Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-02

made it possible to produce artificial silk
upon a commercial basis. He went into
bankruptcy three times in doing 1t, but
II is gratifying TO know that he finally
achieved wealth. lie produced silk by
using a solution of nitro-cellulose, made
Of either cotton or wood pulp. and dis
solving If in suphuric ether. Some of
the largest mills in Europe are still
using his product in a modified form, al
though two others have since then been
formulated. One of these is known is
the cupramonium solution Of cellulose, in
which copper salts and ammonia are the
solvents. The other is a composition dis
covered by two English chemists. which
as the most practical for making these
artificial filaments Of which silk is COM
posed
The nitro-oellulose produced by Char
donnet depends upon almost the same
solution which
Silk Manufactured is used for
in Many Countries. ,n, aAi md 's s,,n
cotton. The first yarn produced in
this way was highly explosive and dan
gerous to handle, SO could not be Of COM
mercial value. Another French inventor
discovered a way OF denitrating the finish
ed yarn so that it was no more infan-
nable than paper or cotton. 4 German
inventor made still further improvements
and there now are great factories located
at Besancon, France, at Frankfort, Ger
many. and at Zurich. Switzerland, in
which thousands Of pounds of Chardonnet
silk yarn are manufactured daily. An
enormous plant was opened in Pennsyl-
vania last year for this product
Niscose silk. which Is the term applied
to the product of the English inventors.
starts from an alkaline solution of cellu-
lose that is treated with caustic soda until
merceriZation similar to that chemical
process used for mercerizing cotton yarns
has taken place. excepting tina. the proc
ess is carried much further in making
viscose silk. The process of reducing the
cellulose flaments is delicate and tech
nical. Every particle of cellulose is COM
posed of eighteen or twenty flaments of
microscopic f1neness. These are stretched,
dried and spun into yarn by especially
constructed machinery. The delicacy of
these filaments is almost incredible. A
single pound of yarn will contain much
as GOO miles of individual filament. The
bulk of the yarn as spun contains but
33, 900 yards of yarn I'd a pound, eighteen
fllaments being twisted together to form
the yarn. conservative estimate of the
filaments produced daily by the world s
factories manufacturing artificial silk is
placed at 100000 miles, so that it is
easy to see why silk stockings have come
within the reach of every laboring man
who likes them.
Cotton pulp is used in some of the Eu-
ropean factories and has been expert
mented with in the United States, but
wood pulp seems more suitable and at
the same time more economical, since
waste wood products can be used in this
way. At present fully 20 per cent Of the
worlds consumption of silk yarn is the
artificial product and this percentage is
increasing.
Many millions of dollars have been ex-
pended in Europe and the United States
in the pro-
Millions OF Dollars duction of art
Invested in Industry. Th a arst
American corporation to exploit viscose
silks spent over million dollars without
any result. Now. however, the principles
involved are fully understood, and each
year will add to the economy of its pro-
duction, SO there is little doubt but that
the future of artificial silk yarn is just
in its infancy.
All Of the artificial silks take the same
dyestuffs aS cotton and are readily
dyed, the luster being brilliantly accen-
tuated in certain shades. Care has to
filaments lose much of their sertngin
while in this condition. The cellulose is
microscopic, and after absorbing a guam
tity of water 1t swells up so that Its
physical structure is much weakened.
AS soon as the yarn dries 1t is as strong
as ever and the Iuster returns with its
original brlliancy.
According to tests made by experts, the
artificial silk thread when dry has almost
double the strength of cotton thread of
the same weight and considerably more
than dye-weighted pure silk. although the
raw silk as it comes from the cocoon has
superior strength. This statement will
explain why the cheap silk stockings
wear so well and require less darning
than the cotton articles. In this con-
nection it should be stated that stock
ings made of artificial silk should never
be ironed if their appearance is to be
preserved, as the heat from the iron
causes the filaments to ball up and look
rough. and it also greatly lessons their
durability.