The labor world., 1899-06-03

New York, Charles 2. Tripler, who
has invented method Of liquefying
air at small cost, said that he had
purposed keeping his discovery a Sc
cret, so far as the general public was
concerned, until he had perfected it.
His plans were thwarted by the 5ac-
cidental discovery of the explosive
power Of the liquid air. He made q
few experiments before some friends
in the Hotel Majestic about two years
ago. One of them touched a match
to the air. The explosion that fol-
lowed injured several persons, and it
was through this that Mr.. Tripler be-
came known. 81 ;.is1 5 3553
He said that, had it not been for this
accident, he would have said nothing.
until lie was quite ready to make a
public announcement Mr.. Tripler feels
that he has about perfected his dis
covery. He has been working over
the problem Of liquefying air for!
years.
Others have liquefied air but at an
enormous cost, between $4,000 and
5000 a gallon. Mr.. Tripler makes
liquid air at; a cost of 325 cents gallon
and expects TO make it for even less.
s Liquid air is the coolest thing that
mortal ever felt, Ordinarily its tenn.
perature is 312 degrees below zero,
which is just about tgas easy to realize
as the distance between the earth and
the sun It freezes mercury until it
lis as hard as steel. It turns alcohol,
which freezes at q temp perature Of 200
degrees below zero, into an icicle. In
fact, there: is nothing in the world it
will not freeze solid, except hydrogen:
The liquid is made, by "a fifty-horse-
power engine, which congresses the
Ordinary atmosp sphere until it is red;
|hot. Then it is cooled by! means of
pipes submerged in water at an enor-.
nous pressure. This apparatus can
make about forty gallons day. q. y ,ss !
H Liquid air is the color Of steel blue
diamond and as pure. It constantly
SSt throws off a white yapor exactly like
steam in appearance. It is difficult to
understand it's action, because it res
verses all accepted ideas.
4. IF ice is submerged in liquid air it.
is made 344 degrees colder and its
character changes. It can be crushed
ike an egg-shell. # a tea kettle filed
with liquid air is placed upon a cake
of ice, the liquid boils more rapidly
and the kettle is covered with frost.
Water placed in the kettle is made into
solid ice.
Mr.. Tripler is working with liquid
air to harness it as steam and elec-
5tricity have been harnessed. Liquid
air expands 800 times while steam ex-
.pands about 100 times, yet Mr.. Trip
Ter says the expansive force Of liquid uliisd /
air is twenty times that Of steam.
Steam power costs from $36 to $40
per horsepower for a year. The cleo
trio plant Of Niagara Falls costs from. from
SIS to $40 per horsepower per year.
Mr.. Tripler says that the power OF the.
liquid air should run the engine max
ing it. This sounds like perpetual
motion, but is nothing Of the kind (
This heat, that is to say, the energy
which makes liquid air powerful, is
the; heat of the sun. A fire under the
boiler turns water into steam. The
heat of the sun turns liquid air into
a gas more powerful.
The uses of liquid air are manifold.
Mr.. Tripler says that the time is com.
ing when liquid air will run the war
ships and will furnish the explosives.
There is no known explosive which
equals it's force. It will run locomo-
tives, and each plant will be indepen-
dent, because the atmosphere, that is
to say, the heat of the sun, is the fuel.
and that is everywhere.
Nikola Tesla, before the Commercial
club, of Chicago, demonstrated the
latest discovery he has Nade known
to the scientific world, Of both propel-
ling and steering a submarine boat,
by electricity without connection with
the shore.
81 have observed that air which can
not transmit electricity becomesa a con-
ductor when millions of volts of cleo
tricity are sent through it, J" said Tes-
la. ':As spoke of man as an autom-
atom I will show how it is possible to
construct another automaton which
can be directed at the will of the in
Evcntor. The first essential in man is
the machine, then the food is trans