Montraville M. Wood

              1920

Figure


Figure

Montraville M. Wood
Redpath



Professor Montraville M. Wood—Scientist
In Demonstration Lectures on the Gyroscope, Monorail Car, and Ultra-Violet Ray

(Assisted by his daughter, Miss Allene M. Wood)

To all lyceum and chautauqua committees who have been looking for something strikingly new and absorbingly entertaining in a scientific lecture, the announcement that Professor Montraville M. Wood of Chicago is to be booked in a trans-continental tour by the Redpath Lyceum Bureau will be of decided interest.  The very subjects of Mr. Wood's demonstrations, namely the gyroscope, the monorail car, and the ultraviolet ray, at once suggest the newness of this program.  It is probable that not one in a thousand of the patrons of the lyceum courses thruout this country have ever witnessed any one of these important demonstrations.


Prof. Wood carrying the mail at Chicago, with Mr. Beach, in a new National machine.



Plainly Visible in All Parts of an Auditorium
Also, the subjects demonstrated are of such a nature that the demonstrations can be plainly seen from all parts of a large auditorium.  Too often scientific subjects will not lend themselves to a demonstration which can be seen far from the platform.  On another page of this circular will be found the description of the actual program, showing how the monorail car is sent out into the auditorium in mid-air, how the gyroscope wrestling match takes place, and the hand-writing on the wall from the violet ray.



Widely Known in the Scientific World
Prof. Wood is already well known to scientists and inventors thruout this country.  In fact, he is one of America's foremost inventors, especially in the electrical field.

The patents which have been awarded to him, number nearly one hundred, the majority of which are in practical use today.

Every time you turn on your electric light with the familiar two-button snap switch, you can think of Mr. Wood as the inventor.  Mr. Wood's researches in the electrical field date back to 1878.


Prof. Wood in an Airship at San Antonio, Texas.





Important Work on the Pacific Coast
In 1889 he was appointed district engineer of the Edison Company for the Pacific Coast, and in 1890 was in charge of the Engineering Department of the North Pacific Exposition in Portland, Oregon, where the honor of opening the exposition was bestowed upon his young daughter, Miss Allene M. Wood.



Solves an Important Problem
While Mr. Wood, in 1904, was perfecting the process of welding copper at the great works of the General Electric Company, at Schenectady, N. Y., he became interested in the gyroscopic actions of large moving bodies developed in the steam turbines built by this company.

Knowing that many had failed in harnessing this enormous force, did not prevent him from carrying on his experiments; and

Miss Allene M. Wood
 now Mr. Wood practically has solved the problem of controlling the processional movements of the gyroscope.

His discovery consisted of adding the floating gimble to the regular frame of the old style gyroscope, making it possible to cause the gyroscope to change its plane of rotation automatically.

The application of the gyroscope to aeroplanes is thoroughly demonstrated by Mr. Wood.  Also he prophesies that in 1920 we will be traveling thru space from mountain top to mountain top along a single slender strand in the monorail car.  Prof. Wood is a good talker and entertainer as well as a scientist.


Photo made in San Antonio, Texas, showing Capt. Beck and Prof. Wood in the government aeroplane with Wood's gyroscope, just returning from a flight


Prof. Wood was appointed an aerial postmaster in Chicago more than a year ago and it will be noted from one of the accompanying photographs that he is carrying the mail in an airship.  His gyroscope, which has helped make this aerial carrying of the mail a possibility, is shown in one of the photographs in correct position.



Mail Carried by Airships
Mr. Wood believes that there is no question, but that mail

15–4193




RLB

REDPATH LYCEUM BUREAU

BOSTON.  NEW YORK.  COLUMBUS, OHIO.
CHICAGO.  BIRMINGHAM.  KANSAS CITY.
CEDAR RAPIDS.  FARGO, N. D., DENVER.
LINCOLN.  DALLAS.  SEATTLE.  SAN FRANCISCO
REDPATH-BROCKWAY BUREAU—PITTSBURGH.





Montraville Wood in an Aeroplane with Gyroscope in Position



Prof. Wood Being Sworn in as Aerial Postmaster






The Stage as it Appears During one of Prof. Wood's Demonstrations with the Ultra-Violet Ray


The demonstration in progress on the above platform is of the ultra-Violet Ray.  The gyroscope and the monorial car used by prof. Wood during his evening's program are also visible, however.  Prof. Wood, as will be seen from this photograph, carries a large amount of baggage.

