Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-10-03
ALUMINIUM


The New Metal and its POsSibilities,
Aluminium, aside from its lightness and
strength is maleable, ductle, does not
rust is as beautiful as silver, and is much
more abundant in its native state than any
metal in use. Coyolite, or Iceland-spar, is
the mineral from which it has been mostly
obtained but it is a constituent Of clay and
of other earths, and prevails almost every
where The statement has been made that
it composes more than twentieth part Of
the crust Of the globe. The difficulty is to
secure 1t in a pure state at moderate
cost. Much has yet to be learned also as TO
the methods of using it, and there remains
some doubt as TO its adaptation to certain
important uses. But within the last half
century its cost has been reduced from
over thirty dollars pound to less than
three dollars, and it is now being put to
practical use as an alloy. Recent govern
ment tests have shown its strength to be
equal TO that Of the finest crucihle steel.
There are busy brains and hands con
stantly at work to reduce the expense Of
manufacturing the pure metal and as che
incentive to success is very powerful, their
labors are not likely 10 be discontinued
Its capabilities, sooner or later, are very
sure to be exhaustively tested If they
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hope they will, and the laboratory processes
give way TO mill production at low cost, a
wonderful revolution in works Of con
struction will have been entered upon
How far in the future the desired end may
be there is no telling.
Remove two-thirds of its own weight
without dimnution of strength, from the
vast structure that connects New York and
Brooklyn, and its effectiveness for service
provided room were supplied would be
correspondingly increased. Bridges Of
aluminium supposing always its qualities
are truly represented-couldb be thrown
across streams and ravines to span which
is now impossible. The capacity of steam
ships would be similarly enlarged. Not
only would cargoes take the place Of the
lessened weight of the body Of the vessels
but also of that Of their machinery. Enough
coal could be stored to indefinitely lengthen
voyages without fresh supplies. The cost
of transportation would be lowered in many
ways, foreseen and Unforeseen, and speed
and safety increased as ell. The calcua-
tions Of a competent engineer as to the ad
vautages to be gained would produce "a
showing difficult of belief at first The
Eitfel tower as a constructive feat would
sink into iusignifcance. The field for arch
itectural advance would be all but unlim-
tied. Air navigation would leap forward
with bouud-if feasible at all-when its
great desideratum, a material combining
strength aud lightness in a degree never
known before, or even approximated had
been secured. Street-cars. wagons car
riages, etc, would be improved, and save
immensely in draught power and wear and
tear Machines and instr lments would
partake in the benefits of the change, and
new ones invented that are now unthought
Of. These are but suggestions which ex
perts in each particular branch of mechan-
les eau seize the meaning of and amplify.
Should the reasonable hopes of the alumi-
mum workers be realized, mankind would
seem to have been emancipated from a bur
den of heavy material which it had been
wrestling with for ages, and posterity
would talk Of the unspeakable waste Of
human energy that had been involved in
| the use of iron