The figures I have given are the times when half the parent substance has gone over into the next generation. It will be seen that the chemist is even more liberal in his allowance of longevity than was Moses with the patriarchs. It appears from the above that half of the radium in any given specimen will be transformed in about 2000 years. Half of what is left will disappear in the next 2000 years, half of that in the next 2000 and so on. The reader can figure out for himself when it will all be gone. He will then have the answer to the old Eleatic conundrum of when Achilles will overtake the tortoise. But we may say that after 100,000 years there would not be left any radium worth mentioning, or in other words practically all the radium now in existence is younger than the human race. The lead that is found in uranium and has presumably descended from uranium, behaves like other lead but is lighter. Its atomic weight is only 206, while ordinary lead weighs 207. It appears then that the same chemical element may have different atomic weights according to its ancestry, while on the other hand different chemical elements may have the same atomic weight. This would have seemed shocking heresy to the chemists of the last century, who prided themselves on the immutability of the elements and did not take into consideration their past life or heredity. The study of these radioactive elements has led to a new atomic theory. I suppose most of us in our youth used to imagine the atom as a little round hard ball, but now it is conceived as a sort of solar system with an electropositive nucleus acting as the sun and negative electrons revolving around it like the planets. The number of free positive electrons in the nucleus varies from one in hydrogen to 92 in uranium. This leaves room for 92 possible elements and of these all but six are more or less certainly known and definitely placed in the scheme. The atom of uranium, weighing 238 times the atom of hydrogen, is the heaviest known and therefore the ultimate limit of the elements, though it is possible that elements may be found beyond it just as the planet Neptune was discovered outside the orbit of Uranus. Considering the position of uranium and its numerous progeny as mentioned above, it is quite appropriate that this element should bear the name of the father of all the gods.

In these radioactive elements we have come upon sources of energy such as was never dreamed of in our philosophy. The most striking peculiarity of radium is that it is always a little warmer than its surroundings, no matter how warm these may be. Slowly, spontaneously and continuously, it decomposes and we know no way of hastening or of checking it. Whether it is cooled in liquefied air or heated to its melting point the change goes on just the same. An ounce of radium salt will give out enough heat in one hour to melt an ounce of ice and in the next hour will raise this water to the boiling point, and so on again and again without cessation for years, a fire without fuel, a realization of the philosopher's lamp that the alchemists sought in vain. The total energy so emitted is millions of times greater than that produced by any chemical combination such as the union of oxygen and hydrogen to form water. From the heavy white salt there is continually rising a faint fire-mist like the will-o'-the-wisp over a swamp. This gas is known as the emanation or niton, "the shining one." A pound of niton would give off energy at the rate of 23,000 horsepower; fine stuff to run a steamer, one would think, but we must remember that it does not last. By the sixth day the power would have fallen off by half. Besides, no one would dare to serve as engineer, for the radiation will rot away the flesh of a living man who comes near it, causing gnawing ulcers or curing them. It will not only break down the complex and delicate molecules of organic matter but will attack the atom itself, changing, it is believed, one element into another, again the fulfilment of a dream of the alchemists. And its rays, unseen and unfelt by us, are yet strong enough to penetrate an armorplate and photograph what is behind it.

But radium is not the most mysterious of the elements but the least so. It is giving out the secret that the other elements have kept. It suggests to us that all the other elements in proportion to their weight have concealed within them similar stores of energy. Astronomers have long dazzled our imaginations by calculating the horsepower of the world, making us feel cheap in talking about our steam engines and dynamos when a minutest fraction of the waste dynamic energy of the solar system would make us all as rich as millionaires. But the heavenly bodies are too big for us to utilize in this practical fashion.

And now the chemists have become as exasperating as the astronomers, for they give us a glimpse of incalculable wealth in the meanest substance. For wealth is measured by the available energy of the world, and if a few ounces of anything would drive an engine or manufacture nitrogenous fertilizer from the air all our troubles would be over. Kipling in his sketch, "With the Night Mail," and Wells in his novel, "The World Set Free," stretched their imaginations in trying to tell us what it would mean to have command of this power, but they are a little hazy in their descriptions of the machinery by which it is utilized. The atom is as much beyond our reach as the moon. We cannot rob its vault of the treasure.



