I&EC REPORTS & COMMENTS State of the art in surface chemistry
R. C. 1. Bosworth dies in Australia Glass fibers reinforce tires
SOME 150 ATTEND SURFACE SYMPOSIUM The Symposium on the Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces, held at ACS headquarters on June 15-16, was a considerable success, to judge from attendance and from the comments floating through the lobby between papers. Some 150 chemists and chemical engineers, with a sprinkling of physicists as well, sat in-and hung on tenaciously through two very long, very full days of technical sessions. The papers are now being processed for publication in forthcoming issues of I&EC, starting next month. This state-of-the-art symposium, arranged by the I&EC Division on a subject deemed by the I&EC editors to be of considerable current interest, is a part of the cooperative venture between the magazine and the Division. It will be a n annual event. The topic for next year has yet to be chosen; suggestions from our readers would be welcomed. Content of the papers presented at the symposium clearly indicates a shift to more mechanistic and less phenomenological interpretations of interfacial phenomena. Especially significant is the explicit distinction
between surfaces and interfaces, notably in the presentation of Dr. Drost-Hansen. While the distinction may be ephemeral, it does provoke thought about the nature of this thing called an interface. A basic problem a t the moment seems to be definition of an interface. Normally interfacial phenomena are described on the basis of a semiintuitive notion of a unique psuedophase existing between surfaces. This pseudophase-the interfaceresults from surface interactions and is identified by abrupt changes from the properties of the contributing phases or surfaces. Present efforts appear to center about the more precise identification of the surface properties and their interrelations. Of great practical interest in this respect is the possibility of an explanation for the phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking suggested by Dr. A. R. C. Westwood, who discussed a t length the propagation of surface dislocations in crystalline materials. At the symposium dinner, Dr. C. W. Sherwin of the Dept. of Defense appealed to scientists and
engineers to take more interest in the management of their own affairs, in the manner of the legal and medical professions. Dr. Sherwin is greatly concerned over the general lack of interest technical people show in entering government service. Yet the greater part of control over the future of the profession-some two thirds in some estimates-is exercised by the government through funding of R&D. But this is now managed almost exclusively by nontechnical people. Such a situation cannot help but lead to activities that the scientists and engineers will question.
RICHARD CHARLES LESLIE BOSWORTH I t is with regret that we note the death of Professor Bosworth on 24 March in Australia. While best known in the United States for two
of his books-“Heat Transfer Phenomena,” and “Transport Processes in Applied Chemistry”-Professor Bosworth’s interests spanned many areas of applied chemistry and physics. His published works include 79 papers, 3 books, and contributions to several others. Because specialization receives, such encouragement, we frequently forget that the “generalist” also has VOL. 5 6
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important contributions to make. I t is difficult to imagine anyone more vividly personifying the generalist than Professor Bosworth. His published works range over adsorption and surface phenomena, applied mathematics, corrosion, transport phenomena, heat transfer, kinetics and catalysis, thermodynamics, and sugar technology. I t is significant that his efforts were frequently devoted to bringing diverse disciplines to bear on a particular problem. For this reason, he has exerted a significant, thoughly widely unrecognized, influence on chemical technology since World War 11. Professor Bosworth was educated a t the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he worked for five years under Sir Eric K. Rideal, receiving his Ph.D. in 1935. After returning to Australia in 1938 he was appointed research chemist to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company and in 1948 became manager of the conipany's research department, a post he retained until 1957 when he resigned to become head of the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of New South Wales. I l e retained the latter position until his death. Professor Bosworth was elected President of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1951 and received that Society's Medal in 1957 for distinguished contributions and services to the Society. Although he had accepted a visiting Professorship to the University of Illinois in 1962 and was scheduled to be guest speaker a t the British Rheological Meeting a t Brown University this year, he was forced to cancel both activities because~,of ill health. i Professor Bosworth has provided us with a n endowment of great value ; he showed how to apply very basic concepts to many practical problems usually considered only in the context of traditional empiricism.
GLASS FIBERS REINFORCE TIRES Glass jibers, chemically bonded to rubber, are expected to lead to theproduction of a tire with better operating characteristics than present-day tires Announcement of a method to chemically bond glass fibers to natural and synthetic rubbers, developed by Esso Research and Engineering Co. under contract for the U. S. Air Force, is expected to speed the development of glass reinforced tires. Glass fibers, long recognized in the rubber industry as potentially ideal reinforcing agents, are valued for their great strength, non-flammability, chemical inertness, and high temperature properties. Use of these agents for reinforcement in rubber belts has been reported by Goodyear Tire and B. F. Goodrich. Their use, as tire cord materials, however, has been limited by their extreme selfabrasion characteristics and their poor fiber-to-rubber adhesion. Owens-Corning Fiberglas, also active in developing glass fiber cord, states that it has worked with a number of major tire manufacturers and has successfully tested car tires with glass fiber cords. These tires, thought to be built around resin impregnated glass fibers, are said to have successfully withstood six months of exhaustive road tests.
