Scientific American Supplement, No. 795, March 28, 1891Various
History
Scientific American Supplement, No. 795, March 28, 1891
Various
Science -- Periodicals
ignited, the blast is turned on, and the mixture of nitrogen and
carbon monoxide passes over the iron, heating it to a red heat, while
the fuel in contact with the retort does the same thing.
When the fuel and retort full of iron are at a cherry-red heat, the
air blast is cut off, and the pipe connecting the furnace and retort,
together with the pipe in connection with the bottom of the retort,
are closed, and steam, superheated by passing through a pipe led round
the retort or interior wall of the furnace, is injected at the bottom
of the red-hot mass of iron, which decomposes it, forming magnetic
oxide of iron and hydrogen, which escapes by the second tube at the
top of the retort, and is led away either to a carbureting chamber if
required for illumination, or direct to the gasholder if wanted as a
fuel. The mass of incandescent fuel in the furnace chamber,
surrounding the retort, keeping up the temperature of retort and iron
sufficiently long to enable the decomposition to be completed.
The hydrogen and steam valves are now closed and the air blast turned
on. The hot carbon monoxide passing over the hot magnetic oxide
quickly reduces it down to metallic iron, which, being in a spongy
condition, acts more freely on the steam during later makes than it
did at first, and being infusible at the temperature employed, may be
used for a practically unlimited period.
What more simple method than this could be desired? Here we have the
formation of the most valuable of all fuel gases at the cost of the
coke and steam used, a gas also which has double the carrying power
for hydrocarbon vapors possessed by coal gas, while its combustion
gives rise to nothing but water vapor.
In this course of lectures I have left much unsaid and undone which I
should have liked to have had time to accomplish, and if I have been
obliged to leave out of consideration many important points, it is the
time at my disposal and not my will which is to blame. And now, in
conclusion, I wish to express my thanks to my assistants, Messrs. J.A.
Foster and J.B. Warden, who have heartily co-operated with me in much
of the work embodied in these lectures.
* * * * *
STEREOSCOPIC PROJECTIONS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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