Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-12-30

December.
To understand this, it must be borne in mind
that the gas with which the streets, shops and
dwellings Of New York is lighted, is furnished
by two companies in about equal proper
tions. The southern, or lower half, by
the ''Manhatan;" the northern, or up
per half by the metropolitan" The di.
viding line between the companies is the mid
die of 34th street. the third of the broad streets
which run straight across the city from east to
west The south side of 9ith street, and all be-
low it is lighted by the "Manhattan;" the north
side Of this street and all above it, to S0h street,
is lighted by the Metropolitan" The Metro
poitan district includes quite two-thirds of the
aristocratic part of the city, whereinour million
aires, i-millionaires, and demi-semi-miilion-
aires have their homes. In this district
are more than half OF our fashionable
churches. On Saturday afternoon an eXpo
sion of gas took place in the works of the Me
tropolitan company. The mere nominal dam
age amounted to little. A long, low building
was reduced TO mere heap OF brick and plas
ter; few scores, or perhaps hundreds, of win
dow panes were shattered; some thosands OF
pSOplC WIZ bduiN ii6htNhtb1 wv VI UNIV
were more or less hurt, but no one, il is believ-
ed, fatally. Bnt the damage done to the works
of the company was such that until it was re-
paired no gas could be supplied to the district.
Accidents OF this kind, upon a smaller scale,
are not unfrequent wherever gas is used. Some
months ago a prominent book Publisher in
Springfield, Mass, came near losing his life in
Just such case. Within a month similar ex-
plosion took place in the establishment of Har-
per & Brothers, in New York, in which one man
was seriously hurt. 1t is strange how little is
understood, even by persons of some scientific
knowledge, of the conditions under which an
explosion of gas can take place. Let me, for
the benefit of the fearful cnes, present the lead
ing points of paper which have written on
the subject, and which will appear in full else
where.
Our illuminating gas, whether produced by
the dislilation of coal, oil, rosn, or other sub
stances, is simply carburetted hydrogen. This
gas is not only non-eXposive, bur is in itself in
combustible 1t burns only when oxygen is
supplied. Enclose it in close vessel, and
plunge a lighted match into it, and the fame
will be eXtinguished as speedily US though it
were put into basin of water or oil. But let it
have oxygen, and it burns rapidly atfording a
bright light. We turn on the gas from a burn
er; as it energies, the gas meets the oxygen of
the air, and we can light it at the orifice. The
flame does not run back into the pipe Just be-
cause the gas therein has no oxygen, and docs
not come ineontact with any
But to form an explosive mixture another
element is necessary This is nitrogen, which
is one of the constituents of the atmosphere.
Carbon, the main element of our gas, and nitre
Tor as we commonly call it saltpeter) are alone
inexplosiye. No amount of heat applied to
either alone will produce an exp!o-
sion. Either may be burned, but will
not explode. But mix them together
and we have gunpowder. Our best gunpowder
consists of seventy-fve parts of saltpeter to
twelve and one half each of charcoal (carbon)
and sulphur. But the sulphur is no way neces-
sary for the compound. 1t is introduced for
good reasons which need not here be men
toned. Guncotton, a much more explosive
material than gunpowder, consists simply of
flores Of cotton, which is nothing more or less
than carbon in a fine state, saturated with nitric
acid, that is, impregnated with nitrogen. Car
bon and nitrogen thus closely united form a
most explosive compound, needing only fire to
manifest its power.
Now 10 show the relation between these facts
and gas explosions it is only necessary to note
what takes place when our ordinary gas is let
loose into close room. Each particle of car
bon in the gas unites with the nitrogen of the
atmosphere in certain definite proportions,
forming what may be called gaseous gunpow-
der. The mixture in any proportion IS more or
less explosive. If your gas jet opens into a
glass globe and you turn on the gas for second
or two before lighting there will be slight puff
Or explosion when the match is applied. If the
globe were closed at the top so that enough gas
could meet with the air in it, the explosion
would shatter the globe The most explosive
point appears to be when one part of gas is
mixed with two parts of air.
Now apply these facts to the cases which |
have noted. My friend, the Springfield publish
er, went into his room at evening. The gas had
been only partly turned off, and had been es.
Gaping all day, filling the close room with the
explosive mixture. He struck a match to light
the gas, and an explosion took place, whereby he
was badly burned, and endured weeks of suffer-
ing. Again, at the Harper establishment, the
gas works were enclosed in 4 separate building
with a light glass roof. There was leak in the
pipes, gas slowly escaped over night, and mixed
with the air. In the early morning the work
men came in, lighted match, and the explo-
sion took place. Luckily. the structure had
,;oh, Of ola tI,o4
found upwards. Had this explosion taken place
in building with solid walls and roof, the edi-
flee would have been shattered from foundation
upwards As it was, a more perfect ruin on a
small scale ] never saw. So, too, in the case OF
the late disaster at the Metropolitan gas works.
visited the place few hours after. No one
there seemed 10 know how it had happened.
But the ruin told the whole story to me. Tue
pipes leaked, and the close building was filled
with the explosive mixture of air and gas. |
am told that no fire was allowed in this room, it
being lighted at night by lamps on the outside.
But somehow fire was taken in on that after
noon, and the result was what has been de-
seribed. 1t is well that it was no worse.
| BEG the Spy to pardon this mass of rather
dry matter. But as so many of us have 10 do
with gas, it may serve to dspcl some misgiy-
| ings. 1t shows that with fair carefulness no
one will ever be blown up by gas. The one all
sufficient precaution is; Never let the gas in a
room escape either by leakage or by leaving the
| burners partly open while the gas is not burn
| ing. Carburetted hydrogen is not Of itself ex.
| plosive. 1t can explode only when it receives
the addition of nitrogen; and this under any
usual circumstances, il can only receive by adj
mixture with the atmosphere.
The cumulation Of the Minor Miseries occa
stoned by this metropolitan casually presented
/ and still present many comic aspects AS have
said, the middle OF 34h street is the dividing
line between the TWO gas districts. | happen Il
reside in that street, but on the right side Of it