VOLUME 33, NO. 3, MARCH, 1956
EDWARD GOODRICH ACHESON RAYMOND SZYMANOWITZ Acheson Industries, Inc., New York, N.Y.
T H r s year, 1956, marks the centenary of the birth of Edward Goodrich Acheson. To write of his life and work-other than setting down a chronological narration-is not a simple task. His career was one of many facets, each of which reflected the traits and talents -that made him one of the outstanding personalities of his time. One could shape an article or a biographical composition around any of a number of themes t o illustrate his genius and point out the influence of his achievements upon present-day living. It would be possible, for example, t o describe the trials and tribulations surrounding his preparation of silicon carbide in a crude plumber's bowl, the countless difficulties he overrame before he successfully fabricated grinding wheels from the hard, gem-like crystals, and the part these new, fast-cutting, abrasive forms played in making feasible the manufacture of machinery on a massproduction basis. A very readable story could be built on Acheson's synthesis of pure graphite, the manner in which graphite electrodes came into being, and the function these large graphite slabs and cylinders performed in electrometallurgy and electrochemistry. One might wish t o slant such a story to show how Acheson-the second individual t o contract for Niagara powerused the electrical energy generated from the Falls t o prepare chemically-resistant graphite anodes and cathodes, which in turn consumed additional Niagara power t o make the community on the brink of the cataract one of the most important chemical centers in the world. An adept writer might paint an interesting and inspirational word picture of Acheson's explorations in the field of colloid chemistry-why he concluded that
the Egyptians used straw in brick-making to improve the plasticity of their clays and increase the tensile strength of the end product; how he explained the formation of the Mississippi deltas, knowing that electrolytes precipitate materials in colloidal suspension; how he "deflocculated" or colloidalized his synthetic graphite, creating ultimately a series of colloidal products which possess wide utility in such diversified fields as lubrication, electricity, electronics, metalworking, optics, biological research, and photography. Another approach for an author could be that deal; ing with the interrelationship of Acheson's major contributions to mankind. His electrodes have made possible electric-furnace steels and alloys; these may subsequently be rapidly and accurately machined with silicon carbide abrasives; and, lastly, machines made with these parts may be effectively lubricated with colloidal graphite, especially where boundary and hightemperature conditions prevail. Many other themes could be pursued if time and space permitted-even the employment of the Horatio Alger pattern where poor boy becomes famous scientist and prominent industrialist. Acheson, however, found no time to bask in the glories and financial rewards that came his way. This is understandable when it is realized that he was granted no less than 70 patents on devices, techniques, and compositions of matter in the fields of mechanics, electricity, electrochemistry, and colloid chemistry. Most of these patents were worked, and several served as the foundations upon which were built new American industries-industries whose plants and markets now extend to all quarters of the globe. For those who are interested in purely biographical data, Edward Goodrich Acheson was born in Washing-
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JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
ton, Pennsylvania, on March 9, 1856. The pursuits of his early years were typical of an average country boy's-fishing, hunting, boating, and some schooling. While he had no liking for languages, his leaning toward mathematics was pronounced. I n 1872, his father's financial reverses made it necessary for him to discontinue his limited, formal education and look for a job. His first gainful occupation was that of timekeeper a t a blast furnace in Monticello, Pennsylvania. While working there, the sixteenyear-old Acheson found time to build a device for rock boring for which the U. S. Patent Office issued a Caveat dated March 5, 1873. His job as timekeeper ended when the financial depression of 1874 forced the closing of the blast furnace. He then spent some months as a clerk in a dry good5 store and subsequently as a railroad ticket clerk. His next move was t o the oil fields at Bradford, where he became a tank gager. Capacity calculations were laboriously arrived at, so Acheson compiled a set of tables by which he could rapidly determine a tank's contents. These were recorded for ready reference in a leather-bound book.' With some 200 pages filled, his activity came to the attention of the superior whose chief duty i t had been to make the capacity calculations. His subordinate's effortsfound no favor in this man's eyes, and Acheson was once more unemployed. He held several more short-term positions in Pennsylvania, then, his imagination stirred by the advances in the field of electricity, he decided to move East and cast his lot with this new industry. I n September, 1880, he started work as an assistant draftsman in the Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory of Thomas A. Edison. His activities there, however, were not restricted t o the drafting table, and he was soon engaged in development work on lamp filaments. Devoting his hours outside the laboratory t o study of electrical. distribution and measurements, he prepared himself for appointment in 1881 as first assistant to the chief engineer in charge of the Edison exhibit a t the International Exposition in Paris. This Edison exhibit served to introduce the electric incandescent lamp to Europe. Acheson spent two and one-half years abroad, participating in the building of generating plants and lamp factories for the Society Edison Continentale a t IvrysurSeine. Installations of the initial electric-lighting systems a t Antwerp, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Milan were also made by Acheson. Upon his return to New Yorkin 1884, Acheson parted company with the Edison interests to assume the superintendency of a plant in Brooklyn, manufacturinglamps under the Sawyer-Man patents. Acheson soon turned again t o creative undertakings of his own. The scope of his efforts included experimenting with dynamo construction, producing an
