The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-04-22
HOUSE ILLUMINATION
Gas More HeaIthful Than
Electricity, Says TrTopf,
Vivian.
ALSO VERY CHEERFUL
With the Advent of Electric Light
Great Stress Was Laid on the
HYGIENE Advantages of the IL
Iuminant--Tlat Resulted in the
Manufacture of More Coal Gas


important matter. In the early
DAYS of the gas industry it threat
ened to wreck the future of gas
for indoor illumination, as we are
reminded by Vivian b. Lewis in a
lecture delivered before the British
Institution of Gas Engineers and
distracted In Technical Literature
New York, October). MIR. Lewis
believes that gas as now made is
more healthful than the electric
light. He notes that the first crude
Gas in use was rich In sulfureted
hydrogen, and gave rise to such
discomfort when consumed that
ventilating burners OF clumsy de-
vice had to be employed, while
!eaky fittings gave at all times an
Objectionable aroma. Says the lee
turer
"A very short period served to
convince the gas manager that the
purity of the gas was a matter Of
even greater Importance to him
than to the public, as the latter
could escape the effects of the sui
furized products of combustion by
adopting other illuminants; while
he gas managers livelihood de-
pended on keeping his customers.
As a result, publication from sui
iureted hydrogen was adopted, and
he use of coal gas increased with
enormous rapidity.
with the advent of the electric
light as an illuminant, great stress
vas laid upon its enormous advan-
ages from the hygienic point Of
lew; and It's supporters still make
he claim that it must OF. necessity
De far more healthful to use as an
.lluminant than coal gas. 1t has
lot unnaturally been assumed that
owing to incandescent electric light
ing adding nothing to the impure
ties in the atmosphere, and what
quite as important withdrawing
no oxygen from it, it must be the
most hygienic form of Illumination
to employ; but in the years which
have elapsed since electricity was
Illuminating purposes, it has be-
come perfectly clear that, though Il
IS inactive as regards yitation OF the
atmosphere, a gas-lighted room VIII
nearly always be more pleasant ami
healthy to live in than one lighted
by the newer form of illuminant
In all processes of ventilation.
the writer goes on to say, the grea'
factors which enable us to change
the atmosphere in our dwelling
rooms are the air currents set ~
By alterations in temperature and
diffusion between volumes of air
at different temperatures. It Is
his, he claims, which gives coal
gas its great advantage as an IL
luminant over electric lighting, lie
says:
Using an incandescent mantle
on an atmospheric burner about
four cubic feet of gas per hour ara
consumed; and this gives two cu
bic feet OF carbon dioXid. whic;I
would very soon suffice to raise tIe
proportion of carbon dioxid above
tn sanitary limit of 6 parts in 10
GOO But though everything he
done to render the room as air
1lat the proportion of carbon diox.&
is enormously less than il should be
by theory; this being due to the
fact that alteration in temperature
81 the air of the room sets up cur
rents and actions which tend to
bring about a change of the atmos-
phere
Carbon ,lioxid is a gas consider
ably heavier than air; so much so,
indeed, that it can be poured from
one vessel to another almost like
liquid Eat, like all other gases,
Il is expanded by heat; ana as the
foul air coming from the lungs,
and containing some five per cent.
Of dioxid. is at practically the tenn
perature of the body-i.e., SO de-
erees IT, it at once rises toward
tile ceiling. while the products Of
combustion from the gas burner.
being at a still higher temperature,
also rush up to this point so that
the foul air is always to be found
at the top of the room. One might
think that the foul air when cooled
down would descend into the room
aaain. But here comes into play
tile process of diffusion.
An interesting series of expert
ments is described by the author,
VITO believes that they show con-
clusively that the air of the lower
portion of a room, if one or two
people only are present, is as pure
with gas-lighting as with electric
lighting, while If a large number
are present the advantages are enor-
mopsly in favor of gas-the all
with electric lighting becoming
RAPIDLY so impure as TO be danger.
GUS Literary Digest.