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 CRACK
Series™

Logarithm and
its Applications
approach to learn logarithm
and its implementation in Mathematics

G. Tewani
 Logarithm
and
its Applications

G. Tewani

CENGAGE
3
Learning*
Andover • Melbourne • Mexico City • Stamford, CT • Toronto • Hong Kong • New Delhi • Seoul • Singapore • Tokyo
 CENGAGE
• Learning-
Logarithm and its © 2016 Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.
Applications
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright
G. Tewani herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by
any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to
photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution,
information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.

For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all
requests online at
www.cengage.com/permissions

Further permission questions can be emailed to

India, [email protected]

ISBN-13:978-81-315-3141-9
ISBN-10: 81-315-3141-4

Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.

418, F.I.E., Patparganj
Delhi 110092

Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized learning

solutions with office locations around the globe, including Andover,
Melbourne, Mexico City, Stamford (CT), Toronto, Hong Kong, New
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Ltd.

For product information, visit www.cengage.co.in

Printed in India
Reprint 2018
 Contents

1. Introduction to Logarithm 1-8

2. Laws Related to Logarithm 9-24
3. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 25-34
4. Logarithmic Equations 35-48
5. Logarithmic Inequalities 49-66
6. Using Logarithmic Table 67-76
Appendix 1: Logarithm and Antilogarithm Tables A.1-A.6

Appendix 2: Hints and Solutions . A.7-A.37

 3:

ft • r J .1 d*U' ■
 CHAPTER
Introduction to
1 Logarithm

Before we can deal with logarithms, we need to revise indices. This is because
logarithms and indices are closely related, and in order to understand logarithms, a
good knowledge of indices is required.
We know that 16 = 24
Here, the number 4 is the power. Sometimes we call it an exponent. Sometimes
we call it an index. In the expression 24, the number 2 is called the base.

Why Do We Study Logarithms?

In order to motivate our study of logarithms, consider the following:
We know that 16 = 24. We also know that 8 = 23
Suppose that we wanted to multiply 16 by 8. One way is to carry out the
multiplication directly using long-multiplication and obtain 128. But this could be
long and tedious if the numbers were larger than 8 and 16. Can we do this calculation
another way using the powers? Note that 16 x 8 can be written as 24 * 7?. This equals
27. Using the rules of indices which tell us to add the powers 4 and 3 to give the new
power 7, a multiplication sum has been reduced to an addition sum. Similarly, we can
divide 16 by 8. 16-^8 can be written 24^- 23. This equals 21 or simply 2. Using the
rules of indices which tell us to subtract the powers 4 and 3 to give the new power,
1. If we had a look-up table containing powers of 2, it would be straightforward to
look up 27 and obtain 27 = 128 as the result of finding 16x8. Note that by using the
powers, we have changed a multiplication problem into one involving addition (the
addition of the powers, 4 and 3). Historically, this observation led John Napier (1550-
1617) and Henry Briggs (1561-1630) to develop logarithms as a way of replacing
multiplication with addition, and also division with subtraction.

What is a Logarithm?
Consider the expression 16 = 24. Remember that 2 is the base, and 4 is the power.
An alternative, yet equivalent, way of writing this expression is log216 = 4. This is
stated as ‘log to base 2 of 16 equals 4’. We see that the logarithm is the same as the
2 Logarithm and its Applications

power or index in the original expression. It is the base in the original expression
which becomes the base of the logarithm. The two statements 16 = 24 and log2 16 = 4
are equivalent statements. If we write either of them, we are automatically implying
the other.
Thus logarithm is the inverse operation to exponentiation. The logarithm of a
number to a given base is the exponent to which the base must be raised in order to
produce that number.
For example, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3, because 10 to the power of 3
is 1000, i.e., 103 = 1000. We write log101000 = 3. Here ‘10’ is called the base of the
logarithm.
In general, if x = a” then equivalently n = log(Jx. Note in x = a" the restriction on
the base is that it is not ‘0’ or ‘ 1 ’ as 0" = 0 and 1" = 1 and hence are constant and won’t
have many of the same properties that general exponential relations have. Also, we
avoid negative numbers as base. For instance, if we allow value of base ‘-4’ then we
have (-4)" for which (-4)° 5 is a complex number. We only want real numbers to arise
from such power calculations, so we require that base is not a negative number. Also,
in x = a", n can take any real value, so log„x can also take any real value. Also, x = a"
> 0, so log^v is defined only ifx > 0.
Note: • Since a° = 1 and a' = a, where a is any positive real number, we have
log„l = 0 and logyr = I.
• a“ = (a"), so we have log„(a") = n

Example 1 Find the value of each of the following:

(i) log9 81 (ii) log^4
(ii) log 4 (iii) log2>/J1728
(iv) log(lan40o)(cot50o) (v)
(v) log, .250.4
log225 0.4 (vi) log(^+^j)(5 + 2>/6)
Sol. (i) log9 81 =x
81=9*
92 = 9*
x=2
(ii) 10gV24 =x
4 = (V2)*
22 = 2X/2
x/2 = 2
x=4
(iii) log27j 1728 = x
1728=

(2633) = (2>/3)X

.-. (2V3)6=(2^f
 Introduction to Logarithm 3

x=6
(iv) log,tan40”)(COt50°) = X
(tan 40°) = (cot50°)r
(cot 50°) = (cot50°)r
x= I
(v) x = 0.4 =0.4444444...
1 Ox = 4.4444444...
Subtracting, we get 9x = 4
x = 4/9
, 4
Now, log, 25 0.4 - log2.25g -
| = (2.25/

(2.25)-' = (2.25/
x = -l
(vi) log(72+7J)(5 + 2V6) = x

(5 + 2>/6) = (V2+>/3)1
(V2+^)2=(>/2+^r
x=2
Example 2 Find the value ofx in each of the following cases:
(i) log2x = 3 (ii) loggx = 2.5 (iii) logx81=4
(iv) 2*=7 (v) IO2*-'= 17
Sol. (i) log2x = 3
x = 23 = 8
(ii) log? x = 2.5
x = 92-5 = (32)2 5 = 35 = 243
(iii) logt81 =4
81 =x4
x=3
(iv) 2'= 7
x =log,7
(v) 10lr-' = 17
2x-l=logl017
2x = logio 17 + 1
x= i + iogiO 17
2
4 Logarithm and its Applications

Example3 Find the value of 32l°6’3.

Sol. 32log’3
_ 321oe,9l,!

