INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING
CHEMISTRY Harrison E. Howe, Editor
EDITORIALS '
to find a way to reduce them. Frankly speaking, labor ECURITY. Next to health we can of all kinds is a commodity, and when any commodity place security in its application to the becomes too high in price the natural tendency is to affairs of men as the thing most desired. Much thought is today being devoted to the purchase less of it. This situation faces the chemical industry just after a subject, and many plans for obtaining it are being given great depression, during consideration. The anxiety which it had to learn how to t o provide security, even for do some things at a lower t h e i m p r o v i d e n t , seems Greetings from Our President cost than ever before. Prodlikely, however, to get us into The future of the AMERICAN CHEMIucts which formerly had to fresh difficulties. CAL SOCIETY depends upon the young b e produced i n , s a y , one The last session of Conchemists of today. To the older memhundred ton lots per day to gress passed a bill which bers I send my greetings and request undertakes, t h r o u g h a be a t t r a c t i v e , had to be that they impress upon the young chemmade in ten ton lots and system of taxation, to proists the advantages of our SOCIETY.To still with a profit. Furthervide a f u n d upon which the young chemists I would say that the more, it has been long recogsocial security in future is to AMERICAN CHEMICALSOCIETYhas just nized that many of the jobs rest. One of the sources of had the most successful year in its history which disappeared during this money is a tax on payand would urge them to identify themrolls a n d consequently we the depression will never selves with the organization a t the earliest again materialize. hear less now than formerly possible moment and carry on throughout Will not the tax on payabout the evils of the profit the remainder of their lives. rolls be likely to spread techsystem, because profits will EDWARD BARTOW have to be higher to absorb nological unemployment, to encourage the fully automatic Some of these new taxes, and naturally in t h e end t h e p l a n t , and to promote republic will have to foot this bill, just as it foots all search on more efficient and less costly processes? Are we not taking steps to make one of the commodities others. Under the plan as it now stands it will not be long before the security taxes must yield a sum required in industry too expensive? One may ask how equal to the present total receipts of the Government products are to be consumed if payrolls are not to be from all sources, which is a situation described even by maintained at a high level, but that is a question which the Secretary of the Treasury as impossible, except each manufacturer is likely to let the other man answer, under special circumstances. His job is to keep his costs reasonable and, with all fairNow the scientist has been accused on all sides as the ness to labor, to take advantage of such new devices as responsible party in causing technological unemploywill aid him to meet competition. ment. His research and inventidn have resulted in We all want security. But in striving for it let us be labor-saving processes and machinery even better than careful not to defeat our own efforts. In particular, let many humans. However that case may be argued, the us learn from the experience of ancient peoples-Rome, end is not yet and the management responsible to both for example-not to carry care for the improvident to capital and labor faces this added tax on the payroll. such an extent as t o debase so large a portion of the In any business when the costs rise it becomes necessary people as to destroy the Nation. 1
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
OMFORT. Whatever criticism one may have to offer on modern airconditioning, there is a feeling of great relief and a certain measure of comfort upon entering the _truly air-conditioned train, hotel, theatre, or home when the mercury in the thermometer strives to crawl out of the tube and humidity is the principal topic of conversation. That the science and art of airconditioning falls far short of perfection is readily admitted. A part of the difficulty may be in leaving control and adjustments in the hands of incapable persons. Much of it is due to the extent to which this attractive field has been entered by those who have no more to offer than some new gadgets for moistening the air, a plan to increase ventilation, or the installation of insulation. This situation has led the Better Business Bureau to define summer air-conditioning as that which, as a minimum, provides cool, dehumidified, and circulated air. Winter air-conditioning should, as a minimum, heat, humidify, and circulate the air, while the yearround definition calls for cool and dehumidified air in summer, heated and humidified air in winter, and circulated air at all times. Th,&will undoubtedly help to bring some order out of the chaos which already exists in a young and thriving industry, but we have the feeling that enough research has not yet been done to accord proper consideration to the most important factor in the whole problemnamely, the person for whom comfort is sought. Let us be clear that we are not criticizing the earnest work which has been put upon this very difficult undertaking. Much might be said about why air-conditioning is at present limited in its application, why the cost remains high, and so on. We urge only that we face facts frankly in the hope that, by so doing, others may be encouraged to press forward toward a more satisfactory solution of this problem of human comfort. At the very root of the whole matter lies those physiological factors characteristic of the functioning of the human body. For the purpose of this comment we may regard it as an isothermal engine, deriving its energy from the combustion of food and depending upon its lungs and its skin to maintain its temperature exactly at 37' C. (98.6' F.). Since the body must be mobile, its sole dependence for temperature maintenance is a floating equilibrium between the variable heat of combustion of foodstuffs burned and the evaporation of moisture from the skin and lungs at a rate so controlled as to dissipate excess heat from combustion or friction. Since the primary purpose of the lungs is ventilation, their evaporative cooling capacity is fixed by factors other than bodily comfort and the variable cooling load must be handled by the skin as conditions may require. The skin dissipates excess heat by the ordinary means of conduction, convection, and radiation, which are controlled by the temperature of its surroundings. In addition, it possesses an extremely delicate and precise
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evaporative system which serves a dual purpose of venting certain body wastes and of cooling by controlling the rate of evaporation of perspiration. External temperature in man's enclosed environment is subject to control by the application of heat or cold as required. This aspect of human comfort has so appealed to engineers generally that they have been inclined to discount and neglect the important functions of the skin as an organ of evaporative cooling and to overemphasize the provision of low temperatures in occupied spaces. The efficiency of the skin's evaporative cooling system is capable of meeting the heat-dissipating needs of the body under a wide variety of climatic conditions, both as to temperature and humidity. The precision of its control is so great that only in disease does it fail to maintain the body temperature at its exact point. Demand is met by supplying more water for evaporation, and comfort is maintained just so long as the body's surrounding air is dry enough to evaporate the perspiration supplied. The extremely high latent heat of water makes this method of temperature maintenance the most efficient yet devised and its utilization in attaining comfort entails no health hazards. The instant adjustment of evaporative self-cooling of the skin prevents any shock from changes of environment. Supercold may injure health, because of its effects upon the uncontrollable elements of conduction, convection, and radiation. Our present psychrometric data are so meager as related to comfort with safety as to be worse than useless because they mislead, more often than guide, practice. Research is badly needed to determine the effects of all factors to success. A numerous series of experiments on a large scale involving thousands of persons over periods of months will be required to fix comfort zones with accuracy. When we have these data we can proceed with more confidence. Perhaps the method will involve more chemistry than mechanics, with equipment so simplified as to approach some standardization that will lead to lower costs and more universal comfort.
OIN THIS CAMPAIGN. A five-year plan sponsored by the National Safety Council is being launched with the determination to reduce the number of motor vehicle deaths by at least 35 per cent by the end of 1940. The campaign, largely educational, will be in cooperation with local groups in states and cities. It will centralize and standardize present effort, will devise new ways of appealing to the motorist, will strive for uniform laws including standard drivers' license registration, will promote law enforcement, and replace spasmodic safety drives. In 1934, 36,000 people were killed, 1,250,000 were injured and of these 150,000 were crippled for life. The figures for 1935 are not yet available, but are unlikely to show much improvement. Let each of us accept some responsibility in making this campaign successful.
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