Various

“ Architecture, then, from the point of view from which I am asking you to regard it—and the only point of view in which it is worth the serious regard of thoughtful people—is the art of erecting expressive and beautiful buildings. I say expressive and beautiful, and I put expressive first, because it is the characteristic which we can at least realize even when we cannot realize what can fairly be called beauty, and it is the characteristic which comes first in the order of things. A building may be expressive and thereby have interest, without rising into beauty ”

“ All building, when it gets beyond the mere wall with which we began, is really a method of covering in a space, or, if we may put it so, a collection of spaces, marked out and arranged for certain purposes. The first thing that the architect has to do is to arrange these spaces on the ground so that they may conveniently meet the necessary requirements of the building. Convenience and practical usefulness come first; but in any building which is worth the name of architecture something more than mere convenience has to be kept in mind, even in the arrangement of the plan upon the site. ”

“ Great harm has been done chemistry, and probably every other branch of knowledge, by unwarranted speculation, and every one who has looked into the matter knows how extremely difficult it is to emancipate one's self from the influence of a plausible hypothesis, even when it can be shown that it is not in accordance with the facts. It behooves every one, therefore, before accepting a new hypothesis, no matter how fascinating it may appear at first sight, to look carefully into the facts, and to endeavor to determine independently whether it is well founded or not. ”

“ But in a more restricted sense of the word expression, a building may express very definitely its main constructive facts, its plan and arrangement, to a certain extent even its purpose, so far at least that we may be able to identify the class of structure to which it belongs. It not only may, but it ought to do this, unless the architecture is to be a mere ornamental screen for concealing the prosaic facts of the structure. There is a good deal of architecture in the world which is in fact of this kind—an ornamental screen unconnected with the constructional arrangement of the building. ”

“ So also we can never look at Greek architecture without seeing in it the reflection of a nature refined, precise, and critical; loving grace and finish, but content to live with the graces and the muses without any aspirations that spurned this earth. We can hardly go further than this in attributing emotional expression to architecture. ”

“ And what do we mean by expression in a building? That brings us to the very pith of the matter.
We know pretty well what we mean when we say that a painted or sculptured figure is expressive. We mean that, while correctly representing the structure of the human figure, it also conveys to our minds a distinct idea of a special emotion or sentiment, such as human beings are capable of feeling and expressing by looks and actions. ”

“ For instance, the regular rhythm, or succession of accentuated points in equal times, which plays so important a part in musical form, is discernible in architecture as a rhythm in space. We may treat a cottage type of design, no doubt, with a playful irregularity, especially if this follows and is suggested by an irregularity, of plan. But in architecture on a grand scale, whether it be in a Greek colonnade or a Gothic arcade, we cannot tolerate irregularity of spacing except where some constructive necessity affords an obvious and higher reason for it. ”

“ In fact, however, the good or bad taste of an architectural design, say, if you like, its correctness or incorrectness, is to a considerable extent a matter of logical reasoning, of which you must accurately know the premises before you can form a just conclusion. But there is another reason for this prevalent uncertainty and vagueness of opinion, arising out of the very nature of architectural art itself, as compared with the imitative arts. A painting of a figure on a landscape is primarily a direct imitation of the physical facts of nature. ”

“ Now this dependence of architectural design upon plan and construction is one of the conditions which is often overlooked by amateurs in forming a judgment upon architectural design; and the overlooking of this is one reason of the uncertainty of opinion about architecture as compared with such arts as sculpture and painting. Few people know or care much about the structure and planning of buildings except those whose business it is to care about this; and consequently they do not realize what it is which they should look for in the architectural design. ”

“ But on the whole, architecture on that principle becomes uninteresting. You very soon tire of it. It is a mask rather than a countenance, and tends to the production of a dull uniformity of conventional design.
For we must remember that architecture, although a form of artistic expression, is not, like painting and sculpture, unfettered by practical considerations. It is an art inextricably bound up with structural conditions and practical requirements. A building is erected first for convenience and shelter ”

