The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1891-01-31
I'll Cos..acs: Ct Metals.

What do you suppose is the mos.
expensive part Of those iacandescent
lan,rs which we see burning i'll the
s. o. Window" asked an electrician
yesterday
You v; u'i naturally suppose il
woul! lie the glass bulo, or Perhar,
the brass Citing for screwing it into
the socket, hut you would be wrong
Those two little pieces Of platinum
wire, 50 fine that YOU can hardly per
ceiye them, which PASS through tn
glass stem UP IN the base of the Lamp,
10 which the fine carbon tlament
attached, enter more greatly into tn
cost than any other part OF these II, Y
aim st Indispensable electric lanra.
why don't they use some other
met..l Than ll,tinu.n far this wires.
..Becausc lAtinum is the only metal
in which Tie expansion AMI contraction
are the same rs in glass, and Il great
f.. tune await, the .asn who can rro-
,lgce G cileap metal or ALLY III which
this villa lie property OF platinum can
he preserved You probably know
that Z vacuum must be maintained in
thes ;ncan,irsccnt lamp bulbs, or the
carbon fl&Inent would barn ont and
lecoa.e DESTROYED the instant the elsc-
trio current is turned on. IhtrefJ e
tie re lson for using the platinum wire
fsr running Though the glass is le
cause unequal expansion between the
glass anu wire woa',i either crack the
gllss or create a space about the Wire,
and, even though infinitely minute,
the ar would find its way III AMI dts-
troy the carbon.
The cost Of platinum Al the present
market price iii London is 50 FER
Once, or about the same as gold, and
the amount used for this purpose alone
has grown to be enormous. TINS de
manl, together with the increased
cost Of production, has caused the
j ice to advance about 100 per cent. in
eigittecn months. In each sixteen
can liz power Lamp there are from four
to eight grains OF platinum. Ii six
grains are taken IS an average one
ounce VII be used IN eighty lamps.
Based Oh the increased Use of incdndeS-
cent lights within the last two years,
ii is safe to say that the demand foi
sixteen candle power lamps, or their
equivalent, III the year 1891 viii be
lD,G3n, zoe This means demand for
l.5,oe3 ounces OF platinum, which at
the present price, VIII amount to con
sider2lly over -, eco CCU FEY this item
alone.
The history ofrlitinUm, continued
the electrician, us quite as interesting
as It's qualities are remarkable. Dur
ing the sixteenth century it was found
with gold in the Dar.en mines, but the
spanish government, when controlled
the mines, did not make known the
discovery Of this new white metal, As
it WAS found to be a good material
with which to adulterate geld. The
deposits Of platinum in Tie Ural noun
tains, whence the supply IS mostly
drawn, were discovered about l>3}22,
and have been worked III connection
with gold mines by the Russian
government since 1888. Owing to the
large yield Of gold, the platinum was
for long time sold eheaply, hut, with
the growing scarcity Of gold the cost
Of producing the other metal increased.
Il we'll known chemist says that
W thoat platinum crucibl2s, which
share the infas;3.lity Of porcelain with
the chemical inrrtHeSs OF those OF gold,
the com. osition Of most metals could
not have been asc>riaincI. and chem
istty could no. have come t. It's pres
ent level Very few people in this
country are probably aware that pure
platinum hes ever been coined It WAS
coinei. hl Russia. however, as late as
1861, at which time il had been put
into circulation to the value of over
=, e0c, 9 %. w ashington Post