INDUSTRIAL
4
AND ENGINEERING
and Engineering ^uhtisfodhytheJimer-ican Kaston,
Chemieai Soeiety Pa.
NEWS EDITION Editor: HARRISON Έ.. HOWE
Managing
Editor:
ROBERT P. FISCHELIS
Assistant to the Editor: N. A. PARKINSON Associate Editor: D. H. KILLEFFER EDITORIALOKFICE:
706 Mills jBuilding, Washington, D . C.
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT:
419 Fourth Ave., New York, Ν. Υ.
Entered as second class matter at East on, Pa. Issued three times a month. Industrial Edition on the lot, News Edition on the 10th and 20th. Subscription t o Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, $7.50 per year, News Edition only, $1.50 per year. Single copies, 10 cents. Subscriptions should be sent to Charles L. Parlons, Secretary, 1709 G St., N . W., Washington, D . C.
Vol. 5
M A R C H 10, 1927
News
Edition
he, as well as Dr. Sayers, Dr. Hildebrand, and myself, must accede to the priority of Mr. Cooke's idea. In his criticism, Dr. Thomson has, I will say, forgotten to in clude the Bureau of Mines' reply to his letter regarding priority. In its stead he has created the impression that we ignored him. To relieve that impression and also to complete t h e exhibit I am including Dr. Sayers' reply.
Industrial Chemistry
CHEMISTRY
No. 5
Helium in Deep Diving Reply to Dr. Elilxu Thomson's article on the same subject appearing in the January 14, 102*7, edition of Science and to which the reader is referred.
"If you have a good idea, publish it at once or patent it, or both, in which case it is not so easy for the other fellow coming along years later to adopt i t without giving credit where credit is due." This is the moral drawn b y Dr. Elihu Thomson in the conclud ing paragraph of a n article and exhibit of letters appearing in the January 14, 1927, edition of Science, and i n which he accuses the writer and Iris co-workers of not giving him credit for con ceiving the idea of using helium-oxygen mixtures for deep sea divers. T h e moral is indeed a good one. N o t alone from the selfish viewpoint, but from the humanitarian as well, provided, of course, that you liave made observations or done enough work on the idea t o show i t to b e valid and useful and to elevate it above t h e category of mere suggestion of unknown value. On the other hand, if you have not made observations or shown your idea to be of value, it might be considered selfish to publish or patent it for tlie sole purpose of placing yourself in a position to be able to solicit credit from someone who in later years in dependently conceives the same idea and diligently develops it to a state of usefulness. N o t only would i t appear selfish but it would be a menace: t o the incentive for t h e investigation and development of ideas. Virgin ideas, developed or undeveloped, are rare, however, in t h e field of scientific research. One often finds that after he has made his claims or finished his work, he is later confronted with t h e fact that the ground has been trodden before and that t i e is merely rediscovering discoveries. All he can then claim is credit for his honest effort and accomplishment toward developing the art. I do not believe Dr. Thomson would have drawn the moral he gives as a conclusion t o his article had he known that even he could not authentically claim credit for priority in the conception of the idea of using helium-oxygen mixtures, which he so em phatically purports in his article. I t happens that on August 15, 1919, or just four days before Dr. Thomson wrote to Dr. Whitney disclosing his idea, a Mr. Charles J. Cooke applied under Serial Number 3L 7,838 for a U. S. Patent entitled "Atmospheric Compound for Divers* Use," and in which he claimed invention of t h e use of helium for divers. On November 6, 1923, Mr. Cooke was granted U. S. Patent N o . 1,473,337, which contains the following claims : (1) A respirafcrie atmosphere comprising oxygen gas, and a chemically inert rare gaseous diluent, therefore the oxygen being in a proportional amount substantially proper for respira tory purposes. (2) A respirable compound for divers' use comprising oxygen and helium a s a gaseous diluent, the oxygen being in a propor tional amount substantially proper for respiratory purposes. Although Mr. Cooke's application antedates Dr. Thomson's letter t o Dr. "Whitney b y only four days it is only reasonable t o believe that some time must have elapsed between conceiving the idea and filing the application. I t thus appears, a t least for the present, that the claims of Dr. Thomson are unwarranted, and
August 19, 1925 Mr. Elihu Thomson, General Electric Company, 920 Western Avenue, West Lynn, Massachusetts. Dear Mr. Thomson: I was very much interested in receiving your letter of July 31, 1925, t o the Bureau of Mines in regard to your suggestion for the use of helium in caisson work in 1920. We have looked carefully through thie Bureau of Mines' files and find no suggestion from you in any way, shape, or form on this. Apparently your suggestion was made only to J. C. McLennan, Professor of Physica, University of Toronto. We have also searched the files covering the correspondence with Professor McLennan wittx this Bureau and find no comment on the suggestion at any time. However, we did find your letter of August 25, 1919, requesting information as to the status of helium. The Bureau of Mines has been interested in this subject for many years, as you may surmise, owing to its connection with the use of caissons in sinking shafts and in tunneling. Mr. Yant and myself became interested in the subject early in 1920 and the first publication on the subject by the Bureau was prepared, with my assistance, by Dr. Edward Levy. We have been carrying out investigations on gas mixtures for over three years on the basis of controlled oxygen content and greater diffusibility of certain gases. With the determination of the coefficient of solubility by Professor Cady, of the University «of Kansas, and the preparation of tables of solu bility by Professor Hildebrand, of the University of California, our atten tion was called by Professor Hildebrand to the increased value for the pur pose of this factor. Apparently the idea of the use of helium for the purpose occurred almost simultaneously, but entirely independently, as so many ideas do occur in science. T o me it is just a stage in the development of our knowledge and those having an equal amount of or a similar knowledge usually have arrived at similar conclusions. I am obtaining: your paper published in the Philadelphia Medical Times of March 15, 1873, as I am interested in this subject and do not remember having read tJhe article. Sincerely yours, \~ntej surgeon,
KJ. O. £>. or JVL.
