Evening star., 1948-08-31
NavYDeve|oping
Fuel for Motors
FromAir Wafer
Hydrozine Formula
Is Military Secret,
Researchers Stress
By Thomas R. Henry

pJ IHOHlQS n. T1SHTt
The Navy is developing a motor
fuel which can be made entirely out
of air and water.
This is hydrozine, at present syn
thesized on a small scale out OF
ammonia. Its molecule Is almost
the simplest possible combination
of the two basic elements, hydrogen
and nitrogen.
The mere fact that work on
hydrozine and companion fuel,
nitromelhane, is underway was an
nounceG before the. American
Chemical Society here last night by
Rear Admiral Thorvald A. Solberg,
chief of the Office Of Naval Re-
search
Any flutner details are military
secrets. it was stressed at Admiral
Soloergs Office. II was agreed,
however, that hydrozine might at
least be an opening step in be-
coming independent Of carbon COM
pounds, such as gasoline and oil, IN
some special field of motor fuels.
Work Started in Germany.
Nitromethane, also considered a
military secret, is combination OF
nitrogen with the simplest of all the
constituents of petroleum. the foul
smelling marsh gas, which consti-
tutes the atmosphere of some Of the
planets. Work on both these sub
stances had been started in Ger
many before the end of the war, but
had not achieved any practical re-
suits. The formulas were among the
enemy military secrets obtained
when teams OF Allied chemists
crossed the Rhine with the Amer
lean and British armies.
Neither compound, 1t was stressed,
has any relation to hydrogen peroX-
ide, the manufacture of which was
developed by the Germans as a
long distance submarine fuel. Hy-I
drogen peroxide auxiliary engines
now are being made for American
submarines.
Another Discovery Explored.
Work also is being pushed under
Office of Naval Research contracts
on another German discovery
cyclo-octatetraene-which promises
to be one of the most fundamental
chemical discoveries Of this gen.
Grafton.
1t promises to be the parent of a
whole new family of hydrocar-
bons," Admiral Solberg said
Chemists at his Office explained
that this substance, which is syn
thetized from acetelyne and which
was used by the Germans for MAX
ing war necessities ranging all the
way from synthetic leather to syn
thetic fat, may be as important to
the chemistry of the future as the
so-called "bensene ring" has been
to the chemistry of the past.
The benSene ring is the nucleus
around which have been built up
most synthetic dyes, perfumes,
medicines and the like. Literally
millions of new materials may be
made out of the cyclo-octatetraene
ring. Work now is being concen-
trated on means to produce it
cheaper in large quantities.
This work, 1t was stressed. has
no immediate application to naval
problems but is considered by the
Navy as part of it's program in
backing chemical research in gen.
eral
Another naval development an
nounced to the chemists by Admiral
Solberg is sodium superoXide, for
the oxygennation of air in subma-
rines and other close quarters.
Awards Presented.
At a general meeting of the soci-
ETY. in the Hotel Statler last night,
these awards were presented:
Eli Lilly Co. Award in biological
chemistry to DR.. Dilworth w. WOOL
ley. 34-year old blind chemist of the
Rockefeller Institute, for research
on anti-Vitamins.
Francis P. Garvan Medal to DR..
Gerty T. Cori of Washington Uni
versity, st. Louis for work in bio
chemistry. Because of Dr.. Cori's
illness, the medal was accepted in
her behalf by DR.. Cornella T. Smell
of New York.
Paul Lewis Award in engine
chemistry to DR.. Albert L. Lehninger
of the University of Chicago
Synthesis of a pain-killlng drug
about four-fold as potent as cocaine
was reported to the society today.
Known as ski.
This drug. known as ski, is SO
strong that a dilution as low as
I Tooth of per cent produced
anesthesis a rabbits lasting three
hours. The most potent of the
cocaine derivatives, dibucaine, abol-
ished sensation for only so minutes,
while the effects of the same dilu-
tlons of procaine and cocaine lasted
respectively only 18 and minutes.
ski was discovered in expert
ments under the direction of Dr.. E.
j Fellows of Temple University
Medical School The collaborators
were Drs. James w. Wilson and
Glenn E. Ullyot of a Philadelphia
drug firm, DR.. Norman D. Dawson.
now of the Washington Missionary
College at Takoma Park, and DR..
Walter Brooks of the University of