READING REFERENCES

The foregoing pages will not have achieved their aim unless their readers have become sufficiently interested in the developments of industrial chemistry to desire to pursue the subject further in some of its branches. Assuming such interest has been aroused, I am giving below a few references to books and articles which may serve to set the reader upon the right track for additional information. To follow the rapid progress of applied science it is necessary to read continuously such periodicals as the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (New York), Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering (New York), Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry (London), Chemical Abstracts (published by the American Chemical Society, Easton, Pa.), and the various journals devoted to special trades. The reader may need to be reminded that the United States Government publishes for free distribution or at low price annual volumes or special reports dealing with science and industry. Among these may be mentioned "Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture"; "Mineral Resources of the United States," published by the United States Geological Survey in two annual volumes, Vol. I on the metals and Vol. II on the non-metals; the "Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution," containing selected articles on pure and applied science; the daily "Commerce Reports" and special bulletins of Department of Commerce. Write for lists of publications of these departments.

The following books on industrial chemistry in general are recommended for reading and reference: "The Chemistry of Commerce" and "Some Chemical Problems of To-Day" by Robert Kennedy Duncan (Harpers, N.Y.), "Modern Chemistry and Its Wonders" by Martin (Van Nostrand), "Chemical Discovery and Invention in the Twentieth Century" by Sir William A. Tilden (Dutton, N.Y.), "Discoveries and Inventions of the Twentieth Century" by Edward Cressy (Dutton), "Industrial Chemistry" by Allen Rogers (Van Nostrand).

"Everyman's Chemistry" by Ellwood Hendrick (Harpers, Modern Science Series) is written in a lively style and assumes no previous knowledge of chemistry from the reader. The chapters on cellulose, gums, sugars and oils are particularly interesting. "Chemistry of Familiar Things" by S.S. Sadtler (Lippincott) is both comprehensive and comprehensible.

The following are intended for young readers but are not to be despised by their elders who may wish to start in on an easy up-grade: "Chemistry of Common Things" (Allyn & Bacon, Boston) is a popular high school text-book but differing from most text-books in being readable and attractive. Its descriptions of industrial processes are brief but clear. The "Achievements of Chemical Science" by James C. Philip (Macmillan) is a handy little book, easy reading for pupils. "Introduction to the Study of Science" by W.P. Smith and E.G. Jewett (Macmillan) touches upon chemical topics in a simple way.

On the history of commerce and the effect of inventions on society the following titles may be suggested: "Outlines of Industrial History" by E. Cressy (Macmillan); "The Origin of Invention," a study of primitive industry, by O.T. Mason (Scribner); "The Romance of Commerce" by Gordon Selbridge (Lane); "Industrial and Commercial Geography" or "Commerce and Industry" by J. Russell Smith (Holt); "Handbook of Commercial Geography" by G.G. Chisholm (Longmans).

The newer theories of chemistry and the constitution of the atom are explained in "The Realities of Modern Science" by John Mills (Macmillan), and "The Electron" by R.A. Millikan (University of Chicago Press), but both require a knowledge of mathematics. The little book on "Matter and Energy" by Frederick Soddy (Holt) is better adapted to the general reader. The most recent text-book is the "Introduction to General Chemistry" by H.N. McCoy and E.M. Terry. (Chicago, 1919.)

CHAPTER II

The reader who may be interested in following up this subject will find references to all the literature in the summary by Helen R. Hosmer, of the Research Laboratory of the General Electric Company, in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, New York, for April, 1917. Bucher's paper may be found in the same journal for March, and the issue for September contains a full report of the action of U.S. Government and a comparison of the various processes. Send fifteen cents to the U.S. Department of Commerce (or to the nearest custom house) for Bulletin No. 52, Special Agents Series on "Utilization of Atmospheric Nitrogen" by T.H. Norton. The Smithsonian Institution of Washington has issued a pamphlet on "Sources of Nitrogen Compounds in the United States." In the 1913 report of the Smithsonian Institution there are two fine articles on this subject: "The Manufacture of Nitrates from the Atmosphere" and "The Distribution of Mankind," which discusses Sir William Crookes' prediction of the exhaustion of wheat land. The D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, publishes a monograph on "Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen" by J. Knox, also "TNT and Other Nitrotoluenes" by G.C. Smith. The American Cyanamid Company, New York, gives out some attractive literature on their process.