=
=3
Example 4 Find the value of log5 log2log3log2 512.
Sol. log5 'og2 log3 log2(29)
= logs log2 logs 9
= logs logs logs 32
= logs logs 2
= logs 1
=0

Example 5 Find the value of log]/3 ^729.^9" l27-W

Sol. log,,3^729.^ i.27-4'3

= Iogl/3V729.^J
= logl/3#36-3-2

= >ogi/j3

2 1
Example 6 Prove that — < Iog10 3 < — .
2
Sol. Let log103> —
5
2
3>105

35 > 102, which is true

Now , , 1
]ogio3<-
t
3 < 102
32 < 10, which is true
2 , , . 1
Hence - < log10 3 < -
5 '2
Example 7. Arrange log25, log0.55, log75, log35 in increasing order.
Sol. log25 = exponent of 2 for which we get 5
 Introduction to Logarithm 5

log75 = exponent of 7 for which we get 5

Clearly log25 > log75
With similar reasons we have
log75< log35< Iog25< log0.55
Example 8. Prove that number log2 7 is an irrational number.
Sol. Let log27 is a rational number.
£
=> log-,7 = — => 7 = 2’
<7
=> 7’ = 1P which is not possible for any integral values of p and q.
Hence, log27 is not rational.
Example 9. Which of the following numbers are positive/negative?
(i) log27 (ii) logo,23 (iii) logi/jG/S)
(iv) log<3 (v) log2 (log2 9)
Sol. (i) Let log27 = x => 7 = 2X => x > 0
(ii) Let log0 23 =x => 3 = 0.2x => x < 0
(iii) Let log1/3(l/5) = x => 1/5 = (1/3/=> 5 = 3X =>x> 0
(iv) Let log43 = x=>3 = 4'=>x<0
(v) Let log2 (log2 9) = x => Iog2 9 = 2X =* 9 = 2,2'
2 => x > 0
Example 10. If loga 3 = 2 and logt 8 = 3, then prove that log,, b = log3 4.
Sol. Ifloga3 = 2
=> 3 = a2
Also, logA 8 = 3
6=2
loga6 = log^j 2 = x (let)

hat
4 = 3X
x = log3 4
Example 11. If log3y = x and log2 z = x, find 72x in terms ofy and z.
Sol. log3 y = x
y = 3X
log2z = x
z-Y
Now 72x = (2332/ = 23x32x = (2X)3(3X)2 = y3z2
Example 12. Solve forx : log« log3 log^x = 0
Sol. Iog4 log3 log2x = 0
log3 logjx = 1
log2X = 3
x = 23 = 8
6 Logarithm and its Applications

Example 13. If b > 1, sin / > 0, cos t > 0 and logft(sin t) = x then prove that
log6(cos /) = y log6(l -i2').
Sol. logjsin t = x => sin t = bx
Let log6(cos /) -y
=> bv = cos t
=> b2y = cos2/ = 1 - sin2/ = 1 - b2'
=> 2y = Iog*(l -b2x)

y
i log6(l -b2^

Examples ,f = 1 and log,;(logr(logpx)j = 0 then prove that/)

= ^ir.
10i»bp(>ob,(Ios,x)) _ (
Sol.

log,, (log, (log, x)) =0

=> log,(logA) = 1
=> logrr = q
=> x = F7 (I)
log<,(logr(logpx)) =(0

log/logjA) = 1
=> Iogpx = r
=> x=px (2)
From (1) and (2), F7 = pr
=> p = r»fr
Example 15 If logo x = b for permissible values of a and x then identify the
statement(s) which can be correct?
(a) If a and b are two irrational numbers then x can be rational.
(b) If a is rational and b is irrational then x can be rational.
(c) If a is irrational and b is rational then x can be rational.
(d) If a is rational and b is rational thenx can be rational.
Sol. (a, b, c, d)
log0 x = b => x = a6
■Ji 2 and 6 = Fl e Q;x= ^V2^
(a) for a = y/2 which is rational

(b) For a = 2 e Q and b = log23 <t Q\ x = 3 which is rational.

(c) For a = V2 and b = 2; x = 2
(d) It is obviously correct.
 Introduction to Logarithm 7

Exercise 1
1. Find the value of each of the following:
(i) log,o 0.001 (ii) log2(l/32) (iii) 'ogsjjO-1
<iv) 10g<5+2V6)(5-2^)

2. Find the value of.v in each of the following cases:

3
(i) lo8l-v= | (ii) log7Jx = 4 (iii) log24x = 5

3. Find the value of the following:

log2 32
(>) logi/4 (ii) ^(log054)2 (iii) log3 7243

4. Find the value of log3^tan-^^ + logcot(4jr/3)(3).

5. Find the value of log2 log2 log4 256 + 2 log^ 2 .

6. If log^j b = 3 , then find the value of b.

7. Find the value of log tan I ° log tan 2° .... log tan 89°.
8. Prove that log4 18 is an irrational number.
9. Which one of the following is the smallest?
(a) log,07r (b) 7logio*2
,3
(C)
i y (d)
(d)
i
■ogio^J login

10. Which of the following numbers are positive/negative?

0) l°g^V2 (ii) log,/7(2) (>ii) logi/3(l/S)
(iv) log3(4) (v) log7(2.11) (vi) log3(V7-2)

(vii) log4
72 + 1 ...... (2-73
(viii) log3
71-1 3
11. If log5.v = a and log2y = a, find 1002"-1 in terms of.v andy.
i
12. If logv log,8 (V2+ x/8) — then the value of x is
2

Exercise 2

1. Find the value of.v satisfying t „

8 Logarithm and its Applications

1 1 1
2. Find the value of log79 2^ '6 '6 6
2^3 2a/3 2^3
4V
3. Find the value of log2 (2^/9 - 2) (12^3 + 4 + 4^9 ).

1
4. If log) 5 = a and log5 6 = 6 then prove that log3 2 =
2ab — 1

5. If log2 (log2 (log3 x)) = log2 (log3 (log2 y)) = 0 then find the value of (x - y).
6. If log|755x = log3437x, then find the value of log42(x4 - 2X2 + 7).
Q
7. If log^4 = log6B
S = log9(zf
(y4 + B) then find the value of — .
' A
8. Find the value ofx satisfying the equation 1 O' + 10 = 4.
9. If log6 n = 2 and log„26 = 2, then find the value of b.

>Og2* log2 y log2 z

10. If and x3y2z = 1, then find the value of k.
4 6 3k
11. Let 5 be the set of ordered triples (x,y, z) of real numbers for which log|0(x + y)
= z and logiofx2 4-y2) = z + 1. Suppose there are real numbers a and b such that
for all ordered triples (x,y, z) in S we have x3 +y3 = a • 103z + b • 102z. Then find
the value of (a + 6).
 CHAPTER
Laws Related to
2 Logarithm

Law 1: For m, n > 0; logo = loga m + l°ga ”

Proof: Let logo m ~ x an^ n~y-
Then logo m=x=> a' = m and logout = y => cP = n
mn = a'. cP
=> mn = ar+y
=> logo(rnn) = x + y
=> log„(»in) = logo '« + iogo n
In general for positive rational numbers, xh x2,
10go(Xj X2 ... X„) = logo Xi + logo *2 + •■•+ logo X„

Law 2: For m, n > 0; loga = logo m-logo «

Proof: Let log0 m = x => a' = m and logo n = y => av = n.

m ax
= x-y
n a>’

i•Ogo I — \ogam — logan

Vn

Law 3: For m, n> 0 log„(m") = n. log,, m

Proof: Let logo m = x =$ a* = m.

