December, 1929
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Helium at Akron H E Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation a t Akron on November 7 began the actual construction of the world’s largest dirigible, which will be known as the ZRS-4. It was an auspicious occasion, graced by the presence of several prominent speakers and many officials from political and industrial life. It is befitting that a t such “ring-laying” ceremonies, which are analogous to laying the keel of a sea-going vessel, many laudatory statements should be made. The ZRS-/t is expected to make her trial flights by July, 1931, and to be completed for the Navy by the closing days of 1938. The ship is to have a cruising radius of 10,000 miles and a top speed of 85 miles per hour. All those connected with the enterprise are deserving of praise, but in the whole ceremony apparently it occurred to no one to place emphasis on one of the contributions from chemistry, without which the enterprise in this country would have been impossible. We refer to the 6,500,000 cubic feet of helium which will be required to buoy up the ZRS-4 and help convert it from a dormant mass of structural material into a mobile giant of the air. It is helium, plus the work of the Aluminum Company of America in the development of duralumin, which has really made airships possible in this country today, Records show that we would never hare gone ahead with our rigid airship program in the absence of helium. Had there been no helium there would have been no Shenandoah, for when funds were required for her construction the Appropriation Committee told Admiral Moffett they were supplying money to complete the Shenandoah berause helium was available for that ship, but that if hydrogm were ever put into her appropriations would stop. If there had been no Shenandoah, there would have been no Los Angeles, and the building of the Los Angeles not only kept the 7 e p p e l i n organization together but encouraged the British again to take up lighter-than-air-craft development. Without this train of important events, it is doubtful if there would have been a ring-laying in Akron last month. The amount of prejudice and opposition to the use of helium has been tremendous, though it is rapidly diminishing. Today few doubt that helium possesses many advantages and that its characteristic safety greatly outweighs any disadvantage. The chief engineer of the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation is convinced that helium is the only thing to use. The designer of the all-metal airship made at Detroit, originally an opponent of this safe gas, has changed his point of view, and today that dirigible is filled with helium and will continue its use. Others who not only did not believe in helium but had no use for any airships have now changed their views and are actually engaged in furthering programs for lines of commercial dirigibles. Here, again, the success of the venture will depend upon the non-inflammable gas, for our public would not tolerate the hazard involved with hydrogen. Admiral Noffett deserves even more credit than he is receiving. The foresight of the Goodyear Company in supplying financial resources is indeed to be commended. The development of the strong light alloys required is also an achievement for which we have nothing but laudatory phrases. But we must point out that, after all, it is the work of chemistry and physics which has made the whole enterprise possible through providing helium in great quantities and in devising methods for its repurification. True, one could list many other important chemical contributions to this enterprise, but we emphasize helium-so vital to the continuation of the program-although it seems now to be taken so much as a matter of course as to escape due notice.
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Ventilation E ARE pleased to bring to the attention of our readers the announcement that from January 27 to 31, 1930, the first International Heating and Ventilating Exposition is to be held a t the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia. Surely there is no industry more interested in ventilation than the chemical industry. More than this, chemistry is concerned in the problems of satisfactorily heating and ventilating all manner of structures, and it is the chemist to whom the heating and ventilating engineer turns for his structural material, his refractories, insulation, special alloys for exhaust fans and blowers, and countless other special items. Some of our chemical plants offer the best examples of what can be done in making safe, through ventilation, an operation which otherwise would be hazardous, if not impossible. The chemical industry has made an enviable reputation in preventing accidents, and is constantly on the alert to guard against occupational diseases. Ventilation is a prime requisite in many chemical plants. The representatives of our industry should take advantage of what this exposition is expected to offer.
The New South H E next meeting of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY is to be held in one of the progressive cities of the New South. The Atlanta-Biltmore is already making reservations and the meeting should be largely attended. Unless you have visited the Southern States in recent years, it is not likely that you appreciate how rapidly the South is becoming industrialized, how extensive have been the accompanying changes, and how, through it all, the real charm that is the South’s has been retained. You should go to Atlanta. Full details are not yet available, but INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY has decided to make its May 1, 1930, issue a special one in which the industrial chemistry of the South will be emphasized with reference to chemical industries and those depending upon chemistry. Many of the notable southern developments have been made possible through the contributions, not only of chemical knowledge, but of equipment and materials characteristic of the chemical industry. We shall expect to publish information of permanent value on these topics, and our plans have already made progress.
Send for Films HE number of instructive motion picture films now available suggests the rapidity with which we are approaching a time when customers will be invited to send, not for a catalog or a descriptive booklet, but for films. More than that, they may have sound films or talkies, and already a corporation is ready to prepare such films for portable sound systems. This apparatus consists of a sound picture projector about the size of the average suitcase, an amplifier, a horn with a receiver, and a screen. The entire equipment is easily transported in four specially prepared trunks that present no difficulty in handling or movement. Although to many sound pictures, like other pictures, are primarily for amusement, the appreciation of such devices for instruction and education is steadily growing. Instruction in mechanical processes, safety measures, and first aid are but a few of the intensely practical aspects of the adaptation of this newcomer to modern business.
