Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-22
Diphenyl as Heating Agent
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

with no little interest and Is keeping In
touch with such experiments with the
substance as are being made.
Although water Ia so generallv used
In house heating. water does not have
very great capacity for holding heat.
And its capacity varies For example.
water at high altitude will not con-
tain anywhere near as much heat at
the boiling point as It will at sea level.
Indeed, on a mountain peak, water win
boil away merrily, but not generate
enough heat 70 bon eggs. While boil
ing. one can comfortably hold a hand
in 1t. Obviously this water would not
radiate much heat to the surrounding
atmosphere. The heat Ia not present,
Produces Even Temperature.
To Illustrate how hot this new sub
stance, diphenyl. becomes, we're II used
for ordinary house heating, the pipes
through which 1t was conducted and
the radiators in which 1t was contained
would have to be insulated or con-
tanned in wire cages. Were they ex-
posed, a person casually touching pipe
or radiator would receive a severe burn.
But the amount OF heat which would
be radiated from relatively small sur
face obviously would be so much great
er than in the case Of water that the
inconspicuous.
1t is In industry that diphenyl prom
ises the greatest usefulness at present.
In many processes It Is important to
maintain an even temperature and this
Is easier with diphenyl than with other
usually employed heating agents. It
neither heats up so rapidly nor cools
90 quickly as hot water or steam heat
ing systems. In many lines of manus
e. aaI.
imperative, The very process Of gaso-
line making which resulted in the pro-
duction OF diphenyl requires q high,
even temperature. This is known rs the
cracking process. OF course the appa$
ratus used in q refinery could be espeS
cially constructed so that the danger
Of injury to persons from touching
superheated surfaces would be mimi
mized.
For house heating. however, consld-
cradle thought has been given to the
possible use Of diphenyl in connection
with q central heating plant. Such @
plant would send the heated LIQUID
through mains and then, by use of .
simple apparatus in the house, II would
be used to heat water for an ordinary
hot-water plant. The big advantage
Of this would lie In the fact that there
would have to be no furnace IN the
mouse. therefore, nre danger from the
actual presence of flame would be
done away with. Superheated diphena
pipes merely would be placed in
contact with water pipes and the
heat transferred through the metal
They would not actually mix. A small
pipe Of diphenyl would give of 50 much
heat that contact with water-filled pipes
would heat the water.
However, there Is one serious draw
back TO this central heating idea: II
diphenyl falls below 155 degrees OF
temperature ITSELF 1t becomes solid.
Should anything happen at the central
heating plant and the diphenyl cool,
the pipes of q system serving, perhaps,
half q city would become filed with q
solid resembling parGdin. The Job Of
thawing out, especially In cold weather,
would make the task Of tkawirIg cut
a frozen automobile radiator seem very
simple by comparison.