The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-08-02
THE ALUMINIUM AGE.
A Metal That May Hc,oiutIonire ship
building aud Other Construction.


The world Las had its ages OF stone
and bronze. We are now passing
through the iron age. viii this be sue
ceedcd by AN age Of aluminium We
believe that 1t will. II taxes ones i'm
agination little. we confess, but not
ones credulity 10 see In the minds eye
the bright aud beautiful aluminium re-
placing black and ugly iron In most OF
the lattcr's uses.
Fancy houses made of aluminium In
stead Of iron. The weight OF the new
metal Is only n third ns much as iron,
with equal or greater tcnsilc strength.
The girdors and the plates could be
cast and readily handled In sizes fnr
larger than those 10 which architcctur-
al iron Is now confined. Perhaps
whole fronts Of nodcrn-sized houses
could bo moulded In single piece.
This would greatly facilitate building
operations which are now slow.
Aluminium II ms fire proof A. iron.
The larger he plates OF the metal com
posing the side Of the houOe the less
liable they nre 20 bc warped and curlcd
by. intense heat. a building with alu-
mlnum walls. such ms we have de-
scribcd, would survive great conna-
grafton In which iron structures OF ex-
listing patterns would withCs and crum-
bic 90 the ground. As aluminium never
rusts, n house constructed Of IL would
always exhibit silvery. glistening
surface. II would require no cleaning,
except as smoke or dust might gradual
ly dim its native beauty. A sponge
and water would bring all that back
Whenever aluminium Is cheap enough
for house building. steamships will be
made OF H. This will be n revolution
IN ocean commerce. llulls OF alumni
um ships will weigh only third M
much IA iron ones of equal tonnage.
They will be as strong md secure
against damage from collision us iron
vessels now urO. Their far greater
bouyancy will be 10 that extent an In
crease Of safety.
Passenger cars made Of aluminium la
light and graceful pnttcrns-including
wheels OF the same mctal-nced weigh
no more than wooden cars OF our day.
and they would be incombustiblc. and
would not be readily crumpled up or
smashed into splinters by collisions.
Tho porils Of railroad travelling In the
nge OF aluminium will be much less
than now.
The ductllity Of aluminium will rem
der IL the best Of all possible materials
for bridges. Tho weight Of the wire
ropes, as also OF the bridge Itself, for
a given span, being but one third that
Of iron, engineers will perform feats Of
bridge building now wholly beyond
their powers. The nge Of aluminium
will be the age Of bridges. They will
probably be thrown over the East and
North ,fycrs at intervals of every few
blocks.
With the sufficient cheapening Of al
minimum may come the realization OF
the flying machine. One grent obsta-
Gle 20 the success of aerial navigation
ia the difficulty Of supplying practical
motor elther 10 proper or O steer the
balloon. The wantis still more serious
ly felt II the design IL 10 dispense with
gas and initiate merely the movement
of IA birds wing or fsh's tail In cleay-
ing tho air.
The small weight OF an aluminium
engine. driven by compressed air. gas
or electricity. compared with its iron
equivalent. undoubtedly makes the al
innate success Of air ships more prob
able than before.
The sources Of supply arc inexhaust-
iblc. Iron, copper, silver. gold arc
found in localities geographically
small. But one of the most universal
ly distributed materials of the earth
beneath our feet is clay, the metallic
baso Of which IL aluminium. Having
boundless faith Ia the ingenuity OF man
10 overcome difficulties. we confidently
expect him ~ wrest this now stubborn
metal from is supcrabundsnt combi-
nations, and enable the world soon 10 en-
Ter on an age OF aluminum!-N Y.
Journal of Commerce.
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