CHEMISTRY AND ESTHETICS IN THE HOME* JEAN MARIEBROWN, ST.ELIZABETH COLLEGE, CONVENT STATION, NEWJERSEY The latest development in the chemistry course has been the assignment of an essay on "Chemistry and Esthetics in the Home." Do not let the title overwhelm you. Surely the word "esthetics" is within the scope of a high-school student. But to be quite honest, when I first heard the title i t floored me. I wondered how I could attack such a stupendously heavy subject. But after I had consulted a dictionary and browsed about among reference hooks, I was enthusiastic over the topic. The first phase that suggested itself was color. hfodern homes contain a riot of it. You see bathrooms in orchid and black, pale blue or rose; curtains are almost any shade; walls are tinted brightly. Sun parlors are bright and cozy as much because of their gaily painted woodwork and dashing cretonne as by the sunlight which is their boast. Even the magazines on the table show the result of the "color craze." "Perhaps," I thought, "this topic will not be as formidable as I expected. Color alone has made homes beautiful. If chemistry is responsible for this beauty, my problem is solved.', Paints prove t o be purely a chemical proposition. They contain some oil similar t o linseed oil, a filler that covers a lot of space, and a drying agent. To give color, a mineral compound is added. This combination gives an opaque substance that covers a surface with an even pigment. Lately a clever chemist conceived the idea of grinding the coloring matter to a very fine powder and adding this material to the base. The small color specks cling t o the larger particles of the base and give an even color while the base is so thoroughly impregnated with color that much less of it is necessary. In this way we obtain a better product more cheaply. Chemistry has also given high-grade varnishes, shellacs, and more recently pyroxylin lacquers secured from nitro-cellulose. Dyes, another source of color in the home, have a rather romantic history. Colored clothing has always appealed to man but the ancients had only a few dull, drab grays, blues, and black. True, there was Tyre, blessed with the murex, a tiny snail-like fish, which yielded a substance from which the famous Tyrian purple was made. But each murex gave only an infinitesimal amount. Hordes of workers were needed to pry open a few thousand of them to dye an emperor's gown. You certainly did have t o be "born to the purple" in olden times. Do you know where we secure our dyes? You will never guess; it is from coal tar. When I first read that I wondered how on earth a chemist ever thought of getting beautiful colors from such a sticky mess. But it seems that the discovery was partially accidental. Perkins was looking for quinine and stumbled upon the dye mauve. I t sounds quite simple,
* First prize-winning college essay, 1929-30. This is one of the five specific titles prescribed under the general topic, "Chemistry in Relation to the Home." 1574
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does i t not? But there is a story of continued effort behind it. However, the color mauve was very popular for a time, and was used everywhere. From this beginning other chemists worked out means of obtaining other shades. The basis of our dyes is aniline, a distillation product of coal tar, which while not a dye itself is a producer of many colors. Vivid colors, delicate tints, all have been reduced alike to a chemical formula. In fact the chemist is able to diagram their several structures. The day has passed when chemists mixed haphazardly several evil-smelling chemicals, prayed they would not explode and sometimes stumbled upon something valuable. The process now is quite mathematical, precise, respectable. The application of dyes opens another field of interest. Some beautiful dyes prove fugitive when exposed to light. This fact must be considered when the dye is applied. Such a color might be useful for an evening gown but would scarcely be in demand for a dress to be worn playing tennis. Dyes for washable fabrics must be able to withstand repeated launderings. Imagine the havoc one garment could cause if i t were to become flighty in a tubful of clothes! Then some dyes will readily tint animal fabrics, such as wool or silk, but balk when they are asked to give their services to any others. A certain class of dyes may be applied directly to a fabric, and in consequence present a comparatively easy proposition. Others have to be coaxed into the fabric by means of a go-between called a mordant. The cloth is first immersed in this mordant, which makes it infinitely appealing to the dye which in turn rushes to combine with it. Differentmordants allow many different colors from the same dye. All in all, the industry has its complications. It is interesting to know that recently a chemist with not too great a reverence for the sacrosanct past prepared some dye from the murex and compared it with the modem dye of the same chemical