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NEWS
E D I T I O N
Vol. 12, N o . 7
The Eighty-Seventh Meeting of t h e A. C. S. P I N E FORESTS, citrus crops, and sea water as raw materials for chemical elaboration vied w i t h hydrogen's isotopes for t h e center of the stage of interest at the eighty-seventh meeting of t h e AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY at S t . Petersburg, Fla., M a r c h 25
to 30, 1934. Florida, proclaimed "the Empire of the S u n " b y the license plates of its automobiles, and the members of t h e Florida Section of t h e SOCIETY, liosts to the meeting, outdid themselves i n providing facilities for rest and recreation, sightseeing, golf, tennis, sea-bathing, and fishing. Fast-growing southern pines, n o w among the most valuable resources of t h e southeastern coastal plain, will take on n e w i m portance through t h e commercial development of a white paper industry whose experimental beginnings and economic implications were described b y Charles £E. Herty, Past President of t h e SOCIETY and now actively engaged i n forwarding this development. In t h e first paper of Monday's general meeting, Dr. Herty showed how white paper made from the young pines, now wasted in thinning out the dense natural growth of the forests, may become the third major indus-try based upon pines, t h e other two being naval stores and lumber. T h e chemical and commercial significance of naval stores was later elaborated in a symposium before t h e Divisions of Agricultural and F o o d Chemistry and of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry on T u e s d a y morning, a t which time t h e value of turpentine and rosin, b o t h as industrial materials and as t h e basées of synthesis, w a s stressed. Sea water as a practically inexhaustible source of bromine and other valuable chemical raw materials was brought Out b y Willard H . D o w and LeRoy C. Stewa.rt of the Dow Chemical Co. in describing before an adjourned session of Monday's general meeting t h e successful recovery of this halogen from t h e water of" the Atlantic Ocean in a plant recently completed near Wilmington, N. C. The researches on b o t h laboratory and pilot-plant scales, as well as t h e engineering problems in t h e adaptation of t h e process finally developed t o huge-scale operation, were described with appropriate graphs and photographs. T h e present operating plant was shown in detail in a remarkable motion picture (partly animated drawing) entitled "The Magic Key." That t h i s plant is able to recover successfully some sixty parts of bromine from an initial total of about sixty-five parts per million h a s given a tangible basis for hope that methods m a y be similarly developed to recover other values known to exist at low concentrations in sea water. Other papers o n the program of Monday's general meeting were "Chemical Securities" b y Earl L . Smith of t h e Babson Statistical Organization, and "The T r e n d in Protective Coatings" b y Ε . Ε . Ware of Sherwin-Williams C o . Citrus fruits, both as foods and a s sources of perfume and flavor raw materials, and Florida's flowers as an important resource were given special consideration- Th.e subject was introduced b y Marston T. Bogert, professor of organic chemistry at Columbia University and Past President o f t h e SOCIETY, in an address, "Your Nose Knows," before the general meeting of Tuesday eve ning, in which emphasis w a s placed o n the commercial value of odors and t h e possibilities of furtfcier development of their manu facture in t h i s country. The discussion was continued in. greater detail i n a "Symposium on Citrus Fruits" before t h e Divisions of Agricultural a n d Food Chemistry and Biological Chemistry on Wednesday morning. Hydrogen's isotopes, heavy water, and various implications of methods of separating and using "the isotopes in compounds were subjects of a special symposium "before the Division of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry o n Tuesday morning and afternoon. Fourteen papers b y the leaders i n this field of activity made u p the symposium, which was followed b y a discussion of t h e very important a n d intricate subject of t h e nomenclature of com pounds of hydrogen isotopes led b y E . J. Crane, editor of Chemi cal Abstracts and chairman of the SOCIETY'S Committee on Nomenclature. The formal program of t h e meeting included 2 0 5 papers b y 322 authors, presented before 26 sessions of 12 divisions and 3 general meetings. Only less important than the formal meetings and papers was the opportunity afforded b y St. Petersburg and vicinity for t h e enjoyment of out-of-door sports a n d amusements. Fortunately, the program was arranged t o allow everyone to take full advan tage of this feature of the SOCIETT'S first Florida meeting and n o difficulty w a s experienced b y anyone in finding congenial com panions for swiniming, fishing, golf, tennis, sightseeing, sun bathing, a n d other forms of out—oi-door activity. F u l l returns from &11 sports were lacking a t the close of the meeting, a n d hence it m a y be concluded that n o significant records were broken. Among t h e scheduled entertainments a sufficient variety of activities w a s included to give everyone something of special interest. Beginning with t h e subscription dinner and dance on Monday evening, and reaching i t s climax in a n all-day trip t o the quaint Greek sponge-fishing village of Tarpon Springs, t h e entertainment expressed t h e warm welcome of the hosts a n d demonstrated t h e efficiency of Florida a s a winter playground.
