Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-14
COOLEST SPOT IN PARIS
1T WILL BE THE LABOR ATORN
WHERE LIQUID AIR Is MADE.
Practical Uses to Which the Product
May he Put-Cheap Compare
ed With Ice.

Written for The Evening Star
| The coolest spot in Paris this year will be
in the Champs de Mars in the main expo
| sition building near the center Officially,
| the place is located group four class
twenty-one. but American visitors in
search of this little of frigidty, which,
| by the way. will be created by Ameri-
| can. will probably follow the unofficial
! direction.
| In a few cubic yards of this space-it will
| be really more than a mere spot-the tenn
perature will be 3l2 degrees below zero. al
| together too low for comfort, but for thu
| most part 1t will be about to or 40 degrees
above, just cool enough to be pleasant. The
| region of extreme low temperature will be
| filed with visible air. liquid air as ii is
called. and there will be thirty to forty gal
Ions of it made on the spot every hour. At
| least thirty gallons of air at 30 degrees
| below zero Will be used to run machinery,
| to show its refrigerative power and for sur
| gical use. after which 1t will return TO its
normal gaseous state, cooling the surround
ing atmosphere In the process. And, of
course, the presiding genius of the place
will be Charles Z. 1'ripler.
In a week from now, at most. the liquefy-
ing apparatus will be completely installed.
For the past two months or more work on
engines and compressors and liquefiers has
been going ahead in three different locali-
ties in New York state. Two sets of double
have been built at Tarrytown and Corning
to run the liquefiers. Two liQuefiers. each
OF which will be capable of turning out
from fifteen to twenty gallons of liquid air
struction behind the locked doors of the in
ventor's laboratory. These lots of ma
chinery have been assembled and tested and
We're shipped only few days ago.
A Complete Laboratory.
Besides the apparatus for the manufac.
1tttr "a
motor engines to be run by the strange
liquid. the power coming from the expan-
sion of the air as 1t vaporizes. Model COM
pressors and lequetiers 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
Transformation from invisible to visible air
through 400 degrees of temperature and
the application of intense cold 10 commer-
cial, domestic and scientific uses.
What will probably impress the visitor
most will be the prodigaity of those in
charge At least, that has always inn
pressed the visitors to the New York lab
oratory. 1t is not long ago that Prof.
Dewar produced the first ounce Of liquid
air, at cost of $1,000. and for many
months he could not reduce the cost OF an
ounce below $500. Here will be an appa-
ratus, however, which the inventor claims
will make liquid air at a cost of only o
cents a gallon. There is not SO much
DrOdigaity after all IN using up thirty
forty gallons of liquid air every hour, II
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 81 a ton nominally. Eleven gallons
of liquid air. If placed in a cylinder and al
lowed to expand gradually, has refrigerat-
Ing power equal to one ton of ice. The
eleven gallons of liquid air cost A cents:
thus there is a saving of $2.la in producing
the same degree of cold that may he pro-
duced by ton of ice. The cold produced
by liquid air Is very dry cold; that pro-
duced by Ice is a very damp cold, for most
purposes the former is obviously much bet
ter.
Another interesting prospective use for
visible air, which may be proved pracuca-
BILE by the working of air motors at the
exposition. is the propulsion OF ocean liners.
Such utilization of the new substance
would save much space and expense. Inc
cost of running fast steamer across the
Atlantic is about $1,000. and the amount OF
coal required is nearly 1000 tons. With
liquid air. 1t is claimed the cost would be
less than $1,000, and the weight and space
required practically insignificant. If this
be possible every steamer would have an
additional earning capacity, because cargo
would be carried in place of the large
amount of coal now required. Just how
liquid air is to be applied to this use has
not been explained as yet, nor has the
method of Its manufacture or storage. The
substance is so volatile that 1t seems
scarcely possible that 1t could be kept for
seven days. and If it is to be made on
board ship 1t would seem necessary to
have coal and engines for its manufacture
by steam power.
Strangely enough most persons fail to
realize that liquid air cannot be kept like
water. They seem to reason why IL
substance 312 degrees below zero should
pass away quicker than one 80 degrees
above zero. Letters come to the New York
laboratory of Mr.. Tripler almost every day
asking for sample bottles Of liquid air. and
many of these applications are from
Europe. 1t is because of this popular error
that many of the eXtravagant claims for
liquid air arise. For example, one en-
thusiast would peddle air at a temperature
of 312 degrees below zero from house TO
house in pals, as milk is now distributed.
Visible Air an Explosive.
But the mistakes are not all on one side.
Perhaps no phase of liquid air possibilities
is commanding more attention than its
explosive power. A recent test in Germany
showed this to be of high order but it
was also shown practically that the value
of liquid air cartridge deteriorates very
rapidly. To be most efficient 1t should be
used soon made. The woeful ignor-
ance of many supposed scientists regarding
the substance is shown by a recent report
of some earlier experiments in south Ger
many.
The men in charge poured some liquid air
into a pestle and mixed in a little earth. as
they mix earth and nitroglycerne in maxi
ing dynamite, adding liquid air and earth
now and then When they thought the
mixture was about ready for use tmost Of
the liquid air having evaporated In the mix.
ing meanwhile) 1t was placed In gun.
There was no report, of course, whereupon
1t was given out that liquid air was of no
value as an explosive.
But every one who attends the exposition
this year will have ample opportunity to
see and judge of visible air for himself. TO
see liquid air running a motor engine will
at least prove that such thing is possible.
To see liquid air successfully used In sur
gical operations, in the removal of ulcers,
even cancers, If not too malignant, and as
a cauterizing agent will prove its practical
utility for the alienation of physical suffer-
ing. If the cooling of hospital wards in sum-
mer can be made possible by the use of Wis
ihle air, If by resolving it oxygen can be
produced cheaply in large quantities. that
will assure the world Of its value to the sick.
HAD INSTRUCTIONS FROM BRYAN.
Delegates to Sioux Falls Had Choice
of Three Propositions.
10