Chapter 7

When, at an elevated point in a meadow, there exists a spring or vein of water that cannot be utilized at a distance, either because the supply is not sufficient, or because of the permeability of the soil, it becomes very advantageous to accumulate the water in a reservoir, which may be emptied from time to time through an aperture large enough to allow the water to flow in abundance over all parts of the field.

The storing up of the water permits of irrigating a much greater area of land, and has the advantage of allowing the watering to be effected intermittingly, this being better than if it were done continuously. But this mode of irrigating requires assiduous attention. It is necessary, in fact, when the reservoir is full, to go and raise the plug, wait till the water has flowed out, and then put in the plug again as accurately as possible--a thing that it is not always easy to do. The work is a continuous piece of drudgery, and takes just as much the longer to do in proportion as the reservoir is more distant from one's dwelling. In order to do away with this inconvenience, Mr. Giral, of Langogne (Lozere), has invented a sort of movable siphon that primes itself automatically, however small be the spring that feeds the reservoir in which it is placed. The apparatus (see figure) consists of an elbowed pipe, C A B D E, of galvanized iron, whose extremity, C, communicates with the outlet, R, where it is fixed by means of a piece of rubber of peculiar form that allows the other extremity, B D E, to revolve around the axis, K, while at the same time keeping the outlet pipe hermetically closed. This rubber, whose lower extremity is bent back like the bell of a trumpet, forms a washer against which there is applied a galvanized iron ring that is fixed to the mouth of the outlet pipe by means of six small screws. This ring is provided with two studs which engage with two flexible thimbles, K and L, that are affixed to the siphon by four rivets. These studs and thimbles, as well as the screws, are likewise galvanized. Between the branches, A B D E, of the pipe there is soldered a sheet of galvanized iron, which forms isolatedly a receptacle or air-chamber, F, that contains at its upper part a small aperture, _b_, that remains always open, and, at its lower part, a copper screw-plug, _d_, and a galvanized hook, H.

In the interior of this chamber there is arranged a small leaden siphon, _a b c_, whose longer leg, _a_, passes through the bottom, where it is soldered, and whose shorter one, _c_, ends in close proximity to the bottom. Finally, a galvanized iron chain, G H, fixed at G to the bottom of the reservoir, and provided with a weight, P, of galvanized iron, is hooked at H to the siphon and allows it to rise more or less, according as it is given a greater or less length.

From what precedes, it will be seen that the outlet is entirely closed, so that, in order that the water may escape, it must pass into the pipe in the direction, E D B A C.

This granted, let us see how the apparatus works: In measure as the water rises in the reservoir, the siphon gradually loses weight, and its extremity, B D H, is finally lifted by the thrust, so that the entire affair revolves upon the studs, K, until the chain becomes taut. The apparatus then ceases to rise; but the water, ever continuing to rise, finally reaches the apex, _b_, of the smaller siphon, and, through it, enters the air chamber and fills it. The equilibrium being thus broken, the siphon descends to the bottom, becomes primed, and empties the reservoir. When the level of the water, in descending, is at the height of the small siphon, _a b c_, this latter, which is also primed, empties the chamber, F, in turn, so that, at the moment the large siphon loses its priming, the entire apparatus is in the same state that it was at first.

In short, when the water enters the reservoir, the siphon, movable upon its base, rises to the height at which it is desired that the flow shall take place. Being arrested at this point by the chain, it becomes primed, and sinks, and the water escapes. When the water is exhausted, the siphon rises anew in order to again sink; and this goes on as long as the period of irrigation lasts.

This apparatus, which is simple in its operation, and not very costly, is being employed with success for irrigating several meadows in the upper basin of the Allier.--_Le Genie Civil._

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ASSAY OF EARTHENWARE GLAZE.

Lead oxide melted or incompletely vitrified is still in common use in the manufacture of inferior earthenware, and sometimes leads to serious results. To detect lead in a glaze, M. Herbelin moistens a slip of white linen or cotton, free from starch, with nitric acid at 10 per cent. and rubs it for ten to fifteen seconds on the side of the utensil under examination, and then deposits a drop of a solution of potassium iodide, at 5 per cent. on the part which has been in contact. A lead glaze simply fused gives a very highly colored yellow spot of potassium iodide; a lead glaze incompletely vitrified gives spots the more decided, the less perfect the vitrification; and a glaze of good quality gives no sensible color at all.--_M. Herbelin._

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ON THE ELECTRICAL FURNACE AND THE REDUCTION OF THE OXIDES OF BORON, SILICON, ALUMINUM, AND OTHER METALS BY CARBON.[1]

[Footnote 1: Read at the recent meeting of the American Association, Ann Arbor, Mich.]