formula. The coal-tar dye was far superior. Although as yet no poet has been stirred to the soul with the romance of a modem dye works as they were with the ancient process, this one alone of the 1001 dyes we own is worthier of the Muse's consideration. Graceful draperies, springy rugs, plump silk cushions, utilitarian blankets, look over all of them. They clothe a home in very truth. Fabrics dear, fabrics flimsy, all are found in a typical list of household furnishings. In this scheme of things our old friend chemistry snugly fits. Let us first consider cotton, used for clothing in old India long ago, and gradually improved in texture through the centuries. A few years ago it had apparently reached the apex of improvement. It was fairly serviceable but it lacked luster, that appealing glimmer that fine-textured cloths may give. A clever chemist, Mercer (you have heard of mercerized cotton I'm sure), discovered the fact that if cotton is immersed under tension in
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caustic soda, the resulting product has amazing new qualities. Among them may be numbered added tensile strength and that shine that appeals to the eye. For some time, therefore, this new fabric vied with silk for decorative purposes. As sheep and goats, no matter of how aristocratic a breed, are not addicted to baths, the wool taken from them requires cleaning before i t can be made into cloth. This is no longer a manual process. Wool is chemically treated to remove grease and grime. Burrs are "carbonized" by the action of aluminum sulfate or sulfuric acid; the wool is dried; the particles may be beaten out as dust. Natural silk, from her legendary beginning in the hands of a Chinese empress, has been an aristocrat. Her attitude has been one of rigid aloofness from the more sensible fibers. Emperors and kings were the only ones to whom she would give her services. Chemistry attempted to distribute silk to the average man by aiding in the degumming process, washing process, and bleaching. A study of cocoon diseases was also carried out. But the silk-worm product proved elusive when pursued by the average pocketbook. Wily man, however, was determined to have silk and quite audaciously attempted to produce an entirely synthetic silk-a silk that would equal, they hoped, in fineness and beauty, that which the worm producedfrom his tiny spinnerets. Chardonnet was the first to win success and the industry was thus established and later developed. Cellulose in the form of wood pulp or cotton is the raw material. This is chemically treated and forced through tiny holes, spinnerets, into a setting bath. There are variations in the chemicals used but the same general procedure is followed to give a fiber of fine quality. At first the general public was inclined to look askance a t such an unusual fabric. The repute of a substance which was introduced as "artificial" silk was believed to be shady. But after the synthetic youngster became less lustrous and more rustly we quickly became educated to the idea. Such remarkable things may be done with this cellulose product! A pattern may be printed on the thread-like form and a marvelous shading design obtained. We may combine the silk with other fabrics in a single shining thread or in an intricate weave, while embroidered on a dull background the silk gives an exquisite appearance. Our homes are silk-clothed now. We are accustomed to our soft-toned lamp shades, to fluffy, ruffled cushions, to the tremulous gleam of silken table scarfs, to the shimmering grace of window hangings. Most of the silk is the chemist's favorite child, his proud synthetic exhibit. But he should be a bit cocky over it, inasmuch as there was something humiliating in dependence on a worm forideas of silk-making. Home lighting is another chemical achievement. The electric bulb
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alone has a long history. It works on the principle that when certain substances are treated t o an electric current they show such active resistance that they positively glow. An enterprising scientist realized that if this process were carried out where no oxygen could come in contact with it, the metal would be unaffected. The first filament, used by Edison, was carbonized paper enclosed in a glass bulb deprived of air. This filament was not long-lived, however, and chemists searched for ways of improving it. The metal tungsten was very satisfactory except that it did not melt a t a reasonable temperature and was consequently very difficult t o work with, but eventually a way was found t o draw the metal into a very fine wire. It is far superior to any previous product because it gives added brilliance with less electricity. Inert gases such as neon and argon and the almost inert nitrogen have been used in bulbs and this addition, too, gives a finer product. Lighting fixtures play an important part in home decoration. We picture an attractive living room as containing side brackets