his trained assistants send
the giant kites up into the air as easily
as the little fellows.
The kite Is teterahcdral in form and
built of teterahedral cells.
This was the first -tetrahedral kite con
structed by Mr. BelL .
It is a wonderful little flyer, darting up
from the hand with a shrill whistle and
cllmblns to extraordinary heights.
It Is a pretty slghf to see the operator
bring the kite in after the experiment Is
o er.
As the line Is reeled in the kite flies
steadily without a turn or quiver, and
finally alights on his hand as gently as a
bird.
ABILTTT TO FLT
DIRECTLY OVERHEAD.
One of the kites is two meters on a
side. -
The most remarkable feature of this
kite, aside from Its perfect equilibrium
and steadiness in squalls. Is its abllitj to
fly almost directly overhead.
Een ln the lightest breeze I hae rare
ly seenjt flying at an angle off less tham
SO.degrees. ' j
The kite is admirably adapted forjtneteo
riogical observations at gr;eat heights,' as
it can carry considerable welght'wjth the
greatest ease.
Mr. Bell's experiments hav e convinced
hlmHhat thesmallcells are better.
TVhen the "wind varies, as in a squall,
the'shlftlng'of-pressure on a'small cell.ls
less than the, shifting on a large shell,
hence the resultant shifting of messure
ln a kite built of small .cells Is consider
ably less' than in a kite built of large
cells. - J-
Tbe kite is. not disturbed bv the weighty
ine uveruge puiL oi: me .Kite in iigiu
winds is eighty .pounds; ln a" heavy It ex
ceeds 130 (pounds.
The strength' of the kites made of
tetrahedral' cells is something remark
able? "
I have seenone of these kites towed on
a tetrahedral float for more than a mile
on the bay.at a speed of eleven or twelve,
knots without, breaking, though one end
was dragging one foot under water all the
time. , 1
As I saw the kite puIed alon- I ex
pected tb'see.ltNShattefed to pieces, but
beyondja fewv brok(i sticks 'It was-as
well, and strong atHHe end bf the Jour
ney fas Srii.en-lt.tarted.''
Theblff.teferjihedralkltes. twehe feet
and morej-'on a. side. look like awkward
things to" travel with or to store away,
butf theyimayi pe-packed as handily and In
asf.small 'compass' asi blankets, or rugs.
Each kltels.made in 'collapsible sections,
which open aild1 thenfold up'.
Half a dozen large Teltes can ln this
way be carried in. a trunk from place to
place and put together ln a few minutes.
A little kite darts up from the hand if
there is the least breath stirring.
PROBLEM TO
RAISE THE MABEL. x
To raise the giant kite. Mabel II, Doctor
BelTfound a serious problem.
It 'would be dlfficulttfor a man or horse
to pull the great frame so steadily as to
keep her from being- dashed' against tHe
ground and smashed before: she .could rise.
The kite has "power enough,to lift sev
eral men. but how-was Doctor Bell'to get
her-tip Into the air?
Ifhe.could raise Mabel H.naturally. like
one of tne smaller Kites, re could ue
pretty sure that she would go up when
a 'motor, with propellers, w as suspended
to her.
A pull or a push would be identical ln
its effect.
In a. word. If Doctor Bell could get this
great man-lifting' kite Into the air by tow
ing, as he did. the smaller kites, he had
succeeded in obtaining a successful 'form
for a flying machine.
There are two ways In which .Mabel
II, might be towedn wheels along a
track or on flats on the surface of a. lake.
Doctor Bell preferred to try the second
method first, as it is simpler and easier.
With tetrahedral frames he built three
long boats and covered them with oil
cloth to make them watertight.
The boats possess great strength, and
yet, because of tbelr tetrahedral struc
ture, are so light as not to overweight
the kite.
The three boats were ranged parallel to
one another and the whole structure
placed upon them and securely fastened
to them, i
Mabel II is eight meters long, nearlv
four meters high and four meters wide.
