The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-11-14
,~CIENTIFIC TOPICS
URRENT NOTES OF DISCOVERY
AND INVENTION.
Y Takes No Skill-For Piano Players
Hands-AcetyIene Gas, Facts About "A
Popular Material, How IL Is Made
rhe Motor Scout.
Acetylene Gas.

M 6NctJADhp Nhb.
Acetylene gas is in quite common use
some localities. 1t is said to be
G most practical means for supplying
Us In country houses, and is now used
large lamps, and also in bicycle
mps and lanterns. Few people, how
Ter. appear to know what this gas is,
how 1t came to be developed.
A writer In Popular Science Monthly
nys that 1t is only five years ago that
Q use OF acetylene was suggested to
Inc public. In 1892 a Canadian cleo
alcian tried to make the metal cal
Mlm, In an electric furnace, in North
Ealrolina. He heated a mixture Of
me and coal dust, thinking to form
Ire calcium in this way. He did not
cceed, but found in the furnace after
he heating a brown crystalline mass.
B found that, by pouring water on it,
Y infammable gas was Immediately
Ent free. Scientific men found that
Us brown mass was calcium carbide,
alich, when mixed with water, imme-
ID ately sets free the gas. From that
q ginning, practically, the system of
Ing this carbide for lighting purposes
8 grown. 1t not only supplies light
d heat when burned as a gas, but the
rbide has other uses.
From an agricultural point of view
most useful is its work as a germ
de. 1t is said to destroy the phyllox-
H. perhaps the worst enemy of the
ape. The carbide is applied to the
I'll, the moisture of which sets free
r. gas, and destroys the germs or in
It's It will, probably, be used to
stroy the Woolly aphis or other in
It's that work on the roots of plants.
make the carbide a temperature OF
Ter $500 degrees is necessary and
'sctric furnaces are necessary for this
y rpose. The carbide can be made
Al fh water power from a stream. This
@wer is used in generating the cleo
&c current, which is carried to a gen.
' Ator to fuse the mixture of lime and
~ re- A furnace commonly used is a
O@ ge, short cylinder or hollow wheel,
80 &tfOifCE oiONlN On d uOl lLOAbdl
O0stft. The top of this wheel is left al
-ys open. cast iron Stats being put
Vow as 1t revolves. The upper part
the cylinder is filled with a mixture
powdered coke and lime. Two car
/ 4 electros project down into it, and
an fierce heat is turned into them, and
Us fuses the coke and lime into the
FasHbide, As 1t is formed, the cylinder
atnsevolved and the carbide broken off
} E4 taken out below. New material is
ght Istantly heated up, while the lower
BRAT Is cooling. The carbide is crushed
|llA packed In air tight tin cans, and
|eel pped as wanted to those who use it.
EiIie principle on which 1t is used is to
thlt the carbide with water; gas is
sen off at once, and this is stored in
hii-ks and pipes, n used about like
culinary gas.
auta here are three forms OF generators,
Fests o popular of which seems to be
haU plan OF dropping the carbide in the
iuctn of powder into a large amount
na water: another form is the reverse
strhis-dropping water in small guam
Eh ass upo the carbide. The former
bod appears to be safer, and will
on the whole. better results. The
|Cahnces seem to be that this method
fOr1eating and lighting houses will be-
|e, hSe very popular. 1t seems to be pos
tOFe to generate this gas at a very low
Etut and it seems probable that, with
peel he near future, great use will be
Lt die of the carbide for this purpose.