By EUGENE H. COWLES, ALFRED H. COWLES, AND CHARLES F. MABERY.

The application of electricity to metallurgical processes has hitherto been confined to the reduction of metals from solutions, and few attempts have been made to effect dry reductions by means of an electric current. Sir W. Siemens attempted to utilize the intense heat of an electric arc for this purpose, but accomplished little beyond fusing several pounds of steel. A short time since, Eugene H. Cowles and Alfred H. Cowles of Cleveland conceived the idea of obtaining a continuous high temperature on an extended scale by introducing into the path of an electric current some material that would afford the requisite resistance, thereby producing a corresponding increase in the temperature. After numerous experiments that need not be described in detail, coarsely pulverized carbon was selected as the best means for maintaining a variable resistance and at the same time as the most available substance for the reduction of oxides. When this material, mixed with the oxide to be reduced, was made a part of the electric circuit in a fire clay retort, and submitted to the action of a current from a powerful dynamo machine, not only was the oxide reduced, but the temperature increased to such an extent that the whole interior of the retort fused completely. In other experiments lumps of lime, sand, and corundum were fused, with indications of a reduction of the corresponding metal; on cooling, the lime formed large, well-defined crystals, the corundum beautiful red, green, and blue hexagonal crystals.

Following up these results with the assistance of Charles F. Mabery, professor of chemistry in the Case School of Applied Science, who became interested at this stage of the experiments, it was soon found that the intense heat thus produced could be utilized for the reduction of oxides in large quantities, and experiments were next tried on a large scale with a current from two dynamos driven by an equivalent of fifty horse power. For the protection of the walls of the furnace, which were made of fire brick, a mixture of the ore and coarsely pulverized gas carbon was made a central core, and it was surrounded on the sides and bottom by fine charcoal, the current following the lesser resistance of the central core from carbon electrodes which were inserted at the ends of the furnace in contact with the core. In order to protect the machines from the variable resistance within the furnace, a resistance box consisting of a coil of German silver wire placed in a large tank of water was introduced into the main circuit, and a Brush ammeter was also attached by means of a shunt circuit, to indicate the quantity of current that was being absorbed in the furnace. The latter was charged by first filling it with charcoal, making a trough in the center, and filling this central space with the ore mixture, which was covered with a layer of coarse charcoal. The furnace was closed at the top with fire brick slabs containing two or three holes for the escape of the gaseous products of the reduction, and the entire furnace made air-tight by luting with fire clay. Within a few minutes after starting the dynamo, a stream of carbonic oxide issued through the openings, burning usually with a flame eighteen inches in height. The time required for complete reduction was ordinarily about an hour.

The furnace at present in use is charged in substantially the same manner, and the current is supplied by a Brush machine of variable electromotive force driven by an equivalent of forty horse power. A Brush machine capable of utilizing 125 horse power, or two and one-half times as large as any hitherto constructed by the Brush Electric Company, is being made for the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company, and this machine will soon be in operation. Experiments already made so that aluminum, silicon, boron, manganese, magnesium, sodium and potassium can be reduced from their oxides with ease. In fact, there is no oxide that can withstand temperatures attainable in this electrical furnace. Charcoal is changed to graphite. Does this indicate fusion or solution of carbon? As to what can be accomplished by converting enormous electrical energy into heat within a limited space, it can only be said that it opens the way into an extensive field for both pure and applied chemistry. It is not difficult to conceive of temperatures limited only by the capability of carbon to resist fusion. The results to be obtained with the large Brush machine above mentioned will be of some importance in this direction.

Since the cost of the motive power is the chief expense in accomplishing reductions by this method, its commercial success is closely connected with the cheapest form of power to be obtained. Realizing the importance of this point, the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company has purchased an extensive and reliable water power, and works are soon to be erected for the utilization of 1,200 horse power. An important feature in the use of these furnaces, from a commercial standpoint, is the slight technical skill required in their manipulation. The four furnaces in operation in the experimental laboratory at Cleveland are in charge of two young men twenty years of age, who, six months ago, knew absolutely nothing of electricity. The products at present manufactured are the various grades of aluminum bronze made from a rich furnace product that is obtained by adding copper to the charge of ore, silicon bronze prepared in the same manner, and aluminum silver, an alloy of aluminum with several other metals. A boron bronze may be prepared by the reduction of boracic acid in contact with copper.

As commercial results may be mentioned the production in the experimental laboratory, which averages fifty pounds of 10 per cent. aluminum bronze daily, and it can be supplied to the trade in large quantities at prices based on $5 per pound for the aluminum contained, the lowest market quotation of this metal being at present $15 per pound. Silicon bronze can be furnished at prices far below those of the French manufacturers.

