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V
o l. III. M A R C H , 19 11. N o . 3
T h e J o u r n a l o f I n d u s t r i a l
a n d E n g i n e e r i n g C h e m i s t r y
PU BLI SHED B Y
THE AM ERICAN CHEM ICAL SOCIETY.
B O A R D O F E D IT O R S . Editor : M . C . W h ita k e r.
Associate Editors:
Geo. P . A d a m so n , E . G . B a ile y , H . E . B a rn a rd , G . E . Barton, W m . B ra d y , W m , C a m p b e ll, F . B . C a r p e n te r , V irgil C o b len tz, F r a n c is I. D u p o n t, W . C . E b a u g li, W m . C. G eer, W . F . H ille b r a n d , W . D . H o rn e , K a r l L a n g e n - beck, A . D . L it t le , P . C . M c llh in e y , E . B . M c C r e a d y , Wm. M cM u rtrie, J. M e r ritt M a tth e w s , T . J . P a rk e r, J.
D. P en n o ck , W . D . R ic h a rd so n , G e o . C . S to n e , E r n s t T w itchell, R o b t. W a h l, W m . H . W a lk e r , W . R . W h it n e y .
Published m o n th ly . S u bscription price to n o n -m em b ers o f the A m erican C hem ical S o c ie ty $6.00 y ea rly .
Vol. III. M ARCH, 1 9 1 1 .
No. 3 ED ITO R IA LS.
JOURNAL.
The editorial w ork of the J o u r n a l o f I n d u s t r i a l a n d E n g i n e e r i n g C h e m i s t r y is a great responsi
bility, and one n o t undertaken w ith ou t serious m is
givings. W hile technically, the burden of this re
sponsibility is placed upon the E d ito rial B oard, it must be perfectly obvious th a t in a journal w hich is the official publication of a large organization of professional men, from w hich the m em bers of the editorial board are chosen, and for w hich th e y serve without compensation, a great share of th is responsi
bility attaches to e very m em ber of the Society.
The committee appointed b y the President of the Society, to consider and report upon the p o licy of the
I n d u s t r i a l J o u r n a l , stron gly recom m ended a broad
ening of the field of its operations, and urged th a t it build up a world-wide staff of correspondents to re
port upon industrial achievem ents, processes, and general scientific m atters. T h e y also advised th at the policy of the J o u r n a l be broadened to afford a medium for the discussion of topics of chem ical and engineering interest, as w ell as for the p ublication of original contributions, th ere b y enhancing th e valu e 0 the J o u r n a l to th e m em bers of our profession W ?se t 'me and facilities do n ot perm it of a general review of the industrial press.
e believe th at the report of the com m ittee outlines a P°bcy, which is n o t o n ly feasible, b u t h igh ly de
sirable, and th a t the conduct of the J o u r n a l along the lines suggested w ill give the best valu e to those engaged in, and interested in, the applications of chem istry.
A n individual editor, or a board of editors, could not hope to in itiate and execu te the com m ittee's p olicy w ith ou t the cooperation of the individual m em bers of the Society. E v e n if such a plan were feasible, the difficulty of h avin g one, or a few men direct the p olicy of such a journal and control its infinite v a rie ty of interests is m an ifestly great. T his is especially true when w e consider th a t the readers are not the usual gullib le public digesters of popular science m agazines, b u t are experts in the lines of endeavor p rop erly under
tak en b y the J o u r n a l , and are trained to analyze and exam ine to the greatest degree of exactness.
T h e editors believe th a t the stand ard of the J o u r n a l
in e very respect— original contributions, notes, news, correspondence, and advertisin g— m ust be of the highest order, and their efforts w ill be directed to th at end.
T h e existence of an organ of applied chem istry is assured as long as it is prom oted b y the A m erican Chem ical S o ciety; b u t T h i s J o u r n a l should have more th an an existence. Owned and operated b y its readers, it m ust com m end itself to the support of its readers, and th ereb y pass from a mere existence to a position em inen tly representative of the organiza
tion.
P ra ctica lly e v e ry m em ber of the S o ciety is engaged in, or interested in, the application of ch em istry to great industrial problem s, and it is o n ly through the constru ctive suggestions, the contributions, the sup
port, and the cooperation of e v e ry chem ist of the organization, th a t the J o u r n a l o f I n d u s t r i a l a n d E n g i n e e r i n g C h e m i s t r y w ill be able to keep pace w ith the rapid industrial developm ent of the co u n try and the profession.
F A C T O R Y E F F IC IE N C Y .
T h e statem ents of Mr. Brandies before the In te r
sta te Com m erce Com mission a few days ago, th a t the railroads of the U nited S tates could save a t least
$1,000,000 dollars a d a y b y a p p lyin g th e well-know n principles of scientific m anagem ent, has been given wide p u b licity and has caused m uch discussion.
E n tire ly ap art from the question of the correctness of this sensational statem ent, it has another elem ent of valu e if it w ill bring hom e to men in positions of responsible m anagem ent the th ou gh t th a t perhaps w onderful results m igh t be a ttain ed in the industries th e y direct, if th e y should stu d y and develop the principles in volved in the so-called "S c ie n tific M anage
m en t.”
142 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y Mar., ign In a line of m anufactures where the labor is less than
20 per cent, of the cost of production, for exam ple, rubber goods, brass, etc., a scientific stu d y and a system atic correction of the unnecessary and useless m ovem ents of each m achine operator and each em ployee n atu rally w ould not produce ve ry striking results. The scientific m ethods should be first directed a t th e m aterial w astes and losses and the operating and expense items, or to th a t portion of the factory which contributes the largest proportion to the cost of p rod u ctio n .. O bviously, if large results are to be obtained, such m ethods m ight be applied to the best m anaged factories in the co u n try w ith profit, w hile in m anj1, of our plants the applications of the scientific studies w hich lead to the highest efficiency have not been undertaken a t all.
T h e term “ Scientific m ethods” sounds more form idable than it really is. T o be sure, in a great m an y cases in factory m anagem ent, im proved effi
ciency is based on the application of sound— though not alw ays profound— chem istry, physics, mechanics, therm odynam ics, psychology, etc. In a great num ber of other cases it is based upon the consistent ap plica
tion of th a t ex tra college attain m en t— “ horse sense.”
A n exam ple of the latter m ay be cited in which a m anager noticed th at all orders on w orks stores for expense supplies, such as soap, oil, w aste, repairs, renewals, etc., were signed b y the office boy, using the superintendent's autograph rubber stam p. P re
sum ably, the various departm ents were not using any more of these supplies than th ey needed; nevertheless, the im personal w a y in which the orders were p u t through, m ade direct responsibility easy to evade.
