The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-08


lava tip. Under two inches of pres
sure one Of these burners will consume
IA cubic feet of acetlyene an hour. This,
when measured by the ordinary test.
gives light equivalent to that of 81 can
dies. When it is reinem bered that an or
binary burner gives light equal to that
Of 16 candles, or the same as the ordinary
incandescent electric light is rated, the
light in appearance is dazzlingly white,
much more SO than gas or incandsoent
light.
TO burn economically, acetlyene
should pass through a burner which
would not let more than one-ffth Of Ia
cubic feet per hour, or, say, .2S of cubic
loot an hour, pass through it. This
would give light of little more than
IL cardles, which would be ample con-
sidering It's superior whiteness to the
ordinary gaslight. So farias am aware,
no burner has yet been made which will
allow only SO small a quantity to pass
through 1T and it looks TO mo as # the
invention of so small a burner would be
matter of great practical difficulty, and
no promises can be made about the future
OF the gas as commercial product I'M
til this new burner has been shown to be
capable of actual use.
In regard to it's distortion of colors DR.
Birchlnore said:
"Light blues, violets, lavenders, pea
cock blues, and all cnlors allied to them.
will have their tones brilliantly intensi-
lied by the use Of acetylene as an illumi-
nant Hence, as long as these colors are
in fashion, we may use acetylene as a
ballroom light Or anywhere else that
striking illumination is desirable.
'sOn the other hand, the deep blues
and warm reds are equally depressed with
acetylene as the luminant, showing up
almost black So that acesylene will be
impossible commercially If these darker
colors should become the pevailing fash
ion in woman's wear. This seems q
slight point in the abstract, but it would
be very serious one il brought to the
actual test Of trial.
DIR. Birchmore was somewhat guarded
in his remarks concerning the cost of
producing acetylene gas. Without men
tioning the figures at which he believed
the gas could be obtained in commercial
quantities, he went on to demonstrate
that at $40 ton calcium carbide might
yield enough acteylene gas to compete
with ordinary illuminating gas. under
conditions which made its use desirable.
"Acetylene gas, he said, is fifteen times
more radiant than ordinary Illuminating
gas, and therefore. to compete with the
latter, it must not cost more than fifteen
Tins as much. Thus, with ordinary gas
at 81. 25 per 1000 cubic feet. acetlyene
gas must not cost more than SIS 70 per
/, 900 cubic feet.
ga ton of calcium carbide, properly
treated, will give 10000 cubic feet of
acetvlene, and at this rate cacium car
bide ought to be worth SlS7. so ton. But
the smallest burners we have show a
light of at least 81 candle power burner
exceeds light of 20 candle power a
burner This brings down the prohibitive
price of acetylene gas to S. so per 1000
cubic feet, or the ton of calcium carbide
to $45. Suppose, however, the manufac-
turers of gas should reduce their price to
manufacturers Of acetlyene gas be on
this basis?
"Acetylene gas is now derived from
calcium carbide, which is made by the
union of quick lime and carbon in an
electric furnace. Assuming for moment
that the theoretical efficiency of the dy-
namo, without allowing for loss by radi-
ant heat or leakage, mig hit reach 100 per
cent, we might get thirty three pounds of
calcium carbide day for each ordinary
horse power ofcurrent employed.
I'm practice, as seen at Spray. N. G.,
where all the oacoium carbide in this
country has hitherto been manufactured,
only fifteen pounds Iof the product have
been turned out by each ordinary horse
power of current. 1t has been figured
out that one horse power at the dynamo,
under the most favorable conditions, as
at Niagara. is worth 33 "a cents per
twenty -four hour day. If, therefore,
horse power will produce fifteen pounds
of calcium day. at a cost of SO 81 cents,
without counting the price of the mater
ial, the price of ton Of 1000 pound of
calcium carbide will be $45. 1 believe
that better than this can be done with
greater dynamo efficiency.
According to the editor Of The Engi-
neerine and Mining Journal, the current
price of calcium carbide in Paris, France,
where the material is being sold at mar
ket rates, is cents pound, or $3.50
ton, "and no money has been spared in
trying to cheaper the cost of production.
Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria is slowly