The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-02-20


only a greater perfection in method to
change them also, and that every sub
stance, under appropriate conditions.
would assume the solid or the liquid or
the gaseous state. Permanent" gas
had then come to mean only a gas
which was very difficult to Iiquefy The
term, however. has now no meaning.
for there is no known gas which has
not been converted into a liquid
Early Experiments.
The first important step in this line
of work may be said to be marked by
Faraday's liQuefactiOn Of chlorine gas
Some few experiments before this
seemed TO have some measure of sue
cess, but they were isolated and in
most cases doubtful. In 1923. however,
F'araday, who was then Sir Humphrey
Days assistant in the Royal institu-
ton, tried an experiment, at Davy's
suggestion, which had important and
unexpected results. In a closed tube
of thick glass he heated d substance
which produced chlorine gas. Davy was
not present, but DR.. Paris, friend of
Davy's, happened to be. The anecdote
has been often told, but it is worth re-
prating here.
Both Davy and Dir. Paris were to
dine out, and the doctor, finding him
self dressed, with time to spare, drop
ped IN at the laboratory of the Royal
institution. where Faraday, the assist
ant. had been left to work. He found
Faraday heating something in a tube
and, glancing at it. he rallied the ex-
perimenter on using unclean vessels,
calling his attention TO an oily sub
stance in the tube. Faraday looked,
acknowledged the justice of the remark
and Immediately proceeded to file off
the END of the tube. Immediately, 70
the great surprise of both. there was
violent explosion and the oil vanished
DR.. Paris went off to his dinner and
Faraday went on with his work, and
on the following day the doctor was
surprised to receive this note: Dear
Sir; The oil you noticed yesterday
turns out to be liquid chlorine. Yours,
faithfully, VI. Faraday."
This was the beginning and it was
not long before Faraday and Davy had
succeeded in converting to the liquid
form several gases, including ammonia,
nitrous oxide-the Laughing gas" of o.
day-and carbon diOXide. or ~carbOnic-
acid gas This carbon diOxide is a gas
OF the most common occurrence. It is
produced by respiration and by COM
bustion Of any kind-respiration is but
one form of combustiOn-and is a con-
stituent Of atmospheric air in pretty
definite and constant proportions. The
balance is maintained by the action of
plants, which break il up. digest the
casbon and set free the oxygen again.
Carbon diOxide proved to be compare
lively easy to liquefy and even to
solidify, and was for many years inn
p0rtant in work of this. kind, being
used in the liquid or the solid form to
produce low temperatures.
There came now a break Of many
years in Faraday's work upon gases,
and in this interval the name that
stands out most prominently is prob
ably that OF ThilOrier. He succeeded in
producing liquid carbon diOxide in large
quantities and in s0lidifying it at 100
degrees below zero centigTade without
compression. This solid moistened
with ordinary ether is known as "Thi-
lorier's mixture" and viii produce
temperature Of 1i9 degrees below zero
centigrsde, or i66 degrees below zero
Fahrenheit. Some unsuccessful at
Jempts were made to liquefy hydrogen
and oxygen by pressure alone. We
should know now that such attempts
could not possibly succeed.
In 1915 Faraday stimulated by the
work of Thiorier. began asain TO ex-
pertinent upon gases Re succeeded in
hquefying many-their names would De
familiar only TO the chemist-and in
sOlidifying some of them. The liquids
were, as a rule, transparent and color
less and the solids crystalline, trans
parent or translucent. He was not sue
cessful in liquefying the permanent"
gases, but he predicted that If a low
enough temperature could be produced
they would pass into the liquid or the
solid state. and he hoped to see oxygen
nitrogen and hydrogen either as liquid
or solid bodies, and The latter probably
as a metal" This last has proved not
TO be the case. for solid hydrogen is
distinctly non-metaIlic. according to the
statements OF the experimenters who
have obtained it.