Surgeon, U. S. P. H . S.
I do not know what we could have done in Dr. Thomson's behalf during the year and a half he speaks about, for we have not published any articles concerning the subject, but even if w e had it would have been necessary t o give credit to M r . Cooke. The only error we feel w e have made is in not having been ac quainted with Mr. Cooke's patent a t the time of starting our work and writing our report. This error was due in part t o t h e fact that the Bureau of Mines had not previously supplied helium to anyone for work of this kind and in part to Mr. Coolsze's patent appearing almost coincident with the time that the diving in vestigation was actively started, whereas the review of the litera ture describing diving investigations was confined t o a search made one or two years previous. W e did not, however, expect priority from any source when investigations had n o t been in dicated. To allay Dr. Thomson's suspicions regarding the possibility of this idea leaking t o the Bureau of Mines, I may state that neither Dr. Sayers nor Dr. Hildebrand nor myself had a n y knowledge or reasonable means of knowing that a t some time or other Dr. Thomson conceived the idea of using helium. Nor did we know about t h e correspondence between Dr. Thomson, D r . Whitney, and Professor McLennan. Likewise Dr. Thomson's letter to the Bureau of Mines, asking for helium whicli for some reason he has also omitted from his exhibit, did not disclose the purpose for which he desired helium. T h e Bureau of Mines, at the time Dr. Thomson's request was made, did not have control of the helium produced b y t h e Government and all re quests for supplies of this gas were referred t o the N a v y Depart ment, which a t that time refused all requests. A copy of Dr. Thomson's letter and of the reply by the Bureau of Mines follow: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY West Lynn, Mass., Aug. 25, 1919
Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir: I am writing for information as to the actual status of the recovery of helium in quantity from natural gas. We have seen so many published statements in regard to this matter which were somewhat difficult to believe that I am appealing to headquarters for such information as may be available as I have in mind a possible use for helium b y which experimentation would have to be carried out before settling its adaptability to the purpose I have in view. Very truly yours, ELIHU THOMSON
August 28, 1919. AS:CTC General Blectric Co., West Lynn, Mass. Attention: Mr. Elihu Thomson. Dear Sir: Replying to your letter of August 25, in -which you ask about, the status of the recovery of helium in quantity from natural gas: I take pleasure in inclosing you herewith Bulletin 17S-C, being: an advance chapter of Bulletin 178, setting out the war work of the Bureau of Mines. This has just come through the press. I t embodies a monograph, on helium production. Plant N o . 3 mentioned therein is still in the experimental stage.