"American Munitions 1917-1918," the report of Benedict Crowell, Director of Munitions, to the Secretary of War, gives a fully illustrated account of the manufacture of arms, explosives and toxic gases. Our war experience in the "Oxidation of Ammonia" is told by C.L. Parsons in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, June, 1919, and various other articles on the government munition work appeared in the same journal in the first half of 1919. "The Muscle Shoals Nitrate Plant" in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, January, 1919.

CHAPTER III

The Department of Agriculture or your congressman will send you literature on the production and use of fertilizers. From your state agricultural experiment station you can procure information as to local needs and products. Consult the articles on potash salts and phosphate rock in the latest volume of "Mineral Resources of the United States," Part II Non-Metals (published free by the U.S. Geological Survey). Also consult the latest Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture. For self-instruction, problems and experiments get "Extension Course in Soils," Bulletin No. 355, U.S. Dept. of Agric. A list of all government publications on "Soil and Fertilizers" is sent free by Superintendent of Documents, Washington. The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry for July, 1917, publishes an article by W.C. Ebaugh on "Potash and a World Emergency," and various articles on American sources of potash appeared in the same Journal October, 1918, and February, 1918. Bulletin 102, Part 2, of the United States National Museum contains an interpretation of the fertilizer situation in 1917 by J.E. Poque. On new potash deposits in Alsace and elsewhere see Scientific American Supplement, September 14, 1918.

CHAPTER IV

Send ten cents to the Department of Commerce, Washington, for "Dyestuffs for American Textile and Other Industries," by Thomas H. Norton, Special Agents' Series, No. 96. A more technical bulletin by the same author is "Artificial Dyestuffs Used in the United States," Special Agents' Series, No. 121, thirty cents. "Dyestuff Situation in U.S.," Special Agents' Series, No. 111, five cents. "Coal-Tar Products," by H.G. Porter, Technical Paper 89, Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, five cents. "Wealth in Waste," by Waldemar Kaempfert, McClure's, April, 1917. "The Evolution of Artificial Dyestuffs," by Thomas H. Norton, Scientific American, July 21, 1917. "Germany's Commercial Preparedness for Peace," by James Armstrong, Scientific American, January 29, 1916. "The Conquest of Commerce" and "American Made," by Edwin E. Slosson in The Independent of September 6 and October 11, 1915. The H. Koppers Company, Pittsburgh, give out an illustrated pamphlet on their "By-Product Coke and Gas Ovens." The addresses delivered during the war on "The Aniline Color, Dyestuff and Chemical Conditions," by I.F. Stone, president of the National Aniline and Chemical Company, have been collected in a volume by the author. For "Dyestuffs as Medicinal Agents" by G. Heyl, see Color Trade Journal, vol. 4, p. 73, 1919. "The Chemistry of Synthetic Drugs" by Percy May, and "Color in Relation to Chemical Constitution" by E.R. Watson are published in Longmans' "Monographs on Industrial Chemistry." "Enemy Property in the United States" by A. Mitchell Palmer in Saturday Evening Post, July 19, 1919, tells of how Germany monopolized chemical industry. "The Carbonization of Coal" by V.B. Lewis (Van Nostrand, 1912). "Research in the Tar Dye Industry" by B.C. Hesse in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, September, 1916.

Kekule tells how he discovered the constitution of benzene in the Berichte der Deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft, V. XXIII, I, p. 1306. I have quoted it with some other instances of dream discoveries in The Independent of Jan. 26, 1918. Even this innocent scientific vision has not escaped the foul touch of the Freudians. Dr. Alfred Robitsek in "Symbolisches Denken in der chemischen Forschung," Imago, V. I, p. 83, has deduced from it that Kekule was morally guilty of the crime of OEdipus as well as minor misdemeanors.

