Omaha daily bee., 1885-08-05
THE METAL OF THE FUTURE.
Aluminium ProphC sled rs the Sue
cessor of Iron and steel.

Trenton Correspondence Pittsburg Dis
patch.
"The metal Of the future, said a prom
lnent mechanical engineer to me, sis al
minimum. In a few years 1t will displsce
iron and steel, and simply ravolution'z;
industrial s,ts everywhere. The millen,
Jun will be the age of sluuiuum."
"But," ssid ], 'irln is the commonest
Of all metals, ard aluninum i, compare
lively rare. Is theirs enough aluminium
In he word 10 take the place of iron2"
eyes" ssid he, send your former as
sumption is an error. aluminium is the
most plentiful of all metals. The world
contains ten times as much Of il as oil
iron. 1t is everywhere. Every clay bed
i, an aluminium mine"
"Whst is the reason" l asked, "ths'
1t has not already Come into general user
1.-The great cost of producing It," he
replied. 1.-THE metal called sodium l,
used in the production of aluminium, and
it Is very expensive. Numbe,leus methods
have been tried, and hundreds Of chem.
ists all over tho world are devoting thgi,
lives to the task of finding o cheap way
of producing eluminum. The man who
suocsejs will be more fortunate than
though no hsd found the philosopher
stone. Whoever csn produce aluminium
at 81 q pound will make o fortune, while
q man who can make 1t for 20 cents q
pound can buy out the Rothuchilds In q
day -.
"WhAt ia the cost of aluminium now?'
"The raw materials for making il are
not worth $40 6 ton. That Is, $40 for
enough to produces a ton of the metal.
But q ton of aluminium, perfectly manu-
featured, ia worth at least $50, 000."
"What are tho valuable properties of
aluminum?' / asked, "ard to what use
can 1t be applled?"
"It can take the plaza of almost every
other metal In the world" said he, "and
very largely that of wood also. In the
first place 1t Is very strorg. Its ter slle
strer 9Th Is more thsn three tons to the
square inch greater than those of the best
Bessemer s.eel. In fact, 1t is by far the
strongest metal knoSn. cannon made
of 1t would be three times as strong as
n made Of rteel OF gun metal. 1t Is
very stiff crrIgid, too; throe times as rigid
az The best of bronze. Another impor-
tsnt thing Is that 1t will not tarnish.
Neither air, nor water, nor salt, nor
acids, nor corrosive gases have the eight
est etfecs upon it Neither does intense
heat cha GO its color. L. ID the best con.
ductor If heat known in the world; also
of electricity. 1t would make the best
telegraph wires in the world, having twi,e
the opductiug porsr If copper, with only
a third if its weight, and lasting prscti-
cally forever. 1t Is very ductile, and can
be drawn into wire more easily than al
most any other metal. Moreover, 1t is
easily worked, either cold or hot. 1t i,
suitable for anything that iron or steel
or copper or brass or bronze or gold or
silver is used for, from the wheels of q
watch to q monster steam engine"
Chow does it compare In weight with
other metsle2"
sit is by far the Nghtest; lighter, in
deed, than many hard woods. 1t Is lit
tie more than one. third the weight Of
cast iron. To be exact. a cubic foot of
aluminium weighs only 166 pounds. The
same sizad block of cast iron weighsabouS
451 pourds; Of wrought iron, 4S7 pounds;
of copper, 5549 pounds; of lead, 700
pounds; of brass, 528 pouods, and Of
gold about 1900 pounds. In brief, 1t is
the lightest, easiest worked, strongest,
most durable, and generally most valua-
bic of all metals, and the man who in
vents and pAtepts q method of making 1t
chesply will revoluti onize industry, and
become the richest man in the world"