{Continued on page 5)
INDUSTRIAL
March 10, 1927
AND ENGINEERING
{Continued from page 4) Hoping this will afford you the information you desire, I remain Very truly yours, ANDREW STEWART Inch 29201 cc Dr. Stewart files
I h a v e n o t h o u g h t o t h e r t h a n t h a t D r . Thomson honestly a n d independently conceived t h e idea a s stated in his criticism b u t , in behalf of m y co-workers and myself, I t h i n k we should b e given t h e same consideration. I t is n o t difficult to understand how several people would independently have t h e same thought. T h e subject of diving h a s been widely studied in Europe, a s well a s in t h e United States, a n d t n e information regarding t h e mechanism of caisson disease a n d gas embolisms is common knowledge. Likewise t h e physical properties of helium a r e well known. T h e credit for all this information goes t o others, and as a m a t t e r of fact their w o r k is germane to t h e idea of using helium I t would be only logical for one connected with a problem of this kind to t h i n k of t h e advantages which might be gained t h r o u g h using helium, for t h e n u m b e r of potentially suitable gases is so limited t h a t one is virtually forced t o consider it. However, n o t all ideas a n d suggestions are good a n d n o t all of t h e m work according t o the original conception, in fact b u t few of t h e m do ; for this reason few ideas are of value until they have heen worked o u t in detail a n d reduced t o practice. I would like t o a s k anyone, " N o w since we h a v e t h e idea t o use helium, exa c t l y how would y o u go a b o u t using it a n d under w h a t condit i o n s ? " I will h a z a r d t h e opinion t h a t there isn't anyone who knows j u s t how practicable a n d advantageous t h e use of helium for divers will be or h o w t o safely use it in diving operations. T o find this o u t requires extensive, costly, a n d rather hazardous investigation. I t will probably require t h e development of new t y p e s of a p p a r a t u s a n d diving equipment as well as new decompression tables for bringing t h e divers from under pressure w i t h o u t physical injury. While a t t h e initiation of o u r investigation pertaining t o t h e use of helium t h e idea occurred to u s independently of any outside source, we were n o t later disturbed t o find t h a t others h a d previously t h o u g h t of t h e same application. I t was fairly evid e n t t h a t they h a d n o t made observations or conducted experim e n t s t o s u b s t a n t i a t e their suggestions, a procedure which often leads to criticism a n d even ridicule. W e found consolation in t h e fact t h a t we h a d conducted a successful series of experiments which s u b s t a n t i a t e d t h e idea (whosever i t might be) t h a t it it m i g h t be a d v a n t a g e o u s to use helium in diving. W e carried t h e results of this work to t h e U . S. N a v y D e p a r t m e n t a n d t h r o u g h their interest a cooperative investigation b y t h e U . S. N a v y D e p a r t m e n t a n d t h e Bureau of Mines is now being conducted a t t h e P i t t s b u r g h Experiment Station of t h e Bureau of Mines for t h e purpose of ascertaining whether helium can be used to a d v a n t a g e in practical diving work and, if so, t o develop a procedure a n d technic ,r using it. I t is for w h a t we h a v e apparently accomplished in this direction t h a t we are willing t o a c c e p t credit.
WILLIAM P. YANT
Supervising Engineer Health Laboratory Section Pittsburgh Experiment Station Bureau of Mines
Oil Power Week Oil engines a s producers of power a r e t o be given special consideration during Oil Power Week, April 18-23, 1927, b y t h e organizations cooperating in t h e Oil Power National Conference. T h e local sections of t h e American Society of Mechanical Engineers, t h e American Society of N a v a l Engineers, t h e National Association of Stationary Engineers, t h e National Association of Practical Refrigerating Engineers, a n d a n u m b e r of sections of t h e American Chemical Society are cooperating in this movement, which also h a s t h e backing of t h e American Petroleum I n s t i t u t e . Simultaneous meetings, either individual or joint, will be held t h r o u g h o u t t h e country a t which general attention will be focused u p o n t h e production of power from oil a n d t h e problems involved in it. T h e high efficiency of oil engines even in comparatively small units is n o t generally recognized. While a steam p l a n t having a n efficiency of more t h a n 15 per cent is a comparative rarity, oil engines with over-all thermal efficiencies of 32 per cent or more a r e quite usual. E v e n this high efficiency can, no doubt, be increased b y t h e proper application of scientific research a n d with t h e present low cost of fuel oil, engines of this t y p e offer decided economies a s dependable prime movers for industrial use. T h e object of Oil Power Week is t o bring m a n y different points of view t o bear upon t h e facts as they exist and possibilities for future development. M a n y sections of t h e American Chemical Society h a v e agreed to participate i n t h i s national movement a n d t h e broad scope of t h e subject which will b e t h u s developed cannot b u t prove beneficial t o all. I n addition t o t h e direct benefits to be gained from t h e meetings themselves, t h e national committee in charge offers a cash
CHEMISTRY
5
prize of $100.00, known as t h e Rudolph Diesel Award, t o b e given for the best contribution towards t h e advancement of oil engines either in t h e form of a paper presented a t one of t h e meetings throughout t h e c o u n t r y under the auspices of t h e conference or a written discussion of a paper by anyone attending a n y of t h e meetings. Edgar J . Kates, 29 West 39th St., New York City, is chairman of the national committee a n d inquiries regarding the movement should be addressed to him. I n the past two annual Oil Power Weeks, more than two h u n d r e d meetings were held under the auspices of t h e conference.
A New Navy Department Laboratory1 B Y F R A N C I S W. G L A Z E United States Naval Station, Cavité» Philippine Islands
The new Chemical a n d Metallurgical Laboratory oi the United States Naval Station, Cavité, Philippine Islands, was officially opened on March 1, 1926, by District Circular No. 15-26 of t h e Commandant of t h e Sixteenth Naval District, Rear-Admiral G. W. Laws, with t h e writer i n charge. Although there h a d formerly been a laboratory a t trie Olongapo Station, this laboratory h a d been connected with t n e Ordnance Depot. This is t h e first time t h a t this Naval District hn;
- ' —·.
,, si
1ϊιΓ-ί;"^-$1ί".""'7 ' ~ „~".^J«*
^r-./K.
- rz "