CHAPTER V

Read up on the methods of extracting perfumes from flowers in any encyclopedia or in Duncan's "Chemistry of Commerce" or Tilden's "Chemical Discovery in the Twentieth Century" or Rogers' "Industrial Chemistry."

The pamphlet containing a synopsis of the lectures by the late Alois von Isakovics on "Synthetic Perfumes and Flavors," published by the Synfleur Scientific Laboratories, Monticello, New York, is immensely interesting. Van Dyk & Co., New York, issue a pamphlet on the composition of oil of rose. Gildemeister's "The Volatile Oils" is excellent on the history of the subject. Walter's "Manual for the Essence Industry" (Wiley) gives methods and recipes. Parry's "Chemistry of Essential Oils and Artificial Perfumes," 1918 edition. "Chemistry and Odoriferous Bodies Since 1914" by G. Satie in Chemie et Industrie, vol. II, p. 271, 393. "Odor and Chemical Constitution," Chemical Abstracts, 1917, p. 3171 and Journal of Society for Chemical Industry, v. 36, p. 942.

CHAPTER VI

The bulletin on "By-Products of the Lumber Industry" by H.K. Benson (published by Department of Commerce, Washington, 10 cents) contains a description of paper-making and wood distillation. There is a good article on cellulose products by H.S. Mork in Journal of the Franklin Institute, September, 1917, and in Paper, September 26, 1917. The Government Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, publishes technical papers on distillation of wood, etc. The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the chief source of information on forestry. The standard authority is Cross and Bevans' "Cellulose." For the acetates see the eighth volume of Worden's "Technology of the Cellulose Esters."

CHAPTER VII

The speeches made when Hyatt was awarded the Perkin medal by the American Chemical Society for the discovery of celluloid may be found in the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry for 1914, p. 225. In 1916 Baekeland received the same medal, and the proceedings are reported in the same Journal, v. 35, p. 285.

A comprehensive technical paper with bibliography on "Synthetic Resins" by L.V. Redman appeared in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, January, 1914. The controversy over patent rights may be followed in the same Journal, v. 8 (1915), p. 1171, and v. 9 (1916), p. 207. The "Effects of Heat on Celluloid" have been examined by the Bureau of Standards, Washington (Technological Paper No. 98), abstract in Scientific American Supplement, June 29, 1918.

For casein see Tague's article in Rogers' "Industrial Chemistry" (Van Nostrand). See also Worden's "Nitrocellulose Industry" and "Technology of the Cellulose Esters" (Van Nostrand); Hodgson's "Celluloid" and Cross and Bevan's "Cellulose."

For references to recent research and new patent specifications on artificial plastics, resins, rubber, leather, wood, etc., see the current numbers of Chemical Abstracts (Easton, Pa.) and such journals as the India Rubber Journal, Paper, Textile World, Leather World and Journal of American Leather Chemical Association.

The General Bakelite Company, New York, the Redmanol Products Company, Chicago, the Condensite Company, Bloomfield, N.J., the Arlington Company, New York (handling pyralin), give out advertising literature regarding their respective products.

CHAPTER VIII

Sir William Tilden's "Chemical Discovery and Invention in the Twentieth Century" (E.P. Dutton & Co.) contains a readable chapter on rubber with references to his own discovery. The "Wonder Book of Rubber," issued by the B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, gives an interesting account of their industry. Iles: "Leading American Inventors" (Henry Holt & Co.) contains a life of Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization. Potts: "Chemistry of the Rubber Industry, 1912." The Rubber Industry: Report of the International Rubber Congress, 1914. Pond: "Review of Pioneer Work in Rubber Synthesis" in Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1914. Bang: "Synthetic Rubber" in Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, May 1, 1917. Castellan: "L'Industrie caoutchouciere," doctor's thesis, University of Paris, 1915. The India Rubber World, New York, all numbers, especially "What I Saw in the Philippines," by the Editor, 1917. Pearson: "Production of Guayule Rubber," Commerce Reports, 1918, and India Rubber World, 1919. "Historical Sketch of Chemistry of Rubber" by S.C. Bradford in Science Progress, v. II, p. 1.