or hanging fixtures, a reading lamp by a comfortable chair, a shaded tahle lamp or two, all giving a pervading sense of cheerfulness. Some far-seeing individuals have surmised that in years to come we will depend entirely on lighting for decoration. We will supply variety t o a neutral gray background by use of different surfaces for the reflection of colored light. There is a world of difference between the shine of light on lusterless paint, on satin, on rich mahogany, and sparkling glass. Glass is not essentially a modern proposition. The old Egyptians had beautiful glassware, but they could not do with glass whatever they wished. Most of their glass was of the quality of our green bottle glass. Why, eventhe Venetians who were able t o make graceful decorative glass objects could not make a crystal clear window pane. But we have the art fairly well mastered. Chemists consider glass as a whole to be a mixture of silicates. It is prepared by heating a mixture in a tank furnace kept in continual operation. Brittleness is guarded against by gradual heating and subsequent slow cooling over a period of days while color is governed by the addition or removal of certain minerals or mineral compounds. Cobalt imparts a characteristic blue color; silver gives yellow; gold gives the warm-toned ruby glass. Other metals, less well known, give further variety. Glass may be blown into shape mechanically and a very even quality obtained since the rate of pulling and pressure of air is constant. Some glass is pressed; some rolled on a flat tahle; some pulled into sheets. As the result of the chemist's hand in glass-making we have for our homes colorful, tall black candlesticks, vivid orange, or muted orchid bowls, crystal-clear goblets, imitation gems, graceful glass flowers. Radio is present in its better or its more annoying form in almost every American home. Physicists may claim its principle; but chemists brought
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i t to the people. Radio transmits waves of such high frequency that they are imperceptible t o the human ear. I n the receiving sets are amplifiers and detectors which aid the process of attuning the waves to those within our range. Many of these parts were originally discovered by chemists and are the products of chemical action. Enameled wire, insulating varnishes, and many accessories are chemical contributions. Even the beautiful cabinets which enclose the home radios have been treated chemically a t more than one stage of their existence. Chemistry has made radio parts cheap enough for all t o enjoy the use of them. Radio is the means of splendid cultural influence. It may be abused (and some programs are pathetic) but as a means of cultural development i t is splendid. Housewives may learn of correct diets, textiles, interior decoration. You may sit a t your fireside and hear famous men and learned men. Some radio lectures are as beneficial as good books. Radio is a means of spread'mg appreciation of science, art, and music. Not long ago a series of concerts was given for children and classics were interpreted and explained for them with the hope that understanding would lead to appreciation. It is also interesting to know that a survey taken of masters of music most popular with radio "fans" gave Beethoven a majority of votes. Radio increases our culture and since chemistry is largely responsible for our having radio we may fittingly lay its beneficial influence as a tribute before chemistry. Since we wear synthetic clothes, beautify our homes with chemical products, acquire an appreciation of beauty through its cultural influence, we may conclude that the influence of chemistry is inescapable. But a long story of hardship, hunger, and disheartening lack of appreciation lies behind the simple statement, "chemistry is responsible for it." Chemistry has come from the persevering efforts of chemists; their knowledge was not acquired intuitively. Remember this, ye embryo students, when next some knotty formula tempts you t o hurl your book viciously a t the opposite wall or when some involved theory breeds within your soul the desire to consign all chemists to the briny deep. Bibliography BOOKS 1. "Chemistry and the World's Work," H. E. Howe, D.Van Nostrand Comvanv. . . New York City, 1926. 2. "Chemistry and the Home." H. E. Howe and F. M. Turner, Jr., Chas. Scrihner's Sons, New York City, 1927. 3. "Chats on Science," E. E. Slosson, The Century Co., New York City, 1924. 4. "Creative Chemistry," E. E. Slosson, The Century Co., New York City, 1919. 5 . "Chemistry Applied to Home and Community," Pauline G. Beery, J. B. Lippincott Co. 6. "The Electric Word," Paul Shubert.
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7. "The Handwriting on the Wall," Arthur D. Little, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1928. PBRIODICALS
Scientific American, "Strays from the Ether," 0. E. Dunlap, Jr. Chemical Age, "Chemical Aspects of Radio," Carl hlarx, 4 articles, Volume 32.