T h e m anager decided to ap p ly the “ horse sense”
phase of “ Scientific m anagem ent.” A ll rubber stam ps about the works were collected and sent to the boiler room, w ith instructions to the firemen to realize on their heat value. E ach departm ent foreman was ad vised to sign his ow n orders for an yth in g he w anted—
and only his own. In dividual ledger accounts were then opened in the office for each foreman, his d e
partm en t being charged a t the purchase price w ith ev ery order he signed; Tran scripts of these accounts were given to each forem an m onthly. A s soon as it becam e apparent to the forem an th a t he had a personal responsibility, there was not only a m arked falling off in the am ount of m aterial ordered, b u t the pur
chase price w as noted, and the purchasing office given the benefit of m an y suggestions w hich resulted in more careful b uyin g. T h e net result of this transfer of responsibility from the im personal rubber stam p in the hands of the office b o y to the forem an personally was the addition of S35.000 dollars per yea r to the profits of the works.
No m anager would be quick to adm it to the public, or to the la y stockholders, th at great changes and im provem ents could be m ade in the efficiency of his p lan t o p eratio n ; b u t every m anager adm its to himself, when confronted w ith im pending tariff changes, or grow ing foreign and dom estic com petition, th a t he m ust look for means to reduce the cost of production.
T h e cost of selling increases w ith the se v erity of com
petition. and this adds an additional burden, which m ust be shouldered b y the fa cto ry if profits are to be m aintained.
T he application of the “ Scientific m ethod,” as interpreted in connection w ith im proved factory efficiency, does not involve a profound scientific re
search, b u t invokes the use of the “ eagle e y e ” of a sensible m an to every nook, corner, operation, and product of the plant, w ith special atten tion to the coal pile, the drainage sewers, and the fa cto ry gates—
the three great escape valves for chem ical factory profits.
Such a study, and the application of remedies based | upon sound scientific principles, w ill g ive profitable j results of a surprising m agnitude in m any, if not all factories, and will suggest the solution for great prob- f lem s of factory developm ent in the face of falling j
prices and increasing com petition.
D R . R IC H A R D SO N .
I t is a m atter of regret th a t Dr. W. D. Richardson. | w ho has been head of the editorial staff of the J o u r n a l |
since its organization, could not be induced to con- J:
tinue the responsibilities of th a t position. His with- | draw al from the chief editorship w ill n o t entirely | deprive us of his services" and advice, as he has con- I sented to devote a portion of his tim e and interest | to the J o u r n a l in the ca p a city of an associate editor.
T he Society owes a debt of gratitu d e to Dr. Richard- [ son for his services in organizing the J o u r n a l , and ad
m inistering its affairs during its infancy.
LE O N A R D P A R K E R K IN N IC U T T .
Dr. Leonard P. K in n icu tt, an associate editor of
T h i s J o u r n a l since its beginning, a leading authority in san itary chem istry, especially sewage disposal and w ater supply, and director of the departm ent of chem istry of the W orcester P olytech n ic I n s t i t u t e ,
died a t his home in W orcester on F eb ru ary 6th in his fifty-seventh year, a fter an illness of several months.
A graduate of the M assachusetts Institute of T echn ology in 1875 he then studied in G e r m a n y until 1879, a t first w ith Bunsen a t H eidelberg, where he was a fellow student of Treadw ell, now of Zurich, and Bedson, of N ew castle on T yne, then a t Bonn with K eku le and A nschutz, w ith Japp and Richardsons5 fellow students. He returned to this co u n try in 1879 and spent a yea r a t Johns H opkins, going from thereto H arvard where he rem ained for three years, taking the degree of Sc.D . and serving as instructor in quantitative analysis. In 1883 he was appoin ted assistant professor a t W orcester, and becam e a full professor in 1886- and director of the chem ical department m.
1892, the position he filled a t the tim e of his death.
W ith the establishm ent of sew age disposal works W orcester his atten tion was drawn to sanitary7 pro!)' I lems and he devoted the rem ainder of his life to the®- He was recognized, both a t home and abroad, as j J leading a u th o rity on such subjects, as is shown by tfa | fa ct th at he had been chosen as vice-president of th |
T H E P E R K I N M E D A L A W A R D . *43
section of hygiene of the com ing International Con
gress of A pplied Chem istry.
Much of his tim e after 1885 was devoted to the study of the contam ination of rivers and ponds b y trade waste and sewage, w ith special atten tion to their pollution b y wool washings, in connection w ith the Blackstone R iv er a t Providence, R . I., b y the w aste of the W am sutta Mills, the W are R iv e r in M as
sachusetts b y th a t of the B arre W ool Com bing Co., and pollution of the same ch aracter a t B radford, England, where a greater am ount of wool is washed annually than in a n y other c ity in E n glan d or Am erica.
He was em ployed as an exp ert in num erous cases where the pollution of stream s and ponds was under consideration, such as Saratoga L ake, the N ashua River at Clinton and a t F itchb urg, the A ssab et R iv e r at Westboro, and the w a ter supplies of W ebster, Quincy, M illbury, W orcester, W arren, Bristol, Gardner, Athol and Jersey City; He was one of the principal experts for the c ity of Chicago in the case of “ The State of Missouri vs. the S ta te of Illinois and the Sanitary D istrict of C h icago,” which he successfully defended, and in the w ell-know n Passaic V a lle y case,
“ Jersey C ity vs. Jersey C ity W a ter Su p p ly C o .,”
where he was the exp ert for the W a ter Com pany.
Because of the fa ct th a t his personal engagem ents took him over such a w ide field, and because it was his habit to spend his vacatio n s e v e ry other y e a r in England and on the Continent fam iliarizing him self with the work th a t was done abroad, and w ith the leading experts there, Dr. K in n icu tt was a m an of very broad horizon. He was more gen erally know n on the other side of the ocean as a san itary chem ist than anj7 of our experts.
As a teacher Dr. K in n icu tt m et w ith the sam e success as in other w alks of life. A s a m em ber of the institute facu lty he was m ost popular w ith his students.
A touching tribute to him appears in the editorial column of the Tech Ncivs. It says, in part:
"H e was a friend of the students b u t p articu larly of the struggling student. H is w ords of advice and his help financially (though generally not p u b licly known) have strengthened the h eart of m any a strug
gling student and has been the m eans of enabling students to obtain an education. W e miss him ; w e miss his personality; we miss the man of g reat heart, of wonderful industry,' of untiring d evo tio n .”
Dr. K inn icutt’s a ttra c tiv e p erson ality appealed as strongly to his professional associates as to his students, and his presence was a lw ays w elcom e a t all the scien
tific meetings which he attended. He was a t once the heart and soul of good fellow ship. N o loss in the ranks of chemists w ill be m ore fe lt than th a t occa
sioned by Dr. K in n ic u tt’s death.
Cl i f f o r d Ri c h a r d s o n*.
the . p l r k in m e d a l a w a r d .
1 he Perkin Medal was conferred upon Charles M artin a for his inventions and discoveries in connection
"ith the m anufacture of alum inum , b y the N ew Y o r k
Section of the S o ciety of Chem ical In d u stry a t its regular m eeting, J a n u a ry 20, 1911.
T h e P erkin M edal A w ard is determ ined b y the com m ittee representing the S o ciety of Chem ical In
d ustry, T h e A m erican Chem ical S o ciety, and the A m erican E lectroch em ical Society. T h is m edal, founded in com m em oration of the fiftieth an n iversary of the coal ta r ind u stry, is aw arded to a chem ist re
siding in the U nited States, for va lu ab le w ork in a p plied ch em istry, and esp ecially w ork w hich has becom e valu ab le in the fu tu re developm ent of a g rea t ind u stry.
