Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-14
SOAP. FOR THE GEYSER
"
Custom of Yellowstone Park
+" Memories Recalled
BY NEW ZEALAND INCIDENT
Admiral Sperry Starts Big Gusher
for Exhibition.
HISTORY OF THE SPOUTERs
Discovered in This Country by Ac-
cident-A Johns Hopkins
Professors Views.
HISTORY OF THE SPOUTER!

Rear Admiral Sperrys excursion into
the interior. of New Zealand one day this
week was marked by an incident of more
| than passing notice. 1t. was during the
visit to the thermal district of that far
away country by the American COM
mander and his associate officers of the
American fleet. which is just now So
| journing at the port of Auckland on its
famous trip around the world.
| The cablegram tells us that Admiral
| Sperry himself applied soap to the big
geyser-it will not erupt otherwise-and
| the explosion that followed was mag
nifcent The steaming water was thrown
| to height of 200 feet.
| Soaping geysers is apparently not a
| Maori invention. but seems to have been
transmitted from the United States years
| ago 1t was found that some of the gey-
sers in the Yellowstone Park would not
| erupt as they had been doing. and quite
! by accident the discovery was made that
| by pouring soapsuds in the vent of one OF
these dormant spouters an explosion
would almost Immediately be caused.
Result Of American Discovery.
The discovery is attributed to a tourist,
who when he had finished his morning
abution and was looking about for
place to empty his pail. was attracted by
the round vent of the geyser and without
the slightest thought that anything would
happen. poured the soapy contents of the
basin in it. The next instant there was
a report. and the uncOn jcious discoVerer
was deluged with the descending charge
from the geyser. Naturally, the soaping
was repeated with the same result.
Evidently, con act of the soapsuds with
the water in the mouth of the geyser set
up a chemical reaction and generated
enough ga: to cause an explosion. After
that the practice became common. and
tourists visiting the Yellowstone Park
were invariably provided with several
bars of soap, so as TO produce the inter-
esting spectacle of geyser eruptlng
without any loss of time instead of hav-
ing to wait patiently for the phenomenon
to happen in the ordinary way.
Government Had to Stop Custom.
These intentional eruptions. however,
were not always arranged with discretion.
and it so happened That some of them
caused more &Or less damage, which in
duced the government to secure the enact
ment of a law to prohibit such soaping.
Tourists who fail to respect the legal pro-
vision are promptly escorted out Of the
park and not allowed to return.
Rear Admiral Sperry's dispatch fails to
mention whether the Maoris learned the
tend to the business of entertaining tour
lists from some giobe-trotting Yankee. or
whether the practice must be regarded
as one of those finds" made in two
widely separated localities about the
same time Il
Evidently there Is no legal prohibition
in New Zealand against the Maori wash
erwomen awakening the geysers into ac-
tivity with pail Of suds.
A Professors Views.
Prof. Philip R. Uhler of the Johns Hop
kins University. one of the best known
scientists in town, when asked concerning
this method of making a geyser blow
said:- =.
The soaping of the geyser may be done
for two reasons. One is that soap lowers
the boiling point of solution when in
troduced. and the other is that it would
reduce the surface tension. Both of these
may cause the geyser to spout. Geysers
exist in countries where there has been
or is volcanic activity. The source of
the water is usually down in the earth
where the volcanic heat gradually makes
it hot until it reaches a boiling point and
1t spouts from the hole in the surface
of the earth
by placing soap in the geyser and
thus reducing the, boiling point 1t would |
probably erupt. The boiling point is
ample. that the water in the geyser |
which Admiral Sperry operated on was |
only about 210e, not warm enough to |
boil. The soap being introduced may |
lower the boiling point to 2O8o which |
Immediately makes the water there at |
21O' not only boil. but by the sudden |
transition to a point of heat above the |
2OS' boiling point suddenly spout out. |
cannot imagine it, however. going to a |
height of 200 feet as is described in the |
cable dispatches. This may be slight |
exaggeration.
Another Possible Reason.
The other process. that of having the |
surface tension reduced. is al:o a prob
ability. Soap would reduce it. In cases |
where a liquid is, encompassed the part !
which joins the air is continually forced |
downward. This IS due to the fact that |
the particles in the liquid exert a cor
responding force on all sides of them |
when they are in collision with each |
other. When those particles on the sur
face have no other particles to draw
upon on the side which comes in contact |
with the air, the air is thus drawn |
down by them. This is seen when YOU |
fill a glass above the edge and it does |
not spill. The surface tension draws it |
is suddenly taken away and the natural |
result would be the rising of the wa |
ter Enough soap might produce a great |
rising.
This is a question, however, for ee-
ologists, and I cannot give any other |
answer just at present without consult
ing authorities upon the different prob |