The .total weight.- Including-
noats, is auout lju pounds.
DOWNPOUR OF RAW'
HANDICAPPED THE'TEST.
When"everj'thlng was ready iMabel Hi
was'toned out'to the .center of the bay
and her'fllng line cast aboard the steamer
which Doctor Bell had engaged for the ex
periment. The flying line was made fast to a cleat
on deck, and the steamer started'ahead at
full speed, twche or .thirteen, knots an
hour.
But Mabel n was working under two
bad handicaps first, .a heavy downpour
had begun-some minutes before, the start
and had thoroughly drenched the, kite,
making her, so' heavy that every, one but
Doctor Bell urged that the exbertment te
jjusiponea iwnen jiudci ji was weignea
nf tcr the experiment it was found that the
rain water ahd leakage In the boats had
Increased her weight by sixty-four pounds;
feeoiid. the operator tin the deck of the
Fteamer had given Mabel ILtoo short a
line, so"' that she was blanketed by the big-
nun or the: steamer and therefore received
but. a small fraction of the wind of mo
tion. In spIte5of these two serious disadvan
tages, however, 'as the steamer gathered
headway jhe great-kite first trembled for
a few moments, and then rose gracefully
from the water and flew steadily 'the full
length of'her line.
Tlitj rain was pouring down In such tor
ments at, the tlme'that my other pictures
were not successful.
The'experlment was thus a success, and
should conclusively that Doctor Bell. has
obtalned'a'man-IIftlng kite.' or fljing ma
chlne.Mbat wlll.rl'e of Itself.
It a pull will. make the kite rise, there Is
no.reasbn-to'dciubt that an equally power
ful push, suclv'as propellers' would give,
would be-.e-quitlly successful In causing the
Though'the tests have proven that.MabeI
II can'aslly carry aman and engine, no
actual'ascents have been made this sum
mer.
When ascensions ar made the man will
sltMn the 'cenler of theopen epace be
tWeen.the'two bridges. .-"" ,
t One of 'the 'beauties of Doctor Bell's
mcdeU" Is that ln every one 'there Is a
large. roomy space-1 In theictnter: 'where
the operator, &nd..hls,paj9engers.can sit.
Thispos.Iticm is'mufh saferana more
comfortabIe'than,slttIng!n4a chair, sus
pendcd.ksome yards bejow.the'machlne. t
As "the" ultimate machine will .probably
be of tougher material jhanVwood and.
silkin time-of waritheoperator and the
motor would be ..protected asiwell as hid
den, 'In'stetuliof being a'spendid target for
every shot frombelow. I
VICTOR IM03T,' (
WONDERFUC.OF;ALL.
:Kites'that-arette'traheilial4ln form., like
the'JUabtU If. -.have perfect,eqillllbrlvim,
but because.; of, their, small? remltaiit,.arett
orf horizontalor,'.sdsUlnb3"surfa,ce,-. th'eir
"""K vfcl,-"'i,usii)'Syalurapie,iis not
as great as5Doctor ielf'isfsatlsfled, to oh
tain'j.. ,ij yV-C r Ajftf 11' ,i. v.
His latest comblnatlons.have, therefore,
beenmade!ih'the hbpe of obtaining ureat
er,? horizontal r surface "and thus, greater
llfllngVrSw'er. Vjctor-,1 is Doctor Bell's
'new est "kite. ' A
This great-.H-shapedklterose frqm the
hand.j -without' unnIngr,ina, breeze so
light .that-a,' flag on a pole ,-;flf tyv-yards
away hung. limp and motionless.
It glided UDiand ud until It irna'flrln?