Mr. H all's discoveries and invention s w ere regarded b y the com m ittee as of a d istin ctly high order, and the aw ard was recom m ended b y a unanim ous vote. H is d isco very th a t alum inum oxide dissolved in fused cryolite, producing a solution of low electrical c o n d u ctiv ity , from w hich he could deposit the alum inum in the m etallic state, is the basis of the alum inum industry.
Mr. H all has also m ade m an y o th er va lu ab le in
ventions, b o th in the field of ch em istry and its en gineering application s, which h ave an im p ortan t bearing on the m etallu rgy of alum inum .
T h e w isdom of the com m ittee in aw ard in g the m edal to Mr. H all was su b stan tia lly endorsed b y the large atten d an ce a t the exercises and th e enthusiasm show n b y the audience. In terest w as enhanced b y the presence and p articip atio n in th e exercises, of P au l L. V . H eroult, w ho sim ultaneously m ade the sam e discoveries in E u rop e as those m ade b y Mr. H all in A m erica.
A s a result of the independent discoveries of H all and H eroult, the E uropean rights in the alum inum in d u stry h ave been en joyed b y Mr. HtSroult and the A m erican rights b y Mr. H all.
A n ab stract of the official report of the proceedings is an interesting contrib ution to the literatu re of the- alum inum ind u stry, and shows the cordial profes
sional endorsem ent g iven to the m eritorious in v en tions m ade b y Mr. H all.
1
O p e n i n g A d d r e s s o f D r . C h a r l e s F . M c k e n n a ,
Chairman: T he foundation of the P erk in M edal w as a h a p p y a c t of scientific benevolence. P erk in ’s contem poraries in A m erica, w ishing to do som ething w hich w ould honor him in life and continue to keep his m em ory illustrious in science, even a fter he should h ave passed a w a y, chose to establish this m edal and to see to it th a t in recurring years it should go as a rew ard to the men who had struggled, striven and fo u gh t and forced n atu re to yield fu rth er favo rs to men.
Sir W illiam P erk in has passed a w a y and y e t each y e a r his ach ievem en t stands ou t bolder on the pages of chem ical h isto ry ; each y e a r the new aw ard o f this m edal adds a link to the chain conn ectin g the g reat w ork of industrial chem ical advan cem en t in A m erica w ith the earliest and m ost pronounced ad van ce m ade in E n g land w hen aniline yielded up m auve. E ach y e a r the appreciation of this honor grow s, and the ann ual aw ard of the P erk in m edal is com ing to be looked upon as the concours of chem ical ind u stry.
T h e th ou gh tfu l men who, in founding this b en ev
144 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., 1911 olence drew up its guarantees and conditions, builded
carefu lly, and perhaps b e tte r than th ey knew . B e sides leavin g the selection of the recipient open to nom ination b y a large group of A m erican societies interested in chem istry, th e y placed no restriction as to the period in w hich the d iscovery m ay have been m ade. T h is leads to careful jud gm en t and brings forw ard for the palm m an y a stru gglin g chem ist who, in years past, had know n the d isadvan tages of inconspicuousness, and the hardships of passing along the d u sty road of conflicting interests.
I t happened th a t the im portance of Sir W illiam ’s d iscovery was im m ed iately grasped and th a t it spread q u ick ly th rough out the w orld. B u t this is not alw ays the case in our chem ical discoveries, and I th in k it can be said th a t the full appreciation of the signifi
cance of an A m erican college stu d en t’s experim ents in electrolyzin g a solution of alum ina in fused cryolite was lon g in daw ning.
Therefore we m ust rejoice th a t the Perkin Medal gives the chem ical fra te rn ity the op p o rtu n ity to' honor one of our confreres whose m odesty has been as singular as his patien ce has been m arked.
I m ust call atten tion to a m ost h a p p y coincidence occurring here to-night. W e all know th a t w e have com e here to g ive the palm to one w ho labored in the m etallurgical w inning of alum inum . W h a t is more ap p rop riate th an th at the one who extends it to him should be the dean of our profession and n e x t to the oldest liv in g pupil of W ohler w ho first isolated alum inum , our forem ost A m erican teacher— an en thusiast him self over alum inum , the preceptor w ho inspired C astner to toil over the sm elting of sodium th a t the sm elting of alum inum m ight follow', the friend of the strugglin g in ventor and the guardian of his rights?
It is in the rules prescribed th a t the presenting officer shall be the senior P ast-P residen t of our society resi
dent in the U nited States, and, as I h ave ju st stated, how h a p p y we are to be able to introduce to y o u in the person of th a t officer, Dr. Charles F . Chandler.
D r . C h a r l e s F . C h a n d l e r : M r. Chairman and Brother Chemists: I t is m y privilege and v e ry pleasant d u ty, as the senior P ast-P residen t of the S o ciety of Chem ical In d u stry residing in this coun try, to present to C harles M artin H all, L L .D ., the fifth im pression of the P erk in M edal in recognition of his m ost valu ab le w o rk in applied chem istry.
T h is w ork relates p a rticu larly to his discoveries and inventions in connection w ith alum inum . This is a su b ject w hich has interested me deeply from m y stu d en t days. In 1S54 I listened to W oh ler’s account of his discover}- of alum inum in 1S27, and the follow ing y e a r (1855) I was shown b y R ose alum inum which he e x tra cte d from cryolite b y the action of sodium — and th a t was the first tim e cryolite had appeared out of Greenland in a n y form , excep t as a rare specim en—
in the spring of th a t year. In 1869 I had the pleasure of m akin g the acquain tance of H enri St. Claire D eville, in Paris, who in 1854 and the follow ing years prepared alum inum on a m an u factu ring scale. L ater, I had am ong m y pupils in the School of Mines m y warm friend H am ilton Y . Castner, w ho for tw o years m on
opolized the m an ufacture of alum inum b y means of I his cheap sodium ; an’d, finally, for the p ast twenty years, I h ave been v e ry intim ate w ith Dr. H all, whose electrolytic process a t N iagara F alls has produced the m etal in such enorm ous qu antities and a t such a low- price th at it has m onopolized our m arket, and taken the place, for innum erable purposes, of other metals form erly em ployed.
T h e nam e “ a lu m in u m ” is derived from alumeti, w hich included alum , in w hich M argraf, in 1754, recognized a p eculiar earth, w hich we call alumina, and w hich w as supposed, a cen tu ry ago, to contain a m etal. Sir H tim phry D a v y , w ho in 1807 succeeded in ex tra ctin g sodium from soda and potassium from ; potash, and a little later the m etals of lime, magnesia, glu cina and strontia, endeavored to reduce alumina, !■
b y heating, w ith the aid of 1000 galva n ic couples, an iron wire in co n tact w ith alum ina in an atmosphere | of hydrogen. T he iron fused becam e w h iter and on solution in acid yield ed alum ina. H e evidently produced an a llo y of iron and alum inum . Nothing <■ fu rth er w as done till 1827, when W ohler reduced alum inum chloride w ith potassium , and obtained % alum inum as a gray, m etallic pow der, and later, in 1845, b y actin g on alum inum chlorides w ith potassium vap or, obtained the m etal in tin-w hite globules.