On Tuesday evening, the program of t h e public meeting i n cluded songs and short dramatic skits b y the University of Florida Glee Club. Wednesday evening offered greyhound racing a t the St. Petersburg Kennel Club, a bridge party tendered b y t h e Business and Professional Women's Club of S t . Petersburg, and out-of-door games (shuffle board, roque, a n d lawu bowling) a t the St. Petersburg Recreation Center. Thursday's program i n cluded excursions to t h e Bok Tower, Lake ^Yaies, to hear a caril lon concert by Anton Brees. and t o MiUDerry, Fla., t o visit t h e phosphate rock dc v^iopm :nts, *», pre-season baseball game b e tween t h e Yankees a n d t h e Braves, and t h e traditional golf tournament. Thursday evening was devoted t o a Shakespearean pageant (including "As You Like It") given b y the dramatic and music departments of S t . Petersburg Junior College i n the openair theater on Mirror Lake. Eighteen group breakfasts, luncheons, a n d dinners were scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The ladies of the party were delightfully entertained with sightseeing trips t o points of special interest, receptions, teas, and pageants arranged b y t h e local committee under t h e capable chairmanship of Mrs. Townes R. Leigh.
Divisional Reports AGRICULTURAL AND F O O D CHEMISTRY
A N E N T I R E D A Y w a s allotted t o an excellent "Symposium o n Naval Stores" under the chairmanship of F . P. Veitch. T h e most notable contribution t o this program w a s a description of the recently developed process for manufacturing synthetic camphor. This paper, b y H . W . Elley a n d Ivan Gubelmann, pictured t h e transformation of pinene into camphor, which can compete successfully even with t h e present low-priced natural camphor. Methods for improved yields of naval stores from southern forests, which have been thoroughly worked out, e m phasize t h e need of chemical research to develop additional out lets for this potential supply. A session devoted t o a "Symposium on Citrus Fruits , , proved to be o n e of t h e highlights of t h e St. Petersburg meeting, a t tracting a large audience. Eleven papers of a high order of ex cellence covered t h e production, distribution, and conversion into by-products of citrus fruits. One session w a s confined t o a program of miscellaneous papers on analytical methods and agricultural problems. A divisional luncheon w a s held, a t which informal discussion of topics germane to t h e interests of divisional members afforded an opportunity for better acquaintance. J. H . NAIR, Secretary BIOLOGICAL THE
CHEMISTRY
D I V I S I O N OP BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY held t w o half-day
joint sessions w i t h t h e Division of Medicinal Chemistry, one half-day joint session with t h e Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and one half-day session alone. A t a meeting of t h e Executive Committee of the division held in N e w York on Friday, March 3 0 , Roe E . Remington was elected divisional secretary t o succeed Allan Winter R o w e , resigned. R. C . LEWIS, Chairman CHEMICAL
EDUCATION
T H E M E E T I N G of t h e Division of Chemical Education occupied only one half-day session b u t was successful i n both interest and attendance. Three general papers on t h e Florida phosphate i n dustry drew a large number of listeners from outside t h e division. Attendance reached a maximum of about one hundred during the last paper, that of Fred Allison on "The Magneto-Optic Method of Analysis.'' Forty-five attended t h e division luncheon. N . W. R A K E S T R A W ,
Secretary
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
A PARTICULARLY interesting group of papers was given before the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Special interest was shown i n t h e paper on the "Artificial Aging of Spirits/' by F a i n and Snell. T h e work of Murray o n "Indium Glass" and t h a t of Kistler and Caldwell o n "The Thermal Con ductivity of Aerogels" attracted considerable attention. D . B . K E Y E S , Acting Secretary MEDICINAL THE
CHEMISTRY
J O I N T M E E T I N G between t h e D i v i s i o n s of Biological a n d
