The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-03-05
Lecture ON
LIQUID AIR
Its Wonders Told About and
illustrated by Experiments
bY Professor Foster.

One of the most interesting entertain-
ments given this year by the Brockway
Lecture bureau, was the lecture on
Liquid Air." delivered by Prof. Eu-
gene c. Foster, of Philadelphia, at the
Lyceum last evening. Prof. Foster
was introduced by Prof. A. Fl. Wells,
of the Scranton High school, and for
two hours kept the audience keyed up
to the very highest point of interest.
He evidently believes in suiting the
action to the word, for there was
scarcely sentence uttered by him DUR
ing the evening that was not illustrated
by an astounding experiment.
After paying a fitting tribute to Chas.
e. Tripler, the American scientist
whose researches resulted in reducing
the cost of making liquid air from SO, 900
an ounce to $40 gallon, Prof. Foster
took up the subject of the evening by
laying down as the principle upon
which liquid air is created, the propo-
sition that if you take water and cool
it sufficiently you will get solid water,
and if you cool air sufficiently, by COM
preston and expansion, you will get
comparatively solid air.
Liquid air is so cold that the human
mind cannot comprehend it's tempera-
ture, which is 312 degrees below zero.
Ice is red hot compared with it and 1t
is constantly vapOrizing because of
the heat of everything else it comes in
contact with. Because of it's extreme
ly low temperature it would be impos-
sibe to transport it We're it not for the
valuable invention of James Dewar,
who designed receptacle for it, con-
sisting of q bulb within a bulb separ-
ated one from the other by vacuum.
This form of flask prevents a rapid
transmission of external heat or inter-
nal cold and reduces the loss of liquid
air to 10 per cent. day.
Regarding the prevailing impression
to the effect that liquid air has the
same explosive tendencies as dynamite
and gun powder have. Prof. Foster i'm
pressed upon the audience the error
of any such belief. He said that while
it was true liquid air has a great, even
terrible energy, it is an energy that
will not manifest itself unless we desire
it to do so.
Generally speaking there is no didn't
know it was loaded" feature about 1t.
Liquid air must be given an opportun-
ity to vaporize. While it possesses
channel through which it may resume
it's gaseous form, it is perfectly harm
less, but if denied this vent, it will
make one, and then become as harm
less as before. In combustibility it is
similar to that of oNygTn with which
we are familiar.
The liquid air used last night was
tnl lfan ha ,jT nf Ia it1tr on
this, however having nothing to do
with the fact that everything which
came in contact with it assumed an
impenetrable coat of frost.
Several rubber balls and bouncing
rubber babies, together with a raw egg
and piece of onion We're placed in the
liquid air and left so for over a minute.
When taken out they We're dashed upon
the floor where they broke into hum
dreds of pieces, like the most fragile
glass.
A piece of raw, limp beefsteak was
submitted to the same process, after
which il was broken up with ham
mer, and when the fragments We're
thrown out into the audience they rat
tied like volley of pebbles. An Amer
lean Beauty rose was dipped into the
it crumbled into dust beneath the touch
of Prof. Fosters hand.
tea kettle filled with liquid air
was next placed upon cake of ice,
where it bubbled away merrily because
of the extreme heat of ice compared
with liquid air. A red hot piece of
carbon and a cranberry We're then put
into cup of liquid ain together. When
taken out the carbon was still red hot
but the cranberry was frozen so solid
that ii broke like glass beneath a ham
mer.
The last experiment consisted of
freezing liquid mercury into a bar, so
solid that when attached to rope
young man was lifted thereby five feet
above the stage.
Prof. Foster spoke of the future of
liquid air. when II win be used to fur
nish all kinds of mechanical power
when il will take the place of ice in
the refrigerators of our homes, be-
sides furnishing an unfailing supply
of purest oxygen and when few surgl-
cal operations will be attempted With
out Its assistance. All this. however.
must wait until the cost of creating
il has been reduced many fold.