The alloys which the metals obtained by the methods above described form with copper have been made the subject of careful study. An alloy containing 10 per cent. of aluminum and 90 per cent. of copper forms the so-called aluminum bronze with a fine golden color, which it retains for a long time. The tensile strength of this alloy is usually given as 100,000 pounds to the square inch; but castings of our ten per cent. bronze have stood a strain of 109,000 pounds. It is a very hard, tough alloy, with a capacity to withstand wear far in excess of any other alloy in use. All grades of aluminum bronze make fine castings, taking very exact impressions, and there is no loss in remelting, as in the case of alloys containing zinc. The 5 per cent. aluminum alloy is a close approximation in color to 18 carat gold, and does not tarnish readily. Its tensile strength in the form of castings is equivalent to a strain of 68,000 pounds to the square inch. An alloy containing 2 or 3 per cent. aluminum is stronger than brass, possesses greater permanency of color, and would make an excellent substitute for that metal. When the percentage of aluminum reaches 13, an exceedingly hard, brittle alloy of a reddish color is obtained, and higher percentages increase the brittleness, and the color becomes grayish-black. Above 25 per cent. the strength again increases.

The effect of silicon in small proportions upon copper is to greatly increase its tensile strength. When more than 5 per cent. is present, the product is exceedingly brittle and grayish-black in color. It is probable that silicon acts to a certain extent as a fluxing material upon the oxides present in the copper, thereby making the metal more homogeneous. On account of its superior strength and high conductivity for electrical currents, silicon bronze is the best material known for telegraph and telephone wire.

The element boron seems to have almost as marked an effect upon copper as carbon does upon iron. A small percentage in copper increases its strength to 50,000 or 60,000 pounds per square inch without diminishing to any large extent its conductivity.

Aluminum increases very considerably the strength of all metals with which it is alloyed. An alloy of copper and nickel containing a small percentage of aluminum, called Hercules metal, withstood a strain of 105,000 pounds, and broke without elongation. Another grade of this metal broke under a strain of 111,000 pounds, with an elongation equivalent to 33 per cent. It must be remembered that these tests were all made upon castings of the alloys. The strength of common brass is doubled by the addition of 2 or 3 per cent. of aluminum. Alloys of aluminum and iron are obtained without difficulty; one product was analyzed, containing 40 per cent. of aluminum. In the furnace iron does not seem to be absorbed readily by the reduced aluminum when copper is present; but in one experiment a mixture composed of old files, 60 per cent.; nickel, 5 per cent.; and of 10 per cent. aluminum bronze 35 per cent., was melted together, and it gave a malleable product that stood a strain of 69,000 pounds.

When the reduction of aluminic oxide by carbon is conducted without the addition of copper, a brittle product is obtained that behaves in many respects like pig iron as it comes from the blast furnace. The same product is formed in considerable quantities, even when copper is present, and frequently the copper alloy is found embedded in it. Graphite is always found associated with it, even when charcoal is the reducing material, and analysis invariably shows a very high percentage of metallic aluminum. This extremely interesting substance is at present under examination.

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THE COWLES ELECTRIC SMELTING PROCESS.

The use of electricity in the reduction of metals from their ores is extending so rapidly, and the methods of its generation and application have been so greatly improved within a few years, that the possibility of its becoming the chief agent in the metallurgy of the future may now be admitted, even in cases where the present cost of treatment is too high to be commercially advantageous.

The refining of copper and the separation of copper, gold, and silver by electrolysis have thus far attracted the greatest amount of attention, but a commercial success has also been achieved in the dry reduction by electricity of some of the more valuable metals by the Cowles Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company, of Cleveland, Ohio. Both this method of manufacture and the qualities of the products are so interesting and important that it is with pleasure we call attention to them as steps toward that large and cheap production of aluminum that the abundance of its ores and the importance of its physical properties have for several years made the unattained goal of many skillful metallurgists.

