The sun., 1919-06-08

WITH AC
the top with walls of fire brick braced
by steel girders and with a floor of
carbon. In this box are sometimes put
as many as a dozen electrodes. An
electrode is for the carbon rod in the
arc light which We have described, but
the electrodes used in electric furnaces
are many thousand times as large,
sometimes nearly two feet square,
Weighing a ton or more. and numbers
OF these are assembled In a single fur
mace. These electrodes are lowered
into the furnace to within certain dis
tances of the carbon floor and the box
like furnace is filled to the brim with
the mixtures OF lime and coke which
are to be literally melted together
When the electric current Is turned on
the arc Is formed exactly as It is in the
case Of the arc light and at times as
high as 10000 horse power of electric
energy passes through the electrodes
at one time. Power enough is here
concentrated in a single furnace which
IL distributed throughout the twenty
four hours would light a city OF a
million people. The greater part of
this energy is turned into heat
Calcium and carbon are among the
most stubborn and refractory elements
with which man has attempted to deal.
To fuse them-that is, to bring them
into molten state. can be accom-
plished only in the electric furnace, for
by this means alone can temperatures
be reached which will overcome their
obstinate resistance and force them
to combine into a new substance. AS
the unparalleled heat, reaching, 1t is
said. 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, does its
, work the other elements in the mix
ture are driven Off as gases and the
molten mass Of calcium carbide within
the furnace accumulates. When this
molten condition has reached a GER
tain stage the furnace is opened at the
bottom and the calcium carbide is
tapped out. SO high is the tempera-
ture that this refractory substance,
which. In theory at least, might be
used for lining a blast furnace, flows
with the freedom OF water, and is col
lected in specially constructed carriers,
where II form great ingots. some
weighing as much as ton each
These ingots slowly cool. and when in
proper condition are broken up in
stone crushers. The pieces are then
sorted as TO size and put into the IA
miliar blue and gray steel drums,
which are to be seen in process OF
transportation throughout the world.
Carbide Reactions are Like Matri-
monial EntangIements.
What has been produced is a dark
colored brittle substance, crystalline in
structure, resembling trap rock. and
when crushed appearing very much
like broken stone. Under all ordinary
conditions, this substance is inert; 1t is
not explosive nor is 1t affected by fire
or conclusion, for II has already gone
through more fire and conclusion than
those very rocks themselves, which
were born when the crust OF the earth
was formed. But the calcium OF the
calcium carbide, like the calcium of the
original quicklime. has never lost its
love for water One hesltates to think
Of the chemical wedding OF the calcium
and the carbon. which formed so per-
feet combination, as being a forced
wedding, although the obstinacy OF the
two elements before uniting would
seem to indicate this; the instant the
calcium comes in contact with the
water ii deserts the carbon, robs the
hydrogen OF the water of its devoted
oxygen. and, taking some water with II,
becomes nothing more nor less than
slaked lime; in other words, the cal
cium has gone back to its old love
and will ultimately return to It's old
state. The carbon deserted by the cal
cium, to which 1t appeared to be de-
voted finds consolation in the hydro
gen OF the water, which has also been
deserted by the oxygen. and combines
with its new affinity in sort of
double weddlng-that is. two atoms OF
carbon join two atoms Of hydrogen and
form a hydro-carbon gas known as
acetylene. In doing so they take up
heat which will later help to destroy
the new relationship. The wonderful
properties of the new gas, acetylene.
make it literally an ethereal spirit
arising from the disintegrated calcium
carbide which has ceased 20 exist.
Acetylene is thus a rich hydro
carbon gas endowed with characteris-
< tics which are of SURPRISING value.
Hydrogen is very light. so that II We
weighed acetylene We would find that
only two parts by weight are hydrogen
r and twenty-four parts carbon. There
!; fore. over 80 per cent. OF acetylene is
: carbon and less than s per cent. is
hydrogen. There are many other
hydro-carbon gases, such as natural
gas. coal gas. as well as petroleum,
gasolene. alcohol, and literally hun
dreds of other substances, but no
hydro-carbon contains a higher per-
: centage by weight OF carbon than