RESEARCH
RïSC^KBÊ The truly
only
compatible,
.resinous, non-volatile arid
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non-migratin g
P L A S T I C IZER -
for
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-P0LYVINYL ACETATE . · · now widely used by leading manufacturers of ADHESIVES LAMINATIONS HEAT-SEAL COATINGS BINDERS FOR NON-WOVEN FABRICS BOOKBINDING GLUES COATED PAPER AND FABRICS GREASE-PROOF PAPER AND FIBERBOARD WATER EMULSION PAINTS FACE AND BACKING COATINGS FOR LINOLEUM BACKING COMPOUNDS FOR RUGS AND CARPETS WASHABLE SIZES FOR TEXTILES
RESOFLEXhas... • • • •
ESSENTIALLY ZERO VOLATILITY N O PLASTICIZER MIGRATION EXCELLENT RESISTANCE TO 01LS-FATS*GREASES-GASOLINE EXCELLENT FLEXIBILITY AND TOUGHNESS
Cambridge Industries Co. .101 Potter Street Cambridge 4 2 , Mass. Please send me a laboratory sample o f Resoflex R-296 a n d technical literature. Name
,
Company.
,
Address. C i t y . . . !..
3104
C&EN
State.......
JUNE
2 5, -19 5-6
Quartermaster Research and Developm e n t Command. One objective of the project is to m a k e dehydrated cabbage more palatable to armed forces personnel. According to Hewitt, the natural fresh flavor of raw cabbage can b e restored t o dehydrated cabbage by treating the latter with water a n d a n enzyme preparation m a d e from mustard seeds. However, continues Hewitt, the process is not specific for cabbage only. Flavor improvements in such diverse processed foods as peas, spinach, pineapples, tomatoes, oranges, bananas, strawberries, a n d carrots were noted. D r i e d skimmed milk flavor has been considerably improved, says Hewitt. • N a t u r a l Ripening. Adding flavorese enzymes in the form of extracts t o foods results in an action similar to t h e natural ripening of foods such as bananas and tomatoes. According to Hewitt, this phenomenon has been generally overlooked by flavor researchers. Hewitt, together with D . A . M . MacKay and K. S. Konigsbacher of Evans Research, and with Torsten Hasselstrom of the quartermaster laboratory, undertook the preparation of a n enzyme extract that could duplicate t h e natural process of flavor improvement. Mustard seed is not the only natural source of flavorese enzymes, explains Hewitt. The trick, he says, is to look a t botanically related foods. This relationship explains w h y an. enzyme system extracted from mustard seed works as well w i t h cabbage a s it does with watercress. T o b e suitable, t h e different foods must be rich i n flavorese enzymes, emphasizes Hewitt. Although t h e work is still only in the experimental stage, it appears to offer numerous possibilities, says Hewitt. M a n y foods t h a t undergo flavor changes or losses during processing can be made t o taste identical with fresh food. The flavorese enzyme extracts may b e of some use in irradiated foods, says Capt. Reuben Pomerantz; of the Quartermaster Food & Container Institute. One of the difficulties being encountered in food irradiation, says Pomerantz, QMF&CI's radiation officer, is off-flavors given to foods b y radiation sources. It w o u l d be interesting, h e says, to see if t h e flavorese enzymes could h e l p t o alleviate t h e off-flavor problem. • Studies t o Be Made. Additional and extensive studies of t h e flavorese enzyme system must still be made, says Hewitt. No attempt has been m a d e to isolate the enzymes themselves. In addition, the class of enzymes to which they belong is unknown. Another important item t o be learned is control of
T h e flavor of natural cabbage c a n b e restored to dehydrated cabbage with an enzyme preparation from mustard seeds, say t h e s e researchers: Torsten Hasselstrom ( s e a t e d ) of Quartermaster Corps, K. S. Konigsbacher ( l e f t ) , D . A. M. MacKay, and E. J. Hewitt, all of Evans Research and Development the flavor-restoring reaction. I n the same manner a s natural ripening, the enzymatic reaction c a n go too far, and it may cause undesirable flavor changes— identical to overripe flavors. Initiating the reaction i s simple enough, says Hewitt. B u t stopping it is, as yet, a n unsolved problem. In addition, processing of the food to be treated w i t h flavorese enzymes must not be too severe. T h e r e is always the danger that flavor precursors, essential to the working of trie process, may b e destroyed if processing conditions are not watched closely. If the n e w findings should ever reach the commercial stage, will the producer or t h e consumer a d d the enzymes to processed foods? In all probability, says Hewitt, it will d e p e n d on the product as well as the characteristics of t h e particular enzyme involved.
