The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-13

horse power each have been built at Tar
rytown and Corning to run the liquefers.
Two liquehers, each of which will be ca
pable of turning out from 10 to 20 gallons
of LIQUID air every hour, have been in
course of construction behind the locked
doors of the inventors laboratory These
lots of machinery have been assembled
and tested ana were shipped only a few
days ago
Besides the apparatus for the manufac-
ture of the visible air there will be little
motor engines to be run by the strange
liquid. the power coming from the expan-
sion of the air as it vaporizes. Model COM
pressors and liquefiers will show how the
work is done from start to finish. In fine,
those who visit the coolest place in Paris
during the exposition Will find complete
laboratory showing all the processes of
transforms ton from invisible to visible air
through 400 degrees Of temperature and
the application of intense cold to COM
mercial domestic and scientific uses.
What will probably impress the visitor
most will be the prodigality of those in
charge. AT least, that has always i'm
pressed the visitors to the New York Ia
boratory. 1t Is not so long ago that Prof
Dewar produced the first ounce of liquid
air at a cost Of $1,000, and for many
months he could not reduce the cost of
an ounce below $500. Here will be an APP
paratus, however which the inventor
claims will make liquid air at a cost Of
only cents a gallon There Is not SO
much prodigality after all in using up 80
or 40 gallons of liquid air every hour, if
this claim as TO cost be true.
Practical Uses of Visible Air.
Refrigeration is the most obvious use to
which visible air can be put. Ice costs
about SO a ton nominaly. Eleven gallons
of liquid air, If placed in cylinder and
allowed to expand gradually, has refrig-
Grating power equal to one ton of ice.
The eleven gallons of liquid air cost A
cents; thus there is a saving of S2.45 in
producing the same degree Of cold that
may be produced by ton of ice. The cold
produced by liquid air is a very dry cold;
that produced by ice is a very damp cold;
for most purposes the former is obvious
ly much better.
A very serious factor in the shipment
of perishable goods is the freight charges
on the ice itself. For example 10000 car
loads of California fruit are sent across
the United States every year. In each car
five tons of ice are required for refriger-
ating; the ice itself costs about SIS a car,
the freight charges are about SIPS. Com
pare this with liquod air. Fifty-hve gal
Ions of it, the refrgerating equivalent of
hvestons of ice, cost only $275 while the
freight on this quantity of liquid air car
ried across the continent would be about
S .25. Here is a saving of S132 on every car
of perishable goods shipped to New York
from California. on the entire transconti-
mental shipment there would be a saving.
according to this estimate, of $l,S2OOOO
Perhaps. in the case OF a whole train of
perishable goods, tho LIQUID air could be
manufactured on the train, the power for
this purpose being furnished by steam
from the locomotive and the air being dis
tributed as needed through the cars
Another interesting prospective use for
visible air, which may be proved practical
BILE by the working of air motors at the
exposition, is the propulsion Of ocean lin
crs. Such utilization Of the new substance
would save much space and expense. The
cost of running a fast steamer across the
Atlantic is about 5000, and the amount of
coal required is nearly 2,0O0 tons. with
liquid air, II is claimed the cost would be
less than $500, and the weight and space
REQUIRED practically insignificant II this
he nnssihla everv steamer would have IN