El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-28
Worlds Scientists Convene
NO LIMIT TO THE CONvENIENCES
AND CONDITIONS THEY MAY IMPROVE.

which have hitherto employed copper
vessels for this purpose Five new ma
terials have been made Of CONNER
clal value by the discovery of electro
chemical processes for their produc-
ton It's main purpose is 10 transform
cheap and useless waste into valuable
products, and in this it has succeeded
admira bly,. More mine waste has been
utilized by its processes than by any
other.
May Collect Gold from Sand Wastes
1t is now believed that no one neec
ever fear a famine In the supply of
gold. Just, at the time when it seems
that the worlds annual output must
soon begin to wane. electrOchemical
methods have been offered whereby
pure gold may be gathered from the
very sands of the seashore.
In Arizona and New Mexico there is
to be found sand beds of vast extent
which contain at least ST. worth Of
gold 10 the ton. and in some instances
assaying 81 per ton. All along the
Pacific coast from Mexico to Alaska
gold bearing sand is TO be found. The
electrOchemists have devised methods
whereby the gold can be extracted. It
is true that these methods are as yet
too costly TO make them commercially
profitable where the yield per ton of
sand is small, but il is the expecta-
ton of those acquainted with the sub
ject that the cost vet may be reduced
TO a basis where it can be done with
profit. In that event the supply that
could be secured would be sufficient
to meet all OF the demands of civili-
cation for fresh supplies of gold
Heat Produced Remarkable
The hottest heat known until the
advent OF the electric furnace was the
Oxyhydrogen blOwpipe. There were
hundreds of times when the chemist
sighed for some greater heat, feeling
sure that If he could have thousand
degrees more he could work miracles.
Then came the electric furnace. The
possibilities of the heat il will yield
are limited only by the power of the
essential parts of the furnace to with
stand it. Sometimes the heat is so
great that the furnace melts. Here
energy is transformed into heat. and
If there is precautiOn taken to pre-
vent radiation there is theoretically
no limit to the temperature that may
be created. So practical has the use
of the electric furnace become that at
Niagara Falls nearly 5000 horsepower
is used in producing chemical and other
changes through it,
Responsible for AcetyIene Lights.
The electrochemicaI engineer has
made it possible for the rural resident
to have all the comforts of an electric
light, even though he may have no
electricity within dozens of miles. a
mixture OF lime and coke is subjected
to the intense heat of an electric fur
mace The rural resident buys the re-
sultant combination, takes it home,
pours a little cold water over 1T. and
10. he has acetylene gas for his light
ing plant.
Commodities Produced
The best insurance that the world
has against possible lead pencil ia
mine is given by the electrochemist-
He has found that when carbon Is sub
jected to electric heat for long
period it changes into graphite. The
housewife is assured of an abundance
OF dyeing materials and washing ma
terials through the electrochemist- He
has a sort of slate box with several
compartments in it, Into these COM
partments he places pure water and
chloride Of sodium In the course Of
the treatment TO which he subjects il
he gets chlorine from il as a gas, which
he places in retOrt and uses in the
manufacture OF bleaching compounds.
Another product is caustic soda
Available for Copper Smelling
The first application of the principles
of electrochemistry on a large scale
was in the copper refining field To-
day there is a single smelter refining
copper by electrochemical methods, anc
it produces about 400 tons day. There
have been two conditions which have
made the use of electricity in copper
smelling peculiarly desirabl The one
is the great demand for pure copper
in the electrical industries. and the
other is the presence Of gold and silver
in the ore in sufficient quantities 10
pay for extracting these precious met
ais from the slime that results from
electric copper smelling. When the
world needs something harder than
open hearth steel for rails the electro
chemist gives it vanadium- When it
needs brighter light than the ordi-
nary incandeseent. he produced ii in
the shape of the tungsten light. There
is no magician in the world today who
is working more wonders than the cleo
trochemist- With the magic wand of
his science he renders a thousand SER
vices to humanity. and bids the world
believe that he is as yet on the very
threshold of his usefulness to man
kind