(ax)"=<

a" - m

=> log„(m") = /ix

logo = n- l°ga
1 ,
Law 4: log\aP) n = — loga ri
P
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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and being, in fact, quiescent, the particles of water fall to the
bottom, while the pure steam remains at the top. This separator,
therefore, serves all the purposes of the steam-room above the
surface of the water in the large plate boilers. The dry steam is thus
collected and ready for the supply of the engine through the tube N,
while the water, which is disengaged from it, is collected at the
bottom of the separator, and is conducted through the tube T to the
lowest vessel D, to be again circulated through the boiler.
The pistons of the engine work on the axles of the hind wheels of
the carriage which bears the engine, by cranks, as in the
locomotives on the Manchester railway, so that the axle is kept in a
constant state of rotation while the engine is at work. The wheels
placed on this axle are not permanently fixed or keyed upon it, as in
the Manchester locomotives; but they are capable of turning upon it
in the same manner as ordinary carriage wheels. Immediately within
[Pg431] these wheels there are fixed upon the axles two projecting

spokes or levers, which revolve with the axle, and which take the
position of two opposite spokes of the wheel. These may be
occasionally attached to the wheel or detached from it; so that they
are capable of compelling the wheels to turn with the axle, or
leaving the axle free to turn independently of the wheel, or the
wheel independent of the axle, at the pleasure of the conductor. It is
by these levers that the engine is made to propel either or both of
the wheels. If both pairs of spokes are thrown into connexion with
the wheels, the crank shaft or axle will cause both wheels to turn
with it, and in that case the operation of the carriage is precisely the
same as those of the locomotives already described upon the
Liverpool and Manchester line; but this is rarely found to be
necessary, since the adhesion of one wheel with the road is
generally sufficient to propel the carriage, and consequently only
one pair of these fixed levers are used, and the carriage propelled by
only one of the two hind wheels. The fore wheels of the carriage
turn upon a pivot similar to those of a four-wheeled coach. The
position of these wheels is changed at pleasure by a pinion and
circular rack, which is moved by the conductor, and in this manner
the carriage is guided with precision and facility.
The force of traction necessary to propel a carriage upon common
roads must vary with the variable quality of the road, and
consequently the propelling power, or the pressure upon the pistons
of the engine, must be susceptible of a corresponding variation; but
a still greater variation becomes necessary from the undulations and
hills which are upon all ordinary roads. This necessary change in the
intensity of the impelling power is obtained by restraining the steam
in the boiler by the throttle-valve, as already described in the
locomotive engines on the railroad. This principle, however, is carried
much further in the present case. The steam in the boiler maybe at
a pressure of from 100 to 200 lbs. on the square inch; while the
steam on the working piston may not exceed 30 or 40 lbs. on the
inch. Thus an immense increase of power is always at the command
of the conductor; so that when a hill is encountered, or a rough
piece of road, [Pg432] he is enabled to lay on power sufficient to meet
the exigency of the occasion.
The two difficulties which have been always apprehended in the
practical working of steam-carriages upon common roads are, first,
the command of sufficient power for hills and rough pieces of road;
and, secondly, the apprehended insufficiency of the adhesion of the
wheels with the road to propel the carriage. The former of these
difficulties has been met by allowing steam of very great pressure to
be constantly maintained in the boiler with perfect safety. As to the
second, all experiments tend to show that there is no ground for the
supposition that the adhesion of the wheels is in any case
insufficient for the purposes of propulsion. Mr. Gurney states, that he
has succeeded in driving carriages thus propelled, up considerable
hills on the turnpike roads about London. He made a journey to
Barnet with only one wheel attached to the axle, which was found
sufficient to propel the carriage up all hills upon that road. The same
carriage, with only one propelling wheel, also went to Bath, and
surmounted all the hills between Cranford Bridge and Bath, going
and returning.
 A double stroke of the piston produces one revolution of the
propelling wheels, and causes the carriage to move through a space
equal to the circumference of those wheels. It will therefore be
obvious, that the greater the diameter of the wheels, the better
adapted the carriage is for speed; and, on the other hand, wheels of
smaller diameter are better adapted for power. In fact, the propelling
power of an engine on the wheels will be in the inverse proportion of
their diameter. In carriages designed to carry great weights at a
moderate speed, smaller wheels will be used; while in those
intended for the transport of passengers at considerable velocities,
wheels of at least 5 feet diameter are most advantageous.

(205.)

Among the numerous popular prejudices to which this new invention

has given rise, one of the most mischievous in its effects and most
glaring in its falsehood, is the notion that carriages thus propelled
are more injurious to roads than carriages drawn by horses. This
error has been successfully exposed in the evidence taken before the
committee of the [Pg433] House of Commons upon steam carriages. It
is there demonstrated, not only that carriages thus propelled do not
wear a turnpike road more rapidly than those drawn by horses, but
that, on the other hand, the wear by the feet of horses is far more
rapid and destructive than any which could be produced by the
wheels of carriages. Steam carriages admit of having the tires of the
wheels broad, so as to act upon the road more in the manner of
rollers, and thereby to give consistency and firmness to the material
of which the road is composed. The driving wheels being proved not
to slip upon the road, do not produce any effects more injurious
than the ordinary rolling wheels; consequently the wear occasioned
by a steam carriage upon a road, is not more than that produced by
a carriage drawn by horses, of an equivalent weight and the same or
equal tires; but the wear produced by the pounding and digging of
horses' feet in draught is many times greater than that produced by
the wear of any carriage. Those who still have doubts upon this
subject, if there be any such persons, will be fully satisfied by
referring to the evidence which accompanies the report of the
committee of the House of Commons, printed in October, 1831.
The weight of machinery necessary for steam carriages is
sometimes urged as an objection to their practical utility. Mr. Gurney
states, that, by successive improvements in the details of the
machinery, the weight of his carriages, without losing any of the
propelling power, may be reduced to 35 cwt., exclusive of the load,
and fuel and water: but thinks that it is possible to reduce the
weight still further.
A steam carriage constructed by Mr. Gurney, weighing 35 cwt.,
working for 8 hours, is found, according to his statement, to do the
work of about 30 horses. He calculates that the weight of his
propelling carriage, which would be capable of drawing 18 persons,
would be equal to the weight of 4 horses; and the carriage in which
these persons would be drawn would have the same weight as a
common stage coach capable of carrying the same number of
persons. Thus the weight of the whole—the propelling carriage and
the carriage for passengers taken together—would be the same
[Pg434] with the weight of a common stage coach, with 4 horses