CHAPTER IX

"The Cane Sugar Industry" (Bulletin No. 53, Miscellaneous Series, Department of Commerce, 50 cents) gives agricultural and manufacturing costs in Hawaii, Porto Rico, Louisiana and Cuba.

"Sugar and Its Value as Food," by Mary Hinman Abel. (Farmer's Bulletin No. 535, Department of Agriculture, free.)

"Production of Sugar in the United States and Foreign Countries," by Perry Elliott. (Department of Agriculture, 10 cents.)

"Conditions in the Sugar Market January to October, 1917," a pamphlet published by the American Sugar Refining Company, 117 Wall Street, New York, gives an admirable survey of the present situation as seen by the refiners.

"Cuban Cane Sugar," by Robert Wiles, 1916 (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 75 cents), an attractive little book in simple language.

"The World's Cane Sugar Industry, Past and Present," by H.C.P. Geering.

"The Story of Sugar," by Prof. G.T. Surface of Yale (Appleton, 1910). A very interesting and reliable book.

The "Digestibility of Glucose" is discussed in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, August, 1917. "Utilization of Beet Molasses" in Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, April 5, 1917.

CHAPTER X

"Maize," by Edward Alber (Bulletin of the Pan-American Union, January, 1915).

"Glucose," by Geo. W. Rolfe (Scientific American Supplement, May 15 or November 6, 1915, and in Boger's "Industrial Chemistry").

On making ethyl alcohol from wood, see Bulletin No. 110, Special Agents' Series, Department of Commerce (10 cents), and an article by F.W. Kressmann in Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, July 15, 1916. On the manufacture and uses of industrial alcohol the Department of Agriculture has issued for free distribution Farmer's Bulletin 269 and 424, and Department Bulletin 182.

On the "Utilization of Corn Cobs," see Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Nov., 1918. For John Winthrop's experiment, see the same Journal, Jan., 1919.

CHAPTER XI

President Scherer's "Cotton as a World Power" (Stokes, 1916) is a fascinating volume that combines the history, science and politics of the plant and does not ignore the poetry and legend.

In the Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture for 1916 will be found an interesting article by H.S. Bailey on "Some American Vegetable Oils" (sold separate for five cents), also "The Peanut: A Great American Food" by same author in the Yearbook of 1917. "The Soy Bean Industry" is discussed in the same volume. See also: Thompson's "Cottonseed Products and Their Competitors in Northern Europe" (Part I, Cake and Meal; Part II, Edible Oils. Department of Commerce, 10 cents each). "Production and Conservation of Fats and Oils in the United States" (Bulletin No. 769, 1919, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture). "Cottonseed Meal for Feeding Cattle" (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmer's Bulletin 655, free). "Cottonseed Industry in Foreign Countries," by T.H. Norton, 1915 (Department of Commerce, 10 cents). "Cottonseed Products" in Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, July 16, 1917, and Baskerville's article in the same journal (1915, vol. 7, p. 277). Dunstan's "Oil Seeds and Feeding Cakes," a volume on British problems since the war. Ellis's "The Hydrogenation of Oils" (Van Nostrand, 1914). Copeland's "The Coconut" (Macmillan). Barrett's "The Philippine Coconut Industry" (Bulletin No. 25, Philippine Bureau of Agriculture). "Coconuts, the Consols of the East" by Smith and Pope (London). "All About Coconuts" by Belfort and Hoyer (London). Numerous articles on copra and other oils appear in U.S. Commerce Reports and Philippine Journal of Science. "The World Wide Search for Oils" in The Americas (National City Bank, N.Y.). "Modern Margarine Technology" by W. Clayton in Journal Society of Chemical Industry, Dec. 5, 1917; also see Scientific American Supplement, Sept. 21, 1918. A court decision on the patent rights of hydrogenation is given in Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry for December, 1917. The standard work on the whole subject is Lewkowitsch's "Chemical Technology of Oils, Fats and Waxes" (3 vols., Macmillan, 1915).

