The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-02-14
CHEMISTRY in A RIOT.
BY A. C. cANTLEY.

I lures. The main idea of this exposition
| to show the process Of manufacture
alongside the finished product-will be
carried out to some extent. For instance,
a powder will be put into a machine and
come out In the form of tablets. Also the
/ through machine, and the visitor will
| thus see a pill while he waits minute.
VIII Turn at Capsules.
Machinery in operation will turn out
gelatine capsules and alongside will be
an elaborate display of the finished pro-
| duct Machinery for mixing paints will
be shown, but not in operation. But the
extensive exhibits of the finished product
/ cover all the manifold varieties of paints,
dye stuffs, pigments and varnishes In
stalled In a unique way.
There will be a large number of phar-
maceutical and chemical products, in
cases showing the most advanced prog
ress. than ever assembled in one place
before, and all with original installations
characteristic of the products shown.
/ There will be enough arsenic In one ex-
| hibt to kill all the people on the grounds
on the day of heaviest attendance but
1t will be we'll guarded and therefore
j harmless.
The fakir Is barred and no secret nos
! trums are admitted. The displays OF
proprietary preparations will consists OF
those only which have on the wrapper
the printed formula found In the United
States phafmacoepia
From time immemorial perfumery and
cosmetics and pomades, in some form or
another, have been used both by the bar
barous and civilized peoples. Julius Gaze
sar Just from his perfumed bath, was as
proud as any Beau Brummel of a modern
- CT 0.,a OH nj Az NJ
F, a laboratory showing how perfumery is
made from flowers. The entire process
will be demonstrated. On a sheet of glass
will be paced a layer of lard, then
layer of leaves OF flowers. then another
| glass sheet treated likewise, and so on
until book is made of these sheets. and
then the whole will be heated and the oil
distilled to get the basis of flower per-
J fumes The visitor sees the whole pro-
cess, from the rose-leaf to the cut-glass
bottle of perfume. The display of per-
fumery products will be arranged in
beautiful glass installations pleasing to
the eye and In keeping with the business.
Along with these will be soaps, toilet wa
ters and the observation-disclosures products
that druggists sell to keep the human
form divine.
Electro-chemlcaI Display Elaborate. :
Another display of especial interest fol-
lowing as 1t does the recent Spanish
American war, the Boer war and the
troubles in Japan and China, will be that
of all kinds of explosives and ammunition
of all forms and types. The inside of all
kinds of bombs and torpedoes will be
shown. and the pyrotechnics of peace will
lie alongside the ammunition of war.
Among the foreign exhibits Great
Britain will have an extensive display of
chemicals In octagonal-shaped glass cases.
divided into sections showing different
/ manufactures and classes of chemical and
pharmaceutical products. The chemical
display of Germany will be on a magnifi-
cent SCALE as this nation stands today
foremost in the field of chemical manu-
facture, as we'll as in all lines of indus
trial and chemical investigation.
But one feature in the great chemical
group in the Liberal Arts Palace to which
special attention has been given to Sc
cure representative exhibits, is that of the
so-called electro-chemical products. The
term electro-c chemical Is used to designate
all chemical substances produced by the
aid of electricity and among these are
sodium. caustic Soda bleaching powder
and other bleaching agents, bromine and
potassium bromide, potassium chlorate,
| litharge. graphite, calcium carbide car
borundum, carbon disulphide, and phos-
phorus.
1t Is fact that electro-chemical manu-
facture is an industry that has practi-
| cally been developed In the last decade.
| Nevertheless the introduction of electric
ity as an agent in effecting chemical
transformations has already grown to
such magnitude in the last four or five
! years as to make serious inroads on the
older processes and 1t Is now admitted
that this new application of electricity
will in the future stll further revolu-
tonize the manufacture of chemicals.
The total value of the output of electro
chemicals produced each year on a COM
mercial scale in this country alone, ac-
cnrding to the census of 1900, amounts to
$1,000, 900.
Explosives and Ammunition.
The elaborate display of electro-chemi-
calls will give the visiting chemists and
pharmacists opportunity for the first
/ time to see this new industry completely
represented The history of electro-chem-
| istry Is exceedingly interesting, showing.
as II does that today the inquiring mind
of the investigator is finding new appl-
cations of old ideas put forth century
| ago. For instance, 1t was in 1907 that
! Sir Humphrey Davy. who displayed won
derful genius in original research. made
{ remarkable experiments resulting in the
| isolation of sodium and of potassium by
! the use of the electric current. BY these
| experiments he not only added to the list
| of known chemical elements two of the
most important members. but he was the
| first to devise a method by which an ele-
ment was isolated through the application
| OF electricity. But 1t was unfortunate
that in those days no cheap source of
| electrical energy could be obtained How
ever, the invention of the dynamo in 1867
| soon produced electrical energy at low
cost but It was not until 1890 that the
| electrical current was successfully applied
| 70 or of cha milo TN, }b,k