inclusive.
There are two methods of applying locomotives upon common
roads to the transport of passengers or goods; the one is by causing
the locomotive to carry, and the other to draw the load; and
different projectors have adopted the one and the other method.
Each is attended with its advantages and disadvantages. If the same
carriage transport the engine and the load, the weight of the whole
will be less in proportion to the load carried; also a greater pressure
may be produced on the wheels by which the load is propelled. It is
also thought that a greater facility in turning and guiding the vehicle,
greater safety in descending the hills, and a saving in the original
cost, will be obtained. On the other hand, when the passengers are
placed in the same carriage with the engine, they are necessarily
more exposed to the noise of the machinery and to the heat of the
boiler and furnace. The danger of explosion is so slight, that,
perhaps, it scarcely deserves to be mentioned; but still the
apprehension of danger on the part of the passengers, even though
groundless, should not be disregarded. This apprehension will be
obviously removed or diminished by transferring the passengers into
a carriage separate from the engine; but the greatest advantage of
keeping the engine separate from the passengers is the facility
which it affords of changing one engine for another in case of
accident or derangement on the road, in the same manner as horses
are changed at the different stages: or, if such an accident occur in a
place where a new engine cannot be procured, the load of
passengers may be carried forward by horses, until it is brought to
some station where a locomotive may be obtained. There is also an
advantage arising from the circumstance, that when the engines are
under repair, or in process of cleaning, the carriages for passengers
are not necessarily idle. Thus the same number of carriages for
passengers will not be required when the engine is used to draw as
when it is used to carry.
In case of a very powerful engine being used to carry great loads,
it would be quite impracticable to place the engine [Pg435] and loads
on four wheels, the pressure being such as no turnpike road could
bear. In this case it would be indispensably necessary to place a part
of the load at least upon separate carriages to be drawn by the
engine.
In the comparison of carriages propelled by steam with carriages
drawn by horses, there is no respect in which the advantage of the
former is so apparent as the safety afforded to the passenger. Steam
power is under the most perfect control, and a carriage thus
propelled is capable of being guided with the most admirable
precision. It is also capable of being stopped almost suddenly,
whatever be its speed: it is capable of being turned within a space
considerably less than that which would be necessary for four-horse
coaches. In turning sharp corners, there is no danger, with the most
ordinary care on the part of the conductor. On the other hand, horse
power, as is well known, is under very imperfect control, especially
when horses are used adapted to that speed which at present is
generally considered necessary for the purposes of travelling. "The
danger of being run away with and overturned," says Mr. Farey, in
his evidence before the House of Commons, "is greatly diminished in
a steam coach. It is very difficult to control four such horses as can
draw a heavy stage coach ten miles an hour, in case they are
frightened or choose to run away; and, for such quick travelling,
they must be kept in that state of courage that they are always
inclined to run away, particularly down hill, and at sharp turns in the
road. Steam power has very little corresponding danger, being
perfectly controllable, and capable of having its power reversed, to
retard in going down hill. It must be carelessness that would
occasion the overturning of a steam carriage. The chance of
breaking down has been hitherto considerable, but it will not be
more than in stage coaches when the work is truly proportioned and
properly executed. The risk from explosion of the boiler is the only
new cause of danger, and that I consider not equivalent to the
danger from horses."
That the risk of accident from explosion is extremely slight, may
be proved by the fact that the railway between Liverpool and
Manchester has now been in operation for about ten [Pg436] years,
and that other railways more extensive in length have been worked
for a considerable time, and that no instance has ever yet occurred
of an accident to passengers from the explosion of a boiler. Generally
these machines, when they fail, are attended with no other effect
than the extinction of the fire, by the water of the boiler flowing in
upon it. I am not aware of more than one instance, in which a
serious accident has been produced by explosion; and in that
instance, the sufferers were only the engineer and stoker. In the
steam-engine of Mr. Gurney, the carriage is drawn after the engine,
as represented in fig. 117.
 Fig. 117.

Fig. 118.

(206.)

In the boiler to be used in the steam carriage projected by Mr.

Walter Hancock, the subdivision of the water is accomplished by
dividing a case or box by a number of [Pg437] thin plates of metal, like
a galvanic battery, the water being allowed to flow between every
alternate pair of plates, at E, fig. 118., and the intermediate spaces H
forming the flue through which the flame and hot air are propelled.
 In fact, a number of thin plates of water are exposed on both
sides to the most intense action of flame and heated air; so that
steam of a high pressure is produced in great abundance and with
considerable rapidity. The plates forming the boiler are bolted
together by strong iron ties, extending across the boiler, at right
angles to the plates, as represented in the figure. The distance
between the plates is two inches.
There are ten flat chambers of this kind for water, and
intermediately between them ten flues. Under the flues is the fire-
place, or grate, containing six square feet of fuel in vivid
combustion. The chambers are all filled to about two thirds of their
depth with water, and the other third is left for steam. The water
chambers, throughout the whole series, communicate with each
other both at top and bottom, and are held together by two large
bolts. By releasing these bolts, at any time, the chambers fall
asunder; and by screwing them up they may be all made tight again.
The water is supplied to the boiler by a forcing-pump, and the steam
issues from the centre of one of the flues at the top.
These boilers are constructed to bear a pressure of 400 or 500 lbs.
on the square inch; but the average pressure of the steam on the
safety valve is from 60 to 100. There are 100 square feet of surface
in contact with the water exposed to the fire. The stages which such
an engine performs are eight miles, at the end of which a fresh
supply of fuel and water are taken in. It requires about two bushels
of coke for each stage.
The steam carriage of Mr. Hancock differs from that of Mr. Gurney
in this—that in the former the passengers and engine are all placed
on the same carriage. The boiler is placed behind the carriage; and
there is an engine-house between the boiler and the passengers, the
latter being placed in the fore part of the vehicle; so that all the
machinery is behind them. The carriages are adapted to carry 14
1
[Pg438] passengers, and weigh, exclusive of their load, about 3 ⁄2

tons, the tires of the wheels being about 31⁄2 inches in breadth. Mr.
Hancock states, that the construction of his boiler is of such a
nature, that, even in the case of bursting, no danger is to be
apprehended, nor any other inconvenience than the stoppage of the
carriage. He states that, while travelling about nine miles an hour,
and working with a pressure of about 100 lbs. on the square inch,
loaded with thirteen passengers, the carriage was suddenly stopped.
At first the cause of the accident was not apparent; but, on opening
one of the cocks of the boiler, it was found that it contained neither
steam nor water. Further examination proved that the boiler had
burst. On unscrewing the bolts, it was found that there were several
large holes in the plates of the water-chamber, through which the
water had flowed on the fire, but neither noise nor explosion, nor
any dangerous consequences, ensued.

(207.)

