Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-12-16
OLD TIN CANS.
The Way They Finally DissPpesr From
Human Sight.

The Way They Finally Disappear From
Human Sight.
Few people realize what becomes of
all the old tin cans. tin pans, kettles.
buckets. coal hodS and the like. They
finally disappear from human sight
and knowledge and are seen no more.
Science shows that they evaporate.
When a tin can is cast away and for
saken it begins its downward course
by becoming rusty. The tin oxidizes or.
in other words, unites with the oxygen
surrounding it in the atmosphere, and
the oxide of tin gradually takes leave
of the iron by eyaporating into the air,
while some of it is washed away 10y
the rain into the earth. after the tin
is gone the iron of the can follows the
same course that has been pursued by
the tin. 1t oXidzes and becomes the
familiar reddish brown substance
known as iron rust. The metals have
no wills of their own, no afiinities. no
understandings, and therefore no in
tentions as to their present or future
| course. They do nothing of them
selves. But electrical forces do their
work for them. These forces unite the
| atoms of the metals with those OF the
| oxygen. Then the molecules of these
oxides are carried away by the atmos-
| pheric electricity and disposed of &C
| cording to circumstances.
If a small bottle or other piece Of
| glass be placed on damp ground and
| an old wOrnOut tin bucket is turned
over it. the particles of iron oxide will
| be taken away by electric currents
| from the old bucket and will be de-
| posted partly on the glass. the re-
mainder going into the air and the
earth. Deposits of iron and other met
ais are thus carried around by cleo
| tricity in the atmosphere from place
| to place all over the earth. Chlorine
| by electric power picks up atoms of
gold and goes with them to the ocean,
where they are as much at home as
| salt All metals can exist in state
| of vapor; therefore they are to be
found not only in the atmosphere
around this EARTH but also in the at
mOSphere around the sun and the
stars. If ray of sunlight is bent out
of its course, as II is by drops of water
in the case of the rainbow, the familiar
seven cOlOrS of red, orange. yellow.
green, blue. indigo and violet are
spread out side by side. When these
spectra or streaks of light are scientif-
ically Investigated about 500 dark lines
are formed also among the colors. and
these lines represent shadows cast by
elemental substances in the atmos-
pheres of the earth and the sun. Light
made artificially and not passing
through the atmosphere of the earth
and the sun does not have these dark
/ lines.
/ By means of the spectrOscope. grad
| ually invented instrument now in use,
but credited to several scientists, we'll
known elements have been compelled
to register their addresses in bands of
light Among the first to write them
selves down were sodium pota ssium.
| magnesium. calcium. chromium. nickel
| and iron. And the same apparatus
| led to the discovery of new metals.
such as cesium. rubidium and thalIium.
All these are found to be in the suns
atmosphere By means of the spectre
scope the one hundred millionth part
| of a grain of sodium in common salt
| becomes as discernibe and unmistak-
able as the side of a house This won
derful modern instrument has enabled
scientists to find out what the peO-
! pie who inhabit the planets in the
solar system of the dog star Sirius. for
example, have to eat, for without nj
trogen they could have no beans or
spring peas, without sulphur no mus
tard, horseradish and water crosses or
anything of the kind, although the peo-
pie would be confined to vegetable diet.
They would also be without light bis
cult for breakfast or any fermented
liquors.-Baltimore American.