The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1899-04-19
LIQUID AIR POWER.
INTERESTING EXPERIMENT MADE BY A
SCIENTIST.
Re Shows That at $40 Degrees Below
It Gould DO Great Things.
MAsnINoroN. March .. 1Sea


The guests of the National Geograph-
ical society after its annual reception on
"Wednesday night were entertainedby
Charles L. Tripler, of New York, the
inventor of liquid air.
Mr.. Tripler had brought from his
laboratory in an ordinary vessel not
unlike a milk can 10 gallons of liquid
air at a temperature of three hundred
and twenty degrees below zero. This
was brought into the banquet room at
the Arlington Hotel, where the audi
ence was assembled, and many of the
experiments which have lately startled
the scientific world we're repeated.
Mr.. Tripler was introduced by Alex
ander Graham Bell, inventor of the tele
phone. large number of distinguish
ed scientists gathered 10 witness his eX-
periments, and in the audience we're
the German and Russian Ambassadors,
the Chinese Minister and large num-
Der of the most distinguished people in
Washington.
Mr.. Tripler first exhibited the liquid
air by passing around the audience tin
clippers filed with it. These gave off a
vapor like steam and rapidly accumu
lated frost an the outside. After the
audience had finished the inspection,
Mr.. Tripler struck the dippers against
the table and they broke to pieces like
glass. lie then immersed common
hollow rubber ball in the liquid and af-
terwaSd threw it on the floor, where it
broke into pieces.
BURNS CARBON.
He partially Immersed in a common
tumbler filled with liquid air stick of
carbon, like those used on the arc light,
and the part of the carbon above the
surface burned rapidly with a white
light as intense as that of an arc lamp.
He explained that temperature of
900 degrees above zero was required to
burn carbon, yet this air at 3l2 degrees
below zero burned it rapidly. He i'm
mersed in the same glass the end of a
coiled watch spring. and it burned rap
idly and threw off shower of sparks
until the entire spring was consumed.
Mr. Tripler explained that alcohol
freezes at a temperature of s202 below
zero, and he accordingly took pint of
whisky and. pouring liquid air over it,
soon had it in state so that he broke it
up into small chunks and passed it
around to his audience.
Mercury freezes at 10 degrees below
zero. The inventor froze a chunk of it
in the shape of hammer and drove a
nail into the table on which his expert
ments were conducted. This hammer
afterward circulated through the audi
ence for half an hour without melting
though it gradually accumulated frost
on the outside.
Mr.. Tripler dipped several Irish pota-
toes into the can of air, and then threw
them ON the floor, and they broke into
pieces like china eggs. The pieces were
picked up for souvenirs, but were found
to be so cold that they were uncomfOr-
table to keep.
They were extremely hard and could
be carved with Lenknile like box
wood. They circulated pretty rapidly
through the audience, each person be-
ing apparently anxious to pass them on
to his neighbor.
A piece of raw beef was immersed in
the air and taken out pure and white
and hard as ivory. Thrown on the floor
it broke into pieces. Several persons
having picked these up as souvenirs, Mr..
Tripler warned them that in few min
utes after the cold had passed away
the beautiful white substance would
return to beef again and would become
an uncomfortable Keepsake.
A cake of ice was placed on the table
and Mr.. Tripler placed upon it tea
kettle filed with liquid air. He then
placed the tea. kettle over a gas flame
and it quit boiling, and thick coating
Of ice formed on the outside and was
af.erward broken off with a mallet.
LEAVES FLOOR DRY.
Mr.. Tripler threw q dipperful of air
over his clothing, and it left them per-