Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-09-07
TANNING THE OCEAN.
WONDERFUL POWER OF OIL OVER
THE ANGRY WAVE.

| in6 AN1hI Wht6.
The Active Agent Is Oaelc Acid, Z
Discovery Made by q German In
vestigator-A Thin Layer OF Thii
Acid Possesses n Potency Which
ts simply Marvellous.
New York Sun.
The effect OF oil in calming the sur
face of a stormy sea, the original dis
covery of which was accidental, has o.
late been the subject of scientific in
vestigation. and it is nov possible to
choose such oils as are best suited for
the purpose, and also to poiut out the
source of their peculiar power over the
waves. The statistics collected at the
photographic Office of the burau OF
navigation show, by the reports of sea
captains themselves, that many ves-
sci had been saved not only from seri-
GUS injury, but from founderisg, by
the use of few gallons of oil slowly
trickled into the sea. The influence
of the oil is frequently described in
such reports as wonderful, magical
and almost incredible.
1t is not difficult to see upon what
this calming effect of oil depends, al
though the complete explanation of it
involves a mathematical process OF
demonstration. The oil acts like a
thin skin drawn over the water, re-
sisting the tendency of the latter to
break into spray under the force OF the
wind. The danger to q ship from
storm waves arises from the breaking
of the waves. As long as their sur
faces are smooth and their crests un-
broken the vessel rides them easily
and safely. But when they break,
and secondary waves are formed, it is
quite otherwise. Then the ship
plunges into the foaming walls up
reared around it, with frame-racking
shocks; immense masses of water
thunder down upon its deck, sweeping
everything clean, and sometimes even
the strongest hulls and the best sea.
manship are unable to prevail in the
contest. This is the danger that the
spreading Of oil over the waves re-
moves.
At first sight, it seems almost i'm
possible that thin oily film resting
on the tremendous sea waves could
exercise q controlling influence over
them. The display of resistless energy
made by the breaking waves is so i'm
posing and terrific that one might well
believe no power less gigantic than
their own could withstand them. The
effect OF the oil resembles that Of the
apparently Insignificant force OF chem.
ical combination holding in restrain,
the explosive energy OF gunpowder.
1t is to German Investigators that
We owe the discovery of the active
agent which enables oil to exercise its
calming effect upon the sea. This
agent is Oleic acid. an ingredient found
in lard, olive oil and many other oils
Those oils that possess the largest pro.
portion of oleic acid are the most ef'
fective in controlling the waves. II
is through its gradual separation from
the rest Of the oil and its diffusion in
the water that oleic acid acts. When
q drop OF oil rests upon water. the OF
fiattens out through the effects of it
own weight. At the edge Of the fat
tened disk of oil the oleic acid tend
most rapidly to dissolve in the water
and the very act OF dissolving evolves
energy which causes the oil to spread
still farther, thus keeping its edge
constantly in contact with water tha
has not yet become charged with olei'
acid. This spreading continues with
great rapidity until all of the olei'
has been dissolved. Sometimes th,
layer thus formed does not exceed ,
twelve.millionth OF an inch in thick
nessl
1t would not be easy to explain
without entering into technicalities
how the forces involved in the dissolv
ing action just described result in {
resistance to the rising of waves
Mathematical considerations Prov
that such an effect exists, and it ha
been shown experimentally that olei
acid spreading over water is capable o
arresting the progress Of floating chip
driven by the wind, and even OF fore
ing such ships to move against th'
direction of the wind.
The power of q wave is made up o
the combined energy of all of the par
ticles Of water composing it, but ever,
particle at the surface OF the wave i
opposed by the force brought int
play by the oleic acid, and thus tn
tendency Of the surface of the wave l.
break is resisted. OF course the fol
nation OF the wave as a whole canno
be prevented by this mere surface re
sistance, but the character of the &C
ton going on at the surface is con
trolled by it, and that is the importan
thing so far as the safety of ships i
concerned.
The discovery of the essential par
played by oleic acid explains why pc
troleum has never been found so eff
cient as other oils-olive oil, for in
stance, in smoothing waves-for petro
leum contains comparatively small
proportion of that ingredient. Tht
German investigators would recon-
mend the use OF pure oleic acid excep
for the fact that it freezes at about Il
degrees above zero and consequent.
is useless in very cold weather. The
have found, however, that mixtur
of oleic acid and alcohol remains liqui,
at only degrees above zero. and the,