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Photomicrograph of glass fibers in a neoprene rubber binder
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
Esso Research's method, licensed to Pittsburgh Plate Glass and U. S. Rubber's Tire Div., involves reaction of compounds, thought to be olefinic silanes, with individual glass fibers. These silanes, bonding to the glass surface through the silicon atom, leave a n olefinic grouping which can be peroxide cured and copolymerized with the rubber :
HO
CH=CH,
\ / Si / \ ____0 _ / . _ _0_. _I _ _ _ _Glass _
/I\
s1
s1
Surface
/I\
This coating, designed to protect the glass filaments against chafing failures, can be applied as sizing for the fibers and is expected to allow the tire manufacturer to use the cord as received, thereby eliminating a costly and time consuming adhesive dipping operation. The high heat resistance of glass cording, supplied by Pittsburgh Plate Glass, makes it preferable to either steel wires or organic cords, since aircraft tires have been required to withstand temperatures as high as 450' F. during take-offs and landings. Steel wires, tried as reinforcing agents in an attempt to retain the necessary strength a t these elevated temperatures, have produced several disadvantages including low elongation and increased tire weight. Lack of heat resistance-nylon melts a t 482' F.-in organic fibers restricts aircraft landing speeds. Glass cord, more extensible and one third the weight of steel, loses little strength a t GOO' F. and remains quite strong even at 1200' F. Though the Esso method will be applied toward the development of aircraft tires for the Air Force, other applications include the use of these treated glass fibers in truck and passenger car tires, drive and conveyer belts, and rubber storage bins.
I&EC REPORTS
HOME GROWN INDUSTRIES How does an area go about developing a scientifically-based industrial complex? I n many cases, according to a just-completed study by Denver Research Institute, people overestimate the importance of attracting outside companies and overlook the potential of new small companies that might be formed from local talent. I n the largest and most successful scientific complexes, say DRI’s J. F. Mahar, D. C. Coddington, and J. G. Welles, growth has been balanced through new firms formed a t the local level, attraction or transplanting of branch plants from outside the area, and strengthening of existing firms. Competition for industry has been referred to as a bloodless civil war. Suchadramaticexpressionmay be a bit overdone but it does, unquestionably, indicate the intensity of the competition. Further, it is more than significant that, whatever else may vary in a locality competing for new industries, the common factor in all is a progressive university which offers not only the normal undergraduate training and education but also facilities for the continual development of various professional groups. I n the early stages of a scientific complex, “spin-offs” (a research firm or scientifically oriented manufacturing firm formed by individuals who draw heavily upon knowledge gained while previously employed by industry, universities, or government in the area) are more important than firms attracted or transplanted; they seed the complex. I n addition, successful spin-offs are important producers of research innovation, important employers of scientists and engineers, and promoters of a genuine interaction between universities and
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I&EC R E P O R T S
TEMPERATURE CONTROL of CO, and other liquefiable gases now is handled on Hackney transports with greater simplicity. Our engineers have perfected a foamed-in-place technique for insulating with urethane-adding still another engineering (‘first’’ t o the many achieved during more than 61 years of manufacturing Hackney products. As a result, Hackney transports now offer efficient insulation for protection against erratic temperature changes; increased payload capacity; longer holding time without payload loss; increased structural strength; desirable low K factor. Effective, simplified temperature control for transports exemplifies the many advantages gained by users of all Hackney products-from pressure cylinders to shapes and shells and over-the-road transports. What type of transports interest you? Other Hackney products? Check this list, then write for further information: Transports for LP-gas -, carbon dioxide -, anhydrous hydrogen chloride -, other liquefied gases -; Compressed Gas Cylinders -; Pressure Vessels -; Shapes and Shells for missiles -, or for industrial equipment -.
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iNDUSTRlAL A N D ENGINEERING
CHEMISTRY
industry. They build supporting facilities in the area and often are acquired by national firms and greatly expanded. Probably the most appealing reason for encouraging spin-offs is that they are “home-grown” industries and thus obviate the need to compete with other areas to attract plants. There are two major reasons why many areas neglect spin-offs: In the short term spin-offs tend to be small employers relative to transplanted firms; even more important, the requirements for spinoff development are not always realized. The D R I study indicates that successful spin-off development requires : that individuals forming spin-offs have a good knowledge of market opportunities ; that “key” men must be attracted to further attract research dollars ; that research performance must wedge into newly emerging or growing areas of that science and technology ; adequate, and preferably local, financing must be made available for the new, inexperienced firm; that low cost incubator space (such as older buildings) must be available ; that research contracts must provide the initial income for new firms; and that the local environment must be encouraging to small firms. Should all the factors be present there is no guarantee that spin-off development will be successful, but if they are absent there seems to be little chance of success. The giant complexes around Boston and Palo Alto formed during World War 11. Smaller but growing complexes are now situated in the Baltimore area? around Ann Arbor, Mich., within the North Carolina Research Triangle, in the Dallas area, and in northeastern Colorado. Beginners in the business of developing and attracting new industries are southeastern Wisconsin, central Indiana and Ohio, and the areas around Buffalo, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Portland.