In his demonstration of the ultra-violet ray, Prof. Wood, by means of this powerful light, writes upon the wall in letters of fire which remain for twenty minutes thereafter before the eyes of the audience.  Were the wall sufficiently sensitized beforehand, this handwriting would remain visible for two hours.  In this performance the ray of light is used as a crayon—a most wonderful as well as novel exhibition.

The ultra-violet ray has been used in Copenhagen for the cure of cancer for sometime.  It is only recently, however, that Prof. Wood has made it possible to exhibit this wonderful ray of light so that the general public may see its peculiar effects.  Do you really know whether you are color-blind or not?  The ultra-violet ray will settle this question once for all.

Large discs coated with radio-active materials change their color before the eyes of the audience when subjected to this wonderful ray.  Certain flowers which contain radio-active materials, are also made to change their color.  The little brown-eyed daisy, for example, changes to a beautiful purple flower under this peculiar light.

Another feature of Prof. Wood's program will consist of the running of the monorail car from the platform thru the air above an aisle out into the auditorium.  This car keeps its balance by means of the gyroscope.  Prof. Wood even goes so far as to swing this car from side to side while it is running on the cable.  It is absolutely impossible to upset the car while in motion.

Another important feature of the program is the wrestling gyroscope.  A gyroscope measuring 24 inches in diameter and weighing 28 pounds is capable of throwing a 200-pound man if he persists in trying to handle it.  The gyroscope is set in motion and placed upon the floor standing on edge.  Any strong man in the audience is invited to come to the platform and try to tip it over on its side but is never able to do so.  The result is best illustrated by the series of photographs on an accompanying page of this circular.

The demonstration of this feature of the program is not only educational and intensely interesting, but causes much laughter and merriment as well.  The discussion of it is presented by Prof. Wood in a very popular way, so that everyone may understand it.

Inasmuch as the gyroscope has a great deal to do with aerial navigation and other forms of transportation of the future, this program is dealing with things entirely practical.  It also helps an audience to understand some of the problems of aerial navigation.



Taking Hold of the Gyroscope



He Really Thinks He Haslt


A WRESTLING MATCH WITH THE GYROSCOPE IN FOUR ACTS
Weight 24 pounds — 3000 Revolutions a Minute


Even Now He Does Not Want to Give Up



The Gyroscope Wins






The German Attache from Washington after having tried to push the gyroscope over by main force is now, under Prof. Wood's direction, coaxing it to lie down by the touch of the finger


will be carried over certain routes very extensively in the future and that these routes will be established as soon as sufficient safety appliances are installed in aeroplanes.  This will also help relieve the situation which now confronts the postoffice departments, that of crowding the mails with parcel post packages.



Model of the Panama Canal
At the Panama Canal celebration in San Francisco in 1915 a complete model of the canal, 2000 feet long, is to be built.  Three boats are to ply the waters of this canal and automatically open and close the gates and fill and empty the locks.  The boats will be 20 feet long.  Mr. Wood did the engineering and took out all the patents on this model covering the automatic working of same.



Daughter to Accompany Him
Miss Allene M. Wood, Prof. Wood's only daughter, who has been his co-worker and assistant for several years, will accompany him and assist him in his forthcoming trans-continental tour.  Miss Wood is a graduate of a well-known musical college of Chicago and is otherwise talented, but there is nothing in which she so much delights as scientific work.  The marvelous work that she performs with the ultra-violet ray has given her the name of Tamer of Electricity. Father and daughter handle this ultra-violet ray as they would the ordinary electric light, but for a novice to attempt it might mean certain death.

The ultra-violet ray is produced by taking alternate current and boosting it to 25,000 volts, requiring one of the most dangerous currents known today.



Many Important Lecture Dates
Mr. Wood has lectured at Chautauqua, N. Y., and at other of the largest chautauquas of the country.  He lectured in the auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce in Cleveland, O., under the auspices of the Cleveland Engineering Society.  He has appeared at scores of other equally important dates aside from the chautauquas, also giving demonstrations before the International Lyceum Association, and everywhere has been a big success.


An ex-wrestler, now a patrolman in one of the large cities, trying to down Wood's gyroscope