Evening journal., 1915-06-24
lives SEVEN Hours
IN AIR TIGHT TANK
U. S. Naval Officer and
Russian Attache Witness
Bond Experiment
MAY REVOLUTIONIZE
UNDERSEA WARFARE

". Bond chemist of this city, kept
himself alive in an air-tight and water
tight submerged box in the basement OF
DrcNcl Institute, Philadelphia, by means
of chemical compound he has invented
TO change carbonic acid gas into pure
air Scientists who surrounded the box
during the experiment. said that Bond
would have been dead in three hours
under ordinary circumstances.
Mn Bond Is an official of the Modern
Machinery Company. and lives at Holly
Oak ia the summer and no No. lOOiI
Madison street the remainder of the
wear. Henry r. Scott. banker, Of this
city. Is deeply interested in Mr. Bonds
experiments and the utilization of his
discovery.
Bonds invention is intended for use
in submarines, and If the success attain
ed Yesterday Is an indication, il viii
rcVoluiionize the science of Keeping the
air pure in submerged vessels. Bond
says his invention will do away entirely
with Oxygen tanks. which now are used
in submarines to rcplcnish air and will
enable the boats to stay under water
indefinitely He said he could have re-
manned in his box Yesterday for seven
hours more without feeling any i'll.
effects.
Process Is Simple.
The formula of Bonds chemical Is
secret, but the process is simple
lie pours his solution into fiat tin pie
plates and then sets an electric fan
going to keep the air circulating
The result Is that the carbonic acid
gas he breathes out is absorbed by
the solution In the pie plates and
n Is necessary to renew the COM
pound from time to time and 10 keep
the fan going Nothing else is needed
Although yesterdays experiment
was a complete success In its general
results, II was faulty in details
The one difficulty was that he was
unable TO keep the proportion Of pure
air constant Toward the end of his
experiment the carbonic acid gas be-
gan TO increase and some doubt was
expressed by the scientists as 10
whether there was not a time limit
10 the effect OF Bonds chemical The
amount Of carhonic acid gas in the
air In the box was only O.70 per cent.
at Ills a. m, % minutes after Bond
entered the box. but Il rose to 10
per cent. at 2.30 D. m. Then Bond
renewed his chemicals and the per-
contage went down TO 1.45 al 3
o'clock. BY 430. however, II had
risen 10 255 per cent. At that time
Bond discontinued the use of his
chemicals The percentage Of car
bonic acid gas quickly rose TO $40
and al $50 p. m. the percentage reg
istered 800 Soon after that the air
In the box became oppressive and the
! inventor was taken out
As he emerged after his long. te-
dious vigil he looked we'll, but said he
was tired He suffered no ill-effects
from his experiment and said he
wanted to try IL again.
Some Points 10 Perfect.
"This is the first experiment have
made under really scientific condi-
tons" he said yet am not fully
satisfied with IT, I do not know how
much of the chemical is needed for so
much air space. | do not like tho
variations Of the percentage of car
bonic acid gas. would like to try
this In a real submarine My chemical
Is a secret but has not been patented.
II was intended originally to clear the
air of theatres and Offices, but the
most popular use seems to be in sub
marines. I have not yet offered il TO
the government The cost of the
chemical is very small. All / used to-
day cost less than Is cents"
The experiment yesterday was in
charge of Professor Abraham Hem
wood. head of the department of
chemistry in Drexel Institute. Il was
watched by Captain Lloyd Bankson. a
naval constructor. now supervising the
construction OF warships at Cramps
shipyard. Lieutenant ID. NJ Fedotom
assistant naval attache az the Russian
Embassy IN Washington, and a mum
Der of chemists. Charles A. Rutter.
and engineer. of Wilmington. accom-
panied Bond and watched the expert.
mcnt
Details Of the Test.
Bond Is Q graduate Of Drexel. class
Of 1910. and Is Is years old. The ap-
paratus used yesterday was built by
Drcxol students. The idea was 10 have
an air-tighl chamber entirely sur.
rounded by water This consisted OF
one wooden interior chest and two
outside chests Of wood. one cOnstitut.
ing the base and the other the top
Bond WAS put IN the inner case. Will,
the two outer cases held the watel
all around him There was absO.
lutely no chance for air 10 get in.
On top OF the box. covered by water
was a manhole and in the middle o
the manhole was a thick glass win
/ doW through which fhoap IN the out
side could look at the man on thi
inside. Three wires also ran into th'
box, one for an electric light. one TO
the fan and the third for the tele
phone. Bond was In constant com
munication with those on the outside
A man sitting only a foot away from
him talked with him every hfteer
minutes over the telephone.
The interior box. in which Bono
lived for seven hours. was four by
three feet in floor area and six fee
high. therefore containing seventy
two cubic feet of air. This amount
I scientists say viii keep a man alive
= TWO hours and kill him i'm three. Bono
mad no oxygen tanks, nor any other
device for manufacturing air except
: his secret chemical
e Mhen he entered the tank AZ 10 ~
oclock yesterday morning he wore !
p"lhlne suit pair of socks and q
pair OF fubbers. He took with him
d FOOD sufficient for two meals and sew
{ eral magazines to read. He also ha,
J. ms chemical and several instrument,
r for testing the air. He made test,
4 every half hour. while those on tn,
S outside also made frequent analyses