The times., 1901-04-07
THE MAGIC Oh LIQUID AIR
Two Wonderful Exhibitions at the
Washington City Plant.

| Automobiles and Engines Run by IA
| New PeUer-A Union of Two Hith-
erto Rival Compnnies-The Tripier
and General Liquid Air Company
| II. is not generally known, but neverthe-
| less a fact that the two hitherto rival
| and combating liquid air companies of
the United States have practically com
! bined and in n few days viii have been
| legally constituted one company. to be
known as the Tripler and General Liquid
| Air Company, operating under the pat
euts of Charles T. Tripler and Ostergren
* Burger.
! The combined companies have a Wash
ington plant just installed, and are now
doing their preliminary work in the build
| ing of the Capital Traction Company at
the foot Of Seventh Street
Exhibitions were given yesterday after
| noon and on Wednesday afternoon at the
| plant by the company. under the auspices
| of Prof. G.. A. Bohrick. E. T., it's chief
| engineer. They were exhibitions of mag
| fc. spectacular and vivid, that would have
put to shame the performances Of the eld-
| er Hermann in his palmiest days, but
| they were combined with most convinc-
| ing ocular demonstration of tremendous
and hitherto almost unthought-of power
under perfect control. The experiments
were watched at both lectures by dstin
! guished groups of scientists and business
] men.
From the freezing of beefsteak to the
consistency of a pane of glass. to the
running of an automobile, a lighting
plant, and a refrigeration plant, every
step of the wonderful progress that has
! been made with the development of this
| new energy was exhibited in a manner
quite startling even to the scientific men
| present-for it is only during the last
few months that many of the most re-
markable developments have been reached
| by Prof. Bobrick. and the learned world
is only now beginning TO hear of them.
Prof. Bobrick is a twentieth century ma
gician. dealing not with mumbled words,
| sleight of hand, and artful mirrors, but with
the paraphernaia of a combined chemical
laboratory and engine shop. He works
not in charms and hoodoos for the de-
| struction of his enemies and the produc-
ton of love philters, but in sober earnest
| for the generation of energy in a new
way to turn wheels and produce actual.
| tangible, valuable results. His mysteries
tre mysteries no longer when he explains
| them, but they are none the less bewil
dering for all that.
He is dark, quiet man, rather under
| the ordinary size remarkable in appear
! ance only for pair of vivid black eyes
| that show the fire of fine imagination.
He is Russian. by birth, and received a
thorough education in the ST. Petersburg
| Institute of Technology. one of the lead
| ing technical schools of the world He
has been experimenting with liquid air
| for some years, land during the past two
years has been doing practical work in
| harnessing its energies so clearly demon
| strated by Prof. Tripler and others. 1t is
| by his efforts, however, almost entirely,
that these practical working machines
| using liquid air have been devised and
| constructed. and it is on these machines
! that the Tripler and General Liquid Air
Company has been allowed a large num-
| Der of patents.
Prof Bobrick began his exhibition yes
! terday with the new liquid air automo-
| bile. He explained its mechanism and
| then gave practical demonstration of
its running capacity so far this could
| be done the floor of the company's
plant, which only gives a track" of
about 200 feet in length. The automobile
| is particularly noticeable because of it's
extreme lightness and gracefulness. with
an entire absence OF big and heavy ma
| chfnery. Further examination shows a
number of advantages which it seems to
| have over machines run by other motive
| powers. but this point is first to attract
| attention. 4 ne reason lot tniS Is SHOWN
when the framework of the vehicle is
removed and the mechanism is revealed.
| There is no electric battery and no steam
engine and no gasoline tank.
| Explained in the fewest words, which
| do not really explain, of course. the ma
| chinery of this automobile consists of a
| reservoir containing liquid air and a
| rieS of pipes, carrying the air as il eX-
! pands TO a little piston, which turns the
| wheels of the vehicle. The elaboration
of the machine is ali in furnishing means
hi
more rapidly and hence develop its lat
| ent power more quickly.
As Prof. Bobrick explained the nearest
/ analogy to this engine in mechanics is
| the steam engine Liquid air is at a
| temperature of S12 degrees below zero
| Fahrenheit When it is encased i'm a
| reservoir properly constructed it evapo-
rates very little and. in fact, may be kept
| for a month or more. When, however,
| the outside air is allowed to reach IL a
| rapid evaporation and expansion begins.
| When this evaporation takes place in a
| series of pipes all exposed to the outer
| atmosphere IT is if fire were placed
| beneath a boiler containing water. The
| atmosphere at say SO degrees above zero
! is 372 degrees above the temperature of
| liquid air. In the automobile the pipes
/ are painted black to absorb the largest
| amount of heat from the atmosphere
| The atmosphere acts Prof. Bobricks
| fire
| It is said that the liquid air automobiles
can be manufactured and sold complete
with a good profit at from $500 up. The
/ liquid air for motive power VIII cost much
less than electricity and not more than
steam or gasoline. The machine can be
| run farther without recharging than any
other yet devised 1t makes no smoke, no
| heat and no escaping steam. and no noise
/ in its workings 1t is so light that the
wear and tear on the vehicle are reduced
| 10 the minimum. The machinery is so
simple and consists of 50 few parts that
| it is practically indestructible The man
agement of the vehicle and the motive
| power can be learned in two minutes
| There is no possibility of danger con
nected with IT.
The appetite of the audience was whet-
ted by the automobile show. 1t has been
contended for a long time, comparatively
| speaking (there are no actual long pc
RODS of time since the development of
liquid air., that this agent is absolutely
worthless as power. or rather cannot
develop any power whatever. Some of
the greatest OF the minds that have con-
sidered the physics of the new liquid have
from time to time launched the dicta that
the problem is equivalent to that of at
tempting to create power by the eVapora-
tion of a tank of cold water. Nearly
everyone in the audience had read or
heard these opinions and their refuta
tion In such a startling manner was quite
sufficient to keep the attention during
the remainder OF the experiments
Prof. Bobrick performed many varia
tions of the shoWS experiment with liquid
air that have become somewhat familiar
of late. He immersed a rubber ball in
the iluid for a moment and then made
Il very good throw second base il