The Messrs. Cowles have succeeded in greatly reducing the market value of aluminum and its alloys, and thereby vastly extending its uses, and they are now by far the largest producers in the world of these important products. As described in their patents, the Cowles process consists essentially in the use for metallurgical purposes of a body of granular material of high resistance or low conductivity interposed within the circuit in such a manner as to form a continuous and unbroken part of the same, which granular body, by reason of its resistance, is made incandescent, and generates all the heat required. The ore or light material to be reduced--as, for example, the hydrated oxide of aluminum, alum, chloride of sodium, oxide of calcium, or sulphate of strontium--is usually mixed with the body of granular resistance material, and is thus brought directly in contact with the heat at the points of generation, at the same time the heat is distributed through the mass of granular material, being generated by the resistance of all the granules, and is not localized at one point or along a single line. The material best adapted for this purpose is electric light carbon, as it possesses the necessary amount of electrical resistance, and is capable of enduring any known degree of heat when protected from oxygen without disintegrating or fusing; but crystalline silicon or other equivalent of carbon can be employed for the same purpose. This is pulverized or granulated, the degree of granulation depending upon the size of the furnace. Coarse granulated carbon works better than finely pulverized carbon, and gives more even results. The electrical energy is more evenly distributed, and the current can not so readily form a path of highest temperature, and consequently of least resistance through the mass along which the entire current or the bulk of the current can pass. The operation must necessarily be conducted within an air-tight chamber or in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, as otherwise the carbon will be consumed and act as fuel. The carbon acts as a deoxidizing agent for the ore or metalliferous material treated, and to this extent it is consumed, but otherwise than from this cause, it remains unimpaired.

Fig. I. of the accompanying drawings is a vertical longitudinal section through a retort designed for the reduction of zinc ore, according to this process, and Fig. II. is a front elevation of the same. Fig. III. is a perspective view of a furnace adapted to withstand a very high temperature, and Figs. IV. and V. are respectively longitudinal and transverse sections of the same.

This retort consists of a cylinder, A, made of silica or other non-conducting material, suitably embedded in a body, B, of powdered charcoal, mineral wool, or of some other material which is not a good conductor of heat. The rear end of the retort-cylinder is closed by means of a carbon plate, C, which plate forms the positive electrode, and with this plate the positive wire of the electric circuit is connected. The outer end of the retort is closed by means of an inverted graphite crucible, D, to which the negative wire of the electric circuit is attached. The graphite crucible serves as a plug for closing the end of the retort. It also forms a condensing chamber for the zinc fumes, and it also constitutes the negative electrode. The term "electrode" is used in this case as designating the terminals of the circuit proper, or that portion of it which acts simply as an electrical conductor, and not with the intention of indicating the ends of a line between which there is no circuit connection. The circuit between the "electrodes," so called, is continuous, being established by means of and through the body of broken carbon contained in the retort, A. There is no deposit made on either plate of the decomposed constituents of the material reduced. The mouth of the crucible is closed with a luting of clay, or otherwise, and the opening, _d_, made in the upper side of the crucible, near its extremity, comes entirely within the retort, and forms a passage for the zinc fumes from the retort chamber into the condensing chamber. The pipe, E, serves as a vent for the condensing chamber. The zinc ore is mixed with pulverized or granular carbon, and the retort charged nearly full through the front end with the mixture, the plug, D, being removed for this purpose.

A small space is left at the top, as shown. After the plug has been inserted and the joint properly luted, the electric circuit is closed and the current allowed to pass through the retort, traversing its entire length through the body of mixed ore and carbon. The carbon constituents of the mass become incandescent, generating a very high degree of heat, and being in direct contact with the ore, the latter is rapidly and effectually reduced and distilled. The heat evolved reduces the ore and distills the zinc, and the zinc fumes are condensed in the condensing chamber, precisely as in the present method of zinc making, with this important exception that, aside from the reaction produced by heating carbon in the presence of zinc oxide, the electric current, in passing through the zinc oxide, has a decomposing and disintegrating action upon it, not unlike the effect produced by an electric current in a solution. This action accelerates the reduction, and promotes economy in the process.

Another form of furnace is illustrated by Fig. III., which is a perspective view of a furnace adapted for the reduction of ores and salts of non-volatile metals and similar chemical compounds. Figs. IV. and V. are longitudinal and transverse sections, respectively, through the same, illustrating the manner of packing and charging the furnace.

The walls and floors L L', of the furnace are made of fire bricks, and do not necessarily have to be very thick or strong, the heat to which they are subjected not being excessive. The carbon plates are smaller than the cross section of the box, as shown, and the spaces between them and the end walls are packed with fine charcoal.

The furnace is covered with a removable slab of fireclay, N, which is provided with one or more vents, _n_, for the escaping gases.

The space between the carbon plates constitutes the working part of the furnace. This is lined on the bottom and sides with a packing of fine charcoal, O, or such other material as is both a poor conductor of heat and electricity--as, for example, in some cases, silica or pulverized corundum or well-burned lime--and the charge, P, of ore and broken, granular, or pulverized carbon occupies the center of the box, extending between the carbon plates. A layer of granular charcoal, O', also covers the charge on top. The protection afforded by the charcoal jacket, as regards the heat, is so complete, that with the covering-slab removed, the hand can be held within a few inches of the exposed charcoal jacket; but with the top covering of charcoal also removed and the core exposed, the hand cannot be held within several feet. The charcoal packing behind the carbon plates is required to confine the heat and to protect them from combustion.