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George Iles. Inventors at Work, with Chapters on Discovery
Inventors at Work, with Chapters on Discovery
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER II. FORM
Strength and Rigidity
Plank and Joist
Girders
The Rail
Dudley’s Track Indicator
CHAPTER III. FORM—Continued. BRIDGES
Roofs and Bridges Much Alike
Palladio’s Long Neglected Truss
The Burr Bridge Simplified by Howe and Pratt
Advantages of the Cantilever, Arch, and Bowstring Designs
Suspension Bridges and Continuous Girders
Best Proportions for Spans: A Slight Upward Curve is Gainful. Pins or Rivets in Fastening
CHAPTER IV. FORM—Continued. WEIGHT AND FRICTION DIMINISHED
Hollow Columns and Tubes
Arches
Circles and Other Curves
Wheels
Angles Replaced by Curves
CHAPTER V. FORM—Continued. SHIPS
Forms of Ships Adapted to Special Resistances
Experimental Basins
A Viking Ship a Thousand Years Old
Clipper Ships and Modern Steamers
Judgment in Ship Design
CHAPTER VI. FORM—Continued. SHAPES TO LESSEN RESISTANCE TO MOTION
Projectiles and Vehicles of Like Pattern
Gearing: Conveyors
Propellers
Turbines
CHAPTER VII. FORM—Continued. LIGHT ECONOMIZED BY RIGHTLY SHAPED GLASS. HEAT SAVED BY WELL DESIGNED CONVEYORS AND RADIATORS
A Shrewd Observer Improves Windows
Delight and Gain as We Watch a Fish in Water
Total Reflection in Artificial Lighting: Holophane Globes
Total Reflection in Binocular Glasses
Lenses Still Much Used
The Production of Optical Surfaces
Bi-focal Spectacles
Economy of Heat
CHAPTER VIII. FORM—Continued. TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS SHAPED FOR EFFICIENCY
Tools and Implements
Annular Drills
Twist Drills
Lathe and Planer Tools
Machine Tools: Lathes
Emery and Carborundum Wheels
Form in Plastic Arts
Pressing and Stamping
Old and New Means of Conferring Form
Use Creates Beauty
Convenience in the Use of Machines
Resources Rich or Meagre as Affecting Invention
CHAPTER IX. FORM—Continued. FORM IN ABORIGINAL ART, AS AFFECTED BY MATERIALS. OLD FORMS PERSIST IN NEW MATERIALS
Aboriginal Art
Idiom of Material
Old Forms Repeated in New Materials
CHAPTER X. SIZE
Cinders Big and Little
Earth Sculpture
Breaking Earth for Removal or Tilth
Work of the Winds
Dimensions in Ignition
Dust Common and Uncommon
Inflammable Dust
Dimensions in Woven Fabrics
The Dimensions of Models
Why Big Ships are Best
Bigness Needs Strong Materials
A Store Continues the Lesson
Summer Holiday Notes
Dimensions Molecular
Reservoirs of Energy
Repulsion by Sound and Light
A Law as a Binding Thread
CHAPTER XI. PROPERTIES
Food
Weapons and Tools
Properties Modified
Properties in Clothing
Cotton Strengthened and Beautified
Properties in Building Materials
Flame and Electricity as Modifiers
The Bamboo Rich in Utilities
Materials for Basketry
Aluminium and Its Uses
Properties at First Unwelcome are Turned to Account
Evil, Be Thou My Good
Compensating Devices
Properties Long Deemed Useless are Now Gainful
Separation Turns on Diversity of Properties
Properties Newly Discovered and Produced
Edison’s Warehouse as an Aid
CHAPTER XII. PROPERTIES—Continued
Light Giving Properties
How the Gas Mantle was Invented
Improvements in Electric Lighting: Incandescent Lamps
New Arc Lamps
Hewitt Mercury-Vapor Lamp
CHAPTER XIII. PROPERTIES—Continued. STEEL
Steels for Strength
The Open Hearth Process
The Gayley Dry-Blast Process
Steels to Order
Heat Treatment