“ Lowe perfected his first incandescent burner great progress has been made in this line of invention, and it is no wonder that the attention of the whole gas fraternity of the country has been drawn to the subject of cheap fuel water gas, which is so admirably adapted to all purposes of heat, light, and power.
While there is no doubt that light can be more cheaply produced by incandescence obtained by the use of fuel water gas than by any other means, still a large amount of electric lighting will continue to hold its position, and the electric system will gain ground for many uses. ”

“ It is from this blessed faculty that a design becomes inspired with what is best described as "character." It is not the same thing as style. I have something to say in my next lecture as to what I think style means, but it is certain that a building may have style and yet want character, and it may have a good deal of character and yet be faulty or contradictory in style. ”

“ If it be possible to ignore these considerations in the manufacture of guns of small caliber, and where the thickness of metal is not sufficiently great to admit of strongly developed internal stresses, such is by no means the case with the colossal and costly weapons of the present day. In these the thickness of metal in the tube and hoops is very great; hence the extreme probability of very considerable internal stresses developing themselves. That the strength of large guns is often far below that anticipated is demonstrated, year by year, by the repeated cases of failure. ”

“ With such exceptions, therefore, a building ought to express in its external design its internal planning and arrangement; in other words, the architectural design should arise out of the plan and disposition of the interior, or be carried on concurrently with it, not designed as a separate problem. Then a design is dependent on structural conditions also, and if these are not observed, the building does not stand, and hence it is obvious that the architectural design must express these structural conditions. ”

“ If in a sirup the molecules of sugar are brought sufficiently near to each other through concentration—the removal of the dissolving liquid—these molecules attract each other so strongly as to overcome the separating power of the solvent, and they unite to form crystals. Sugar is much more soluble at high than at low temperatures, the heat acting in this as in almost all cases as a repulsive force among the molecules. It is therefore necessary to maintain a high vacuum in order to boil at a low temperature, in boiling to grain. ”

“ This confusion as to scale is a weakness inherent in the classical forms of columnar architecture, in which the scale of all the parts is always in the same proportion to each other and to the total size of the building so that a large Doric temple is in most respects only a small one magnified. In Gothic architecture the scale is the human figure, and a larger building is treated, not by magnifying its parts, but by multiplying them. ”

“ The thinnest paper serves to keep the air quiet. A newspaper laid on a bed acts much as a coverlid to keep a film or layer of air quiet, and thus less heat escapes from the bodies of the sleepers. If paper is pasted up over the cracks of a house, or of a barn or stable, or under the joists of a house floor, it has just the same effect. Every person who keeps animals will find it a wonderful and paying protection to them, to put against the walls one, two, three, or more layers of newspapers during cold weather. ”

“ The study of natural internal stresses is of importance, not only with reference to gun making, but also in respect of other structures where great resistance is required. All have heard of the sudden failure of crank shafts and piston rods, of the bursting of boiler shells and tubes, of the breaking of tires, etc. In the majority of cases the investigations into the causes of such sudden failures have not led to any definite results. It has usually been found that the metal possessed a satisfactory elastic resistance, and satisfied all the conditions set down in the specifications. ”

“ As far as the hypothesis under consideration is concerned, the writer is firmly of the opinion that it is likely to prove of great value in dealing with a large number of chemical facts, and that, as it suggests many lines of research, it will undoubtedly in the course of a few years exert a profound influence on chemistry. Whether the evidence which will be accumulated will or will not confirm the view that the tetrahedron form is characteristic of the simplest molecules of carbon compounds is not the most important question to be asked under the circumstances. ”

“ Determination of the Influence of Internal Stresses on the Strength of Materials.—We call internal stresses those which exist within the mass of any hollow cylinder or other body, when it appears to be in a state of repose, or not under the influence of external forces. When pressure is applied to a hollow cylinder, either externally or internally, the interior layers into which its walls may be conceived to be divided are subjected to a new series of stresses, the magnitude of which is independent of those already existing. ”

