Magic tricks -- Juvenile literature; Scientific recreations -- Juvenile literature
TO BREAK A STONE WITH A BLOW OF THE FIST.
Select two stones from three to six inches long, and about half as
thick; lay one flat on the ground, on which place one end of the other,
raising the reverse end to an angle of forty-five degrees, and just
over the centre of the stone (with which it must form a T,) supporting
it in that position by a piece of thin twig or stick, one, or one and
a half inch long; if the raised stone be now smartly struck about the
centre, with the little finger side of the fist, the stick will give
way, and the stone will be broken to pieces: the stones must be laid so
as not to slip, otherwise the experiment will fail.
MIMIC FROST-WORK.
Fasten a sprig of fresh rosemary, or any similar shrub, to the inside
of a small bandbox, near the top; heat a thick tile, and sprinkle it
with gum benzoic, and immediately place the bandbox over it, when the
acid will be sublimed by the heat, and will condense in a white vapour
upon the green plant, giving it the appearance of being covered with
hoarfrost.
TO MELT LEAD IN A PIECE OF PAPER.
Wrap up a very smooth ball of lead in a piece of paper, taking care
that there be no wrinkles in it, and that it be everywhere in contact
with the ball; if it be held in this state, over the flame of a taper,
the lead will be melted without the paper being burnt. The lead,
indeed, when once fused, will not fail in a short time to pierce the
paper, and run through.
HYDROSTATIC BALANCE.
Provide a pair of scales, in one of which place a tumbler filled with
water, and poise it by placing weights in the opposite scale; then hold
in the tumbler a block of wood, or any substance nearly the size of
the tumbler, but so that it shall not touch the sides or bottom; when,
although nearly the whole of the water will have to run over the sides,
and only a spoonful may remain, the scales will continue balanced; and
all this without regard to the weight of the body you plunge into the
water, taking care to hold it entirely clear of the tumbler, so that it
touch it nowhere; for the effect will be the same if what you plunge in
be scooped hollow and made water-tight. A bladder blown up, tied fast,
and held down in the water, so as to leave only a spoonful of water
surrounding it, will keep the scales balanced just as well as a block
of lead of the same size.
METALLIC REDUCTION.
Mix a little red lead with some powdered charcoal, and with the mixture
fill the bowl of a tobacco-pipe; set it over a common fire, and in
about twenty minutes the lead will be found reduced to its metallic
state.
SIMPLE ELECTRICITY.
ELECTRICAL ATTRACTION AND REPULSION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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