The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-11-08
NITRIC ACID FROM AIR
Great Discovery Has Been
Made in Respect Thereto.
FERTILITY FOR The SOIL
The Dream of Ages Is at Last
Realized in America.

+ York Herald says:
To obtain our food supplies direct from
F the atmosphere has long been the dream
+ OF the economist. but 70 extract from
I Inc air We breath = vital slemtnt for
/ maintaining the fertility Of the soil upon
which our very lives depend is nov an ac-
! comphshed fact There was a time-only
/ few years aSo-when the rapidly Ia
creasing consumption OF wheat and tbs
! failing prodncsiveaess OF the soil caused
among the thoughtful some grave appre-
( hension. A calamity seemed 10 b not
( far distant. for while fertilizers were able
/ 10 keep Up the standard 81 the SOLE these
fixed zitrogerous raanures were being ex-
hausted with frigh;ful rapidity.
II was a comparatively easy matter fer
statisticans 10 determine arithmetically
that the nitrate deposits o fthe soil would
+ be consumed entirely in the course 81 the
next fifty years. Whc nthis occurred The
F logical sequence would be the extinction
Z OF the peopled earth by starvation. even
as suffering humanity has been reduced
+ in India by this fearful cgrse
But now electricity suddenly asserts its
+ power a. a factor in universal economies
and refutes the data offered by men %
facts and figures, IL may BE- shown graph
icaiiy how. by a process az once simple
usually. al least. however complex may
I be its Invisible actisn-the nitrogen CT the
air may b. separated from TIE oxygen
+ and fixed: that T.. retained in the form of
nitric acid OF Il may De combined In ths
/ form Of nltrateS. or saltpctre a. u rs COM
monty termed
Here. then We have an unexhaastibis
supply OF nitrogen not only Tor the pur-
+ poses Of fertilixine bat also for the arts
and sciences Practically fcur-nfths %
the bulk OF the air is composed OF this
element. Before examining the process
of electric extraction Of atmospheric nitro
gen Few words concerning the nature of
air may assist IN better understanding the
principles involved. Although afr IL COM
posed chiefly Of the two g-ssscs. nitrogen
and oxygen. there are other substances IN
smaller quantities contained ia Il. as. for
{ instance. carbonic acid. ammonia and
water vspoE.
II match Is lighted IN the air ths
process u burning whie hfakcs place -
due to the oxygen IN nitrogen substances
do not readily burn. although nitrogen
gas IS conbustlblc. but. as Sir William
Crookes has pointed out. even u II - *
uited SIS Same is not communicated 81
the adjacent atoms Of gas. since the tenn
peratare at which u viii light j. higher
than that OF the fame produced BY t.:
II Il were otherwise. the world would not
only be consumed by Ere. but by q ieluxe
81 nitric acid IS we'll The elements q
/ oxygen and nitrogen are not chemically
united in the formation Of air. bat srs
mechanically mixed 80 that n the oNyE gen
could be extracted. destroyed OF even
combined atomically. the nitrogen would
be easily obtainsble These gases srs
called elements since q g. impossible 20
decomposs them or obtain other snd sirnp-
Ier forms q matter from them
Nitrogen IS found 81 many substances
in nature. - for iastance % potassium.
nitrate. or ordinary saltpetfe. and in So
siurn. nitrate or chill ssispetre in suano
deposits. in the Fhosphates and ia ~
refuse matter rom atsbics- To obtain
sa!tpetre from manure the matter ls mix
Cd with lime and permitted o. stand for
a time after having been floisteued. Ths
nitrate thus formed j. separated with
water and converted into potassium al
trate The places whore thi- Industry -
carried on are called saifpeire riautsfinns.
All the various sources are being Vor~sa
70 their utmost capacity. England aions
spends over 80 90 80 a year ia cnriehina
her Impoverished soils. fo Say uethins q
the immense expenditure II ouf own
country -aud sell may they he made Tor
in this lies the very life ~ fhe san
Animal ard vegetable subsistence wten
ln a.. pfocees ~ decay or stow nafnral
deeonpcslflon. are fhe rssu.f ~ fntuats
forms - living matter a. microbes eor~
decomposition takes place under saisahis
conditions q nitrate o. formed al from
this product ultric acid may ~ easily o.
tairsa - treating % with stlrhuric arst-
Dr PrlestIy. a faulous ph3sirist ~ ,ns
eighteenth century fgsnd thar Nhen a
srark frora 80 si~rtricai fnaehirs 1sahsd
in :he air . peculiar oeioT -uaiiifesfsa
itseif Upun closer tave-flratlon sn8
more carsfsl sz4nslnatlYn Pc af'fits.tsd
the change - eners.e si arfiaa Nlu.ffenf6
century ehenssts ascerisin-a fhe rsnEens
odof emitted whsa SPARK passe8 - -
oxors or e rearrs nrfrlerf ~ iiir atoms <
sxyxen on fhe s.eetrse operation - ~
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