In 1854 H enri St. Claire D eville becam e imbued >
w ith the idea of m aking alum inum a useful metal.
H e secured the interest of the E m peror Louis Napo
leon, and w ith liberal grants of m oney w as able to g w ork -on a fa c to ry scale. H e em ployed aluminum chloride and sodium , thus m od ifying the process of W ohler b y su b stitu tin g sodium for potassium , and he introduced m an y im provem ents in the processes for th eir p reparation and application, and manufactured the m etal in w h at, for those days, seem ed v e ry large quantities.
I em phasize “ c r y o lite ” because it w as to cryolite th a t the guest of th e evening ow ed his discovery.
St. Claire D eville used cryolite as a flux. T his mineral ; from Greenland w as used exp erim en tally to produce alum inum b y the action of sodium in 1855 b y both | R ose and P ercy. D e v ille ’s factories continued to | produce alum inum on a m oderate scale till about
1888, reaching a m axim um o u tp u t of over 5,000 g pounds per annum . T h a t represents th e maximum : production of alum inum in D e ville ’s days. A fo1 - other m an ufacturers established works. T h e process of m an ufacture was, how ever, so expen sive that ; alum inum w as really a precious m etal, used chiefly for fa n c y articles. The price w as in:
1855 $ 9 0 .0 0 a pound
1856 2 7 .0 0 a pound
1S57 2 2 .5 0 a pound
1862 12.00 a pound
1886 12.0 0 a pound
$12.00 a pound was the low est price a t w hich aluminus w as sold during the w ork of D eville and his associates- In 1869 I purchased a little b ask et in Paris at thr alum inum salesroom for $9.00. I t w eighs 125 grams"
ab o u t one-quarter of a pound. T h a t was the com
m ercial position of alum inum as an every-d a y metsl in 1869.
. T H E P E R K I N M E D A L A W A R D . i 4 S In 1886 H am ilton Y . Castner, one of our students
in the School of Mines, in ven ted a new process for making sodium. . H e em ployed cau stic soda in place of the carbonate of soda, and iron carbide in place of carbon as a reducing agent. T h e result was he re
duced the cost of sodium from one dollar per pound to tw enty-five cents per pound, a v e ry im p ortan t item for the alum inum ind u stry, as it w as never possi
ble to make a pound of alum inum w ith less th an three pounds of sodium . B y June, 1888, his w orks at Oldbury, near B irm ingham , w ere in w orking order, with a daily o u tp u t of 250 pounds of alum inum w hich he sold at th a t tim e a t five dollars a pound. In 1889 a sufficient m arket had been created for alum inum to enable Castner to increase his o u tp u t to 500 pounds daily at four dollars a pound. Then his m anufacture of aluminum cam e to a sudden end because a new electrical process had been invented w hich produced it for one dollar a pound.
There had been created a com pan y w ith a large amount of capital, and the sto ck had been w id ely distributed, a great deal of w hich, as is usual in such cases, was held b y “ w idow s and orphan s.” Castner felt he owed som ething to those holders of sto ck in his company, and he im m ed iately devoted his energies to producing other products, and he m ade a large market for m etallic sodium . He also produced metallic sodium e le ctro lytica lly a t low cost, to be used for the m anufacture of cyanides and peroxide of sodium , and the enterprise rem ained a financial success.
We now come to th e achievem ents of Charles M.
Hall, but before I go a n y fu rth er I wish to sa y th at whatever praise I shall bestow on th is g reat inventor, I do not in the sligh test degree disparage th a t other great inventor, P au l L . V . H droult, w hom we h ave the honor to h ave w ith us th is evening w ho w orked on the same problem , a t the sam e tim e, across the Atlantic. He m ade the sam e d iscovery indepen dently, and worked out an analogous process of m anufacture, which has p layed the sam e im p ortan t p a rt in E u rop e that Hall’s process has p layed in the U nited States.
Charles M artin H all w as b o m in Ohio, J a n u a ry 6, '863, was educated in Oberlin, and grad uated there in June, 1885, when tw en ty-on e years and six m onths of age.
He studied ch em istry w hile a t school, becam e in terested in the alum inum problem w hile in college, and made m any experim ents in the hope of finding a more economical process for its production. F in a lly his thoughts turned to electrolysis, and ab out the first of October, 1885, he began to seek a su itab le anhydrous solvent for alum ina, op erative a t a p racticable tem perature, which w ould bring the alum ina into solution and which would yield to the electric current. T h a t ' ' as the problem th a t H all, alm ost as a b o v, had set
■or himself.
Fluorspar, and the fluorides of m agnesium , sodium Potassium, and alum inum were successively tried, ut were found to be too infusible, and to dissolve
e, if any, alum ina.
On February 10, 1886, H all tried cryolite, the
°uble fluoride of sodium and alum inum . This fused
read ily a t a m oderate tem perature, and when he dropped in the w h ite pow der of alum ina it dissolved and disappeared as does pow dered sugar or salt in boilin g w ater. I t dissolved to the e x te n t of more th an 25 per cent., and the solution was clear and lim pid. Y o u m ay im agine his d elight w hen he saw th e alum ina dissolve. W h y d idn ’t D eville discover th a t w hen he used the cryolite as a flux?
I t was w ell know n th a t cryolite could be electro- ly ze d — D eville electrolyzed alum inum out of m olten cryolite, b u t- th a t was an im practicable process for the m an ufacture of m etal.
H all thus m ade his first great discovery. H e pro
ceeded a t once to a p p ly the electric current to this c ryolite solution. H is first experim ents w ith cla y crucibles were not successful, b u t on F e b ru ary 23, 1886, he em ployed a carbon-lined crucible and was successful in ob tain in g alum inum . H e had achieved success in in ven tin g a process for m akin g alum inum d irectly from alum ina b y electrolysis under con
ditions w hich prom ised to revolutionize the in d u stry and furnish the m etal a t so low a price as to enable it to replace copper, tin, lead, zinc and other m etals for an endless v a r ie ty of purposes.
I m ay sa y th a t our oth er guest to-night, Dr. P au l H eroult, and H all are the sam e age, so there were tw o you n g men ju st ou t of college, one on the w estern side of the A tla n tic, and the other on the eastern side of the A tla n tic, m aking the sam e discovery, re
ducing it to practice, and devising a new process, a t the sam e, tim e, and a t the sam e age— both boys, y o u m ight say.
H a ll’s age a t this tim e was tw o m onths o ver 22 years and he had discovered and in vented w h at had escaped W ohler, Rose, D eville, and m an y of the other w orld-renow ned chem ists w ho had busied them selves w ith alum inum o ver a period of h alf a cen tury. I m ight add th a t in the quarter of a cen tu ry w hich has elapsed since the discoveries of H all and H 6roult no one has succeeded in b etterin g w h a t th e y did.