CHAPTER XII

A full account of the development of the American Warfare Service has been published in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry in the monthly issues from January to August, 1919, and an article on the British service in the issue of April, 1918. See also Crowell's Report on "America's Munitions," published by War Department. Scientific American, March 29, 1919, contains several articles. A. Russell Bond's "Inventions of the Great War" (Century) contains chapters on poison gas and explosives.

Lieutenant Colonel S.J.M. Auld, Chief Gas Officer of Sir Julian Byng's army and a member of the British Military Mission to the United States, has published a volume on "Gas and Flame in Modern Warfare" (George H. Doran Co.).

CHAPTER XIII

See chapter in Cressy's "Discoveries and Inventions of Twentieth Century." "Oxy-Acetylene Welders," Bulletin No. 11, Federal Board of Vocational Education, Washington, June, 1918, gives practical directions for welding. Reactions, a quarterly published by Goldschmidt Thermit Company, N.Y., reports latest achievements of aluminothermics. Provost Smith's "Chemistry in America" (Appleton) tells of the experiments of Robert Hare and other pioneers. "Applications of Electrolysis in Chemical Industry" by A.F. Hall (Longmans). For recent work on artificial diamonds see Scientific American Supplement, Dec. 8, 1917, and August 24, 1918. On acetylene see "A Storehouse of Sleeping Energy" by J.M. Morehead in Scientific American, January 27, 1917.

CHAPTER XIV

Spring's "Non-Technical Talks on Iron and Steel" (Stokes) is a model of popular science writing, clear, comprehensive and abundantly illustrated. Tilden's "Chemical Discovery in the Twentieth Century" must here again be referred to. The Encyclopedia Britannica is convenient for reference on the various metals mentioned; see the article on "Lighting" for the Welsbach burner. The annual "Mineral Resources of the United States, Part I," contains articles on the newer metals by Frank W. Hess; see "Tungsten" in the volume for 1914, also Bulletin No. 652, U.S. Geological Survey, by same author. Foote-Notes, the house organ of the Foote Mineral Company, Philadelphia, gives information on the rare elements. Interesting advertising literature may be obtained from the Titantium Alloy Manufacturing Company, Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Duriron Castings Company, Dayton, O.; Buffalo Foundry and Machine Company, Buffalo, N.Y., manufacturers of "Buflokast" acid-proof apparatus, and similar concerns. The following additional references may be useful: Stellite alloys in Jour. Ind. & Eng. Chem., v. 9, p. 974; Rossi's work on titantium in same journal, Feb., 1918; Welsbach mantles in Journal Franklin Institute, v. 14, p. 401, 585; pure alloys in Trans. Amer. Electro-Chemical Society, v. 32, p. 269; molybdenum in Engineering, 1917, or Scientific American Supplement, Oct. 20, 1917; acid-resisting iron in Sc. Amer. Sup., May 31, 1919; ferro-alloys in Jour. Ind. & Eng. Chem., v. 10, p. 831; influence of vanadium, etc., on iron, in Met. Chem. Eng., v. 15, p. 530; tungsten in Engineering, v. 104, p. 214.



INDEX

Abrasives, 249-251 Acetanilid, 87 Acetone, 125, 154, 243, 245 Acetylene, 30, 154, 240-248, 257, 307, 308 Acheson, 249 Air, liquefied, 33 Alcohol, ethyl, 101, 102, 127, 174, 190-194, 242-244, 305 methyl, 101, 102, 127, 191 Aluminum, 31, 246-248, 255, 272, 284 Ammonia, 27, 29, 31, 33, 56, 64, 250 American dye industry, 82 Aniline dyes, 60-92 Antiseptics, 86, 87 Argon, 16 Art and nature, 8, 9, 170, 173 Artificial silk, 116, 118, 119 Aspirin, 84 Atomic theory, 293-296, 299 Aylesworth, 140

Baekeland, 137 Baeyer, Adolf von, 77 Bakelite, 138, 303 Balata, 159 Bauxite, 31 Beet sugar, 165, 169, 305 Benzene formula, 67, 301, 101 Berkeley, 61 Berthelot, 7, 94 Birkeland-Eyde process, 26 Bucher process, 32 Butter, 201, 208