“ An able architect, who had given much thought to a plan of a large building of this kind, said to me, in showing me his plan, with a justifiable gratification in it, "It has cost me endless trouble, but it is a satisfaction to feel that you have got a plan with backbone in it." That is a very good expression of what is required in planning a complicated building, but few outsiders have any notion of the amount of thought and contrivance which goes to the production of a plan "with backbone;" ”

“ In debatable climates, like Ohio, Illinois, Kansas and southward, it is conceded that a great point would be gained by the discovery of some plan—not too expensive—that would make it safe to put away potatoes in the summer, as soon as ripe, so that they would go through the winter without sprouting and preserve their eating qualities till potatoes come again. As it is, digging must be deferred till late, for fear of rot; the fields of early varieties grow up with weeds after they are "laid by." ”

“ Simple as it is, and presenting only mechanical problems, the cutting, cleaning, and evaporating apparatus is likely to be the source of more delays and perplexities in the operation of the sugar factory than any other part.
The diffusion battery in good hands works perfectly; the clarification of the juice causes no delays; the concentration to the condition of semi-sirup may be readily, rapidly, and surely effected in apparatus which has been brought to great perfection by long experience, and in many forms; the work at the strike pan requires only to be placed in the hands of an expert ”

“ The stresses which arise in a hollow cylinder when it is formed of several layers forced on one upon another, with a definite amount of shrinkage, we call the stress of built-up cylinders, in order to distinguish them from natural stresses developed in homogeneous masses, and which vary in character according to the conditions of treatment which the metal has undergone. ”

“ The action of a magnetic pole diminishes so rapidly with the increase of distance that it may suffice to remove the armature to a distance relatively small compared with its own dimensions, or with those of the magnet, in order to reduce the action to a negligible value. But if the magnet, N S, and the armature, A, being at a certain distance, we bring between them a piece of iron or nickel, d, then the magnetic force upon A is immediately and very considerably increased. ”

“ The theorist draws our attention to those points in the building which correspond with his geometry, and leaves on one side those which do not. Now it may certainly be assumed that any builders intending to lay out a building on the basis of a geometrical figure would have done so with precise exactitude, and that they would have selected the most obviously important points of the plan or section for the geometrical spacing. In illustration of this point, I have given (Fig. 25) a skeleton diagram of a Roman arch, supposed to be set out on a geometrical figure. ”

“ As in the political history of the world an epoch like that of the French revolution stands out like a mountain peak, so in the history of science an epoch occurs rather by evolution than revolution, when a hitherto chaotic, heterogeneous mass of knowledge is rapidly given shape and systematized. ”

“ Here the designer may indulge his fancy as he pleases, as far as the nature of the design is concerned, but not, if you please, as far as its position and distribution are concerned. There the logic of architecture still pursues us.
We may not place ornament anywhere at haphazard on a building simply because it looks pretty. At least, to do so is to throw away great part of its value. For everything in architectural design is relative ”

“ The non-metallic elements, with the exception of chlorine, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, combine directly with it, evolving in most cases both light and heat. It combines with hydrogen, even in the dark, without the addition of any external energy, and converts most metals into their fluorides. Gold and platinum are not attacked in the cold, but when gently heated are easily corroded. Mercury readily dissolves the gas, forming the protochloride; iron wire also completely absorbs the gas, while powdered antimony and lead take fire in it. ”

“ In attempting to employ the thermo-magnetic properties of iron or nickel in the construction of machines for the generation of electricity upon an industrial scale, we are met with the difficulty that the heating and cooling of large masses of metal not only involves great loss of heat, but also requires much time. ”

“ We learn from it that whereas in the steam engine, on account of the limited range of temperature in the working cylinder and the rapid conduction of steam during condensation, no combination of cylinders can materially affect its present efficiency, internally fired engines, such as gas and caloric engines—being, as it were, less fettered—can have their already high efficiency increased by simply overcoming mechanical difficulties. ”