I02
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGlNEERING C H E M I S T R Y .
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR. L. H. BAEKELAND AT THE CHEMISTS’ CLUB IN NEW YORK, ON THE OCCASION OF THE AWARD OF THE PERKIN MEDAL TO DR. EDWARD GOODRICH ACRESON, JANUARY 21, 1910. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I ought t o start with a n apology for myself as well as for the perkin Medal Committee: if the committee did not select a better man than me t o express more eloquently the merits of to-night’s laureate, this is solely due t o the fact that I happen t o be, just now, t h e president of the American Electrochemical Society. Dr. Acheson is the Past President of our Society, and one of its founders, and has always been one of its most devoted and distinguished members. Furthermore, his main work has been along lines where the electric current is used to accomplish chemical reactions. What is more t o the credit of Dr. Acheson than anything else is the fact t h a t he undertook experiments which probably had been attempted several times before without success by people who had more theoretical preparation than he. But his unusual keenness of observation, his common sense logic, and more than anything, his appreciation of what was of preponderant importance, and of secondary interest, brought him results where others had failed and by which he opened a new field of chemical investigation and industrial applications. Dr. Acheson stands as a living example to many a chemist, loaded with theoretical knowledge and paper wisdom, and light in judgment or common sense. H e entered into a new road with very little knowledge to go by, but he had a n o p e n mind, a fertile brain, a constructive purpose, and all the talents of the tireless, intelligent experimenter; his theoretical knowledge he made himself, or picked it u p by and by along the road he was pursuing, while he himself was building that road. Whatever he took up, he started from the very beginning and developed it t o the very end. His very insuccesses he turned into practical channels, to change them into victories. H e started his work on carborundum by a n experiment so simple and so meager in results, t h a t few people, if any, would, like himself, have found in this a spur t o further investigation. Later on, when in the manufacture of carborundum, he had to battle with irregularities due t o a partial dissociation of the silicon carbide, which thus spoiled his product, he tried by a more powerful action of heat t o carry this dissociation t o the extreme limit; he so created a new industry, the manufacture of artificial graphite. I n the Same way he turned irregularities, due to oxidation or partial reduction, into a new field of study and research and gave us siloxicon, a product which seems to have a considerable future in store. I shall not attempt t o describe here the history of the work of Dr. Acheson. He, himself, in a memorable address, delivered in Boston before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, when the Rumford medal was awarded t o him, has given us a most fascinating account of this subject, and to those of my fellow chemists who have not read his “Seventeen Years of Experimental Research,” I can recommend it as a n inspiration. Never did the University of Pittsburg award a n “honoris causa” degree to a more worthy man than when the doctor’s degree was conferred upon our distinguished friend. I n the making of the great road of ‘industrial progress, very few of us are pathfinders; some are surveyors, other ones constructors, others again are merely switchmen, brakemen, and conductors. Dr. Acheson not only was a pathfinder, but he has been constructor, conductor, switchman-everything. B y his manifold abilities and good judgment he has been able t o develop his discoveries t o the point where they became a commercial success. He has shown US that an inventor or a
Mar., 1910
scientist does not have necessarily to be a theoretical dreamer unfit for executive or practical work. Dr. Acheson has another great claim of recognition upon us; successful a s he has been in his enterprises built on the result of his inventive genius, he has never ceased t o make us feel that he was near t o every one of us. H e always took a n active part in the work of our chemical societies, where his presence and his papers have stimulated many of us, younger in experience, or less successful in our efforts. I n many instances he has allowed our chemical societies to inspect the plants where his industrial processes are carried out, and he has never hesitated t o publish the results of his research work. H e h a s thus set a praiseworthy example t o such of our manufacturers, who t r y t o insure by uncompromising secrecy and seclusion the money-making end of their enterprise. Dr. Acheson, in the name of the American Electrochemical Society, I congratulate you on this recognition of your splendid work, and I congratulate the Perkin Medal Committee just as much in their choice of you.
NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE. PERCOLATION. For percolation of substanceswwhich”’are difficult, if not impossible, t o percolate in the usual manner, I have used a Soxhlet extractor, arranged as below, with excellent results: The extractor is supported by a clamp; a thin layer of glass-wool is loosely packed at the bottom, making sure that the outlet is completely covered. The substance t o undergo percolation is then introduced and allowed to remain as loosely as possible; on top of this another layer of glass-wool is placed to hold the substance in place. A beaker is then placed under the extractor, to receive the extract, and the solvent is allowed t o drop from a reservoir, the drop being regulated by a screw-clamp. The extract in the beaker is transferred to the reservoir and again allowed t o pass through the substance, till the desired strength extract is obtained. FRANK M. DAVIS. MACANDREWSAND FORBES CO , CAMDEN,N. J.
i
NOTE ON THE RECOVERY OF WASTE PLATINUM. For some time it has been our custom to collect the alcoholk wash obtained in potash determinations, before the ammonium chloride is run in. This is put in tightly-stoppered bottles and placed on a table in the direct sunlight. After a few weeJks it begins to lose its color, and a coating of platinum black is seen on the bottom and sides of the bottle. This action’goes on until the solution is entirely clear, and all the platinum-has been deposited. The solution may then be poured off and the platinum collected and purified. The platinum is likewise
