The herald., 1896-02-25
ACETYLENH EXPERIMENTS

Inc memDer6 OF Cno new OK MlCrO-
scopical society had an opportunity
last night, at the Mott Memorial
library, to see that beautiful illumi-
nant, acetylene gas, which, though dis
covered sixty years ago, has rarely un-
til recently been used outside the
laboratory, owing to its enormous cost
Of production. Charles +. Cox first
manufactured the gas and hen burned
some of it for the benefit of the in
tensely interested audience.
Mr.. Cox first took from glass jar
three or four small grayish Jumps of
calcium carbide, which he had ppr
chased at a New York drug store at so
cents pound. or at the rate of $1,000
ton. These he placed on wire screen
in a tin cylinder, which he then sank
in tin canister of water. go as to bring
the calcium carbide in contact with
the water. Instantly acetylere gas
was generated. 1t was at once distin-
guished by very peculiar odor.
From this single generator the acety-
lene gas was conducted by a tube
through can filled with water, and
after being thus cooled, was conducted
through another tube to an ordinary
half loot burner. On match being
applied, the scetylene gas burned with
brilliant, limpid, pure, almost white
flame of dazzling intensity. The flame
Was 80 intense that none of the char
acteristic lavender rays was visible to
the naked eye.
Mr.. Cox told the microscopists some
thing about acstyiene gas, relying al
most entirely, ho~ever,as he explained,
on Chicago firm for his data. BE
said that 1130 pounds Of coal dust
joined by 1850 pounds Of lime, by
msans of an electric current, would
| produce ton of calcium carbide. 10
produce acetylene gas nothing was left
to be done but to drop the calcium car
bi le in water. when the acetylens gas
would bubble to the surface. One
pound Of calcium carbide, lie said,
would produce five cubic feet of acct
ylene gas, which was thirty times
greater than ordinary water gas in il
Illuminating power. Acetylene gas gave
out, Mr.. Cox said, only about one-slxth
as much carbon dioxids as water gas,
and its flame temperature Was 900
degrees centigrade, whereas the fame
temperature Of water gas was 14OO
degrees centigrade.
Mr.. Cox pointed out the great danger
of using acetylene gas compressed into
steel cylinders. He said that at pres
ent acetylene gas was far too costly to
compete with coal gas for Illuminating
purposes, although he believed that by
| utilizing the immense heaps Of coal
dust near coal mines way would soon
be found of making commercial sue
cess of the new gas. he said he hoped
to see the time come when calcium car
bide could be produced for $40 a ton.
Prof Edward G.. Love, the chemist,
who has experimental extensively with
acetylene gas, followed Mr.. Cox with a
scientific talk about the illuminant
He said he desired to utter strong
caution against using the acetylene
gas in the form in which it Is put up.
i namely, in a compressed state In steel
cylinders, for use in private houses.
"In this condition." said Prof Love,
''the acetylene gas is very dangerous to
have around. would not risk having
a cylinder of it in my cellar, as l would
be afraid it would explode. 1t sxerts a
| pressure of over 40 atmospheres on
these cylinders"
Prof Love said that he did not share
the bright hopes of Mr.. Cox. and did
| not expect to live long enough to see
acetylene gas produced with sufficient
chespness to compete with ordinary
coal gas or water gas. or even to be
used to any extent profltably In enrich
ing water gas for ordinary consump-
ton. He said he felt sure that even
the scheme of utilizing the water
power of Niagara falls would not re-
suit in producing calcium carbide any
thing like as cheap as SO a ton. Fur
thermore, the professor said he had
not succeeded in his laboratory exper-
iments III producing acetylene with an
Illuminating power as high as that at
tributed to it by the persons who sup
piled Mr.. Cox with his fgures.--New
York Times.