Mr. Nathaniel Ogle of Southampton obtained a patent for a

locomotive carriage, and worked it for some time experimentally; but
as his operations do not appear to have been continued, I suppose
he was unsuccessful in fulfilling those conditions, without which the
machine could not be worked with economy and profit. In his
evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, he has thus
described his contrivance:—
"The base of the boiler and the summit are composed of cross
pieces, cylindrical within and square without; there are holes bored
through these cross pieces, and inserted through the whole is an air
tube. The inner hole of the lower surface, and the under hole of the
upper surface, are rather larger than the other ones. Round the air
tube is placed a small cylinder, the collar of which fits round the
larger aperture on the inner surface of the lower frame, and the
under surface of the upper frame-work. These are both drawn
together by screws from the top; these cross pieces are united by
connecting pieces, the whole strongly bolted together; so that we
obtain, in one tenth of the space, and with one tenth of the weight,
the same heating surface and power as is now obtained in other and
low-pressure boilers, with incalculably [Pg439] greater safety. Our
present experimental boiler contains 250 superficial feet of heating
surface in the space of 3 feet 8 inches high, 3 feet long, and 2 feet 4
inches broad, and weighs about 8 cwt. We supply the two cylinders
with steam, communicating by their pistons with a crank axle, to the
ends of which either one or both wheels are affixed as may be
required. One wheel is found to be sufficient, except under very
difficult circumstances, and when the elevation is about one foot in
six to impel the vehicle forward.
"The cylinders of which the boiler is composed are so small as to
bear a greater pressure than could be produced by the quantity of
fire beneath the boiler; and if any one of these cylinders should be
injured by violence, or any other way, it would become merely a
safety valve to the rest. We never, with the greatest pressure, burst,
rent, or injured our boiler; and it has not once required cleaning,
after having been in use twelve months."
Dr. Church of Birmingham has obtained a succession of patents for
contrivances connected with a locomotive engine for stone roads;
and a company, consisting of a considerable number of individuals,
possessing sufficient capital, has been formed in Birmingham, for
carrying into effect his designs, and working carriages on his
principle. The present boiler of Dr. Church is formed of copper. The
water is contained between two sheets of copper, united together by
copper nails, in a manner resembling the way in which the cloth
forming the top of a mattress or cushion is united with the cloth
which forms the bottom of it, except that the nails or pins, which
bind the sheets of copper, are much closer together. The water, in
fact, seems to be "quilted" or "padded" in between two sheets of
thin copper. This double sheet of copper is formed into an oblong
rectangular box, the interior of which is the fire-place and ash-pit,
and over the end of which is the steam-chest. The great extent of
surface exposed to the immediate action of the fire causes steam to
be produced with great rapidity.
Various other projects for the application of steam engines on
common roads were in a state of progressive improvement, [Pg440]
when the greater advantages attending railways were considered so
manifest, that considerable doubts were raised, whether, supposing
the problem of the application of the steam engine on common
roads to be successfully solved, it could ever be attended with the
same economy and effect, as by the adoption of a railway. Among
the projects which promised a successful issue, may be mentioned
the locomotive engines contrived by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, by
Colonel Maceroni, and by Mr. Scott Russell. These and others have,
however, been abandoned, mainly, we believe, from the impression,
that wherever traffic can exist, sufficiently extensive to render the
application of steam power profitable, a railway must always
supersede a common road; and that, even in the limited traffic to be
expected on branches to the great railways, horse power applied to
railways would be attended with more economy than steam power
applied on stone roads.
 CHAP. XIII.

STEAM NAVIGATION.
[Pg441]

TOC INX

FORM AND ARRANGEMENT OF MARINE ENGINES.—EFFECTS OF SEA WATER IN

BOILERS.—REMEDIES FOR THEM.—BLOWING OUT.—INDICATORS OF SALTNESS.—
SEAWARD'S INDICATOR.—HIS METHOD OF BLOWING OUT.—FIELD'S BRINE PUMPS.
—TUBULAR CONDENSERS APPLIED BY MR. WATT.—HALL'S CONDENSERS.—COPPER
BOILERS.—PROCESS OF STOKING.—MARINE BOILERS.—MEANS OF ECONOMISING
FUEL.—COATING MARINE BOILERS WITH FELT.—NUMBER AND ARRANGEMENT OF
FURNACES AND FLUES.—HOWARD'S ENGINE.—APPLICATION OF THE EXPANSIVE
PRINCIPLE IN MARINE ENGINES.—RECENT IMPROVEMENTS OF MESSRS.
MAUDSLAY AND FIELD.—HUMPHRYS' ENGINE.—COMMON PADDLE-WHEEL.—
FEATHERING PADDLES.—MORGAN'S WHEELS.—THE SPLIT PADDLE.—PROPORTION
OF POWER TO TONNAGE.—IMPROVED EFFICIENCY OF MARINE ENGINES.—IRON
STEAM-VESSELS.—STEAM-NAVIGATION TO INDIA.

(208.)

Among the many ways in which the steam-engine has ministered to

the advancement of civilisation and the social progress of the human
race, there is none more [Pg442] important or more interesting than its
application to navigation. Before it lent its giant powers to the
propulsion of ships, locomotion over the waters of the deep was
attended with so much danger and uncertainty that, as a common
proverb, it became the type and the representative of every thing
which was precarious and perilous. The application, however, of
steam to navigation has rescued the mariner and the voyager from
many of the dangers of wind and water; and even in its present
state, putting out of view its probable improvement, it has rendered
all voyages of moderate length as safe, and very nearly as regular,
as journeys over-land. As a means of transport by sea, the
application of this power may be considered as established; and it is
now receiving improvements by which its extension to the longest
class of ocean voyages is a question not of practicability, but merely
of profit.
The manner in which the steam-engine is rendered an instrument
for the propulsion of vessels must in its general features be so
familiar to every one as to require but short explanation. A shaft is
carried across the vessel, being continued on either side beyond the
timbers: to the extremities of this shaft, on the outside of the vessel,
are fixed a pair of wheels constructed like undershot water-wheels,
having attached to their rims a number of flat boards called paddle-
boards. As the wheels revolve, these paddle-boards strike the water,
driving it in a direction contrary to that in which it is intended the
vessel should be propelled. The moving force imparted to the water
thus driven backwards is necessarily accompanied by a re-action
upon the vessel through the medium of the paddle-shaft, by which
the vessel is propelled forwards. On the paddle-shaft two cranks are
constructed, similar to the cranks already described on the axle of
the driving wheels of a locomotive engine. These cranks are placed
at right angles to each other, so that when either is in its highest or
lowest position the other shall be horizontal. They are driven by two
steam-engines, which are placed in the hull of the vessel below the
paddle-shaft. In the earlier steam-boats a single steam-engine was
used, and in that case the unequal action of the engine on the crank
was equalised by a fly-wheel. This, however, has been long [Pg443]
since abandoned in European vessels, and the use of two engines is
now almost universal. By the relative position of the cranks it will be
seen, that when either crank is at its dead points, the other will be in
the positions most favourable to its action, and in all intermediate
positions the relative efficiency of the cranks will be such as to
render their combined action very nearly uniform.
The steam-engines used to impel vessels may be either
condensing engines, similar to those of Watt, and such as are used
in manufactures generally, or they may be non-condensing and high-
pressure engines, similar in principle to those used on railways. Low-
pressure condensing engines are, however, universally used for
marine purposes in Europe and to some extent in the United States.
In the latter country, however, high-pressure engines are also in
pretty general use, on rivers where lightness is a matter of
importance.
The arrangement of the parts of a marine engine differs in some
respects from that of a land engine. The limitation of space, which is
unavoidable in a vessel, renders greater compactness necessary. The
paddle-shaft on which the cranks to be driven by the engine are
constructed being very little below the deck of the vessel, the beam
and connecting rod could not be placed in the position in which they
usually are in land engines, without carrying the machinery to a
considerable elevation above the deck. This is done in the steam-
boat engines used on the American rivers; but it would be
inadmissible in steam-boats in general, and more especially in sea-
going steamers. The connecting rods, therefore, instead of being
presented downwards towards the cranks which they drive, must, in
steam-vessels, be presented upwards, and the impelling force
received from below. If, under these circumstances, the beam were
in the usual position above the cylinder and piston-rod, it must
necessarily be placed between the engine and the paddle-shaft. This
would require a depth for the machinery which would be
incompatible with the magnitude of the vessel. The beam, therefore,
of marine engines, instead of being above the cylinder and piston, is
placed below them. To the top of the [Pg445] piston-rods cross pieces
are attached of greater length than the diameter of the cylinders, so
that their extremities shall project beyond the cylinders. To the ends
of these cross pieces are attached by joints the rods of a parallel
motion: these rods are carried downwards, and are connected with
the ends of two beams below the cylinder, and placed on either side
of it. The opposite ends of these beams are connected by another
cross piece, to which is attached a connecting rod, which is
continued upwards to the crank-pin, to which it is attached, and
which it drives. Thus the beam, parallel motion, and connecting rod
of a marine engine, is similar to that of a land engine, only that it is
turned upside down; and in consequence of the impossibility of
placing the beam directly over the piston-rod, two beams and two
systems of parallel motion are provided, one on each side of the
engine, acted upon by, and acting on the piston-rod and crank by
cross pieces.
The proportion of the cylinders differs from that usually observed
in land engines, for like reasons. The length of the cylinder of land
engines is generally greater than its diameter, in the proportion of
about two to one. The cylinders of marine engines are, however,
commonly constructed with a diameter very little less than their
length. In proportion, therefore, to their power their stroke is
shorter, which infers a corresponding shortness of crank and a
greater limitation of play of all the moving parts in the vertical
direction. The valves and the gearing by which they are worked, the
air-pump, the condenser, and other parts of the marine engines, do
not materially differ from those already described in land engines.