On J u ly 9, 1886, H all applied for his broad basic p a te n t w hich was granted A p ril 2, 1889, No. 400,766;
I th in k it w ould be interesting to y o u to hear som e of th e claim s:
“ 1. A s an im provem ent in the a rt of m an u factu rin g alum inum , the herein described process, w hich con
sists in dissolving alum ina in a fused b ath com posed of the fluorides of alum inum and a m etal m ore electro p ositive than alum inum , and then passing an electric current through the fused mass, su b stan tia lly as set forth.
“ 2. A s an im provem ent m the a rt of m an ufacturing alum inum , the herein described process, w hich con
sists in dissolving alum ina in a fused b ath com posed of the fluorides of alum inum and sodium , and then passing an electric current, b y m eans of a carbon a
ceous anode, through the fused m ass, su b stan tia lly as set forth.
“ 3. A s an im provem ent in the art of m an ufacturin g alum inum , the herein described process, w hich con
sists in dissolving alum ina in a fused b a th com posed of the fluorides of alum inum , sodium , and lithium ,
146 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . M ar., 1911 and then passing an electric current, b y m eans of a
carbonaceous anode, through the fused mass, sub
sta n tially as set fo rth .”
T h a t is the form in which H all expressed his in
vention, and the form in which his p aten t was granted.
He also received four additional patents for m odifica
tions of his original process.
H all did not escape the usukl experience of the successful inventor. He was obliged to defend in court the origin ality of his invention. A suit was brought in the U. S. Circuit Court of the Northern D istrict of Ohio, and after an exh austive discussion of the prior art, the p aten t was sustained. T he opinion was w ritten b y Judge W illiam H ow ard T a ft, now the President of the U nited States. He w rote:
“ H all was a pioneer, and is entitled to the advan tages which th a t fa ct gives him in the p aten t law s.” The court declared the p aten t valid and issued a perpetual injunction against the defendants.
F or various reasons there was considerable d elay in devising suitable means for applyin g the invention on a' m anufacturing scale and securing the necessary capital. A t last, in N ovem ber, 1888, H all began work in his factory a t K ensington, near P ittsb urgh, pro
ducing' fifty pounds of m etal a day. Since then his progress has been wonderful. He soon erected larger works a t N iagara Falls, as the first consum er of the electricity supplied b y the N iagara F alls Pow er Com pany. A t the present tim e his com pan y has three establishm ents a t N iagara F alls— one a t Massena in N ew Y o r k on the St. Law rence, and one a t Sha- wenigan Falls in Canada. The total consum ption of electricity is 140,000 horse-power, which I believe to be a larger am ount of electricity than is consumed b y an y other electrochem ical works in the world. The annual o utp u t of alum inum is now forjy m illion pounds.
The first m etal produced a t K ensington was sold on the m arket a t tw o dollars per pound; the price now is ab out tw en ty-tw o cents— a slight drop from D e ville’s $12.00 per pound. T h e early dream s of the youn g undergraduate have certain ly been realized.
H all has m ade m an y other inventions, several of which have been patented. Six of these are for im proved m ethods for preparing pure alum ina, one of which is still em ployed for preparing this m aterial for use in his works. He has also patented m ethods for m aking im proved carbon anodes for use in the process.
There are ve ry m an y other m atters in connection w ith H a ll’s work to which I should be glad to call your atten tion, did tim e perm it. I think, how ever, th at I have laid before you a m ost creditable record of discovery which will satisfy you th a t you r com m ittee has been wise and ju st in aw arding to Dr. H all the gold m edal which w as established to honor forever the m em ory of the great chem ist, Sir W illiam H enry Perkin, and b y association w ith him to honor our own m ost distinguished fellow-chem ists.
Dr. H a ll’s achievem ents certain ly en title him to a place in the front rank of electro-chem ists, and his you th fu l successes m ust ever prove an encouragem ent
to other young men who develop a love for this branch of applied science. Personally, Dr. H all is a man of the greatest m odesty, and m ost lov ab le character.
(Addressing Mr. H all) Charles M artin H all, Doctor of Laws-— M y D ear Friend— It gives me the greatest pleasure as the representative of the affiliated Chemical and E lectrochem ical Societies, to place in you r hands this b eau tiful token of appreciation and affection of y ou r fellow -chem ists. (Presents m edal.)
R e m a r k s i n A c k n o w l e d g m e n t b y M r . H a l l . Mr.
Chairman, Ladies and Members of the Chemical Societies:
I thank the speaker for his kind rem arks and for the m edal which he has given me, and for the great honor w hich it represents. A nd through him I thank the represen tatives of the chem ical societies to whom I am indebted for this honor. I appreciate it the more h igh ly because it is aw arded b y fellow -w orkers in the chem ical and electrochem ical profession and industries.
I am glad to have this m edal on accoun t of w hat it represents and on accoun t of the m anner in which it has been given, and I shall treasure it am ong m y most valu ed possessions.
I t is an especial pleasure also, Mr. Chairm an, to receive this m edal and this honor from the hand of the distinguished P ast-P resident of the Society of Chem ical In du stry, the D ean of the chem ical profes
sion in America-— a m an who has been m y adviser, helper, and m y friend for m an y years.
I t has been suggested to me to g ive an account of some of the more personal and unpublished facts in connection w ith m y invention of the alum inum pro
cess, and of the work of p u ttin g it on a commercial basis.
M y first know ledge of chem istry w as gained as a schoolboy a t Oberlin, Ohio, from reading a book on chem
istry which m y fath er studied in college in the forties.
I still h ave the book, published in 1841. I t is minus the cover and the title-page, so I do not know the author. It m ay be interesting now to see w hat this book, published se v en ty years ago, says about alum inum : “ The m etal m ay be obtained b y heating chloride of alum inum w ith potassium in a covered platinum or porcelain crucible and dissolving out the salt w ith water. As thus prepared it is a gray powder sim ilar to platinum , bu t when rubbed in a m ortar exhibits d istin ctly m etallic lustre. It fuses a t a higher tem perature than cast-iron and in this state is a conductor of e lectricity b u t a non-conductor when c o ld .”
L ater I read about D e ville’s w ork in France, and found the -statem ent th at e very cla y b ank was a mine of alum inum , and th a t the m etal was as costly a5 silver. I soon a fter began to think of processes for m aking alum inum cheaply. I rem em ber m y first experim ent was to try to reduce alum inum from clay | b y means of carbon a t a high tem perature. I made j a m ixtu re of cla y w ith carbon and ignited it ¡n a m ixture of charcoal w ith chlorate of potassium. I1 is needless to say th a t no alum inum was p roduced j I thought of cheapening the chloride of alum inum .
s
T H E P E R K I N M E D A L A W A R D . 14 7
then used as the basis for alum inum m anufacture, and tried to m ake it b y heating chloride of calcium and chloride of m agnesium w ith clay, follow ing the analogy b y which iron chloride is produced when common salt is throw n into a. porcelain kiln. A little later I w orked w ith pure alum ina and tried to find some ca taly tic agent which w ould m ake it possible to reduce alum ina w ith carbon a t a high tem perature.
