The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-24
LIQUEFIED AIR TRICKS
SOME OF AIR. TRIPLER's NOVEL AND
 STRIKING ENTERTAINMENTS.

fl Tantalizing Cocktail-Steel Burned in Oxygen at 800 Degrees Below Zoro-A New Process That Puzzles the Scientists Gallons ofLiquid Produced Cheapiy.
 A whiskey cocktail which the com pounder would allow no one to touch was prepared in the presence of several scientific men, two or three days ago. by Charles F. Tripler, of this city. Hav- ing poured about two fingers" of old rye into an ordinary tumblec, he added about half an inch of liquid air from a tin dipper. The mixture effervesced in q rather lively fashion, but only for q moment. Mir. Tripler stirred 1t mean while with slender glass rod. and then dumped the contents Of the tumbler out on his laboratory table. The stuff then had the consistency and appearance of Muscovado sugar or slightly moist snow which had acquired yellowish- brown hue.
 When visitor attempted to take a small pinch of it between thumb and forefinger, and thus to transfer even the smallest quantity to his tongue. the boss bartender promptly interfered. Why, man!" he exclaimed, 'it will blister your mouth fearfully! Drop it." Afterward he explained that as alcohol does not freeze until it reaches a tenn perature of about 200 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit, and as the fluid with which he began the experiment had been frozen by the evaporation of the liquid air that had been added, the in nocent-loolSing crystals were much colder that an uninitiated observer would suppose and would scar flesh all most like a hot iron. MT. Tripler then proceeded to conduct a number of other wonderful experiments with liquid air, the preparation of which has occupied much of his time and thought for sev- eral years.
 Perhaps description of these should be prefaced with a word or two about the liquid itself. MT. Tripler keeps a quantity of it on hand, in an open cask, from which he or his assistants scoop dipperfuls as occasion requires. The air, in this form, is not confined under PlCoSQl v, cllQ oIIOWo llO CApiOStNG tCiid- encies until it is converted once more into gas. In that process it expands in- stantly. Seen through the walls of a globular glass vessel, it looks like wa ter, being beautifully transparent and almost colorless. A depth of several inches imparts a pale blue tint to the stuff This is the hue of the contained oxygen. Inasmuch as nitrogen of the air has a lower boiling point, or is more volatile than oxygen, the former ele- ment slowly evaporates if the com pound is allowed to stand for a time, SC that a residue of almost pure liquid oxygen is left.
 If a double-walled globe be prepared, with a space of about half an inch be- tween the walls, and a vacuum be .se- cured there, the vessel loses the power of radiating and absorbing heat. Such a globe, four or five inches in diameter and having a short, wide neck (say an inch or more across), may be half filled with liquid air and allowed to stand in a moderately warm room uncorked, for several hours without any serious reduction of its volume from evapora- tion. The liquid still too. But if a single globe of the same size and neck be used the contents will boil gently and disappear in about twenty or thir- ty minutes. In the mean time deli cate, visible white vapor will slowly rise into and overflow from the orifice
 The fingers may be plunged quickly into a dipperful of this queer fluid without any serious effects, if they be withdrawn promptly. The fingers come ,,t J,-yr ,ot Ia ,o mentary immersion only sensation o1 coolness is felt. A thin wall of vapol which is instantly formed about the fin gers protects them for second, or g fraction of second. But let them stay there for longer period, and they would be seriously burned. In like man. ner, a few drops may be poured out in to the palm of the hand without harm if shaken off to the floor almost imme- diately. While lying in the hollow o1 the hand the liquid shows tendency te gather itself up into spherical shapes and to separate itself into distinct globules.
 Apply warm hand to the exterior o1 the globe or to a thin tumbler contain. ing liquid air, and the contents will boi more vigorously and emit this vapol more profusely. A single finger insert ed into the open mouth of the globe but without touching the surface of tht liquid, will hasten the vaporizing pro- cess, so that the digit itself appears tc give off steam. When boiling the liquiG air is as white and opaque as milk, ow- ing to the large number of small bub- bles developed therein. Pouring watel into dish containing liquid air result: in the conversion of the former ele. ment into ice, although the latter flui6 is boiling vigorously in consequence. chunk of this ice, too, will produce ebullition. Or if tumbler containing liquid air be partially immersed in Z basin of cold water, the latter will pro. duce the same effect.
 Here is one of MT. Tipler's prettiest demonstrations. A thin, straight-sidet glass tumbler is half filled with Hquit air and then set into basin of water two and one-haf or three inches deep So intense is the cold produced by the evaporation of the air that film of ics quickly formed on the outside of tht tumbler. When this shell has acquired thickness of an eighth of an inch, i may be detached from the tumbler, now once more empty, by pouring into tht glass little water. Thereafter the ict film Is manipulated with q cotton hand kerchief Holding the shell in one hand