February, 1924
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEiMISTRY
entific reason for its having any effectiveness so far as control of scale is concerned. Regarding the electrolytic phase, however, it is generally accepted and can be easily demonstrated that powdered zinc, a strong electropositive metal, if introduced into the feed water in a boiler, will soon be converted into carbonate or oxide while retarding or preventing corrosion in the boiler. Why is i t not as reasonable to assume that carbon, one of the most electronegative of chemicals, will act in the reverse way and stimulate corrosion? Getting away from tradition and considering graphite, or impure carbon, with a cold and questioning air, it is impossible to conceive of the slightest chemical action upon water which couId influence scale formation or its prevention. There is no question but that graphite has a distinct corrosive action. Although not always the case, it is generally true thai., following the first use of graphite, old scale in a boiler becomes loosened and drops in enormous quantities. Many samples of scale so removed have been brought to our attention, with the request to note the black coating of graphite on the tube side of the sample. I n all our experience, however, analysis has failed to detect the slightest trace of carbon or” graphite, but the coating has invariably turned out to consist of oxides of iron-part of the boiler removed by the carbon. Chemically, graphite i s inert; physically, its action is very little greater than that of suspended matter in a slightly turbid water. Mr. Harvey objects to placing faith upon laboratory tests made by Lieutenant Commander Lyon. It is unfortunate that the influence of laboratory tests upon science is given so little consideration. The laboratory, with scientific theory, must point the way, and while the results rarely work out in practice as is expected from the experimental study, they invariably point the way and prepare the ground for the practical side. Unforiunately, until the present time no one has been sufficiently interested in checking up the action of the many materials used in the steam boiler, and for this reason there is little on record save the experience of those who have had a wide contact with th:tt particular field. We cannot but feel that Mr. Harvey’s consideration of the effects of graphite is influenced to a very large extent by the interest of the seller. D. K. FRENCH D E A R B O R N CHEMICAL C O M P A N Y
CHICAGO, ILL. January 8 , 1924
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for the unusually free and stimulating discussion which followed all the papers on our local program. For the success of such a meeting several things seem to be necessary. First, of course, is the selection of the general subject for the meeting, and, no less important, the selection of the speakers who are to handle the various subdivisions of it. Another important point is the selection of the presiding officer. The degree to which those present will take part in the discussion depends largely on this person, and he should by all means be one thoroughly familiar with the subject of the meeting. One of the popular features of the New England meeting was the fact that there was no registration fee. A buffet lunch was provided before the afternoon meeting and a dinner between the afternoon and evening sessions. These meals were furnished a t cost. The other expenses of the meeting were divided among the cooperating sections. In other words, as far as this meeting is concerned, a t least, there appeared no reason why the national officers of the SOCIETY need be troubled with the details of arranging intersectional meetings, nor does it appear that any to appeal need be made to the treasury of the national SOCIETY help finance such gatherings. If properly fostered, the intersectional meeting idea should very soon find a permanent place in our chemical activities. An intersectional meeting should provide a program of sufficient interest to warrant the attendance of chemists within a range of one hundred and fifty miles. It will then afford an opportunity for those men who do not find it possible to attend the national meetings to get the stimulation which comes from associating with fellow chemists. It will also afford an opportunity for the chemists in any given section of the country to become better acquainted, to say nothing of the benefit which is bound to accrue to those who have the privilege of hearing authorities present the latest results of their investigations and then to participate in, or at least follow, an enthusiastic discussion. From one who was only lukewarm toward the idea of intersectional meetings, our New England experience has changed me to one who is decidedly enthusiastic about their possibilities. GIJSTAVUS J. ESSELEN, JR. BOSTON, MASS. January 15, 1924
The Lubricant and Asphaltic Hydrocarbons in Petroleum (Correction)
A Successful Experiment Editor of Industrial and Engineling Chemistry: On Saturday, January 12, 1924, an intersectional symposium was held a t Boston in which the Connecticut Valley Section, the New Haven Section, the Rhode Island Section, and the Northeastern Section cooperated. The meeting was admittedly somewhat of an experiment in this part of the country, but in view of its success some of the things learned may be of interest to the members of other sections who have not tried the idea. I n tht first place it was demonstrated by an attendance of over five hundred that there is a distinct place in the scheme of the AMSRICANCHEMICAL SOCIETYfor intersectional meetings, and in this instance at least the symposium type of meeting met with enthusiastic approval. One of the comments most frequently heard among those in attendance was the great advantage that a meeting of this type offered for a program of a few well-selected papers, with ample time for complete discussion of each. While it is true that the program on the first day of our national meeting is arranged somewhat along this line, there does not seem to be the atmosphere, even if there were the opportunity,
The following corrections should be made in the article under this title, THIS JOURNAL, 15, 1233 (1923): Page 1235, second column, first line under Table 11, after “hydrocarbons,” insert “the series CnHzn, the naphthene hydrocarbons, and the ethylene hydrocarbons in small amounts.” Page 1235, second column, second paragraph, second line, should read “Table 111” instead of “preceding table.” Page 1237, first column, last paragraph, insert after first sentence, “Nitric acid attacks them with almost explosive rapidity, but if the first violent reaction is controlled by cooling and heat is applied, the change proceeds quietly.” CHARLES F. MABERY
Notes on the Oil from Kauri Copal (Correction) In the article by Gill and Nishida, under this title [THIS 15, 127fi (1923)] the sentence under the second table in the second column should read: “The refined oil had the same drying property as the raw oil and gave the color reactions of rosin oil with the Lieberman-Storch test.”
JOURNAL,