Natural Rubber Polymers N a t u r a l rubber takes on a new visage through mechanical formation o f vinyl interpolymers I N THE cold mastication of natural rubber t h e dominant mechanism of molecular breakdown is t h e result of mechanical r u p t u r e of the rubber molecules u n d e r t h e imposed shearing forces. According to L . C. Bateman of t h e British Rubber Producers' Research , Association, an important adjunct to the mechanical breakdown process is t h e presence of oxygen, which serves a s a radical acceptor, capturing the free radical * -fragments produced mechanically and thereby pre-
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ψ ~\fj^:* "^decreasedryellowmg ~z< 5g| ^ f?&& ^aiàîvàricidityipf:(^^>^\ -^βι^ v^CcttHistctyNo ÎÔV57..Afterexhauttive».'"^^-? y ΐ * 3 | t ^ ^ Î ^ ^ r T r ^ tests KX double-pressed stcanc^acids, thir^VreU * J~% ^ 1 * k n o w n manufacturer o t cotton softeners f o u n d « i 2 3 ^ " W ^ t b a ^ Emersol 120 S t a n d a r d proved to be t b i b e s t *gk ^ fefa&t'^'pvy t o d a y *His reasons were l ) \ n e excellent e o l o r f ? * ^Y^f^^Zy^^y·»^ st«Jbd«yofEmersoll20deceased Aediscoloratioolj i ^ t b a i n o r m a l l y occurred dunng^processtng -•". Λ^*"ί S * ismuth, MnBi. Trie compound's proper-ties have b e e n predicted for several years, but until now the form of MnBi which best exhibits these properties coiald not be m a d e pure enough to realize* the potential. A Westinghouse rnetraod originated by A. J. Cornish produces on a lab scale a new, highly magmetic form of MnBi directly a n d in a high state of pnrity. Many new uses a r e suggested b y t h e unusual properties of manganese-bismuth magnets. Tiiey h a v e high coercive force, which -means they are unusually resistant t o demagnetization— perhaps 10 times b>etter than most conventional magnets, says Westinghouse. The high coercive force could result in a new assortment of permanent magnets of novel shapes and uses. MnBi magnets cLerive many of their unusual properties from being powdertype magnets. Ea-ch particle, about 4 X 10~ 5 inch i n diameter, is a magnet. The particles are insulated from one another b y irnbedcling them in a plastic binder. Such magaets can be easily drilled, tapped, arad cut. The plastic binder also makes the magnets nonconductors of electricity. T h e manganese-bismuth is prepared in this way: manganese a n d bismuth are ground together to extremely small size in a helium atmosphere, to prevent spontaneous burnùng. T h e mixture is sealed in a glass vessel under low-pressure helium. T h e two then unite chemicatlly a t about 520° F . , the melting point of bismuth. The product is ground 3:o a fine powder and the particles imbedded i n a plastic matrix. T h e y ares then oriented in a magnetic field ancd molded to shape.
Inorganic to Organic Oxalic acid can be formed when bicarbonates in aqueous solutions are exposed to beta oar gamma radiation. According to Torsrten Hasselstrom a n d Malcolm C. Heniry of Quartermaster Research and Development Command, the procedure appears less complicated than Wôhler's syaithesis of t h e acid from cyanogen; hiowever, the mechanism of the reactioni is complex, involving t h e presence o>f water and possibly also oxygen to effect t h e carbon to carbon bondage of the carbon dioxide moiéty. Solutions of ammonrum, calcium, a n d sodium bicarbonates a n d sodium a n d ammonium carbonates were prepared
in various concentrations and irradiated in polyethylene bags. Samples were exposed to b e t a radiation from a 2 m.e.v. van d e Graaff electron accelerator. G a m m a radiation at similar dosages also forms oxalates from t h e bicarbonates and a m m o m u m carbonate, Hasselstrom a n d Henry say in June 8 Science.
• Carver Foundation's volume of r e search totaled $268,000 i n 1954-55, a c cording t o its annual report. In t h e first year of its program of sponsored research, 1945-46, the volume w a s $11,000.
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COMMENT
It was fewer than four years ago that, as a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, I inquired about the future prospects of radiation in chemistry, I asked a lot of people in atomic energy, many highly expert. The response was almost uniformly cautious, often, downright discouraging—and usually for seemingly unimpeachable reasons. It has taken only a hrief interval to prove how wrong they tvere. . . . Looking back, it is inconceivable that the brief history of atomic energy could have proved so conclusively to the pessimists that things uihich had never been tried^ could not be done. Now it is clear·, of course, that in radiation we have a new mode of energy with a versatility yet untapped: radiation as a catalyst^ radiation to effect netv chemical reactions, radiation to create new or improved, chemical products. Already we see, or can foresee, better plastics^ revolutionary techniques of food preservation, and a whole host of other exciting possibilities. . , . As we search and try more, as more radiation sources become available, and as knowledge disseminates and proliferates, possibilities yet undreamed of will become realities. Even at this early date, u>e know that the nonpower uses of atomic energy will have a steadily increasing impact upon the revolution of our technology. EUGENE M. ZXJCKERT Consultant, before the Industrial Nuclear Technology Conference in Chicago
