Birmingham state herald., 1896-03-15
CHEAPER ILLUMINATION Gas That Is Made by the Acety-
 lene Process. 30 CENTS PER 1000 FEET 1t Is Furnished to Houses in Liquid Form in Small Cylinders More Brilliant Than
 Ordinary Coal Gas.

Boston Transcript.
 A gas that appears to give twice as much light for 60 cents as that for which the people of Boston are now paying $l is just now attracting some attention in this city, and it is to exhibit and explain the use of the new gas that spec.al al- though simple, apparatus has been set up in a room al 123 Milk street. The gaa is known as acetylene, and the chief diff ference in it's use from coal gas is that it is furnished in liquid form, condensed in easily portable tanks, which, delivered al the houses of consumers and connected with all the piping in the houses do away with all necessity for mains and pipes in the streets and make each house jnda- pendent in rega d to light.
 The gas is generated by allowing calcic carbide, winch is a fusion of coal dust and pure lime, to come in contact with water. At the experiment room, when an irregular piece of the substance was meated in the flame from a gas jet, 1t showed no change except that it was backened by the smoke; but when the same piece was then dipped in water and touched with lighted taper, 1t burst into flame all over the surface that had been wet much as if 1t had been torch. The smoky 1ame as it diminish ed in size in proportion as the substance dried, left over the surface of the carbidA a granular coating, which the experi- menter said was pure lime. When the flame had almost died away the carbide was dashed quickly in water again, and the flame instead of being eXtnguished, burst upward with the same intensity 1t had shown at first. The water furnished the lacking element necessary for the generation of the gas
 In order to furnish a means of com pairing the Illuminating power of the gas with that of ordinary coal gas an ordi- nary burner connected with the city mains was lighted alongside a burner connected with a cylinder full of acety- 1ene gas. The flame from the coal gas covered a space of nearly 10 square inch es, while the other covered hardly more than a third of that, yet the acetylene flame was of such a brilliant whiteness that it affected the eye just as a glance at the sun on a clear day affects it. Looking at the larger flame gave per ceptible dazzling effect. A taper held where it would cast a shadow from both burners showed a shadow fully four times as dark from the acetylene flame but the heat from the two flames did not show a difference perceptible to the hand. striking difference in the two flames was the amount of bluiSh area, or area of complete combustion of the car bon particles In the coal gas 1t was full ly third of the whole flame, while in the other 1t extended hardly more than a quarter of an inch above the burner, and from across the room could be dis tinguished. The acetylene flame was round and compact, not flaring and irreg- ular like the other. As for the smell of the acetylene, it was readily distinguish able when somo of it was allowed to es- cape.
 A person might be suffocated on breathing this gas just as he would if he breathed coal gas, because acetylene but the effect of gas from calcc carbide is less dangerous than coal gas the ex- permenter said, a person asphyxiated by it could be restored much more easily; in fact, even after he had been exposed to its influence for a time longer than would be sufficient to cause his death if the gas had been made from coal.
 Sixty-six pounds of liquid acetylene gas, which could be contained in cyl inder about 6 feet long by inches in diameter, will run thirteen one-quarter tips three hours per night for ninety three nights. each tip giving off appar- ently more illumination than Wels- bach burner consuming feet per hour.
 Acetylene, it is claimed, is the most brilliant illuminant known and the rich est of all gases in carbon; the proportion being 92 3-10 carbon and 7-l0 hydrogen. Its rays are said to be the same as those of the sum- and in this property 1t differs from any other known illuminant. It has long been known to scientists as chem ical curiosity, but the recent develop ment of electric smelting has sufficiently reduced it's cost to permit it's use commer- cially. Under the discovery and patents of Professor Wilson, which cover each stage of the process, and also the pro- duct, a mixture of powdered coke and lime is subjected to the heat of an electric arc in furnace and their fusion pro- duces a product known as the calcium carbide a material resembling in appear ance copper ore. The process of trans forming the carbide into acetylene gas is known as liQuefaction. By the addition of water to the carbide in closed holder the combination of the oxygen in the water and the carbon of the carbide produces acetylene gas in large quanti~ ties, the refuse or by-product being pure lime. The acetylene is drawn from this holder through a coil to small cylinders,