Medicinal Chemistry was unusually well attended. I n general, these papers were very interesting and well received, as e v i -
April 10, 1934
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
denced by the almost universal discussion. D r . Bogert's excellent review paper was the high light of the session. J O H N H. WALDO, Secretary
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY THE
meeting at St. Petersburg. Several papers dealing with carbohydrates led up to the paper by Austin and Humoller regarding the synthesis of two hexoses—allose and altrose—which was one of the high points of the meeting. CLAUDE S. HUDSON, Chairman
P A I N T AND V A R N I S H CHEMISTRY
APPROXIMATELY seventy-five attended the spring meeting of the division which was held a t the Soreno Hotel. R. J. Moore, chairman, presided. Eleven papers were presented. Of special interest were two papers dealing with new tools for use in the study of paint and varnish films—namely, "The Tonometer" as described by L. A. Wetlaufer, and "An Apparatus for Measuring the Adhesion of Dried Films" as described by R. P . Courtney and H. F. Wakefield. An addition to the program was a description of a new glossmeter by G. M. Sward, Paint and Varnish Institute. The joint banquet with the Division of Rubber Chemistry was without doubt the outstanding event for the paint and varnish R. H. KIENLE, Secretary
PHYSICAL AND INORGANIC CHEMISTRY T H E DIVISION OF PHYSICAL AND INORGANIC CHEMISTRY was in
session two days. "A Symposium on the Isotopes of Hydrogen" was held the first day. Approximately three hundred were present to hear the introductory papers by Messrs. Urey, Brickwedde, Taylor, Dieke, and Allison, all of which were favorably received. Interest in the symposium was maintained throughout. The division was particularly fortunate in the quality of the contributed papers presented on t h e second day. Where time permitted, interesting discussions were held. This was especially true in the case of articles which described work in the field of the electrochemistry of solutions. Analytical chemists held their usual dinner and smoker. Attendance was good and much enthusiasm was shown. J. W. WILLIAMS, Secretary
RUBBER
CHEMISTRY
T H E DIVISION O F RUBBER CHEMISTRY held two sessions, one on
Wednesday morning and the second on Thursday morning. Both were well attended and a total of six papers was presented. The papers given before the Wednesday morning session will form a part of the monograph on rubber, now in preparation under the auspices of the division. The three remaining papers will appear in INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY.
The division
held a joint dinner with the Division of Paint and Varnish Chemistry on Wednesday evening. SUGAR
CHEMISTRY
H A L F the papers presented before this division dealt with starch. The papers were important and called attention to the fact that this division includes starches and gums. The sugar papers were divided between a valuable scientific presentation and an important work on the determination of dextrose and lévulose in the presence of sucrose. Included was an interesting résumé of startling explosions of molasses tanks. There was a larger attendance than had been anticipated and the discussions indicated keen interest. E. W. R I C E , Secretary W A T E R , S E W A G E , AND SANITATION CHEMISTRY
Two SESSIONS were held on Tuesday, with an attendance of sixty-two. Nine scientific papers and two committee reports were presented. The points of most general interest were: increasing emphasis upon the cooperation of industries, such as oil refining, with state and federal agencies in the solution of the important problem of industrial waste disposal ; the increasing importance of industrial hygiene, of water, and of air; and of peculiar local interest, the importance of ground waters of Florida with respect to intrusion of salt water and pollution through porous strata, as growing
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density of population of the State brings about larger withdrawals of fresh water for domestic, industrial, and irrigation purposes. C. R. HOOVER, Secretary pro tern
RUBBER DIVISION
DIVISION OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY held a very interesting
chemists.