Fig. 119.
larger

These arrangements of a marine engine will be more clearly

understood by reference to fig. 119.[35], in which is represented a
longitudinal section of a marine engine with its boiler as placed in a
steam-vessel. The sleepers of oak, supporting the engine, are
represented at X, the base of the engine being secured to these by
bolts passing through them [Pg446] and the bottom timbers of the
vessel; S is the steam-pipe leading from the steam-chest in the
boiler to the slides c, by which it is admitted to the top and bottom
of the cylinder. The condenser is represented at B, and the air-pump
at E. The hot well is seen at F, from which the feed is taken for the
boiler; L is the piston-rod connected by the parallel motion a with the
beam H, working on a centre K, near the base of the engine. The
other end of the beam I drives the connecting rod M, which extends
upwards to the crank which it works upon the paddle-shaft O. Q R is
the framing by which the engine is supported. The beam here
exhibited is shown on dotted lines as being on the further side of the
engine. A similar beam similarly placed, and moving on the same
axis, must be understood to be at this side connected with the cross
head of the piston in like manner by a parallel motion, and with a
cross piece attached to the lower end of the connecting rod and to
the opposite beam. The eccentric which works the slides is placed
upon the paddle shaft O, and the connecting arm which drives the
slides may be easily detached when the engine requires to be
stopped. The section of the boiler, grate, and flues, is represented at
W U. The safety-valve y is enclosed beneath a pipe carried up beside
the chimney, and is inaccessible to the engine-man; h are the cocks
for blowing the salted water from the boiler; and I I the feed-pipe.
The general arrangement of the engine-room of a steam-vessel is
represented in fig. 120.
The nature of the effect required to be produced by marine
engines does not render either necessary or possible that great
regularity of action which is indispensable in a steam-engine applied
to the purposes of manufacture. The agitation of the surface of the
sea will cause the immersion of the paddle-wheels to be subject to
great variation, and the resistance produced by the water to the
engine will undergo a corresponding change. The governor,
therefore, and other parts of the apparatus, contrived for giving to
the engine that great regularity required in manufactures, are
omitted in nautical engines, and nothing is introduced save what is
[Pg447] necessary to maintain the machine in its full working efficiency.

Fig. 120.

To save space, marine boilers are constructed so as to produce the

necessary quantity of steam within the smallest possible dimensions.
With this view a more extensive surface in proportion to the capacity
of the boiler is exposed to the action of the fire. The flues, by which
the flame and heated air are conducted to the chimney, are so
constructed that the heat may act upon the water on every side in
thin oblong shells or plates. This is accomplished by constructing the
flues so as to traverse the boiler backwards and forwards several
times before they terminate [Pg448] in the chimney. Such an
arrangement renders the expense of the boilers greater, but their
steam-producing power is proportionally augmented, and
 experiments made by Mr. Watt, at
Birmingham, have proved that such
boilers with the same consumption
of fuel will produce, as compared
with common land boilers, an
increased evaporation in the
proportion of about three to two.
The form and arrangement of the
water-spaces and flues in marine
boilers may be collected from the
sections of the boilers used in some
of the government steamers,
exhibited in figs. 121, 122, 123. A
section made by a horizontal plane
Fig. 121. passing through the flues is exhibited
in fig. 121. The furnaces F
communicate in pairs with the flues E,
the air following the course through
the flues represented by the arrows.
The flue E passes to the back of the
boiler, then returns to the front, then
to the back again, and is finally
carried back to the front, where it
communicates at C with the curved
flue B, represented in the transverse
vertical section, fig. 122. This curved
Fig. 122. flue B finally terminates in the
chimney A. There are in this case
three independent boilers, each worked by two furnaces
communicating with the same system of flues; and in the curved
flues B, fig. 122., by which the air is finally conducted through the
chimney, are placed three independent [Pg449] dampers, by means of
which the furnace of each boiler can be regulated independently of
the other, and by which each boiler may be separately detached
from communication with the chimney. The letters of reference in
 the horizontal section, fig.
121., correspond with those in
the transverse vertical section,
fig. 122., E representing the
commencement of the flues,
and C their termination.

Fig. 123.

Fig. 124.

A longitudinal section of the boiler made by a vertical plane

extending from the front to the back is given in fig. 123., where F, as
before, is the furnace, G the grate-bars sloping downwards from the
front to the back, H the fire-bridge, C the commencement of the
flues, and A the chimney. An elevation of the front of the boiler is
represented in fig. 124., showing two of the fire-doors closed, and
the other two removed, displaying the position of the grate-bars in
front. Small openings are also provided, closed by proper doors, by
which access can be had to the under side of the flues between the
foundation timbers of the engine for the purpose of cleaning them.
Each of these boilers can be worked independently of the others.
By this means, when at sea, the engine may be worked by any two
of the three boilers, while the third is being cleaned and put in order.
In all sea-going steamers multiple boilers are at present provided for
this purpose.
In the boilers here represented the flues are all upon the same
level, winding backwards and forwards without passing one above
the other. In other boilers, however, the flues, [Pg450] after passing
backwards and forwards near the bottom of the boiler, turn upwards
and pass backwards and forwards through a level of the water
nearer its surface, finally terminating in the chimney. More heating
surface is thus obtained with the same capacity of boiler.
The most formidable difficulty which has been encountered in the
application of the steam-engine to sea-voyages has arisen from the
necessity of supplying the boiler with sea-water instead of pure fresh
water. The sea-water is injected into the condenser for the purpose
of condensing the steam, and it is thence, mixed with the condensed
steam, conducted as feeding water into the boiler.

