El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-28

III VIE AlUCIE-dH EleEITO-O0enlCdl
society, composed of leading
mining engineers and others
whose work carries them into the fields
of both electricity and chemistry will
meet in annual convention in Pittsburg
next week. This organization has been
! in existence for about decade. and in
that time it has so welded the sciences
of applied electricity and chemistry as
TO produce a new science. This new
science is named Electrochemistry. 1t
is declared that we are on the very
threshold of an electrochemicaI age.
Founded on Invention.
When Beccaria found that he could
produce a chemical change by the use
Of electricity. reducing metallic zinc and
mercury from their respective oxides.
he made himself the father of electro
chemical science. Since then wonder
full progress has been made, and hun
dreds of transmutatiOns, miracles of
matter, have been wrought. Since the
organization and the sOlidificatiOn of
the electrochemical interests in the
American Electrochemical society, the
profession has made the most won
derful strides and stands today one
of Americas leading opponents of the
true theories of conservation. now the
great issue of a great nation What it
seeks TO do is TO utilize the waste pro-
ducts and the inexhaustibie resources
in such a way that they will protect
and conserve the resources that are
likely to be exhausted.
To Conserve Coal Supply.
Take the matter of fuel conserva-
ton. for example. America is consum-
ing untold millions of tons of coal in
the manufacture of iron and steel. It
may not be feasible to protect the coal
supply by having all transportation
carried on by hydro-electric methods
but it has been proved feasible to sub
stitute the electric furnace for the
blast furnace and the open hearth fur
mace In the making of iron and steel
And this electric furnace can just as
we'll be heated by the river that runs
embarrassed to the seas as by the
coal that soon may be exhausted L
has been proved that the electric fur
mace can be made hotter. the heat can
be better regulated and the product
refined through 1t turned out IN better
shape than the blast furnace The
United States steel corporation is now
conducting tests with the electric fur
mace that may vet revolutionize an in
dustry as 1t has not been revolution
lied since the invention of the Besse-
mer process.
Supplying Nitrogen a Detail.
-hOtc cSScnlldl ~ Id CIOpS lId0
any other known substance is nitrogen.
For years we have been buying our nj
trogen from Chill. IN the shape Of salt
petre. and the rest of the world has
been doing likewise. Annually we send
SIS. 600. 900 to Chill for nitrogen. while
in the free air above a good sized city
block there is enough nitrogen to equal
all that we bring from Chill in years
time The electrochemist has watched
the locust tree and the clover gather
nitrogen from the air. and now he
comes along with a result not materi-
ally different from that OF the locust
and the clover. although the process is
entirely different BY a process too
technical for explanation here the nj
trogen is gathered from the air by
electricity and stored in some suitable
material for Industrial use. just as one
might store water in a sponge.
In Norway this process has been re-
duced TO a commercial PRACTICABLE
and il confidently is expected thar
cheaper methods will be brought about.
and that fertilizer as rich nitrate
Of soda may yet be had for less than
common mari costs today The mind
can scarcely grasp the stupendous re-
suits that yet may come from this dis
covery. A few dollars worth of nitrate
of soda scattered on an acre Of ground
at the proper times will usually double
the yield of the crop sown on ii. With
nitrogen taken from the air at a reas-
enable cost the whole food problem Of
the earth might be revolutiOnized.
Reduced Price of Aluminium.
The science of electrochemiStry had
its beginning industrially in 1883 when
It was first used in the manufacture OF
aluminium. When this process was
adopted aluminium was selling for SIP
per pound Since then the price has
gone down 20 about 40 cents per pound
and the production has increased nearly
q thousandfold 1t is believed that
aluminium will yet become as cheap as
iron. and the fact that a method of
autogenous welding has been discov-
cred, which overcomes the difficulty OF
finding a suitable solder for it. will
make it of additional value indus
trially.
BY this process aluminium sheets.
rods or tubes of any thickness can be
welded without difficulty and the joints
are said to be as strong as other parts
of the metal One OF the directions
from which the use of the metal is ex-
tending is in the manufacture of pans.
and other utensils used in the wax
refining and lam boiling Industries