insulated wire, inventing an anti-induction telephone cable, attempting to reduce iron ore with natural gas, and striving to synthesize rubber. On January 8, 1889, he presented his first paper before a learoed society. This was read before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the subject being "Lightning arresters and a photographic study of self-induction." I n 1890 the Monongahela Electric Light Company was founded by Acheson. During his experiments on the reduction of iron ore, Acheson had observed that clay crucibles which had become impregnated with carbon appeared to take on an unusual hardness. To determine the effect of high temperatures on clay-carbon mixtures, he built a resistance furnace from an iron howl of the kind used by plumbers, an arc-light carbon, and a few feet of heavy copper wire. The experiment yielded a new chemical compound, silicon carbide, which Acheson, before knowing its composition, called "Carborund~m."~ I n 1891, The Carhorundum Company was formed a t Monongahela, but four years later moved to Niagara Falls, New York, because of the cheaper power available in that city. Despite the demands which management of The Carborundum Company made upon his time, Acheson continued to rarry on his experimentation. He found, for example, that silicon carbide when subjected t o very high temperatures underwent decomposition. The silicon volatilized, leaving the carbon behind in the form of the graphitic allotrope. An analysis of this man-made graphite showed it to he practically 100 per cent carbon. This discovery placed another of Acheson's irons in the fire. After careful development work, "electric-furnace," or synthetic, graphite became an article of commerce with the formation in 1899 of the Acheson Graphite Company. I n 1928 this company became a division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation and has now been merged with the National Carbon Company, a unit of the aforementioned concern. Acheson, in 1901, while endeavoring to employ his graphite in the manufacture of crucibles, investigated the use of clay as a binder. His experiments were painstaking and embodied a thorough study of the geology of clays. Although he was not able to adapt his pure graphite to crucible manufacture, he discovered a method of improving the plasticity of clays. This work would have had little over-all significance had he not during this period of research made observations which were responsible for his success, in 1906, in rendering graphite colloidal. Never guilty of permitting opportunities t o slip through his fingers, Acheson soon developed colloidal products of importance to industry, thus warranting the establishment of a comuanv for their manufacture
'This and other historical items connected with Acheson's life and work are on display in the Aeheson Memorial Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
%Today,as in 1891, "Cerhorundum" is the registered trade m r k for silicon carbide of The Carborundum Company's manufacture.
VOLUME 33, NO. 3, MARCH. 1956
in 1908. This organization, originally the Acheson Oildag Company, operates at Port Huron, Michigan, as Acheson Colloids Company. Acheson was the recipient of many honors and awards for his accomplishments, including the conferment, in 1909, of the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Pittsburgh. He devoted his later years to the broadening of markets for his many products. I n 1911, to cope with the demands from abroad, he founded in England the firm of E. G. Acheson, Ltd. This company now functions under the title Acheson Colloids Limited. Dr. Acheson, in 1928, set up the Edward Goodrich Acheson Fund, which, under a committee of The Electrochemical Society, provides a cash prize and the Edward Goodrieh Acheson Medal "to the person who, in the judgment of the directors of the Society. . .shall have made such contribution to the advancement of any of the objects, purposes or activities. . .fostered or promoted by the Society. . .as to merit such an award."
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The Society, in 1929, unanimously voted Dr. Acheson the first recipient of his own medal for his contributions to electrothermics. Edward Goodrich Acheson died in New York City on July 6, 1931. His passing evoked hundreds of tributes from friends, acquaintances, and admirers in all walks of life. Probably none described the man so succinctly, yet so completely, as did his old friend, George Frederick Kunz, when he wrote, "Unfettered by tradition and having unusual ability to learn from experiments that failed, he forged ahead in a truly pioneering spirit,. His unceasing mental activity, his untiring personal industry, and his indomitable will produced a perseverance that carried him through to great technical success and world-wide recognition. He deliberately set out with a well-formed ambition, encountered and successfully overcame innumerable obstacles, succeeded in complete accomplishment of his objective, and brought into being products that are significantly and humanly valuable."
