The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-21

OF producing iron In small quantities
couia not, commercially speaking, COM
pete with the blast furnace; but as a
source OF heat itseoTtains vast posi-
pllitles, and practical ways of using it
We're at once sought IS
experiments Oh tbs welding of rails
at at once demonstEate@it its possibilities.
Inc clean cut ends Us be welded are
ciamped together by al kind of portable
wise. Around theS5oint to be welded is
a aaffan q the mold composed of highly
the same material. communicating
from above with the bottom of the cru
ciple, is adjusted: III the crucible Is
piaced a charge OF thernite; on this a
snai! quantity of %the priming material
(nasnHght powder1. The operator.
wearing blue spectacles, drops light
ca natch ON the primer (hernite IT.
sell VIII not take fire from a match)
ana it retlres to a safe distance.
Inc Pelee In miniature goes off.
Ihe operator returns, opens the plug,
and the contents of the crucible flows
quickly into the mould and on the
tghtly clamped rails. The liquid iron
SINKS 10 the bottom and fuses the low
er hange, strengthening the joint The
not Stag strikes the upper part of the
rail- and heats it to such degree that
the union is instant and perfect. Later
the mould Is opened. A blow or two
Win hammer separates the, Stag
from the upper part of the now solid
rail-, ana the operation is complete.
Other Mysteries of Thermite.
1T is remarkable that, though the
contents of the crucible flows out at
a temperature little below 1904,
Fahrenheit. the outside of the cruc1ble
may be held in the bare hand almost
Immediately, because the development
of the heat is too rapid to affect sur
rounding bodies unless kept in contact
with the molten mass longer than it
remains in the crucible
so great is the, heat that the rail
would be still hot to the hand at the
end of eight or ten hours if the mould
were allowed to remain unopened so
long. The practical utility of the in
vention is shown by the fact that steel
rails are now welded by this process
In Berlin, Munich. Hamburg, Cassel
and other German cities.
1t is also a success in welding pipes
into continuous lengths, miles long, if
necessary. For pipes only the Stag
(not the molten netaD is allowed in
contact with the pipe joint. Many other
uses have been Suggested for Their
mite, and it willSworlz a revolution in
the great industries of iron, steel and
other metals.
I'm conclusionit may be remark
ed" says the scientist, that the ther-
mite mixture sSsafe to handle and
safe to store-as safe as = sawdust.
Only very high surrounding Temporal
ture or the igni4iou of the printing
material will maize 1T burn. OF course
it is never added to the mixture until
demonstration is to be made. The
constituents of tllerlIlite may be trans
ported separately teS be mixed on the
spot. Until they are mixed they are
as harmless as sand"
Ideas That Make Men Free.
Such are the wonders of chemistry,
suggesting Emerson's claim, Thought
sets men free" By a simple process
flame applied to metal filings-prison
bars melt and vaulted dungeons flow
like water.
What is the secret hidden in these
cold metals? Only the Creator knows.
Everybody has seen aluminium. 1t is
a cheap, silverya metal, as light as
cardboard, yet, in it's various forms, it
composes about 5one-twelfth of the
earths crust. Marvellous to relate,
many metals are of the aluminium
form. Mixed with copper every day,
aluminium becomes the cheap gold of
commerce, as used for cheap watch
cases, jeWelry and settings for artifi-
cial stones, now widely displayed in
show windows.
those of nature, are of corundum, an
oxide of aluminium. This corundum,
referred to above, is the famous sub
stance recently manufactured by cleo
tricity at high temperature. 1t is
kid of precious substance itself, near
ly as hard as the diamond, and among
the gems of it's various FERNS are sap
phires, amethysts rubies and topazes.
Another wondrous element is chro-
MUM. In it's pure state it is of tin
white color, like aluminium. After
fusion 1t is even harder than corun-
DUN. 1t oxidizes slowly and in oxygen
burns wildly. It does not occur ina
tive" but is found in chrome iron
stone, lead chromate and meteoric
iron. One of it's forms is supposed to
be the green that gives respondent
luster to the emerald. When artifi-
cially made this kind of chromium is
of a dull green color and is popular
with manufacturers for imparting a
green tint to porcelain. The most i'm
portants use of pure chromium is to
harden steel. With it Krupp tempers
armor plates for battle ships.
BY chemistry the pale faced mod
ern Faust, working in his laboratory,
makes metals out of clay and many
marvellous combinations. What they
will do when skillfully proportional
and exposed to heat the story above
gives hint-accounting as 1t were,
for the forces at work in space, Great
ing heat and electricity, making suns
burn with Undesirable fury, collid-
ing with peaceful planets, mixing their
metals in second of time-and new
worlds seem to leap into vision, balls
of molten fire sweeping through space;
vast cyclones OF flame, making Pelee
a cold storage vault by comparison
men unlimited power, making them
gods, as it were, to first master them
selves and then the universe