CHEMISTRY
DINNER
THE DIVISION OF RUBBER CHEMISTRY joined with t h e Division
of Paint and Varnish Chemistry in holding a dinner which has become a prominent feature of all meetings. With eighty-five present an elaborate vaudeville program was enjoyed and this was followed by an address by S. D. Kirkpatrick, editor of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, who chose a s his topic "Are Chemists Human Beings?" Mr. Kirkpatrick applied certain recognized psychological principles to the chemist and urged that all possible steps be taken to advance his professional status and widen recognition of the true chemist as a man of more than average attainments. Through the generosity of several firms, about twenty-five prizes had been provided and these were distributed by lot. W O M E N CHEMISTS D I N N E R
T H E WOMEN CHEMISTS held their dinner at the Shrine Club Tuesday, March 27. In the absence of Mrs. G. B. Rose, Miss Frances West of the local section presided. A musical program was given by Mrs. M. A. Spooner, accompanied by Mrs. Glascock. A communication from Mrs. Rose referring to a planned program of cooperation by women chemists was read, but, as the number of women present was small, no action was taken. Each guest introduced herself briefly, stating her training and present position. A note of thanks was given Miss West, and the group adjourned to hear the address given by Dr. Bogert.
Listening Post a t St. Petersburg HERE'S sand in your shoes! That being interpreted from the native dialect of Florida signifies "come again for we know you will want to do so." FLORIDA'S first meeting of the SOCIETY turned o u t to b e all
that could be desired and probably has inoculated many of the 730 registrants with the germ of the habit of "come again." So FAR as it was possible to learn from diligent inquiry none of the 205 papers interfered with anyone's enjoyment of the meeting. A CREW of orange squeezers in the basement of the Vinoy Park Hotel was kept busy throughout t h e meeting supplying orange juice to the big punch bowl in the eastern end of the hotel's lounge. Kept constantly full and enlarged a t least once during the great drought, this punch bowl had a throughput of 150 gallons of juice squeezed from fifty cases of oranges for the occasion. H. H. WILLARD, newly elected Director of the SOCIETY, spent
two days looking around the Vinoy for drinking water before he learned that the orange juice ladled from the punch bowl b y the charming young ladies in white was a present from the Florida Section and the hotels. FLORIDA boasts of the value of its tax on betting to which many chemists contributed rather generously at the greyhound races. At least one claims to have come out better than even, which is said to be not a t all the intention of either the State of Florida or the bookmakers. SEVERAL chemists elected to try issues with the Florida sun and are now busy feverishly conducting researches into sunburn remedies. EACH HOTEL ROOM occupied by a member or guest of the
SOCIETY was supplied with a continually replenished heap of fine oranges during the meeting with the joint compliments of the hotel and the Florida Section. Forty-five bushels of treeripened, Valencia oranges were thus consumed. This, despite the fact that many visitors were heard t o remark before arrival that they liked California orangés best! Such treason was drowned in orange juice! I F Y o n failed to read about North Carolina bromine in INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY for April, you have missed
a fascinating story, which was shown in movie form as well at St. Petersburg. You can share at least part of that thrill by reading the paper. HOWARD W. BLAKESLEE, science editor of the Associated Press
and well known at meetings of the A. C. S. for several years past, was stricken with acute appendicitis on Wednesday and was forced to undergo an emergency operation a t once. At
