Omaha daily bee., 1895-11-10
VERY NEAR THE DIAMOND
New and Valuable Product Turned Out of
an Electric Furnace.
THE MANUFACTURE OF CARB0RUNDUM
Artificial Precious stones from n
combination of Salt, Sand, Coke
and Sawdust-DctniIs of
the Process.
HE MANUFACTURE OF CARBORUNDUM

The current supplied from the great power
house at Niagara Falls has been turned on
one of the new furnaces of the Carborundum
company, writes a correspondent of the New
York Sun. The current comes into the fac
tory at a pressure Of 1900 volts, and goes
into the largest transformer in the world,
which supplies to the furnace the enormous
current of 1000 amperes at a pressure of 1Sj
volts, When this current was first turned
on to all appearances nothing happened in
the furnace room. After some time a curl
Gus smell, caused by the escaping gases,
was perceived. A lighted match was then
applied to the furnace, and the gas ignited
with an explosion. After the current had
been on for a couple of hours the furnace
presented a beautiful sight. lambert flames
played all around the walls, and along the
top of the furnace waves of blue flame trav-
eled to and fro. Slight explosions took place
every now and then, which suggested the
idea that the furnace was a miniature fort,
from which continual volleys were being
fired.
Carborundum was discovered in 1891 by
Edward G.. AchesOn, who Is now president of
the CarbOrundum company. For several
years prior to 1870 Mr.. Acheson had been on
the lookout for something that would sug-
gest a means of crystalllZing carbon, or, in
other words, forming diamonds by artificial
means. 1t was not till he became connected
with an electric light company in MOnOnga-
hela, Pa, that he had an opportunity to con-
duct the experiments which he had previ-
ously thought out. In his first experiment
he used an iron bowl lined with carbon and
filed with a mixture OF carbon and clay.
Into the center of this mixture a carbon rod
was introduced, and to it one Of the wires
supplying the electric current was attached,
while the other wire was connected with the
| iron bowl. When the current was turned on
| ~ . -raa FYrGnI and a valiant nhnm-
ical reaction appeared to take place. When
the mass had cooled dow it was opened
and examined, with the result that a few
very small crystals of a bright blue color
were found.
bowl was abandoned and a furnace built Of
refractory bricks was substituted. Its in
terror dimensions were ten inches long, four
inches wide and four inches high. Into either
end of this little furnace carbon rods were
introduced and an alternating current Of from
| 100 to 200 amperes was supplied to them.
Though Mr.. Acheson had hoped to obtain
crystalline carbon by this process, 1t soon
became evident to him that the crystals were
not carbon only. They were blue in color
and Of such hardness that they could abrade
a diamond, which, up to this time, could only
be abraded by its own dust. Owing to the
color Of the crystals and their general form,
IL was believed that they were some COM
pound of carbon and aluminium, and thus II
was that the new material was called car
borundum, by combining the words carbon
and corundum. Later ii was found by chem
lcal analysis that carborundum is a compound
Of carbon and silicon, so that it really is a
carbide Of silicon.
The materials used in the manufacture OF
carborundum as now carried out are sand,
salt. coke and sawdust. The sand comes
from Ohio, the salt from the salt works Of
New York state, the coke from the BIZ
luminous coal fields OF Pennsylvania, and
the sawdust from the mills Of Tonawanda,
When the visitor goes to the furnace build
ing his first feeling is Of surprise. The
furnaces are of brick, built up into four
walls. forming a kind OF rough brick box, no
mortar or cement OF any kind being en-
ployed. Provision is made for five OF these