New-York tribune., 1907-09-29
MAKING TRUE DIAMONDS.

-s. --osuctfon Of artificial diamonds has long
- a dream Of the experirnenter- The conol-
tions under which dlamonos are prooueea IA
a+,1-A are pretty well understood: ana on a
aTl scale they have for some time been Gupll-
n,ad in the laboratory and even-thoueh mere
60 ,,nu-;ttir,sl--in the Workshop. Nothing
49, 49, Is necessary than 10 reduce carbon-A bit
:. coal or graphite or lampbl3ck-to isuld
o,djrjor combine il with a solvent and main
,sin il under great pressure untll 1t cooiS Whsn
,---sls af the pure carbon will form just as DO
e----s-a1s Of quartz or sugar or salt under like
.-s.5;fio7s-ard these crystals Of carbon consti-
- t-1le diamonds. But the difficulty lies IN
lute -x--eT7e reluctance with which carbon
--,es the LIQUID state Under pressure, 70 b,
e. II viii liCuefy, but the pressure is about
ss-ee7 tons 10 the square inch. IN the depths
- the earth such a pressure may be applied by
.1s - weight Of geological strata; but how may it
:. attained in the laboratory?
most ingenious answer 10 this question was
x,-,5 f,v Professor Henri Noissan, OF Paris II
:. based on the well known fact that the metal
a., has the property-which il shares win a
taW other substances. including water-of eX-
1anding instead Of contracting as il passes from
- LIQUID TO the solid state: combined with the
t,r-ber fact that liquid iron absorbs or dsSolves
csrhor much as water does sugar. IN increasing
ennnfitr with increasing temperature. Nossan
eIIs an iron receptacle with pure iron and pure
rs-hon obtained by calcining sugar, closes il
-Sehrlv end rapidly heats il TO the highest tenn
-erarrlre attainable in electric furnace bring
snr II TO degree Of heat at which the lime
fnTnsce begins to melt. and the iron volatilizes
!n clouds 80, -.
ard rlunged instantly into cold water until its
80 ErrrfsCe is cooled and hardened thus form
INC 2 shell Of iron that holds the interior con-
-en-e with an infiexible grip. AS this molten
interior matter cools- the carbon separates from
The iron solvent in liquid drops and under the
almost uninagEnahle pressure OF expansion OF
the soli6ifying iron these liquid drops become
soitd CRYSTALS Of diamond.-Henry Smith Will
fans in Everybodys.
SOME RATTLESNAKE PALACES.
.,o+ber common rnisconception which is apt
"a lead 70 serious accidents is the belief that
-e-rer is rendered perfectly harmless. SO that II
can be handled with lmpunlty. bE 1he 1eInoNal
O. its poison fangs. These fangs, two IN num-
her are situated on the upper jaw and lie fiat
EXCEPT when the serpent strikes when they
become erect and the closing OF the Jaws COM
rresses the poison glands and injects the venom
through minute openings in them. In striking
its prey tfor whatever charm the serpent may
employ 10 get its victim within easy reach, II
relies upon the venom TO give the coup de
grace). these fangs may often be broken ana
nature has provided full supply OF reserve
weapons which lie dormant IN the gums, ana
which within TWO weeks will develop ana replace
the injured fang
.rin v-ith twenty-five full grown rattlers in
box kept them in his office for two months,
confined behind coarse -nleSheQ wire screen
He handed them most carelessly. as he had eX-
rracted the poison fangs., but when shown that
each Of them had developed a perfect pair OF
new ones -heTe was d sudden rise IN the local
snake mortality. one was preserved and sent TO
the Bronx Zoo where il shortly afterward gave
birth 10 a large litter of young ones which
could easily have Crawled through the screen
behind which the mother had been kept. AS
each Of -hern possessed the poison apparatus IN
full commission and was without the power 10
ra7tle. they vorld have been even more dan
geroJ,s than adult snakes
Professional sTake handlers are often ignorant
Of this power % quickly replace fangs pos
sessed by rattlers. and this ignorance LED 10
q serious accident to Cne OF them at Bostocks,
Al Coney Island. last year. He was badly bitten
and narrowly escaped death, his recovery beng beng
attributed 70 the generous amount OF WHISKY
which was Immediately administered 10 hlTn'
which illustrates another mistaken idea II IS a
pity 10 shatter z pleasant Illusion, but alcohol,
except IN very small doses, is harmful rather
Than beneficial anudote 70 snakeblte
poison.
As matter OF fact although the symptoms OF
-attIesnake poisoning are most palnful ana
alarming an adult ra- y dies from the bite OF
tbe variety common in the North. The diamond
hacks OF the South attain much larger size,
and consequently inject more venom and 1he!r
hife is proportionately more dangerous.-Francis
Netcalfe, in Outing.