The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-05-12
MAGIC OF A LIQUID
SuIphuric Acid Plays a Big Part
In Our Daily Life.
ITS LOSS WOULD BE TRAGIC.
We Could Hardly Live Without the
Help of This Wonderful Agent Of
Science That Makes Possible Many
Of Our Arts and Industries.

relP OF ln'S SoHoSEIQI agent "
Science That Makes Possible Many
Of Our Arts and Industries.
When you get UP in the morning and
turn on the water for your bath you
use a nickel plated faucet which re-
quired sulphuric acid in its manufac
ture. Your tub. if it be enameled.
has met Sulphuric acid before it be-
came what it is. and if it is an old
fashioned one of Tin. plated on sheet
copper. it needed even more sulphuric
acid before it took its place in civiliZa
tion as bathtub.
The water in which you battle has
probably been treated with suphate Of
copper TO clear it of algae. The towel
with which you dry yourself has met
sulphuric acid before you bought it.
and the seapmaker possibly found it
necessary to use some in the prepara
tion of your soap.
The bristleS Of your hairbrush have
been treated with it. The back Of
your hairbrush as we'll as your comb.
if both be of celluloid. could not be
produced without it. Your razor be-
fore it reached it's present high estate
has very likely been picked in sui
phuric acid after it was annealed.
AS you put on your underwear, says
a writer in Commerce and Finance.
you may recall that the bleacher and
the dyer used sulphuric acid on the
thread before it was knit or woven
or upon the fabric afterward.
AS you button up your outer gar
ments you may be remindeN also that
sulphuric acid was needed In securing
the wool. in making the dye and in
the process of dyeing the cloth.
The button maker needed some be-
fore your buttons were complete. The
tanner needed some in making the
leather for your shoes. and 1t is also
used to produce shoe polish. The cush-
ion upon which you may rest your
pious knees in your devotions has met
sulphuric acid in one way or another
more than once before it reached it's
present dignity.
At. breakfast your cup and saucer
may have come into being without the
aid of sulphuric acid. but only provid-
ed they are plain white without deco
rative silt. To produce the constitu-
ents of aqua regia. which dissolved
the gold. sulphuric acid is used. The
silver of which your spoon, knife and
fork are made may come from sui
phuric acid works which has first burn
ed the ore. while if they are silver
plated they were plated in sulphuric
acid bath.
The farmer who raised the wheat Of
which your rolls are made probably
used acid phosphate on his land to
encourage the wheat to grow. Acid
phosphate is phosphate rsck and sui
phuric acid.
The paper maker needed some sui
phonated aniline blue to tint your
morning paper even if he used no
sulphite pulp. and it would be rare
ink that is innocent of the touch Of
sulphuric acid at some point in its
history.
If you eat buckwheat cakes with
sirup the sirup needed it. and as for
your artificial light. if you get up early
enough to need it. you would be driven
back to candles if it were not for this
product. 1t is needed in the refining
of kerosene and gasoline. and as for
your electric light. brought to you by
currents Of electricity through copper
wires. where would the electric. indus
try be without copper? And where
would the copper industry be without
the electrolytic process Of refining
which requires enormous quantities of
sulphuric acid? 1t would be para
lyzed.
We have heard of the embarrass-
ment Of industry by the lack of Ger
man dyes. but this is a mere bagatelle
compared with the genera! breakup
that would follow dearth Of sulphur
ic acid. We can neither so to war
and have smokeless powder, nor can
we live in peace without it. Wher-
ever You 20 in civilization you cannot
get out of it's path.
You may never see it, you may not
know it's qualities and its very remark
able chemical personality. and you had
better not touch it, but almost invaria-
bly, it has been around before. you.
All of this will explain but a frac.
ton Of the all pervasive usefulness Of
sulphuric acid in the arts of what we
call civilization And it's use is con-
stantly growing along with the devel-
opment of chemical industry and the
science of agriculture