I tried m ixtures of alum ina and carbon w ith barium salts, with cryolite, and w ith carbonate of soda, hop
ing to get a double reaction b y w hich the final result would be alum inum . I rem em ber b u y in g some metallic sodium and try in g to reduce cryolite but obtained ve ry poor results. I m ade some alum inum sulphide but found it v e ry unprom ising as a source of aluminum then, as it has been ever since.
On a later occasion I tried to electrolyze a solution of aluminum salt in w ater, b u t found nothing b u t a deposit of hydroxide on the negative electrode. I
rigged up a little electric b a tte ry — m ostly borrowed from m y professor of chem istry, Professor Jew ett, of Oberlin College, where I had grad uated the previous summer. I m elted some cryolite in a cla y crucible and dissolved alum ina in it and passed an electric current through the m olten mass for ab out tw o hours.
W hen I poured out the m elted mass I found no alum inum . It then occurred to me th a t the opera
tion m ight be interfered w ith b y im purities, prin
cip ally silica, dissolved from the cla y crucible. I n e xt m ade a carbon crucible, enclosed it in a cla y crucible, and repeated the experim ent w ith b etter success. A fte r passing the current for ab out tw o hours I poured ou t the m aterial and found a num ber of sm all globules of alum inum . I was then quite sure th a t I had discovered the process th at I was after.
I undertook to broaden and im prove the m ethod, and found th a t I could use, instead of cryolite, other double fluorides, p a rticu larly a double fluoride of
N E W P L A N T O F A L U M I N U M C O M P A N Y O F A M E R I C A . N I A G A R A F A L L S .
did not give a great deal of tim e to these exp eri
ments, as I was then a student in college and was working on three or four oth er attem p ted inventions.
I had studied som ething of therm ochem istry, and gradually the idea form ed itself in m y mind th a t if I could get a solution of alum ina in som ething which contained no water, and in a solven t which w as chem ically more stable than the alum ina, this would p rob
ably give a bath from which alum inum could be o b tained by electrolysis.
In February, 1886, I began to experim ent on this plan. The first thin g in which I tried to dissolve alumina for electrotysis w as fluorspar, b u t I found that its fusing point was too high. I n e xt m ade some nriagnesium fluoride, b u t found this also to have a rather high fusing point. I then took some cryolite, and found th at it m elted easily and in the m olten condition dissolved alum ina in large proportions. I
potassium and alum inum . The m ost im portan t change, how ever, w hich I m ade a t this tim e, was in the m aterial used as an anode. I w anted to g et rid of the burning up of the carbon anodes. I tried a platinum anode and found th a t it seemed to w ork all right, b u t it w as too expensive. I discovered th a t if I used a fusible b ath of a potassium double fluoride w ith a sodium double fluoride, I could use a copper anode, w hich im m ediately becam e coated, w ith a thin film of copper oxide and acted like a perm anent platinum anode! T his was not a step in advan ce as I had hoped, because more or less copper g o t into the reduced alum inum , • and the use of a copper anode led m e to use v e r y fusible baths-, w hich on the whole did not w ork as w ell as the less fusible baths. I t is probable th at this change d elayed a successful result for a yea r or two.
• W hen w orked oh ¿ sm all scale, this process w ith
148 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., i 9„
an y of the baths I h ave m entioned, and w ith either copper or carbon anodes, is not ap p aren tly prom ising.
T h e am pere efficiency is low, som etim es zero, and the b ath , w hether com posed of sodium or potassium salt, becom es filled w ith a b la ck substance w hich accum u
lates and renders the process v e ry difficult. I presum e th at m y friend, Dr. Hdroult, whom I h ave the pleasure of seeing here to-night, who invented the process independently in France ab out the sam e tim e, en
countered the same difficulties. In spite of the difficulties m entioned, how ever, I had great faith in the theoretical possibilities of the process, and be
lieved th a t the practical obstacles could be overcom e, so I stu ck to it from the start.
On the financial side I had, in the course of three years, three different sets of partners or backers, of whom tw o sets becam e discouraged and gave up. In the sum m er and fall of 1886, I w orked w ith some people in B oston w ith whom m y brother had made some financial arrangem ent. The results there ob
tained were n o t satisfacto ry to them and in October, 1886, m y Boston friends declined to go further.
In Decem ber, 1886, I returned to m y home in Oberlin, continued m y stu d y, and found th a t a bath com posed of a v e ry fusible double fluoride of alum inum and potassium , w ith copper anodes, w orked much b e tte r than an yth in g I had before tried. I have here a num ber of buttons of alum inum m ade b y this m ethod' at th a t tim e. The larger one was m ade w ith current from a galvan ic b a tte ry on D ecem ber 7, 1886, and weighs ab out 8 grams.
A fte r this I negotiated w ith the head of one of the large chem ical m an ufacturing com panies of the U niteii States w ith headquarters at Cleveland, b u t we could n o t finally agree. I thought then, and have th ou gh t since, th a t this gentlem an was the kind of m an whom the proverbial inventor meets when he is depriyed of the fruits of his labor. H e was described to me as extrem ely careful and conservative, and was alw ays w an tin g to take a few days more to th in k the m atter over. He k ep t me on the string six months, and the kind of contract w hich he fin ally offered seemed to me en tirely one-sided. The gentlem an told a friend of m ine afterw ards th a t I wras no business m an (which was no doubt true), b u t I received w h at seemed to me m uch fairer treatm ent from all w ith whom I a fter
w ards had business dealings, and found much more liberal associates and friends.
T h e Cowles E lectric Sm elting & Alum inum Com p any, who were then m aking alum inum alloys a t L ockp ort, N. Y ., were the second set of people who becam e interested in m y invention. T h e y took an option on it, and I spent a yea r w ith them , from July, 1887, to Ju ly, 1888. T h e y finally gave up their option.
T h e b ath s w hich I used a t L ockp ort w orked w ell for a few days, b u t a fte r a tim e becam e less efficient.
I fin ally w orked out a system b y w hich the diffi
culties w ere overcom e. This was b y m aking a bath consisting p a rtly of calcium fluoride, or fluorspar, and adding 3 or 4 per cent, of calcium chloride, and using carbon anodes. I reasoned th a t chlorine was evolved and burned up the objectionable com pound
which spoiled the bath. A fte r fin ally overcoming the difficulties which I h ave m entioned, I .made several pounds of alum inum in sm all crucibles, which I showed to Mr. A lfred Cowles and g av e him all the facts in relation to the same, b u t he was not inter
ested.
I then sent a represen tative— Mr. Rom aine Cole, now dead— to P ittsburgh, to g e t togeth er the gentle
men who formed the P ittsb u rgh R ed u ction Company, now the Alum inium Com pany of Am erica. We started in in the sum m er of 1888 to build and operate a com m ercial plan t on Sm allm an Street in Pittsburgh.