Calcium, 246, 253 Calcium carbide, 30, 339 Camphor, 100, 131 Cane sugar, 164, 167, 177, 180, 305 Carbolic acid, 18, 64, 84, 101, 102, 137 Carborundum, 249-251 Caro and Frank process, 30 Casein, 142 Castner, 246 Catalyst, 28, 204 Celluloid, 128-135, 302 Cellulose, 110-127, 129, 137, 302 Cellulose acetate, 118, 120, 302 Cerium, 288-290 Chemical warfare, 218-235, 307 Chlorin, 224, 226, 250 Chlorophyll, 267 Chlorpicrin, 224, 226 Chromicum, 278, 280 Coal, distillation of, 60, 64, 70, 84, 301 Coal tar colors, 60-92 Cochineal, 79 Coconut oil, 203, 211-215, 306 Collodion, 117, 123, 130 Cologne, eau de, 107 Copra, 203, 211-215, 306 Corn oil, 183, 305 Cotton, 112, 120, 129, 197 Cocain, 88 Condensite, 141 Cordite, 18, 19 Corn products, 181-195, 305 Coslett process, 273 Cottonseed oil, 201 Cowles, 248 Creative chemistry, 7 Crookes, Sir William, 292, 299 Curie, Madame, 292 Cyanamid, 30, 35, 299 Cyanides, 32

Diamond, 259-261, 308 Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, 221 Drugs, synthetic, 6, 84, 301 Duisberg, 151 Dyestuffs, 60-92

Edison, 84, 141 Ehrlich, 86, 87 Electric furnace, 236-262, 307

Fats, 196-217, 306 Fertilizers, 37, 41, 43, 46, 300 Flavors, synthetic, 93-109 Food, synthetic, 94 Formaldehyde, 136, 142 Fruit flavors, synthetic, 99, 101

Galalith, 142 Gas masks, 223, 226, 230, 231 Gerhardt, 6, 7 Glucose, 137, 184-189, 194, 305 Glycerin, 194, 203 Goldschmidt, 256 Goodyear, 161 Graphite, 258 Guayule, 159, 304 Guncotton, 17, 117, 125, 130 Gunpowder, 14, 15, 22, 234 Gutta percha, 159

Haber process, 27, 28 Hall, C.H., 247 Hare, Robert, 237, 245, 307 Harries, 149 Helium, 236 Hesse, 70, 72, 90 Hofmann, 72, 80 Huxley, 10 Hyatt, 128, 129, 303 Hydrogen, 253-255 Hydrogenation of oils, 202-205, 306

Indigo, 76, 79 Iron, 236, 253, 262-270, 308 Isoprene, 136, 146, 149, 150, 154

Kelp products, 53, 142 Kekule's dream, 66, 301

Lard substitutes, 209 Lavoisier, 6 Leather substitutes, 124 Leucite, 53 Liebig, 38 Linseed oil, 202, 205, 270

Magnesium, 283 Maize products, 181-196, 305 Manganese, 278 Margarin, 207-212, 307 Mauve, discovery of, 74 Mendeleef, 285, 291 Mercerized cotton, 115 Moissan, 259 Molybdenum, 283, 308 Munition manufacture in U.S., 33, 224, 299, 307 Mushet, 279 Musk, synthetic, 96, 97, 106 Mustard gas, 224, 227-229

Naphthalene, 4, 142, 154 Nature and art, 8-13, 118, 122, 133 Nitrates, Chilean, 22, 24, 30, 36 Nitric acid derivatives, 20 Nitrocellulose, 17, 117 Nitrogen, in explosives, 14, 16, 117, 299 fixation, 24, 25, 29, 299 Nitro-glycerin, 18, 117, 214 Nobel, 18, 117

Oils, 196-217, 306 Oleomargarin, 207-212, 307 Orange blossoms, 99, 100 Osmium, 28 Ostwald, 29, 55 Oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, 246