Tempering and Annealing
Steel for Railroad Rails
Invar: A Steel Invariable in Dimensions Whether Warmed or Cooled
Manganese Steel
High-Speed Tool Steels
Alloys for Electro-Magnets
Magnetic Alloys of Non-Magnetic Ingredients
Anti-Friction Alloys
Influence of Minute Admixtures
BOOKS ON IRON AND STEEL
CHAPTER XIV. PROPERTIES—Continued
Jena Glass
Power Presses in Metal Working
Non-Conductors of Heat
Norwegian Cooking Box
Aladdin oven
Matter Impressed by Its History
Magnetization
The Crystal Foreshadows the Plant
During Long Periods Minute Influences Become Telling
CHAPTER XV. PROPERTIES—Continued. RADIO-ACTIVITY
Solids are not as Solid as They Seem
Every Property May be Universal
Radium Reveals Properties Unknown Till Now
History of the Universe Rewritten in the Light of Radio-Activity
Faraday’s Prophetic Views
CHAPTER XVI. MEASUREMENT
Foot and Cubit
The Metric System
Uses of Refined Measurement
Further Refinements Needed
Precise Measurement as a Means of Discovery
Measurements Refined: the Interferometer
Application to Weighing
A Light-Wave as an Unvarying Unit of Length
CHAPTER XVII. MEASUREMENT—Continued
The Balance in Measurement
Measurement of Time
Time-Pieces Improved
The Best Clocks in the World
Ascertaining the Force of Gravity
Heat Measured
The Measurement of Light
The Sky as a Field for Measurement
Electricity Measured
Weston Instruments
The Bureau of Standards at Washington
Refined Measurement Improves Machinery
Interchangeability Old and New
A Test Shows How Concrete May be Cheaply Strengthened
Industrial Uses of Measurement
Expert Planning and Reform
CHAPTER XVIII. NATURE AS TEACHER
Forces Take the Easiest Paths
Cities and Roads
Engineering Principles in Vegetation
The Gain of Responsiveness
Scope for Imitation
Strength of the Cylinder
The Heart and the Built-up Gun
The Eye and the Dollond Lenses
Limbs and Lungs as Prototypes
Postal and Telephonic Service
Fibrils of the Ear and Eye
The Electric Eel
A Beaver Tooth and the Self-Sharpening Plow
Shaping a Tube
Lessons from Lower Animals: A Tool-Using Wasp
The Separating Task of the Lungs
Flight
Light
Converting Heat Into Work
Foresight Instead of Hindsight
CHAPTER XIX. ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Knowledge Necessary
Much is Still to be Discovered
Planning an Inquiry
The Debt to Research in Medicine
Research in Physics and Chemistry
The Example of Germany
Mr. Carnegie’s Aid to Original Research
CHAPTER XX. OBSERVATION
Think Birds and You Shall See Birds
The Mississippi Jetties of James B. Eads
Observation Suggests an Experiment
Instrumental Aids to Observation
Two Observers of the Skies
The Eye of a Naturalist
The Value of Collections
Accidental Observation
Perforated Sails for Ships
Observations Must be Remembered and Compared: The Value of a New Eye
Any Observation May Have Value
Folk Observation Foreruns Science
A Lesson from a Bank-Swallow
CHAPTER XXI. EXPERIMENT
Early Talent in Construction
Newton as a Boy—A Tireless Constructor
Watt as an Inquiring Boy
Astonishing Precocity of Ericsson
Rowland’s Early Experiments
The Passion for Experiment
The Chief Impulse in Discovery
Aid from Picturing Power
Eyes and Hands Inform the Brain
Manual Training
How the Phonograph was Born
The Latest Phonograph
Telephone Messages Recorded for Repetition at Will: The Telegraphone
The Gray Telautograph
Machines Cannot Directly Imitate Hands: A Task Must be “Coded.”
