The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-12
CAST IRON "TOUGHENED.
"Wizard" EdisOn's New Metal May
RevOIutiOnize the Trade.

NEW YORK, Jan. 11.-Thomas A. Edison,
the electrical wizard, has made a discovery
which gives promise of revolutionizing the
iron business of the world. 1t is nothing
less than a new metal, which. admixed
with the iron, renders cast iron as tough
and strong as wrought iron. The discovery
was made purely by accident. Mr.. Edison
has been at work for the past year at the
mines in Edison, N. j., in bringing his great
magnetic ore separating process into prac-
teal commercial shape. He has practically
solved the problem and got the plan into
full operation. During the last few months
he has run through the mills experimental
test lots of from 5000 to 10 1000 tons each.
Most of the products of the mill have been
marketed at the great blast furnaces at
Catasauqua, Pa. The last lot shipped to
C~atasauqua, about a month ago, developed
curious characteristics.
1t is well known that after the pig iron is
run out Of the blast furnace it is broken up
by sledge hammers into pieces for shipment
ana for handling, but this lot proved re-
fractory. After the pigs had been broken
off from the Sow as the main line lead
ing to the pig. molds is called, the pigs
were covered with sand and allowed to cool.
as usual. Upon being thoroughly cooled
and taken out into the yard the workmen
were set at work to break the pigs up into
convehient sizes. 10 thelr surprise the pigs
would not break. Fifteen-pound sledge
hammers were used with all the force that
a sturdy man could employ, and repeated
blows failed to break the pigs. Twenty
nve-pound sledges were then used, with the
same result.
Mr.. Edison was at once notified of the re-
markable discovery. Sections of the refrac-
tory pigs were submitted by himself to a
half dozen eminent chemists whom he
keeps constantly employed. Mr.. Edison
formed the theory that there was some
hltnertO unknown substance in the iron
Which caused the difference in the output.
he suspected that it was a new metal. The
reports Of the analysis by the chemists
have been made, and all coincide with the
wizards theory. In fact, two of these men
have no hesitation in saying that by the
process of exclusion they have obtained
portions of the new metal.
Mr.. Edison declines to say whether 1t is
an entirely new metal or one whose exist
ence was hitherto known. He is having a
new analysis made on a larger scale, and
will not assume more than he is prepared to
s~ubstantiate. When seen he was much
all that remained to be done was to ascer-
tain the exact proportions in which the
metal should be maintained with iron to
obtain the best results. He spoke of the
wonderful revolution that the discovery
would make in the iron world. Thousands
of articles which are now forged or turned
out on lathes or other machines by a slow
and expensive process, he says, will be cast
as readily as common cast-iron articles
are now. Futher than this, the new ALLOW
Will do away with the slow process of max
ing malleable iron, by producing at once
from the melting furnace the desired ar
tlcles, not only quickly and cheaply, but
stronger and tougher than if malleableized.
Mr.. Edisoni is about to begin a series of
exhaustive experiments on the new metal
or alloy to determine just the condition
most favorable to obtaining the best re-
suits, and as soon as these are ended he
will publish to the world the details Of the