Certain Plants Convert at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Although this is still true in most cases, recent developments have shown that there are further exceptions and that nitrogen molecules are considerably more "sociable" than previously thought. It should be noted that from a purely practical point of view, the problem of fixing nitrogen has been satisfactorily solved. In nature, bacteria living on the roots of certain plants convert plants can convert elemental nitrogen into compounds that are released into the soil, from which plants then absorb them. Animals in turn eat the plants, or eat animals that eat the plants, and this combined nitrogen thus becomes generally available to living organisms.

The most interesting developments during the past year have been in devices to assist the Blind in reading printed text. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) introduced an electric typewriter that produces Braille text (a system of raised dots) and several other organizations began working on computer-controlled systems to convert printed text automatically to various forms of Braille. In spite of the promise of these improvements over the traditional, manual printing of Braille, however, there remained a need for an electronic device that would convert print directly into a nonvisual means of communication.

Other physical properties of water, particu larly its thermal properties, make it industrial!; useful. The standard thermal units, the calori and the British thermal unit (Btu.), are based 01 water, the former being the quantity of heat re quired to raise one gram of water at its maximun density through one centigrade degree, and th latter, one avoirdupois pound of water througl one Fahrenheit degree. (The unit, kilocalorie, o 1,000 calories, is more common.) Approximate!; 80 calories must be removed from one gram o water at 0° C. to convert it to ice, and about 54( calories are required to convert water at 100° C to steam.