Sewing Coded in a Machine
Obed Hussey and His Mower
New Modes of Attack
Linotype and Its Use of Wedges
Ingenuity in Copying and Decorating
Frost as a Servant
Polarized Light and X-Rays
CHAPTER XXII. AUTOMATICITY AND INITIATION
Steam Engines
Self-winding Clocks
Looms and Presses
The Dexter Feeding Mechanism
Self-Acting Appliances in Metallurgy
Directive Paths
The Pianola
Automatic Telephones
Chemical Triggers
Why Weather is Uncertain
CHAPTER XXIII. SIMPLIFICATION
Simplicity of Build Desirable
Simplification Has Limits
Directness
Contrivances Which Pay a Double Debt
Ascertaining Solid Contents
Measuring Refraction
Omission of Needless Elements
Printers Abandon Useless Work
Electricity Used as Produced
Short Cuts in Engineering
Painting by Immersion
Churning the Air in a Telescopic Tube
Loose Cards Replace Books
Unit Systems
Numbering as a Fine Art
Classifying Books
An Advance in Scientific Signaling
CHAPTER XXIV. THEORIES HOW REACHED AND USED
Theories as Finder Thoughts
Modern Views of Matter
Elasticity Explained
Guesses and Proof
The Knitting Faculty
The Detection of Likeness Beneath Diversity
The Part Played by Imagination
Theories Must be Verified
A Word for Discursiveness
CHAPTER XXV. THEORIZING—Continued
Analogy as a Guide
Rules that Work Both Ways
Turbines Reversed
Hydraulic Pressure as a Counterbalance
Engine and Pump
Fans
Electrical Reciprocity
Ovens and Safes
Cube Root Easily Found
From Effect to Cause
Profit in Contraries
Judgment in Theorizing: Rules Have Limits
Do Not Pay More than 100 Cents for a Dollar
Judgment Moves to New Fields
CHAPTER XXVI. NEWTON, FARADAY AND BELL AT WORK
How Newton Discovered the Law of Gravitation
Michael Faraday’s Method of Working
Faraday’s Orderliness and Imagination
How Light Becomes a Bearer of Speech
The Cardinal Discovery
The Telephone Brought in
Variations of Light Necessary
Special Treatment of the Selenium
A Perfected Transmitter
Experiments Without a Telephone
CHAPTER XXVII. BESSEMER, CREATOR OF CHEAP STEEL. NOBEL, INVENTOR OF NEW EXPLOSIVES
Bessemer’s Early Achievements
Bessemer’s Steel Process
Bessemer’s Versatility
Improves the Drying of Oils
Alfred Nobel and His Explosives
Nobel Profits by an Accident
Nobel Invents Smokeless Powder
Nobel, Bodily Weak, was Strong in Mind and Will
Invention Organized
Great Combinations Create New Opportunities
Team-Work in Research and Invention
Group Attack
CHAPTER XXVIII. COMPRESSED AIR
Compressed Air. In Effect Cold Steam for Driving Hammers, Drills, and Picks
Air-Lifts
Liquids Lifted by Expanding Air
A Jack-of-All-Trades
Removing Dust and Dirt
Sand-blast
Air Compressors
A Centralized Air Plant
Westinghouse Air Brakes and Signals
CHAPTER XXIX. CONCRETE AND ITS REINFORCEMENT
Concrete Reinforced by a Backbone of Steel. Joseph Monier, the Pioneer
Disposal of Steel in Reinforced Concrete
Molds for Reinforced Concrete
Buildings of Reinforced Concrete
Resistance to Fire and Rust
Tanks, Standpipes, Reservoirs
New York Subway
Bridges
CHAPTER XXX. MOTIVE POWERS PRODUCED WITH NEW ECONOMY
Steam Engines
Mechanical Draft
Automatic Stoking
Boilers
Superheaters
Improved Condensers
Steam Turbines
The Parsons Steam Turbine
Marine Steam Turbines
CHAPTER XXXI. MOTIVE POWERS PRODUCED WITH NEW ECONOMY—Continued. HEATING SERVICES
Gas-Power
Producer Gas
A Gas Producer
Mond Gas
Blast Furnace Gases
Gas Engines
Steam and Gas Engines Compared
Oil Engines
Gasoline Engines
Alcohol Engines
Steam and Gas Motors United
Heating and Power Production United
Heating and Ventilating by Fans
District Steam Heating
Isolated Plants
Gas for Heat, Light and Power
Electric Traction
CHAPTER XXXII. A FEW SOCIAL ASPECTS OF INVENTION
The Drift to Cities
The Factory System and Checks Thereto
Handicrafts Revived
Tendencies Against Centralization
New Domestic Architecture
Electricity at Home
Suggested Exhibits
NOTE ON THE LITERATURE OF INVENTION AND DISCOVERY
INDEX
