torpedo

[Lat., from torpeo =to be numb or torpid (q. v.).] 1. Ichthyology: (1) The type-genus of Torpedinide (q. v.), with the characters of the family. There are six species distributed over the Atlantic and Indian oceans; three of these occur in the Mediterranean, and two, sin, aş; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f. Torpedo marm or at a and T. hebetans , are sometimes found on the British coast. The electric organs consist of many perpendicular prisms, mostly hex. agonal, the whole forming a kidney-shaped ma . Each column in the living fish appears like a clear trembling jelly. Hunter counted 470 of these columns in a specimen of T. marm or at a , and says that the partitions between them are full of arteries, which bring the blood direct from the gills. These organs convert nervous energy into electricity. Each organ receives one branch of the trigeminal and four branches of the vagus, the former and the three anterior branches of the latter being each as thick as the spinal cord. The fish gives the electric shock voluntarily, to stun or kill its prey or in self defense; but to receive the shock the object must complete the cir Torpedo Marm or at a. cuit by communicating with the fish at two distinct points, either directly or through the medium of some conducting body. The force of the discharge varies with the size and vigor of the fish; large and healthy specimens can inflict severe shocks sufficient to disable a man. The electric currents generated in these fish po e all the other known powers of electricity; they render the needle magnetic, decompose chemical compounds, and emit sparks. (2) The common name of any individual of the genus. In southern European waters the best known species is Torpedo marm or at a . (See illustration.) It is dark brown in color, lighter round the eyes. Specimens have been taken weighing a hundred pounds, but they usually average about half that weight, with the disc about thirty inches broad. T. hebetans , more rarely met with, is dark chocolate-brown above, white beneath. They are also called Cramp-fish and Numb-fish. A well known American species is Torpedo occidental is . "Torpedos deliver their opium at a distance, and stupefy beyond themselves." -Browne: Vulgar Errors , book iii., ch. vii. 2. Ordnance: A ve el or engine charged with an explosive which is fired by contact, by concu ion, or by electricity. Torpedoes are divided into (1) Naut .: These may be subdivided into five cla es: (a) drifting, (6) anchored, (c) boom, (d) locomotive, (e) maneuvered. [AERIAL TORPEDO.] (a) The drifting preceded the boom and maneuvered, and was adapted for circumstances and positions where it might be allowed to drift with the stream or tide against a ve el in a river or channel or lying at anchor. ( b ) The anchored torpedo is, in fact, the submarine mine, and is a cai on charged with gunpowder, gun-cotton, or dynamite, that may be exploded either by concu ion or by electricity. Anchored torpedoes are firmly attached to submerged structures, or to a cable or swaying boom which allows them some lateral play. (c) The boom or spar torpedo is a mine affixed to a boom which projects from the bows of a small swift ve el. It is depre ed and exploded when in contact with the ve el which it is sought to destroy. It is of sheet-copper with brazed joints, and has a sensitive primer, with a cylindro-conical head communicating with the magazine. The head is in contact with and protected from the water by a thin hemispherical cap of soft, well-annealed copper. The charge is usually fired by contact, but sometimes by electricity. (d) The locomotive torpedo is adapted to be propelled usually beneath the surface of the water, IMG:content-1247.jpg:[blocks in formation] its course and depth being determined and regulated by various devices to bring it into contact with the ship, which is its objective point. Of locomotive torpedoes, the Whitehead, or fish torpedo, which is impelled by means of compre ed air, and which carries a charge of gun-cotton in its head, is a well-known example, It is in use on board large ships and torpedo-boats of many of the principal navies of the world. Torpedo. . Explosive chamber. B. Compensating water-tanks. c. Compre ed air chamber. (e) Maneuvered torpedo, so called because its course can be directed from a ship or from the shore. The Brennan torpedo is a modern example of this cla ; the obsolete Harvey, towed by a line from a 4128 boom rigged out athwart ship, was a maneuvered torpedo. Another noted maneuvered torpedo is the Sims-Edison. This machine consists of a torpedo proper which is submerged by being fixed to a float by rigid bars. The float is propelled by electricity, and the charge is fired by the same agent. broadly than accurately technical. Such are: Several terms used in practice are rather Can torpedo: A torpedo in a metallic cai on. Lanyard torpedo : A torpedo discharged by pull. ing a lanyard, . Magnetic torpedo : A torpedo exploded by electromagnetism, by spark or wire, in contradistinction to one fired by clockwork, . Submarine torpedo : A torpedo placed beneath the surface of the water, in a similar manner to a subterranean mine. [(2).] (2) Mil .: A subterranean mine or counter-mine to destroy a work, a storming column, or a working party. In this sense a petard may be considered as a torpedo. Torpedoes for land defense are usually shells of small caliber, six and twelve pounders, provided with a percu ion or friction device which causes an explosion when the ground over the torpedo is stepped on. torpedo-anchor, s . An anchor or fastening to hold a submarine mine to its selected bed. A serviceable form is that of a ship's anchor, to which the mine is attached by a chain with a universal joint.