W e had a t our disposal ab o u t fifty horse-power in electrical current of 2,000 amperes. I t took a few w eeks after starting to get the dim ensions of our b aths ju st right, and then the difficulties which I h ave referred to disappeared as if b y m agic. The clogging and spoiling of the bath, w hich had caused trouble for the last three years, did not occur on a large scale. No calcium chloride was required. It seems th at this is a process (unlike a good m any others) which works b a d ly on a sm all scale and w ell on a large scale. I accounted for this b y the fa c t th at on a large scale the electrodes are fu rth er separated and there is less circulation betw een the positive and n egative electrodes, w hich lowers the efficiency and favors the form ation of the clogging b la ck compound.
W e also found, as I had predicted n early three years before and had stated in a p a te n t application filed tw o years before, th a t on a com m ercial scale no ex
ternal heat was required to keep our b ath s in fusion.
T h is was a great advan tage, b u t I b elieve th a t it re
sulted from a law of nature and n o t from any in
vention, as we did not use a n y excess of current for m aintaining fusion, bu t o n ly the norm al current and vo ltage for electrolytic purposes. T h e use of the electric current for fusing and heatin g in connection w ith electrolysis was a th in g w hich had been dis
closed and published alm ost a cen tu ry before.
The m an ufacturing of alum inum has now grown to a great com m ercial business. M any workers have contrib uted to it, and the credit is to be divided am ong m any. Our financial people, particularly the gentlem en of the Mellon B an k, of P ittsb urgh, have given indispensable aid. O ur p a te n t attorneys and experts, our engineering and chem ical staff, sales- agents, superintendents, foremen and others have all done their share. In the com m ercial development of the business I th in k the greatest cred it is due to our first President, Captain A lfred E . H unt, who died in 1899, and to our present President, Mr. Arthur V D avis, who has been identified w ith the business for tw en ty-tw o years, and who has been manager and general of our forces for the last eleven years.
T h e C h a i r m a n : I am sure th a t our best wishes h go out to Dr. H all, and th at all hope th at he may | possess the medal w ith honor and pleasure for many | years, and th at it will bring him all kinds of luck!
T h e electric sm elting of alum inum and the appfe- ||
tions of the electric arc and the electric furnace to the reduction and refining of m etals are in all probability the greatest technical problem s, and of the greatest
T H E P E R K I N M E D A L A W A R D . 149
importance to the w orld of an y of the great problem s on which scientists are w orking to-day.
It is fortunate th a t the m en who h ave done the pioneering are men of g reat concentration and great resource, men who h ave a grim determ ination about them and let nothing interfere w ith the attain in g of success.
Such a man is the gentlem an I am ab out to intro
duce, who, in a generous sp irit and w ith devotion to the science, has consented to add to-night to our fund of knowledge about alum inum . I h ave the honor to introduce to y o u P au l L. V . H ćroult.
M r . P a u l L. V . H e r o u l t : There is a verse of Kipling which reads as follows:
“ Ship me som ewhere E a st of Suez, Where the best is like the w orst;
And there ain ’t no ten com m andm ents, And a m an can raise a th irs t.”
I was in th a t p a rticu lar m ood w hen I m ade m y first acquaintance w ith alum inum in large quantities.
At the time I had a friend who since then becam e m y partner, but for the tim e being w e w ere b o th “ dead broke.” W e had paw ned everyth in g in sight and also other things which were not in sight. F in a lly m y partner had a brigh t idea. H e brou gh t from home a stick of aluminum ab o u t six inches long, w hich was valued very highly b y his fa m ily as a personal souvenir of Sainte Claire D eville. A s w e handed it to the pawnbroker, the la tte r said: “ W h at is th a t— bar silver?”
We said: “ B etter th an th at, th a t is alu m in u m .”
“ Aluminum,” he said, “ W h a t is t h a t ? ”
He weighed it in his hand and said: “ W h y ! is th a t hollow'?”
We said: “ No, th a t is alum inum and it is w orth 120 francs per kilo.”
After some th ou gh t he said: “ W ell, I w ill g ive y o u two francs for it .”
On a hot sum m er’s d a y it was b e tte r than nothing and we took the m oney w ith the firm intention of buying the stick back, w hich we never did.
Maybe th at was one of the reasons w h y, later on, I had to make good and replace it.
No material change too k place in the in d u stry of aluminum for three years a fter th a t event, b u t the development of the in d u stry was preceded b y . rum ors to the effect th at som ething new w as coming.
I can remember there w as a shop on the Grand Boulevard in Paris, where there w as a disp lay of aluminum goods, m ostly thim bles, if I rem em ber rightly, besides w edding rings, brooches, statu ettes, a few coils of wire and some interesting specim ens of aluminum bronze in the form of coffee pots, sugar bowls, etc. I once bought a thim ble for m y m other out of my savings— I was a good b o y in those days.
Every one of those articles had ,on the P aris finish and sold like silverware.
In the nineties, this sam e shop m aintained the f same prices, although the cost for ingots had fallen as low as 25 francs per kilo. This w as a wonderful time for the alum inum dealers and th e y were m akin g money hand over fist— a t least on the books.
There w as no use for a n y syn dicate a t th a t tim e.
A lum inum w as being piled up in the store and the stock of finished prod u ct reckoned a t above-nam ed price, b u t this did n o t last long; custom ers were scarce and fin ally the bankers g o t tired of lending m oney to people w ho piled up stock, it becam e neces
sa ry to sell. A n oth er price w as established a t eig h t francs per kilo, w hich also did n o t prove successful.
T h en cam e a price of five m arks w hich origin ated w ith th e Swiss C om pany and it seemed to open the bunghole of the cask. Now, a fter various vicissitudes, the price in the O ld C ountry looks p r e tty near settled around tw e n ty cents per pound and w ill v a r y accord ing to the price of copper.
T w en ty-fiv e years ago the alum inum in d u stry em p loyed ab out ten m en: the production was one and a h alf to n s a year, the to ta l valu e of w hich was 150,000 francs. N ow the sam e ind u stry produces 50,000 tons per yea r a t a valu e of one hundred m illion francs or tw e n ty m illion dollars, and em ploys from fifteen to tw e n ty thousand men. If w e ta k e the average consum ption of copper a t 900,000 tons a j^ear a t a valu e of thirteen cents per pound, the to ta l va lu e of ingot copper w ill be tw o hundred and th irty-fo u r m illion dollars a yea r com pared w ith tw e n ty m illion dollars for alum inum .
B u t thirteen cents is p re tty near the rock-bottom price for copper. A t tw e n ty cents per pound alum i
num presents a great a d van tage for m ost uses. I t is slow ly w edging its w a y into the m etal m arket. It looks probable th a t in a course of ten’ to fifteen years the consum ption of th e new m etal w ill be equal to th a t of copper, and th at a fter the golden age, th e stone age, the bronze age, and the iron age, we w ill h ave the alum inum age.
M y friend H all and m yself h ave been fighting for fifteen years, m ost of the shots going wild on accoun t .of the long range o ver th e A tla n tic Ocean. Since w e m et, how ever, w e conceived a b e tte r opinion of each other, and I take great pleasure to-night in exten d ing to m y friend H all m y sin cere co n gratu la
tions on the aw ard to him of the P erkin medal.
