Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-02-17
Tug ALUMINIUM AGE.
what 81 VIII Be Like-Houses, Boats.
cars. Bridges, Flying ships

New York Journal Of Commercial
The world has had its ages OF stone
ard bronze. We are now passing
through the iron age. Will this be sue
ceeded by an age OF aluminium We
believe that it will. It taxes ones imag-
nation a little. we confess, but not ones
credulitv to see in the minds eve the
bright snd beautiful aluminium replacing
black and ugly iron in most OF the lat
ter's uses.
Fancy houses built Of aluminium in
stead of iron. The weight of the new
metal is only n third as much as iron,
with equal or greater tensile strength.
Tho girders and the plates could be cast
and readily handled in sizes far larger
than those to which architectural iron IS
now confined. Perhaps whole fronts OF
modern-sized houses could be moulded
in a single piece. This would greatly
facilitate building operations, which are
now slow.
Aluminium ia "a fire proof as iron. The
larger the plates Of the netal composing
the sides of the house the less liable
they are to be warped and curled by IN
tense heat. A building with aluminium
walls, such as we have described, would
survive great conhagratlon IN which
iron structures OF existing patterns
would wither and crumble to the ground.
As aluminium never rusts, house con-
structed OF it would always exhibit a
silvery, glistening surface It would re-
quire no cleaning. except 40 smoke or
DUST might gradually dim ITS native
beauty. A sponge and water would
bring all that back.
Whenever aluminium il cheap enough
for BODYBUILDING steamships will be
made OF it. THIS will he a revolution IN
ocean commerce. HILLS OF aluminium
ships will weigh only third as much as
iron ones of equal tonnage. They VIII
be as strong and secure against damage
from collision as iron vessels now are.
Their far greater buoyancy will be to
that extent an increase of safety.
Fassenger-cars made OF aluminium n
light aud graceful patterns-including
wheels OF the same metal-Deed weigh
no more than wooden cars of our day,
and they would be incombushble and
would not be readily crum6led up or
smashed into splintors by collisions
The peris of railroad travelling IN the
age Of aluminium will be much less than
now.
The duciility Of aluminium will render
IL the best OF all possible materials for
bridges. The weight OF tho wire ropes,
az also OF tao bridge itself, for a given
span. being but ono third that of iron,
ENGINEERS will perform icats Of bridge
building now wholly beyond their
powers. The age Of aluminium will be
the age of bridges. They will probably
be thrown over the Fast and North
rivers at intervals OF every few blocks.
With the sufficient cheapeuing OF
aluminium may come the realization OK
| che living machine. One great obstacle
| TO the success Of aerial navigation IL the
/ difficulty Of supplying practical motor
either to propel or to steer the balloon,
! The want Is still more seriously felt u
the design Is 20 dispense with gas and
| initiate merely the movement OF BIRD ,
Wings or ish's tail in cleayIng the ar
The small weight of an aluminium en-
CINE, driven by compressed air, gas, OF
electricity, compared with its iron equiv
alent. undoubtedly makes the ultimate
success Of air-ships more probable than
before.
The sources Of supply are ineHbausti
bic. Iron, copper, silver, and gold arc
found only in localities geographically
small. But one Of the most universally
distributed materials OF the earth be
meath our feet IS clay, the metallic bas'
OF which is aluminium. Having bound
less faith in the ingenuity Of man &c
overcome difficulties we confidently ex
pect him to wrcs5 this now stubborn
metal from its superabundant combina
tons and enable the world soon to enter
On an are Of aluminium