(209.)

Sea-water holds, as is well known, certain alkaline substances in

solution, the principal of which is muriate of soda, or common salt.
Ten thousand grains of pure sea-water contain two hundred and
twenty grains of common salt, the remaining ingredients being
thirty-three grains of sulphate of soda, forty-two grains of muriate of
magnesia, and eight grains of muriate of lime. The heat which
converts pure water into steam does not at the same time evaporate
those salts which the water holds in solution. As a consequence it
follows, that as the evaporation in the boiler is continued, the salt,
which was held in solution by the water which has been evaporated,
remains in the boiler, and enters into solution with the water
remaining in it. The quantity of salt contained in sea-water being
considerably less than that which water is capable of holding in
solution, the process of evaporation for some time is attended with
no other effect than to render the water in the boiler a stronger
solution of salt. If, however, this process be continued, the quantity
of salt retained in the boiler having constantly an increasing
proportion to the quantity of water, it must at length render the
water in the boiler a saturated solution—that is, a solution containing
as much salt as at the actual temperature it is capable of holding in
solution. If, therefore, the evaporation be continued beyond this
point, the salt disengaged from the water evaporated instead of
entering into solution with the water remaining in the boiler will be
precipitated in the form of sediment; and if the process be continued
in the [Pg451] same manner, the boiler would at length become a mere
salt-pan.
But besides the deposition of salt sediment in a loose form, some
of the constituents of sea-water having an attraction for the iron of
the boiler, collect upon it in a scale or crust in the same manner as
earthy matters held in solution by spring-water are observed to form
and become incrusted on the inner surface of land-boilers and of
common culinary vessels.
The coating of the inner surface of a boiler by incrustation and the
collection of salt sediment in its lower parts, are attended with
effects highly injurious to the materials of the boiler. The crust and
sediment thus formed within the boiler are almost non-conductors of
heat, and placed, as they are, between the water contained in the
boiler and the metallic plates which form it, they obstruct the
passage of heat from the outer surface of the plates in contact with
the fire to the water. The heat, therefore, accumulating in the boiler-
plates so as to give them a much higher temperature than the water
within the boiler, has the effect of softening them, and by the
unequal temperature which will thus be imparted to the lower plates
which are incrusted, compared with the higher parts which may not
be so, an unequal expansion is produced, by which the joints and
seams of the boiler are loosened and opened, and leaks produced.
These injurious effects can only be prevented by either of two
methods; first, by so regulating the feed of the boiler that the water
it contains shall not be suffered to reach the point of saturation, but
shall be so limited in its degree of saltness that no injurious
incrustation or deposit shall be formed; secondly, by the adoption of
some method by which the boiler may be worked with fresh water.
This end can only be attained by condensing the steam by a jet of
fresh water, and working the boiler continually by the same water,
since a supply of fresh water sufficient for a boiler worked in the
ordinary way could never be commanded at sea.

(210.)

The method by which the saltness of the water in the boiler is most
commonly prevented from exceeding a certain [Pg452] limit has been
to discharge from the boiler into the sea a certain quantity of over-
salted water, and to supply its place by sea-water introduced into the
condenser through the injection-cock for the purpose of condensing
the steam, this water being mixed with the steam so condensed, and
being, therefore, a weaker solution of salt than common sea-water.
To effect this, cocks called blow-off cocks, are usually placed in the
lower parts of the boiler, where the over-salted, and therefore
heavier, parts of the water collect. The pressure of the steam and
incumbent weight of the water in the boiler force the lower strata of
water out through these cocks; and this process, called blowing out,
is, or ought to be, practised at such intervals as will prevent the
water from becoming over salted. When the salted water has been
blown out in this manner, the level of the water in the boiler is
restored by a feed of corresponding quantity.
This process of blowing out, on the due and regular observance of
which the preservation and efficiency of the boiler mainly depend, is
too often left at the discretion of the engineer, who is, in most cases,
not even supplied with the proper means of ascertaining the extent
to which the process should be carried. It is commonly required that
the engineer should blow out a certain portion of the water in the
boiler every two hours, restoring the level by a feed of equivalent
amount; but it is evident that the sufficiency of the process founded
on such a rule must mainly depend on the supposition that the
evaporation proceeds always at the same rate, which is far from
being the case with marine boilers. An indicator, by which the
saltness of the water in the boiler would always be exhibited, ought
to be provided, and the process of blowing out should be regulated
by the indications of that instrument. To blow out more frequently
than is necessary is attended with a waste of fuel; for hot water is
thus discharged into the sea while cold water is introduced in its
place, and consequently all the heat necessary to produce the
difference of the temperatures of the water blown out and the feed
introduced is lost. If, on the other hand, the process of blowing out
be observed less frequently than is necessary, then more or less
incrustation and deposit [Pg453] may be produced, and the injurious
effects already described ensue.
As the specific gravity of water holding salt in solution is increased
with every increase of the strength of the solution, any form of
hydrometer capable of exhibiting a visible indication of the specific
gravity of the water contained in the boiler would serve the purpose
of an indicator, to show when the process of blowing out is
necessary, and when it has been carried to a sufficient extent. The
application of such instruments, however, would be attended with
some practical difficulties in the case of sea-boilers.
The temperature at which a solution of salt boils under a given
pressure varies considerably with the strength of the solution; the
more concentrated the solution is, the higher will be its boiling
temperature under the same pressure. A comparison, therefore, of a
steam-gauge attached to the boiler, and a thermometer immersed in
it, showing the pressure and the temperature, would always indicate
the saltness of the water; and it would not be difficult so to graduate
these instruments as to make them at once show the degree of
saltness.
If the application of the thermometer be considered to be
attended with practical difficulty, the difference of pressures under
which the salt water of the boiler and fresh water of the same
temperature boil, might be taken as an indication of the saltness of
the water in the boiler, and it would not be difficult to construct upon
this principle a self-registering instrument, which would not only
indicate but record from hour to hour the degree of saltness of the
water. A small vessel of distilled water being immersed in the water
of the boiler would always have the temperature of that water, and
the steam produced from it communicating with a steam-gauge, the
pressure of such steam would be indicated by that gauge, while the
pressure of the steam in the boiler under which pressure the salted
water boils might be indicated by another gauge. The difference of
the pressures indicated by the two gauges would thus become a test
by which the saltness of the water in the boiler would be measured.
The two pressures might be made to act on opposite ends of the
same column of [Pg454] mercury contained in a siphon tube, and the
difference of the levels of the two surfaces of the mercury would
thus become a measure of the saltness of the water in the boiler. A
self-registering instrument founded on this principle formed part of
the self-registering steam-log which I proposed to introduce into
steam-vessels some time since.