T h e C h a i r m a n : Dr. H droult had added a new p age to the h isto ry of alum inum , and has given us some of the hum an aspects of the question.
W e h ave in our com pan y to-n igh t a m an who is an a u th o rity on alum inum , and a d elightful gentlem an w hom w e are alw ays glad to see w ith us— Professor R ichards, of L ehigh U n iversity.
P r o f . R i c h a r d s : I th in k this is an historical oc
casion. In th e whole h isto ry of alum inum , w hich has extended n early a cen tury, from the tim e of W ohler, there has been no occasion on w hich alum inum has been so prom inent, and so praised, and has stood fo rth as it does to-night. W ith this e x h ib it here as a b ackin g for me, one can n ot b u t th in k of the p ast struggles w hich m etallurgists and chem ists h ave gone through to bring this in d u stry to w h at it is to-day.
In 1827 th e y were b a re ly m akin g a little g ra y powder. F or n early th ir ty years in the chem ical m useum s, th a t represented the w orld ’s su p p ly of alum inum . D eville m ade such a sm all q u a n tity
T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y . Mar., rgn th a t he could not sell it for less than ten dollars a
pound. Then we come to Castrier who m ade it on a large com m ercial scale, and brought the price down to one dollar a pound. He w rote me a p ath etic letter in 1889 saying “ th a t the price of alum inum has reached one dollar a pound, we w ill h ave to go out of business.” Then, we had the invention of Mr. H all.
I t was in 1885 th a t m y fath er w as using alum inum in the m etallurgy of zinc, and was b u yin g some of it from G erm an y a t six dollars a pound. L ate r he b o u g h t still more, arid h e'w an ted to get a low er price.
He asked me to look up the h istory of it, and to give him the inform ation. In 1887, I had sufficient in form ation gathered to publish a little book on the subject. I t was in th at yea r I first made the a c
quaintance of Mr. H all. I am going to claim a p art of this triu m virate of ages: Mr. H all, Mr. H éroult, and m yself are w ithin one yea r of each other. I rem em ber when I first m et Mr. H all. I looked a t him and he looked a t me. I had expected to find a middle- aged man, and he expected, as I learned afterw ards, th a t I was a gray-bearded u n iversity professor. W e found out later th at he was tw en ty-four years of age and I was a little over tw enty-three.
Now, there are a few things about Mr. H all’s e x perience, in w hich I am going to supplem ent Dr.
Chandler’s rem arks. Mr. H all was a classical student, and not a scientific student in college, and I believe his classical training has given him the broad view s necessary for his scientific success. I wish every technical man could have a classical education to start w ith.
I cannot help thin king of the course from the w ood
shed to the Perkin m edal. W hen Mr. H all m ade his first experim ents in Oberlin, and w anted a b a tte ry to run the electric current through the electrolyte he chopped the wood and he cast w ith his own hands the zinc-plates for his galvan ic b a ttery . From th at tim e on it has been grim determ ination and hard w ork, and he rich ly deserves all he has received.
Dr. Chandler has asked me, w ith these samples as a n inspiration, to sa y som ething about the present uses of alum inum . Alum inum , when m y fath er was b u y in g it a t six dollars a pound, was used for tele
scopes and articles of luxu ry. A t the present tim e the list of articles is so great it would be im possible to read it in less than an hour.
One of the chief uses of alum inum is in the m anu
factu re of steel. There is hard ly a steel works in all the w orld where alum inum is not used to solidify the steel castings. A Swedish inventor showed th a t a little hom eopathic pill of alum inum w eighing per
haps one ounce to the ton of m etál, pu t in as the m etal is poured, solidified the stéel b y rem oving the gases, which m ake the castings unsound. I do riot know w h at the steel-m aker w ould do w ith ou t it.
A nother use is for electrical conductors. I t is giv in g copper a hard race. It m ay not be know n to a ll of you th at a co n d ú ctb r’one mile long, of a given carryin g ca p a city ,' is cheaper w ith alum inum than w ith copper. Alum inum ,' section for section, is not quité as good a conductor as copper, b u t m ake the
section 25 per cent, larger in diam eter, and th a t gives you 50 per cent, larger area, w ith much more satis
fa cto ry results. The w eight gives it certain ad
van tages over copper, for one-half a pound of aluminum takes the place of one pound of copper and does the sam e electrical w ork. There are other advantages, as well as a few disadvan tages, which I cannot go into now, b u t thousands of tons of alum inum are now being used, for long distance transm ission lines.
There is a large use of alum inum in the reduction : of the other rare m etals. It has such a g reat affinity : for oxygen th a t it w ill reduce the oxides v e ry easily j and cheaply.
O ur friend H ans G oldschm idt used it in his process, I which he called alum ino-therm y. H ere is a large piece of chrom ium m etal produced b y this process; ! tungsten, vanadium , m olybdenum and’ others are produced co m p aratively ch eap ly b y this m ethod.
A n adap tation of the G oldschm idt process, which is J v e ry w onderful, is th a t for welding. If a m ixture of j alum inum pow der and iron oxide is m ade and ignited, it burns vio len tly, and forms alum inum oxide, plus iron, and the heat generated is so great th at the iron , is liquefied, and a t a tem perature far above the melt- j ing point. T h e m elted iron can be poured on the ; ends of tw o rails and w ill weld them togeth er— the G oldschm idt therm o-w elding process. In several cases a broken sh aft of a steam ship has been welded | a t sea b y this process, and now all of the German warships and Germ an m erchant m arine vessels must | carry it w ith them in order to repair shafts in case they f break.
A n oth er extensive use is for culin ary utensils. | I t interests n o t o n ly the ladies, b u t all of us. There j is no doubt this is the ideal m etal for cooking utensils. ! The ware, if sufficiently thick, is p rac tica lly indestruct- I ible, it cannot be worn out. I have in m y own home | some of the first alum inum vessels, stam ped in 1892; ii th ey have been used con stan tly since th a t time, and I ap p aren tly th ey w ill n ot w ear ou t in our lifetime. | T h a t use of alum inum is increasing rap id ly. When J you consider its durability, it is the cheapest ware you j can use. I th in k th a t is to be the largest use of j alum inum . H undreds of thousands of tons will be f consum ed for th a t purpose when its virtues are known, j
Stiffening alum inum for construction of bodies for autom obiles and castings around the m otors— in fact, j>
a n y construction th a t m ust be ligh t and a t the same | tim e strong is of great im portance. W e hear monthly, alm ost, of new alloys of this character. There is one in E urope which reliable reports sa y has a tensile | strength n early equal to th at of soft steel, and with a ; specific g ra v ity of alum inum . W hen those alloys | come into general use, I th in k there w ill be large uses for th at m etal in flying machines.
M ost of you are fam iliar w ith the alum inum paint which is used on radiators and open plumbing, etc.
B u t w h y should I try to catalogue all of those things’
Most of them are fam iliar to all of- you.
I think we can look forw ard to the continued ex- tension of the' alum inum industry. The: aluminum has becom e a com m ercial m etal. If vo u w ant to make an I
