The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-03

washington, Aug, OIL there ]!
enough helium in the world, and Il
we can perfect cheap and practicable
methods OF getting hold of It. all Of al
will soon be flying as high as the at.
mosphere will let us, and in compare
tive safety.
Helium is the greatest uplifting force
in the world. 1t has not quite as much
lifting power, in the envelop of diri-
gible, as has hydrogen. which Is now
used in the gas bags, but 1t has two
enormous advantages over hydrogen
In the first place it will not burn, and
in the second place. It leaks out Of a
gas bag through the fabric only about
one-half as fast a. hydrogen. ,
Poor Mans Best Chance.
Helium appears to afford the poor
mans best chance Of flying. II takes
an enormous amount of power to keep
heavier thHn-air plane above the
earth, and power is becoming more ex-
pensive to produce every day. Besides,
there Is a factor OF risk in flying the
heavier than-air machine which 1t
SCI ms impossible wholly to eliminate.
A gas bag cannot fall as long as 1t
retains it's gas. and 1t can be driven
along by much less power than a plane
almost any amount Of power you
choose to use. In fact. 1t Is not at all
at variance with the facts to conceive
of a dirigible fiivver with a one-man
gas bag and six or eight horse power
engine. Such craft might not make
much Roadway against a strong wind,
but 10 would not suffer more from
winds than the ground clinging jit-
does from high hills.
These considerations lead many avi-
alton experts to believe that the diri-
gible gas bag is the air machine Of the
future, for civilian use. and the great
success which has attended recent ex-
periments in the production of helium
greatly strengthens this belief.
Hydrogen burns with ease. The hy-
drogen gas bags were practically put
out Of the way by incendiary bullets.
And in time of peace, there is constant
danger that a hydrogen filled envelope
will catch fire from static electricity, or
from an engine spark. Hence a sufh-
Gent supply of helium, which will burn
no more than will water, seems to be
the one thing needed to make flying
safe, sure and cheap.
Heium has had a romantic story. 1t
was first discovered, not on the earth,
but in the sun. A scientist noticed, in
some of the rays from the sun, traces
of n gas which was unknown to him.
and he named it helum. The discov-
cry attracted some attention, and other
chemists began experimenting to see IL
helium occurred on the earth. In due
course they discovered that 1t was
widely distributed In the atmosphere
in very minute quantities. They also
proved that it is relation of that
other remarkable substance, radium
Radium is the father of helium, or
something like that In scientific Ian
guage. it is the lend product of the
carnations of radioactive substances.
$4,000 Cubic Foot.
The chemists found that they could
isolate helium in the laboratory. 1t
cost about $4,000 a cubic foot to produce
the gas. and it was regarded as merely
scientific curiosity. 1t could not be
made to burn or in any other way to
combine with anything. That is, it is
chemically inert. 1t could be converted
into a liquid at a very low temperature.
All of this was very interesting, but
no one saw any practical use for the
gas, so it was noted down and for
gotten
1t was about 1895 that helium was
first made in laboratory. In 1907 the
housewives of a certain town in Kan
sas began writing hot letters to the
gas company. They said the gas
wouldn't burner at least sometimes
il wouldnt-and they wanted to know
if the gas company thought it could
sell them air.