(211.)

The Messrs. Seaward of Limehouse have adopted, in some of their

recently constructed engines, a method of indicating the saltness of
the water, and of measuring the quantity of salted water or brine
discharged, by blowing out. A glass-gauge, similar in form to that
already described in land engines (156.), is provided to indicate the
position of the surface of the water in the boiler. In this gauge two
hydrometer balls are provided, the weight of which in proportion to
their magnitude is such that they would both sink to the bottom in a
solution of salt of the same strength as common sea-water. When
the quantity of salt exceeds 5⁄32 parts of the whole weight of the
water, the lighter of the two balls will float to the top; and when the
strength is further increased until the proportion of salt exceeds 6⁄32
parts of the whole, then the heavier ball will float to the top. The
actual quantity of salt held in solution by sea-water in its ordinary
state is 1⁄32 part of its whole weight; and when by evaporation the
proportion of salt in solution has become 9⁄32 parts of the whole,
then a deposition of salt commences. With an indicator such as that
above described, the ascent of the lighter hydrometer ball gives
notice of the necessity for blowing out, and the ascent of the heavier
may be considered as indicating the approach of an injurious state
of saltness in the boiler.

Fig. 125.

The ordinary method of blowing out the salted water from a boiler
is by a pipe having a cock in it leading from the boiler through the
bottom of the ship, or at a point low down at its side. Whenever the
engineer considers that the water in the boiler has become so salted
that the process of blowing out should commence, he opens the
cock communicating by this pipe with the sea, and suffers an
indefinite and uncertain quantity of water to escape. In this way he
discharges, according to the magnitude of the boiler, from two to six
tons [Pg455] of water, and repeats this at intervals of from two to four
hours, as he may consider to be sufficient. If, by observing this
process, he prevents the boiler from getting incrusted during the
voyage, he considers his duty to be effectually discharged, forgetting
that he may have blown out many times more water than is
necessary for the preservation of the boiler, and thereby produced a
corresponding and unnecessary waste of fuel. In order to limit the
quantity of water discharged, Messrs. Seaward have adopted the
following method. In fig. 125. is represented a transverse section of
a part of a steam-vessel; W is the water-line of the boiler, B is the
mouth of a blow-off pipe, placed near the bottom of the boiler. This
pipe rises to A, and turning in the horizontal direction, A C is
conducted to a tank T, which contains exactly a ton of water. This
pipe communicates with the tank by a cock D, governed by a lever H.
When this lever is moved to D′, the cock D is open, and when it is
moved to K, the cock D is closed. From the same tank there
proceeds another pipe E, which issues from the side of the [Pg456]
vessel into the sea governed by a cock F, which is likewise put in
connection with the lever H, so that it shall be opened when the
lever H is drawn to the position F′, the cock D′ being closed in all
positions of the lever between K and F′. Thus, whenever the cock F
communicating with the sea is open, the cock D communicating with
the boiler is closed, and vice versâ, both cocks being closed when
the lever is in the intermediate position K. By this arrangement the
boiler cannot, by any neglect in blowing off, be left in communication
with the sea, nor can more than a ton of water be discharged except
by the immediate act of the engineer. The injurious consequences
are thus prevented which sometimes ensue when the blow-off cocks
are left open by any neglect on the part of the engineer. When it is
necessary to blow off, the engineer moves the lever H, to the
position D′. The pressure of the steam in the boiler on the surface of
the water W forces the salted water or brine up the pipe B A, and
through the open cock C into the tank, and this continues until the
tank is filled: when that takes place, the lever is moved from the
position D′ to the position F′, by which the cock D is closed, and the
cock F opened. The water in the tank flows through the pipe E into
the sea, air being admitted through the valve V, placed at the top of
the tank, opening inwards. A second ton of brine is discharged by
moving the lever back to the position D′, and subsequently returning
it to the position F′; and in this way the brine is discharged ton by
ton, until the supply of water from the feed which replaces it has
caused both the balls in the indicator to sink to the bottom.

(212.)

A different method of preserving the requisite freshness of the water

in the boiler has been adopted by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, and
introduced with success into the Great Western and other steam-
vessels. Pumps called brine-pumps are put into communication with
the lower part of the boiler, and so constructed as to draw the brine
therefrom, and drive it into the sea. These brine-pumps are worked
by the engine, and their operation is constant. The feed-pumps are
likewise worked by the engine, and they bear such a proportion to
the brine-pumps that the quantity of salt discharged in a given time
in the brine is equal to the quantity of salt [Pg457] introduced in
solution by the water of the feed-pumps. By this means the same
actual quantity of salt is constantly maintained in the boiler, and
consequently the strength of the solution remains invariable. If the
brine discharged by the brine-pumps contains 5⁄32 parts of salt while
the water introduced by the feed-pumps contains only 1⁄32 part,
then it is evident that five cubic feet of the feeding water will contain
no more salt than is contained in one cubic foot of brine. Under such
circumstances the brine-pumps would be so constructed as to
discharge 1⁄5 of the water introduced by the feed-pumps, so that 4⁄5
of all the water introduced into the boiler would be evaporated, and
rendered available for working the engine.
To save the heat of the brine, a method has been adopted in the
marine engines constructed by Messrs. Maudslay and Field similar to
one which has been long practised in steam-boilers, and in various
apparatus for the warming of buildings. The current of heated brine
is conducted from the boiler through a tube which is contained in
another, through which the feed is introduced. The warm current of
brine, therefore, as it passes out, imparts a considerable portion of
its heat to the cold feed which comes in; and it is found that by this
expedient the brine discharged into the sea may be reduced to a
temperature of about 100°.
This expedient is so effectual that when the apparatus is properly
constructed, and kept in a state of efficiency, it may be regarded as
nearly a perfect preventive against the incrustation, and the
deposition of salt in the boilers, and is not attended with any
considerable waste of fuel.

(213.)

About the year 1776, Mr. Watt invented a tubular condenser, with a
view to condense the steam drawn off from the cylinder without the
process of injection. This apparatus consisted of a number of small
tubes connecting the top and bottom of the condenser, arranged in a
manner not very different from that of the tubes which traverse the
boiler of a locomotive engine. These tubes were continually
surrounded by cold water, and the steam, as it escaped from the
cylinder passing through them, was condensed by their cold
surfaces, and collected in the form of water in a reservoir below,
from [Pg458] whence it was drawn off by a pump in the same manner
as in engines which condensed by injection. One of the advantages
proposed by this expedient was, that no atmospheric air would be
introduced into the condenser, as is always the case when
condensation by injection is practised. Cold water, which is injected,
has always combined with it more or less common air. When this
water is mixed with the condensed steam, the elevation of its
temperature disengages the air combined with it, and this air
circulating to the cylinder, vitiates the vacuum. One of the purposes
for which the air-pump in condensing steam-engines was provided,
and from which it took its name, was to draw off this air. If, however,
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