Stories of Inventors - The Adventures of Inventors and Engineers by Russell Doubleday
page 64 of 140 (45%)
page 64 of 140 (45%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
plain steel or copper pipes convey the steam to the whirling blades of
the enclosed turbine wheels, but enormous power has been generated and marvellous speed gained. In the modern turbine a glowing coal fire, kept intensely hot by an artificial draft, has taken the place of the blazing sticks; the coils of steel tubes carrying the boiling water surrounded by flame replace the bronze-figure boiler, and the whirling, tightly jacketed turbine wheels, that use every ounce of pressure and save all the steam, to be condensed to water and used over again, have grown out of the crude machine invented by Branca. As the engines of the _Arrow_ are but perfected copies of the engine that drove the _Clermont_, so the power of the _Turbina_ is derived from steam-motors that work on the same principle as the engine built by Branca in 1629, and his steam-turbine following the same old, old, ages old idea of the moss-covered, splashing, tireless water-wheel. THE LIFE-SAVERS AND THEIR APPARATUS Forming the outside boundary of Great South Bay, Long Island, a long row of sand-dunes faces the ocean. In summer groups of laughing bathers splash in the gentle surf at the foot of the low sand-hills, while the sun shines benignly over all. The irregular points of vessels' sails notch the horizon as they are swept along by the gentle summer breezes. Old Ocean is in a playful mood, and even children sport in his waters. After the last summer visitor has gone, and the little craft that sail |
|