603 or-'TOO Vards'hlghsteadr'as'a'table
top. "' V
The breeze at'that elcvatfon.wasper-
haps five or,, six miles, though, on the;
ground the movement or tnei air-was so
4rt. 3 IUI 4Vlll"44CtfcW4C, VVCIl on ' IIIC
grass or-trees. ' -
In a breeze of fifteen miles it flew as
steadily as before, but;nearer' the perpen
dicular and wjth a trenfendous'pulU. ""
The cella,o'f the, two wings are reversed,
the keels of .the cells .pointing up; Instead
of down, and the tips pointing down irt-
stead of up. while above., each' tier of
Cells i stretches a twWe' aeroplane.
This wide 'expanse of sustaining surface
helps 'the wlnged.fcellj tremendously antr
at the same time does not interfere with
their working. ' , t
Victor 'I Is .three meters long, three
meters wide and one meter deep -and
weighs only, twelve pounds. - a
its. flying-wclghf.is onry 350 grains to the
square -metjn.JSf horizontal surface. -,
A smaller kite of similar model has'besn
constructed"who'se flying weight is about
an grams.' . i
will be better understood when we realize
that-It, carries twenty-five square feet of
supporting or horizontal wing surface to
one pound of weight, while a wild duck
has only one-half of one square foot of
wing surface -to one pound of weight.
The model almost rivals a mosquito ln
lightness; one pound of mosquitoes repre
sents an area of wing surface of forty
nine square feet.
Doctor Bell is now making a wind boat
on this model, and It would not.be sur
prising Jf this new wind boat should
eclipse even the redoubtable Mabel IL
framework: strong enough
to support a man.
The framework of this latest model is
also strong enough to supports man. and
jet its flying weight Is. as I have said,
only 30 grams to the square meter of
supporting surface.
o When we consider that the flying weight
ofcothcr machines ln which the greatest
lightness has been striven for is nearly
one hundred times as great as in this kite
we realize the tremendous advance made
by Doctor Bell In at least one direction a
marvelous combination of lightness and
ttrength.
In not one of the successful kites of
Doctor Bell has the living weight exceed
ed ECO grams to the square meter of
supporting surface, whereas In various
other machines the ratio exceeds 10.C00
grams to" the square meter.
, Doctor 'Bell has thus constructed cne
form of a succesful flying machine, Mabel
If.
Another form, which will probably be
ev en more successful, and of which Victor
I' Is a model. Is nearly completed.
To obtain the form of a flying machine
has 'been the principal problem to solve;
the matter of a motor Is comparatlvely
slmple.
The next step Is to place a motor on
Mabel II, or an enlarged Victor I. with a
propeller extending from each side of the
kite like an aerial paddle wheel.
Strong and light motors are in the mar
ket and to be had easily.
Then, as the operator sits Inside with
splnnlng'propellers he can drive the kite
up and down the surface of the bay test
ing h8w to control ahd steer her.
Later, with ,the propeller going faster,
he-can. send the.klte. skimming along a
few yards above the surface and continue
the experiments at this small height above
the, water without danger to life.
GREAT SPEED NOT
'THE'INVENTOR'S pBJECT.
, Finally, by still further Increasing the
spetd'of the propellers, he can shoot up
ward and leisurely -proceed wherever he
may desire.
, Great speed Is not Doctor Bell's oblecr.
"'Ten- or fifteen miles an hour Is enough to
Doctor Bell has now reached the point
where the flying machine Is no longer
problematical.
It-Is simply a question of time necessary
to pottthlngs together, r
wtio CEILED mwnEDRSkKlTE'
'THE-msr BUILT.BYDQ.BEIL
(KXSSrSVvllBiB''aMililL'ilfl
IfKflKSBInM2alaa3HH
a
-
m im vim or oue or the wings -or '
victor rfflowm the cmwvcnai
Whether the first living machine earn
ing a man rs built by him at his labora
tory in Belnn Bhreagh 13 probably Imma
terial to him. but the chances are that If
some one else does rot build a oacccnful
machine within the next vear or two hs
will have a living machine of his own by
that time.
Sciijptor E.' C. Porter Held
" cipus. Animal tVith -Rope
' - ' iand1Iron fear.