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t h e close of t h e meeting his condition was reported still t o be serious. W . L. L A U R E N C E AND R . D. POTTER, special staff writers of t h e New York Times a n d the New York Herald-Tribune, re spectively, were on t h e job, even in far away St. Petersburg. B O G E R T is responsible for t h e statement t h a t " m e n marry perfumes, n o t w o m e n / ' which m a n y will deny on t h e grounds t h a t the first cost of perfume is t h e only cost. S E V E R A L cross-country drivers learned t h a t Florida is a long way frora almost anywhere. T h e r e are those who y e t prefer the air-eondrtioned comfort of a fast train t o long hours a t t h e wheel of^a knee-action, stream-lined modern car, b u t Charlie Parsons is n o t o n e of t h e m . N E W S t h a t tarpon were running in Charlotte H a r b o r came on F r i d a y a n d w a s t h e first inkling some h a d t h a t T a r p o n Springs is n o t e d for sponges a n d n o t tarpon. D R . HJBRTY laughingly recounts a recent experience when he was p r e s e n t e d to a young lady a n d described as t h e m a n who was doing so much work on paper from, southern pines. She ex claimed, " W h y , yes, I know t h a t delightful little town. I b u y m y h a t s -there." O F Ν Ε Ν Έ Τ Ε Ε Ν e n t r a n t s in the golf t o u r n a m e n t o n T h u r s d a y a t Clarke's Sunset Golf Course, six, or 31.5 per cent, won prizes which leaves N e w Orleans' record of 120 per cent unscathed. T h e prizes for first, second, a n d third low gross w e n t t o R . E , Wilson ( 7 9 ) , J . J . T a y l o r (82), a n d R . E . H u m p h r e y s (87), re spectively, a n d for blind bogey t o R . S. B l y (87 — 17 = 70), H . D . Bainbridge (85— 15 = 7 0 ) , tied for first, a n d G. O. Lines (88 — 1 6 = 72). Killeffer did his p a r t b y tying for high score. B Y SATURDAY t h e crowd had. scattered all over t h e S t a t e of Florida, t h e Island of Cuba, a n d surrounding waters, b u t the n u m b e r -who had b y t h a t time definitely headed homeward had best be r e p o r t e d as " t r a c e . " T H E R E P O R T E R S learned of a very fancy new camera in t h e kit of Allen Odell a n d thereafter refused t o seek information on new d e v e l o p m e n t s in photography from anyone else, even t h e E a s t m a n Kodak Co. H . C. TJREY objects t o the suggestion t h a t heavy hydrogen be n a m e d f o r i t s discoverer, using t h e customary " - i n e " ending for non-metals. H e was even unwilling t o consider substituting " e y " for " i " and allowing the fastidious t o give this diphthong a French, pronunciation. T H E S O C I E T Y ' S code committee, R . T . Baldwin, chairman, w i t h T h o m a s Midgley, J r . , acting in his absence, h a d a busy week in t r y i n g t o straighten out some of t h e entanglements of the Testing X a b o r a t o r y Code. R. E.
W I L S O N AND D O N A L D B . K E Y E S , pinch-hitting for the
Chicago Chemists' Club, bowed slightly t o Foster D . Snell and Graham. Edgar, unofficially representing t h e Chemists' Club (New Y o r k ) , over bridge at S t . Petersburg. Chicago claims it w a s n o t licked a n d will not be until forced to d o a real salaam. N e w Y o r k expects t o apply t h e force needed a t Cleveland. T H E A M E R I C A N CHEMICAL SOCIETY has always been fortunate
in t h e cooperation extended a t the time of its national meetings b y t h e official hotels. T h e Vinoy Park Hotel in St. Petersburg, h e a d q u a r t e r s for t h e Florida meeting, w a s no exception, for C. D . Elennedy, t h e managing director, took a personal interest in every detail a n d even found t i m e t o a t t e n d t h e general meeting. H e left n o t h i n g undone within his power t o make t h e meeting a success.
E D I T I O N
Vol. 12, N o . 7
Personalia CHANGS OF ADDRESS.
When sending in arty change of address, please also
forward information regarding position held, company or business connec tion, and class of products manufactured to AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY,
