The sun., 1901-10-09
SEE BY A NEW LIGHT.
ana CIcarness Now Coming Into
Ese.


tracing attention because of its adapt
gas, on which the leading manufacturers
of generators. ]. b. Colt Il Co.. furnish
the following valuable article:
I'VE believe we will be rendering the
public genuine service in calling 10 its
attention some of the merits possessed
by Acetylene gas as an ilnminant, and
correcting the erroneous impressions
which exist regarding it, The great i'm
pediment which is retardrg acetylene is
widespread public skepticism +, gardins
its safety, but which we propose TO show
is not well founded. We say 'retarding'
in negative sense; as matter of fact,
acetylene is coming into use with rapid
bounds in spite OF skepiicism but its
merits would lead one to believe that,
were it half understood. almost every
new lighting plant installed would be by
this system.
"Acetylene is produced simply by
bringing into contact water and calcium
carbide. The latter has been known for
many years to chemists, but not until
1892 was il discovered that it could be
produced with sufficient economy to
make it available for lighting TO compete
with other methods of illumination. The
credit for this discovery belongs to
Thomas l.. Wilson, experimenting for
another purpose at Spray, N. G. The
excellence of the light induced host of
eXperimenters to enter the field Of con
structing generators. So important did
the question of acetyene lighting he
come that about n year ago the State of
Pennsylvania caused an exhaustive in
vcstgation to be made by the Depart
ment of Agriculture and an exceedingly
valuable report was made by Prof.
George Gilbert Pond Phi. D., on the
Application of acetylenc lighting to coun.
try homes To quote briefly from the
report regarding calcium carbide, Prof.
Pond says:
Certain false impressions were dis.
scminated very early in its history about
carbide, and have, by their persistence,
much handicapped this deserving, though
youthful, aspirant for honors in the field
of industry. Well packed, ii is as safe
to store or transport as other ordinary
commodities, and probably safer than
many inflammable things, as wool, COAL
cotton, etc. If the building in which it
is stored should burn, unbroken pack
ages will go through the fire unharmcd
Everything considered, though prcju-
diced against it at the outset, and abso-
lutcly and purely disintercstcd at present,
after much careful study, and feeling the
responsibility of being called upon to fur
nish an unbiased opinion in this matter,
the writer believes that the use of acety-
lcnc gas for the illumination of rural
homes, provided il is generated from
good carbide in first-cass apparatus
and all reasonable regulations followed
is no more fraught with danger at the
present day than any available method
of illumination by gas, or electricity, and
less so than the usual employment of
petroleum.
MANY other scientific authorities
might be quoted to corroborate the same
facts. The plain truth is that in point
of cXplosiveness, acetylene is in practice
just the same as any other illumiSating
gas. and there has never been IN eX-
plosion from acetylene that would not
have happened with any other gas treated
in the same manner The way to get an
cXplosion-and the only way, either with
acetylene or any other Illuminating gas
is to have it confined in a limited space
and mixed with air in definite proper
tions, forming an explosive MIXTURE and
then ignited, and this need never occur in
practice. When you have said this, you
have told the whole story, as regards
the danger of acetylene. Pure acetylene
is not explosive, and the product from
which it is made, calcium carbide, is far
safer than gasolene, or the product from
which other illuminating gases are pro
duced.
"rhc essential advantage Of the Colt
type of generators is the feeding of car
bide into an excess of water (called the
wet processl in variable quantities, in
stead of dripping water onto an excess
of carbide the dry process) the result
being dry, cool gas, and the absence
Of the necessity for large storage gas
ometer, as there is no over-production of
gas, as is inevitable with the dry process
SO well known to the users of acetylene
bicycle lamps. Acetylene bike lamps have
undoubted done much to delight people
with the quality Of the light, but also to
mislcad many as to its practicabllity for
wider uses.
"trhe cost of installation Of an acety-
lene generator is very much less than
the installation of either gasolene or cleo
trir nlnnt and thp COST of maintenance