The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-03-17
:SCIEN TIFIC TOPICS.
CURRENT NOTES OF DISCOVERY
AND INVENTION. 3~
'4tt Takes No Skil-For Piano Players
Hands-Acetylene Gas, Facts About q
Popular Material, How 1t Is Made
The Motor Scout.
Acetylene Gas.

Acetylene gas is in quite common use
IN some localities. It is said to be
the most practical means for supplying
gas in country houses, and is now used
IN large lamps, and also. in bicycle
lamps and lanterns. Few people, how
ever, appear to know what this gas is,
or how it came to be developed.
A writer in Popular Science Monthly
says that it is only five years ago that
the use of acetylene was suggested to
the public. In 1892 Canadian elec-
trician tried to make the metal cal
cium, in an electric furnace, in North
Carolina. He heated a mixture of
lime and coal dust, thinking to form
pure calcium in this way. He did not
succeed, but found in the furnace after
the heating a brown crystalline mass.
He found that, by pouring water on 1t,
an inf1ammable gas was Immediately
set free. Scientific men found that
this brown mass was calcium carbide,
which, when mixed with water, imme-
dlately sets free the gas. From that
beginning, practically, the system Of
using this carbide for lighting purposes
has grown. 1t not only supplies light
and heat when burned as gas, but the
carbide has other uses.
From an agricultural point of view
the most useful is it's work as a germ
1cide. 1t is said to destroy the phyllox-
era, perhaps the worst enemy Of the
ri n O
soil, the moisture of which sets free
the gas, and destroys the germs or in
sects. 1t will, probably be used to
destroy the Woolly aphis or other in
sects that work on the roots of plants.
10 make the carbide temperature of
over $500 degrees is necessary and
electric furnaces are necessary for this
purpose. The carbide can be made
with water power from stream. This
power is used in generating the elec-
trlc current, which is carried to a gen.
orator to fuse the mixture of lime and
coke. A furnace commonly used is a
huge, short cylinder or hollow wheel,
which revolves slowly on a horizontal
shaft. The top of this wheel is left al
ways open, cast iron Stats being put
below as it revolves. The upper part
OF the cylinder is filled with a mixture
bon electros project down into it, anu
the fierce heat is turned into them, and
this fuses the coke and lime into the
carbide. AS it is formed, the cylinder
is reVOlved and the carbide broken off
and taken out below. New material is
constantly heated up, while the lower
part is cooling. The carbide is crushed
and packed in air tight tin cans, and
shipped as wanted to those who use it.
The principle on which it is used is to
mix the carbide with water; gas is
given off at once, and this is stored in
tanks and pipes, and used about like
ordinary gas.
There are three forms of generators,
the most popular of which seems to be
the plan of dropping the carbide in the
form Of powder into large amount
of water; another form is the reverse
of this-dropping water in small guam
titles upon the carbide. The former
method appears to be safer, and will
give, on the whole, better results. The
chances seem to be that this method
of heating and lighting houses will be-
come very popular. 1t seems to be pos
sible to generate this gas at a very low
cost, and it seems probable that, with
in the near future, great use will be
made of the carbide for this purpose.