728 Mills Bldff., Washington, ù. C.
L. N . B E N T , formerly general manager o f the N a v a l Stores D e p a r t m e n t , Hercules Powder Co., h a s been elected vice presid e n t of the company a n d a member of t r i e executive committee. A. B . N I X O N succeeds Mr. Bent a s general manager of t h e N a v a l Stores D e p a r t m e n t a n d is succeeded b y M. G . Milliken as general manager of the CeHulose Products D e p a r t m e n t . W. L . BRAGG, of Manchester Umversity a n d Non-Resident Lect u r e r in Chemistry a t Cornell University, delivered t h e third lecture under t h e Dohme lecture series for 1933-34 a t T h e J o h n s Hopkins University on April 6, h i s subject being " I n t e r metallic Compounds." J O H N V A N NOSTRAND D O R R left for E u r o p e o n M a r c h 28 t o be
gone five or six weeks. During his s t a y abroad h e will a t t e n d t h e International Congress of Pure and. Applied Chemistry in Madrid, acting as official delegate of "the N a t i o n a l Research Council and t h e American Institute of Chemical Engineers. FRANK B . J E W E T T , vice president of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., and president of t h e B e l l Telephone Laboratories, h a s been elected to life membership o n the corporation of t h e Massachusetts I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y . IRVING LANGMUIR, associate director of t h e Research Laboratory, General Electric Co., has b e e n appointed honorary chancellor of Union College, Schenectady, Ν. Υ., for t h e academic year. H e will deliver t h e principal address a t t h e commencement exercises on J u n e 1 1 . W. H . R O D E B U S H has been invited to give a paper on dipole moments a t t h e Oxford meeting of t h e F a r a d a y Society in April. H e h a s taken a leave of absence from the University of Illinois t o spend the semester abroad. WILLIAM F . SAILER, formerly with Alco ^Products, I n c . , a n d T h e Griscom-Russell Co., has recently m a d e connections with Steel a n d Tubes, I n e . H e will be located i n the Brooklyn office and will concentrate his efforts o n the oil refinery and m a r i n e fields. D. S. VILLARS h a s left the Standard Oil Co., Whiting, I n d . , t o t a k e a position as physical chemist w i t h t h e United States R u b b e r Co., Passaic, N . J. ARTHUR C. WILLARD, acting dean of t h e College of Engineering, h a s been elected to t h e presidency of t h e University of Illinois, succeeding H a r r y W . Chase. Professor Willard received t h e degree of bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. H e is a n authority in heating a n d ventilating engineering, having served as con sulting engineer during construction o f the Holland Vehicular Tunnel. As director of t h e Engineering Experiment Station a t Illinois, h e has supervised numerous cooperative projects. Professor Willard is a member of n u m e r o u s scientific a n d pro fessional organizations, among them being Omega Chi Epsilon, honorary chemical engineering society. H E N R Y J . W I N G has left Washington, D . C , t o accept a position as research chemist in the Antiocli I n d u s t r i a l Research Insti t u t e , Inc., Yellow Springs, Ohio.
H E R T Y W I N S LUCAS TROPHY FUTURE A. C. S. M E E T I N G S SCHEDULED S e p t e m b e r 10 t o 14, 1934 W e e k o f April 22, 1935 F a l l of 1935
Cleveland, Ohio N e w York, Ν . Υ San Francisco, Calit.
T H E LUCAS T R O P H Y is an award given annually t o t h e resi dent of Savannah, Ga., who performs the most worthwhile service for t h a t city. T h e award j u s t made to Charles H . H e r t y is t h e t e n t h in t h e series. I t was given i n recognition of t h e value of the work performed under D r . Herty's direction, looking t o t h e utilization of pine a n d possibly other woods common t o Georgia, in t h e manufacture of paper pxilp,
A. C. S. MEMBERSHIP AWARDS
HlLLEBRAND PRIZE AWARDED TO W A S H B U R I M
T H E SCHOLASTIC AWABDS offered b y t h e Delta Chapter, Phi L a m b d a , Upsilon, a t t h e University of Michigan, h a v e been m a d e t o R o b e r t G . Carney, literary student, and Russell W. H o w vener, engineering student. E a c h award goes t o a junior student a n d consists of a year's membership in t h e AMERICAN CHEMICAL S O C I E T Y , including subscription to journals. One award is m a d e t o t h e s t u d e n t whose general academic average is t h e highest in t h e l i t e r a r y college, including chemistry courses. T h e other is m a d e t o a chemical engineer w h o has m e t t h e same requirements in t h e engineering college.
T H E HILLEBRAND P R I Z E of t h e Chemical Society of Washington for t h e year 1933 h a s been awarded t o the late E d w a r d Wight Washburn for t h e discovery of th.e first practical method of separating t h e isotopes of hydrogen. T h i s discovery—namely, t i i e electrolytic m e t h o d of separa tion—has made possible the subsequent research into t h e proper ties of t h e isotopes of hydrogen, and h a s thus initiated almost a new era in chemistry, consequent u p o n the differences in the chemical and physical properties of tnese isotopes a n d their compounds.
