The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-03
NEW USES OF ALUMINIUM.
COPPER WOW FEELING ITs hIVAL"f
~ ELECTRIC WIRES.

IL Iivh,r... ~. =. In Other Fields Oes
Great RecommeudAtion for A's"--
Cooking Utensils Of the New hsssi H'~.
nun In the Army Japan ass ."'
dia Are working Aisminsm No~~s'
Ten years ago one heard little aoou. aiuml,
mum. 1t has been known As q sonu N .
for almost fifty years, but It's cost mao c~Iro'
1t from general use. In 1885 Two Wv
hal. tons Of aluminium represented LUG WIN
yearly o:tput Of the metal. To-day ue OK,
sany that controls the supply In tne on'O.u
States is producing approximately "'oo pou
daily and the two European companes ~
FORCES, France. and at the FANS OF tno n","0
are turning out large quantities OF tne me'a,'
improvements i'm the process Of produo"oh
account for this astonishing chahse III oon-
ditions, and for tho fact that witnin zen ye"s
the price Of aluminium has fallen from 90
pound TO about 81 cents. The detaus OF inc
process are protected by patent ana some
OF them are not given TO the OUTSIDE pupno.
but the general features are wen KNOWN anu
easily understood. The ore USED was nrst
found in France but is now found IN large
quantities in Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas
and in It's raw state II looks ike
ordinary clay. The ore Is sent 70 Nia8ara'
where the reducing factories are iocateo' III
order that they may utilize the cheap ana
abundant water power. There the ore. which
Is in the shape Of an impure oxide.ls supJec'eo
10 a process OF pure electrolyeis. which sepd-
rates the aluminium from the gas oxygen ana
the metal is put into the form OF sheets. wire
or ubing for the market. Until within Two
years il was practically impossible to purify
the metal to a degree higher than 9s per cent,
and the 2 per cent. Of impurity has caused
deterioration In the metal and interfered with
its utility. Now that diflculty has been over
come and aluminium Is from s9h per cent
to 90 % per cent. pure. Another improve
ment has been In the manufacture OF light
and strong alloys. Aluminium. like copper,
is rather a weak metal. but, with S per cent OF
copper, nickel or manganese, II Is as strong
rs bronze, while only one-third as heavy.
Its light weight Is Of course the great adj
vantage Of aluminium in It's competition with
copper, bronze, brass, &c. and the rapidity
with which the sphere of the comparatively new
metal is broadening threatens the supremacy
of all common metals save iron and steel. Cop
per especially feels the rivalry for the most aston
l-hing feature of the development OF aluminumls
It's tendency 70 replace copper as an eleouicAi
conductor. All over the country intereSIns
experiments are being made along this line.
and SO far with fair success. The present
high price of Upper. has given aluminium is
opportunity, and while electrical, wires es,- o.
spending wires of copper. that disadvantage
Is overcome by their lightness. A wire ~
per cent. larger in area Of cross section and
one-nfth greater In diameter Ia still only one
half the weight of the copper wire.
Ten large power transmission plants
and twenty-five electric railway ana eleG,,l0
conductors. and the indications are that this
one use will consume thousands OF tons OF
the metal each year. As a result every enort
metal. for even now the supply is Inadequate
10 the demand. The most extensive expert
ment yet undertaken with aluminium as an
electrical conductor is going on IN Galliornia,
Between Sacramento and San Francisco three
wires $50 miles long are in use, the. power trans
mission plant sending currents Of $1,000 volts
the highest voltage yet attempted in any trans
nun have been put into this one plant.
The Pennsylvania and several western
railways are experimenting WIN aluminium
telegraph lines and waiting with interest TO
see how the metal will stand severe sleet storms
and other winter tests.
In foreign countries aluminium IL being used
Russia being specially Interested IN the eY-
attention to detail In military matters, con;
siders every fraction Of an ounce deducted
from the infantry equipment as OF importance.
and has introduced aluminium even into such
things as the nails Of the soldiers shoes, In
tt1llt TtUl1lfUI>s
The United States Government has been eY-
ceedingly conservative in the matter. Early
experiments made with n view to army equip
ment were unsatisfactory, for various reasons;
impurity Of the metals, faulty alloy, and lack
OF experience in manufacture initiating against
success. Canteens and other utensils, while
light in weight, were found to dent badly, and
the metal was declared impracticable. Now
that experiment has greatly improved the quail
ity OF the metal It's use In our army may come
about. During the Santiago campaign several
cavalry tTnnnl hn6 mn1f cans ana ClDS OF
aluminium. but the general verdict was that the
sheet metal used was not thick enough. Inc
sufficiently thick for the purpose would still
weigh less than half what the regulation can
of timed iron weighs.
Aluminium mess kits, used by regiments 10
the Philippines, have received the same crit.
cism,. The experience has been that for %ofhcers'
use the mess outfit has served admirably, but
that the frying pans and plates have not 6esn
enlisted MEN Many OF the officers are using in
dividual aluminium outfits made In Germany.
whore such manufacture has advapced further
than in this country. and they are loud In their
praise Of the innovation.
The japanese are possibly using more alumni
nun, to-day than any, other foreign nation,
their ship, %blildin,; and 1t is rather q surprising
fac, that India supplies = great market for ne
% Iov nnv, Pb2jSsle IA, the sn 2, sSsn II mind 4 sm sH''S Se wlss
Tighten the effort OF life Atany rate. the nafiye
troops, in India, are perhaps more generally
supplied WIN aluminium kltS tnan any Otner
soldiers in the world. The Indian bazaars are full
Of aluminium work that Is far ahead OF anything
done In the West. for the metal workers OF
India are among the c~leyerest craftsmen OF
the world, and, through England, they can
obtain aluminium cheaper than brass or copper,
The same circumstances that have kept
aluminium out Of our army have hampered tho
Use of the metal In culinary utensils. German
metallurgists long ago discovered the cheering
fact that aluminium was non-poisonous In cor
rosion. In fact. one old gentleman with the
courage. OF his convictions experimental
by mixing the aluminium corrosion with his
food for Q certain number Of days and, finding
himself a! I'VE at the end Of that time. triumphant
~ scored. his point. Naturally. the harm
lessness OF the metal should give IL an advan-
tage over the long cherished copper In the
kitchen, but for a Iona time the price was
prohibitory and since that objection was re-
moved the, manufacturers have made the
same mistake as In army equlpment-that
or using sheets too thin TO resist dents in hard
usage. One Of the largest uses OF the metal
at present Is In the manufacture Of covers for
fruit jars, where its chemical harmleseness
makes II preferable to zinc and tin. and the
various manufacturers find II impossible to sup
ply the demand for these Jar tops.
Another new Use for the metal has been found
IN the hthographing business. In the past
Few years photographic stone has been TO som
extent snpplanted by metal plates Of one kind
or another. The Germans intr oduced the first
aluminium plates not more than two or three
years ago. but since that time between thirty
and forty firms In the United States have taken
M al