The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1875-06-24
-TOUGHENED GLASS.

The Paris correspondent of the Lon
don Times writes under date OF May
8: ssYou gave an account a few weeks
ago of the discovery by M. Francois de
la Bastie, French engineer, of process
by which glass while retaining its trans
pareney practically ceases to be brittle.
Yesterday evening NJ. Victor de Luynes
who, with NJ de Bastie's sanction, has
for some weeks been making experiments
at glass mandatory, delivered lee
ture on the subject at the annual meet
ing of the Societe de Secours DIES Anlis
des Sciences. NJ. Dumas, the distin-
gllished chemist and permanent Secreta-
nv of the Academic des Sciences, presi-
ded, and the large amphitheatre of the
Faculty of Arts at the Sorbonne
was crowded, most of the members of
scientific bodies and chief glass manu-
facturers being among the audience.
II. de Bastie himself was also present.
III. de Luynes explained the expansion
and compression of the exterior and in
terror parts caused by immersing glass
heated to a certain temperature in an
oleaginous bath, and he gave some high
" interesting proofs of the success of
the process. Thus he applied some Wig
orous blows with hammer to a piece of
glass, which in its ordinary condition
must have been broken into fragments,
but which sustained this violence with
out being any the worse for it. small
tube of thin twisted glass being fastened
in vice, he endeavored to break off
the extremity of it with a pair OF pin
GERS, but it was only after several at
tempts and by dint of evident muscular
exertion that he succeeded in doing SO.
A furnace moreover was brought into
the hall, and number of small globes
and pieces of sheet glass were submitted
to the toughening process. M. de Luy-
nes then threw some OF them on the
floor to show that they could bear the
shock. The globes were fastened by
strings to slaves of wood at various
heights, and an assistant mounting a
ladder and setting fire to the string,
they fell on the table with considerable
force, thence rebounding on the floor,
but only one or two of them were frac-
tured, and those only when falling four
or five yards. The assistant also noun
| ted on curved plate of glass placed on
the table SO as to represent an arc of a
circle, but though the portion of the
| glass on which he stood was an inch or
two above the table it bore the weight
much thinner glass was not SO success
| full, but NJ. de Luynes stated that it had
previously borne the strain, though it
had been necessary for the assistant to
mount upon it somewhat carefully so as
to eGualize the pressure as much as
possible. Of course, NJ. del la Bastie,
as NJ. de Luynes explained, does not
pretend that glass thus tempered is alb
solutely free from danger of breakage,
but he declares that it will bear 80 or
| 100 times the strain of ordinary glass,
and last nights experiments afforded
conclusive evidence of the value of the
discovery. The glaA, moreover, it is
stated, can be cut under certain condi-
lions as easily as common glass. By
means of the electric light M. de Lry-
| mes gave some interesting experiments
of the optical properties of glass, the
distribution of the colors, which were
very brilliant, depending on the shape
given to the object. The audience
showed the utmost interest in the ex-
periments, the former evoking frequent
applause. The greater durability of
glass articles will obviously be disad-
vantage to the trade, but against this
must be set the use of glass for many
purposes from which it's brittleness has
hitherto excluded it. Not only will it
be applied to many domestic purposes,
but in some branches of manufacture it
is likely materially to cheaper produc-
ton. In chemical works, for example,
metallic chambers, which are expensive
without being durable, will certainly be
substituted by glass. NJ. de la Bastie
in taking measures for the practical
working of his discovery, and his Eng
lish agents, Messrs. Abel Rey Brothers,
of 30 Mincing Lane, exhibit number
of articles to which it has already been
| applied.