Evening star., 1942-01-03
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry..

And Study
By Thomas r. Henry..
A chemical which has been . labora-
tory curiosity for 90 years now promises
to rid fields of weeds, prevent many
fire tragedies and array the American
woman in more colorful garments.
This substance, sulfamic acid, has just
been reported to the American Chemical
Society by two Du Pont Company chem
lists, Drs. M. E. Cupery and w. E. Gordon.
Long regarded as useless, it now is
being produced for the first time by
large-scale methods, they reported.
Probably the use which will appeal
most to the public they say. "is the
lethal effect on weeds Ragweed, which
causes an estimated IS per cent Of hay
fever; poison ivy, wild cherry and many
other obnoxious plant growths can safely
be eliminated merely by spraying.
Most previous weed killers. in addi-
ton to being either inflammable or
poisonous, seriously impaired the fertility
Of the soil for long periods. Sulfamic
acid offers no trouble on this score, nor
is there ground for fear that animals
will suffer from eating sprayed foliage"
1t also, they stress, will render fabrics
fireproof Paper decorations and insu-
lating materials, mattresses, neglgees,
children's party dresses and clothing OF
workers exposed to flames are some of
the places where this fire retardant Is
expected to be used.
Perhaps the most important CONNER
cial use, the two chemists report, will be
in the elimination of excess nitrate in
dyes In a representative pigment man.
ufacturing process which originally re-
quired 25 pounds of urea and about
three hours to complete excess nitrate
removal, four pounds of sulfamic acid
complete the reaction in about five min
utes. The process can be more closely
controlled so that cleaner shades OF
color are possible
The chemical also promises. they ex-
plain. to be important in laundry fin
ishing, Photographic compounds, metal
polishes and various other lines.
In each of these applications one or
more of the advantageous properties OF
sulfamic acid and its salts is utilized,
| they say. For example, when it is used
| at the end of laundry washing opera
| tor less inorganic salts are left in the
| fabric. In some packages OF dyes, which
may be purchased for home applications
a small acid ingredient often is included
| in the package for fixing the dye at the
| end of the process. Sulfamic acid meets
| the requirement Metal polishing COM
| positions have shown improved securing
and polishing properties when this i:
used as the acid ingredient"
If typhus has hit the eastern front ir
Europe it easily may prove the worst
tragedy of the war
| Germany's drive on Paris in the sprinf
| Of 1918 is believed to have been delayed
by the first major outbreak Of influenza
History may be repeating itself witt
the Intervention of a far more deadly
virus, the worst killer known in tn,
modern world. Immediately after tn,
first World War it killed many times th'
numbers in Europe who perished from
all other war causes combined.
The louse-carried virus easily nigh
sweep over much of the famished Euro
pean Continent, where folks are huddlet
together in cramped, unsanitary quar-
| {ar of 10 1f |,,o III,
subject to any infection because Of NAL
nouriShment. Great Britain where lif
has not been much disorganized, prob
ably is immune. The possibility of
typhus epidemic in the United States
almost nil. Here the disease has becom
almost a laboratory. curiosity, althoug
occasional sporadic cases are reported.
1t must be differentiated sharply fror
typhoid, Public Health Service authori
ties stress. The latter is a bacterial dis
ease. 1t is spread in food, milk an
drinking water and the familiar "typhoi
knocks" which are given to every soldie
and which everybody is advised to tax
when going abroad, are an almost perfec
safeguard.
The two diseases are much confuse
by the general public. especially in tn
Latin countries of Europe. where tn
name "typhus," but with different de
scriptive adjectives, is used for both.
Typhus cannot be transmitted in ep
demic form except through one specie
Of louse-pediculis vestimenti, the huma
body louise.
This is precisely the same animal 6
the cootie of the first World War an
the gray back" of the Civil War.
Typhus hits its victims suddenly wit
chillS, fever and extreme prostratiol
The death rate in epidemics runs fros
a minimum of 20 to maximum of abo,
so per cent Of those infected-and fe
in the midst OF an infected populatio
escape Infection
Crowded CnnitnI