β Scribed by F.G. Vaughen
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
THERE is an old saying that "history repeats itself," and although this may not be literally true I think we will all agree that it is necessary to study the past in order to obtain a clear vision of the future . This is true whether we are considering the future of a nation, a man, or a meter ; we must look into the past to determine what the future has in store .
The system of supplying various commodities automatically on the deposit of a coin is by no means a modern one, but may be traced to a period anterior to the Christian era . One author states that its invention may be attributed to Hero of Alexandria, a Greek mathematician and physicist, who is supposed to have lived in the first or second century B .C ., and in whose " Pneumatics " is described a sacrificial vessel containing holy water which flowed only when money was introduced .
This vessel was placed near the entrance of some of the old Egyptian temples to enable the worshipper as he entered to sprinkle himself with holy water. Its operation was as follows :
When. the coin was dropped through a slot it fell on one end of a horizontal beam which, on being depressed, opened a valve suspended from a chain at the other end and the lustral water commenced to flow through a pipe . When the beam had been depressed to a certain angle the coin fell off and the valve, which was counterweighted, again descended and closed the outlet so that the discharge ceased .
The mechanism of this ancient vessel was very similar to a modern automatic machine patented by Mr . Lewis G. Noble, of Boston, Mass., in 1889, which will for a penny dole out a small quantity of liquid perfumery .
It is rumored that even centuries before " Hero " the prepayment system was introduced by priests in the eastern temples to *Presented at the meeting of the Electrical Section, held Thursday, February 2 . 191 i .
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
THE AMERICAN ELECTRIC METER. BY W,xt. DENNIS ~IARKS. The mechanism of this meter is so elementary in character that the accompanying illustration of a twenty-two-light meter requires but little explanation. The meter consists in the three-wire system of two solenoids and cores placed above a Marks'
In most electricity systems the residential sector is one of the main contributors to the system peak. This makes it important to know how different residential end uses, such as space heating or cooking, contribute to the system load curve at the time of system peak and also at other times of the d
## Abstract We use an implicit alternating direction numerical procedure to estimate the value of a fixedβrate mortgage (FRM) with embedded default and prepayment options. The value of FRMs depends on interest rates, the house value, and mortgage maturity. Our numerical results suggest that the joi