Vi-
jWniTTEX -FOR THS SUNDAY JtEFUBXIC.
Edward. C. Pott?r,.ian animal sculptor,
hasa.-Iarge, country place In the fashion
able suburbs-of j Greenwich, Conn., where
he does his work "surrounded by animal
models,., both, wjld and tame.
-."Artists and sculptors have one great dlf
flcii1tyjr'in common securing suitable
models but MrPdtter has solved his dif
ficulty by an animal.,farm. There are
dogs, cats,. horses, cows, sheep, 'chickens,
ducks and pigeons." '
All" they do for a living is to pose in
helrj masters, studio w-eneverjie requires
their assistance. - , i w - .-
As.they'run aboutthe place they are a
constant inspiration. The latest addition
Is aiwildcat. ; ' ' -
He ''Is posing, with, af young cow.for a
group intended tortlecorate thejPalace
Arts.at,thetWorId'sFa!r..t-vi.' .- rt'
The 'wonderful lightness of this model ' It Is a group representing the death of a J, looked ia action.
long-horned rtccr. Wildcats have killed
It by Jumping at its throat and pulling It
down.
The beast Is on the ground, with its
head resting on Its fore lgs, which are
doubled up under it.
One cat stands triumphantly high up en
th'e hips of th; steer. lashing lt stubby
tail and looking fiercely ln front, as if
sighting -.n eremy.
The other Is standing on the ground b
rfd th rip.iiT animal's h(-ail. rp.idv to
spring anew. t
If Mr. Potter's Idea was to show that
courage, not .strength, was the ruling fea
ture in animal life he has done so, for the
wildcats are so small In tonoarison to
the great bulk of the steer that the marvel
of it is that the. cats could kill It.
In order to secure his model. Mr. Potter
made a tour of both New York zoos -and
that of Philadelphia, but all three places
refused to part with their -wildcats.
Finally, after a long chase, he discov
ered a cat In the17 possession of "Mr.
Bostock. and who agreed to sendrIt up to
Greenwich.
The sculptor had already made a pre
liminary 'sketch ofh!s group, but when he
compared hU 'plaster cats to the cat in
real life he found that he had overesti
mated the size.1
For two., months !m posed. Vsually. he
could be,ured as-he sat in his cage, espe
cially . when-he. posed forrhls head and
shoulders.' but,It was. sometimes necessary
to. nave.nim our, in-order to see how he
The method used to persuade Zlm tc
take the tand was unique..
Two ropes, an iron bar with a rins In
the end and a short-handled whip were
used. The two ropes were pasitd In j.
gentle slip knot around th cit's waist.
One was pulled through the ring en tna
end of the Iron 'bar. and made fast.
The other was used chiefly as an emer
gency rope In case the animal broke awa
from the Iron tar.
It was made fastto a ring on the .Tisr
near the mcdel stand.
The cat was lifted out of bla cJSeon lli"
end of the Iron bar and placed on the
stand.
Mr. Duir.ont. one of Mr. Potters a3si!
ants. held the Iron bar. and tha rcalpter
walking around the cat for his point of
view, went to work.
Zlm fought and bit and scratched, bjt
the Iron bar held him at a d'stwee an 1
hU wrath usually ended ln nothing but
subdued hlsse.
For many years Mr. Potter was asso
ciated with Mr. Daniel C. Fre-c'i ii
sculpture. Mc Potter naturally d'd the
horses for equestrian statuca and Mr.
French the rider.
Mr. Potters latest work, however. Is an
equestrian statue.
Jt represents De Soto, the expl6rer of th
Mississippi Valley. Ncget, the Arab horje,
posed for the hors-.
Both the animal and its rider arc the
work of Mr. Potter.
Tho equestrian statue of Grant. In Fair
mount Park. (Philadelphia. Is an example,
of the work of Messrs. Pottr and Freacb-'
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