Paper, 111, 132 Parker process, 273 Peanut oil, 206, 211, 214, 306 Perfumery, Art of, 103-108 Perfumes, synthetic, 93-109, 302 Perkin, W.H., 148 Perkin, Sir William, 72, 80, 102 Pharmaceutical chemistry, 6, 85-88 Phenol, 18, 64, 84, 101, 102, 137 Phonograph records, 84, 141 Phosphates, 56-59 Phosgene, 224, 225 Photographic developers, 88 Picric acid, 18, 84, 85, 226 Platinum, 28, 278, 280, 284, 286 Plastics, synthetic, 128-143 Pneumatic tires, 162 Poisonous gases in warfare, 218-235, 307 Potash, 37, 45-56, 300 Priestley, 150, 160 Purple, royal, 75, 79 Pyralin, 132, 133 Pyrophoric alloys, 290 Pyroxylin, 17, 127, 125, 130

Radium, 291, 295 Rare earths, 286-288, 308 Redmanol, 140 Remsen, Ira, 178 Refractories, 251-252 Resins, synthetic, 135-143 Rose perfume, 93, 96, 97, 99, 105 Rubber, natural, 155-161, 304 synthetic, 136, 145-163, 304 Rumford, Count, 160 Rust, protection from, 262-275

Saccharin, 178, 179 Salicylic acid, 88, 101 Saltpeter, Chilean, 22, 30, 36, 42 Schoop process, 272 Serpek process, 31 Silicon, 249, 253 Smell, sense of, 97, 98, 103, 109 Smith, Provost, 237, 245, 307 Smokeless powder, 15 Sodium, 148, 238, 247 Soil chemistry, 38, 39 Soy bean, 142, 211, 217, 306 Starch, 137, 184, 189, 190 Stassfort salts, 47, 49, 55 Stellites, 280, 308 Sugar, 164-180, 304 Sulfuric acid, 57

Tantalum, 282 Terpenes, 100, 154 Textile industry, 5, 112, 121, 300 Thermit, 256 Thermodynamics, Second law of, 145 Three periods of progress, 3 Tin plating, 271 Tilden, 146, 298 Titanium, 278, 308 TNT, 19, 21, 84, 299 Trinitrotoluol, 19, 21, 84, 299 Tropics, value of, 96, 156, 165, 196, 206, 213, 216 Tungsten, 257, 277, 281, 308

Uranium, 28

Vanadium, 277, 280, 308 Vanillin, 103 Violet perfume, 100 Viscose, 116 Vitamines, 211 Vulcanization, 161

Welding, 256 Welsbach burner, 287-289, 308 Wheat problem, 43, 299 Wood, distillation of, 126, 127 Wood pulp, 112, 120, 303

Ypres, Use of gases at, 221

Zinc plating, 271



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By E.E. SLOSSON

Author of "Creative Chemistry," etc.

Dr. Slosson is nothing short of a prodigy. He is a triple-starred scientist man who can bring down the highest flying scientific fact and tame it so that any of us can live with it and sometimes even love it. He can make a fairy tale out of coal-tar dyes and a laboratory into a joyful playhouse while it continues functioning gloriously as a laboratory. But to readers of "Creative Chemistry" it is wasting time to talk about Dr. Slosson's style.

"Chats On Science," which has just been published, is made up of eighty-five brief chapters or sections or periods, each complete in itself, dealing with a gorgeous variety of subjects. They go from Popover Stars to Soda Water, from How Old Is Disease to Einstein in Words of One Syllable. The reader can begin anywhere, but when he begins he will ultimately read the entire series. It is good science and good reading. It contains some of the best writing Dr. Slosson has ever done.

The Boston Transcript says: "These 'Chats' are even more fascinating, were that possible, than 'Creative Chemistry.' They are more marvelous than the most marvelous of fairy tales ... Even an adequate review could give little idea of the treasures of modern scientific knowledge 'Chats on Science' contains ... Dr. Slosson has, besides rare scientific knowledge, that gift of the gods—imagination."

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("Chats on Science" by E.E. Slosson is published by The Century Company, 353 Fourth Avenue, New York City. It is sold for $2.00 at all bookstores, or it may be ordered from the publisher.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I am quoting mostly Unstead's figures from the Geographical Journal of 1913. See also Dickson's "The Distribution of Mankind," in Smithsonian Report, 1913.

[2] United States Abstract of Census of Manufactures, 1914, p. 34.

[3] United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 505.

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