Evening star., 1953-06-19
Driest Place in World
Just Outside District
:, Room in Naval Laboratory
Tests Chemical ABSORPTION
By Thomos R. Henry

The worlds driest desert Is Just out.
side Washington. -s.t
Compared with It, the middle of the
Sahara is a rather damp place most Of
the time.
This desert" has been set up by
Navy scientists in a specially designed
room of the Naval Ordnance Labora-
tory in White Oak, Md, to provide q
humidity minus atmosphere. They
need it for testing various chemicals
which absorb water quickly and be.
come unstable.
The desert" is a small, completely
inclosed space entered through two
doors which form a vapor lock. Walls,
floor and ceiling are lined with sheet
metal. Seams are sealed with q special
lead d7backed adhesive cellulose tape
especially designed to act as vapor
barriers.
The rooms construction renders 1t
virtually waterproof. Even so, when the
humidifying machinery is shut down
the humidity of the room will rise
enough to become measurable with deli
icate instruments in a couple Of hours.
MOlStuFe Removed.
Whenever it Is in use, the desert is
kept a complete desert by means of q
dehumidifier which removes any
moisture which gets into the room by
absorption in activated aluminium.
Water vapor in the air adheres to the
large surface exposed by the gravel
like chemical. When it has taken on
all the water it can hold, 1t can be dried
and reactivated.
dehumidifying equipment is to remove
the moisture given off in normal sweat
ing by the staff members who work in
the room. In an average day the
human body will give off between one
and two quarts of water.
Air is circulated through the de-
humidif1er at rate of $500 cubic feet.
all the air in the room, per minute.
The CT in Korea or Germany now
can have real maple sirup on his pam
cakes-depending, Of course, on the
progreSsiveness of the mess sergeant.
This is because Agriculture Depart.
ment chemists have succeeded in reduce
ing the sirup to solid form-not the
familiar maple sugar which cannot be
made into sirup again-which is easily
blended with cane sugar and water to
produce table sirup almost identical
in flavor or color with the original. 1t
comes in the form of q three-ounce
cake. 1t eliminates storage problems.
says the report It is well known that
maple sirup deteriorates rapidly unless
it can be kept in an icebox.
Blend Produced.
The work Of the Agriculture chemists
also has resulted in corn sirup-rnaple
sirup blend which is hardly distinguish
able from the straight Vermont product
and is already the basis Of substan-
tial food industry.
One of the chief problems Of the
maple sirup industry is lack Of control
of color and flavor in the finished prod
uct. 1t is very largely farm product.
The basic methods Of producing 1t have
not been greatly changed since the days
of the 1roquois Indians, who appear to
have been its discoverers. $3.50
Because Of this, the departments
Eastern regional laboratory has devel-
oped rapid evaporation, first intended
for recovering essences from fruit
juices, for the most essential part Of
the process. It can be so controlled.
according to the announcement, that
it will yield liquid Of uniform color
and flavor, regardless Of the charac-
teristics of the sap. Sap differs widely
from grove to grove. depending on such
factors as the chemical constitution Of
the soil.
The new apparatus is intended pri-
marily for use at commercial or CO.
operative evaporating plants.