The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-03-02
MARVELLOUS URALITE.
AN ABSOLUTELY FIREPRooF SUB.
STANCE INVENTED HY Inns.
CHENETzKY.

Purposes.
Have you ever heard of uralite
Probably not, for II is new invention.
Yet IL is well worthy of your notice,
since 1t is superior to anything of the
kind that has yet been produced. II is
the invention of Russian artillery Of
ficer, and chemist, named Imschenet-
zky, and its claim to distinction lies
in the fact that it is absolutely fire.
proof.
| Uralite is composed of asbestos fibre
with proper proportion of silicate, BIZ
| carbonate of soda and chalk, and IL Is
supplied in various finishes and colors,
according to the purpose for which It
is intended. In soft form sheet of
uralite is like an asbestos board; I;
when hard it resembles finely sawn
stone and has metallic ring. Besides
being a non-conductor of heat and elec.
tricity. II is practically waterproof land
may be made entirely so by paint +,
and is not affected either by atmos-
| pheric influences or by the acids con-
tanned in smoke in large towns, which
rapidly destroy galvanized iron.
Moreover, it can be cut by the usual
! carpenters or wood workers tools; it
can be veneered to form paneling for
walls or partitions; it can be painted
| grained, polished and glued together
| like wood; 1t does not split when a
| nail is driven through it; it is not af-
| fected when exposed to moisture or
| great changes of temperature, and II
| can be given any desired color either
during the process of manufacture or
afterward.
Mr.. Oliver ]. d. Hughes, United
States consul general at Coburg,
thinks highly of it as fireproof build
| ing material. Several tests, he says,
have been made of it, and in each case
the result has been most satisfactory.
In order TO carry out the tests, small
brick built house, an iron framed hut,
lined and covered with uralite, and a
| duplicate platform were erected, and
each was then fitted with promoters
for the purpose of recording the tenn
peratures electrically and was filled
with highly infiammable material.
To the house were fixed four strong
doors, of oak, steel and uralite, and as
were shut. The highest temperature
reached was 2350 degrees Fahrenheit,
and after the test 1t was found that in
each case the doors had resisted the
fire. In the hut was placed a deed box
made OF uralite and wood, and in the
box were placed some papers, book,
crucible containing paraffin wax and
another holding piece of easily fusi-
BILE metal.
After being subjected to an external
heat of 2030 degrees Fahrenheit, the
papers and the book were not affected
in the slightest degree, and though the
wood nearest the fire was charred
right through the uralite was sound
and the paraffln wax had only melted
slightly.
After the fire had been burning
three-quarters of an hour, those pres
ent were able to place their hands on
any part of the door which was COW
cred inside and outside with uralite,
though by that time all the woodwork
had been burned off another door,
which had uralite for its panels only.
Other remarkable tests are also de-
scribed by Consul General Hughes in
n official report which he has just
sent to the government on the subject.
I'm the well equipped laboratory"
he says, quoting the words of an ex-
pert, "one of the staff took a strip of
oil In ,ptl
one and half inches wide. and alter
nately stirred up bowl of boiling wat
er and a freezing mixture. In the lat
ter about an ounce of mercury was
suspended in test tube, and this
rapidly froze into a bright bullet in
the bottom of the tube. Some pieces
Of India rubber tubing placed in the
mixture were also broken with the ham
mer like cost iron.
"The strip Of uralite, on the other
hand, showed no sign of warping, lam.
ination or disintegration; in fact, it
would have needed an expert to have
told subsequently which end of ii had
been subjected to such severe changes
OF temperature.
CdU also a
great strain the two following tests
show: In the first a cube one inch
square was subjected TO hydraulic pres
sure, and 1873 tons were registered be-
fore it gave way. In the second,
strip nine and quarter inches long,
one and half inches broad and seven
sixty-fourths of an inch thick, which
was placed between supports and grad
ually subjected toan increasing weight,
did not give way until a weight of IL
pounds had been applied to it.
That uralite will prove most useful
for building purposes is the opinion Of
Consul General Hughes. owing to
its extreme non-conductivity,' he says,
''huts. railway carriages, barracks,
hospitals and other buildings con.
structed with it, while absolutely fire
and water proof, are warm in winter
and cool in summer. A room entirely
covered with uralite three thirty-sec.
onds of an inch thick might have its