“LIQUID AIR.”

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 3 May 1901, Page 4

“LIQUID AIR.”

What it is.

Liquid 'air is believed to have a great future before it. Sicci tho method of liquidating the vapor we breathe first became known to science, tho new discovery has been made the subject of frequent experiments, and these have revealed its importance for practical uses. But although much has been written about liquid air, few understand what it really is. Briefly, it is this: Air is a liquid at 312 deg below zero—a degree of co d that one can hardly imagine. If this liquid is exposed to tho atmosphere in which wo live it ins'antly boils and throws off a vapor, which expands and produces power. What can ba done with it. With this power man can drive engines ; in fact, do almost anything. Take, for instance, an ordinary engine. It is driven by steam, which is produced by heating the water by means of coal fires. With liquid air in the place of water and the ordinary heat of the air instead of the coal, the engine can he driven equally as well. Furthermore, it would run practically noiselessly, and give out no heat and smoke, and produce no ashes. Yet it is driven by the Cheapest thing in the World - Air. The marvellous fact about this comparatively now discovery is that it practically costs nothing to manufacture the motive power. It is the air we breathe which the twentieth century scientist reduces to a clear, sparkling liquid that boils on ice, for ice is JMdeg warmer than the liquid, freezes pure alcohol, and burns steel like tissue paper. Yet this wonderful liquid can be clipped up in an old tin saucepan and transferred from one vessel to another like so much water. Although liquid, it is not wet to the touch, hut it burns like a white-hot iron, and when exposed to the air for a fcw minutes it vanishes in a cold, grey vapor, leaving only a bit of white frost. The Man Y/ho knows it No man has given mors serious attention to tho possibilities of liquid air than Professor G. A. Bobrick, of New York. For soma years past he has studied the subject with the greatest zeal. His experiments are the more interesting because it has been his aim to discover how this strango and fascinating power can be turned to practical use. First and present Cost. The first ounce of liquid air that was over made cost £I,OOO. Professor Bobrick has shown that with a 500 horsepower plant.it can bs manufactured in quantities for about Id per gallon ! It is the Professor’s opinion that liquid, air will be the motive power of tho future. Since Juno last Professor Bobrick has operated a liquid air motor on the streets of New York with ease and perfect safety’. But it is not only as a motive power that liquid air deserves attention. As a refrigerating agent, it is unequalled. Not only is it capable of manufacturing ice in whatever quantities desired, but it will also refrigerate meats and fruits for transportation by land and water. Plant for Manufacture. Let us examine the" interesting plant which manufactures the liquid air. First of all, there is tho tank containing the liquid air. This may be called the boiler of the future. From this receptacle the liquid passes into a chamber representing a cellar, around the walls of which are coils of pipe, where the temperature may bo brought as low as desired. Then the liquid passes into the ice-making machine for tho production of the purest ice obtainab'e for household consumption. It is then made to continue its way up through the walls to cool the rooms in summer. Greatest Motive Power.

Prom here the current passes into the power generators, where it is instant'y converted into energy for the running of tho electric lights, lifts, laundry machines, etc., by means of ordinary steam engines, using oxygen and nitrogen for power instead of steam. From this point the exhaust passes through the liquid air boiler, then into other refrigerators, where a temperature not lower than freezing is required, and afterwards, if necessary, for any service of combustion, the destruction of garbage, for instance. Thus, out of the original boiler of liquid air we have refrigeration, ice-making, roomcooling, electric light, and lift power, all with absolute safety and permanency.

In Medical and Surgical Science.

Professor Bobriek predicts a great future for liquid air. Already in surgery it has become a factor as a substitute for antesthetics. Slow freezing means death to tho tissues, whereas quick freezing deadens the parts temporarily, and enables an operation to take place without pain or any ill effects. Indeed some very important operations have been successfully carried out on patients in America through the medium of liquid air. It is also possible to test the parity of all spirits and chemicals by tho new science. But there is no end to what this wonder is capable of accomplishing. Although harmless in its unrestrained state, under certain conditions it becomes one of the most powerful explosives known. Professor Bobriek handles this strange liguid with impunity. In Now York the properties of liquid air arc being put to more and more use. Naturally Professor Bobriek is very enthusiastic as to tho great future of his pot science. He has given a considerable amount of time and serious study to the subject, and he asserts that his experiments establish beyond doubt that, properly controlled, liquid air is tho greatest motive power in the world, and every branch of science and industry may benefit by it, Tho subject is now engag-ing-tho attention of many well-known scientists both in Europe and in America, and wo may expect to hear something more of this marvellous science in tho near future