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CCORDING t o one estimate, about 1000 different chemicals are used in building a tank and 2000 in the over-all construction of a battleship. Interesting production figures for 1939 include: sugar. 13,349.998.0001h., isopropylalcohol, 179,062,266 lb..glycerol, 154,676,000 Ib., all coal tar dyes, 120,190,000 lb., and phenol. 68,577,421 lb. I n 1943. 7.157.646 tons of sodium chloride were used t o produce soda ash, 2,656,293 tons for the manufacture of chlorine. 508,050 tons t o make other chemicals, and 66,000 tons in the synthetic rubber program. One orobable use for 2.3-hutanediol. which is obtained bv the fermeniation of carbuhyllkatca, iv ar a ;crtmnenr type anrifr'wze. A pound of gaqolinr contain< thrcr time, thr potential energy of a pound of T.N.1'. Thc prewar autumobilrutilisc~~,nly ahout 8 per cent of the available energy. During 1944, the average octane number of premium-grade gasoline was 75.0. that of regular-grade was 71.1. and that of third-grade was 55.1. According t o Aero Dig& gasoline of more than 130-octane rating is to be used in nipping the Nips. Aluminum scrap from industrial plants is used in the production of aluminum chloride for the high-octane gasoline and synthetic rubber program. The United States produced 763,000 tons of synthetic rubher in 1944 a t an average cost of 33 cents per pound. I n some plants, however, the cost was less than 18cents per pound. A chlorinated synthetic rubber, which is camparahle in many respects to chlorinated natural rubber, has been developed by the Goodyear Research Laboratory a t Akron, Ohio. Over 3.000.000 dollars have been provided by Congress for the continuation of the guayule program in California for another year. This involves the cultivation of 32.000 acres of guayule. The use of electronic principles shortens the vulcanization time for tire repair to 10 minutes. Lanaset is the trade name of a new melamine resin, produced by the Calco Chemical Division of American Cyanamid Company, which is commercially available for stabilizing wool and wool blends without affecting the absorbency normally characteristic of this material. The treatment consists of passage of the wool fabric thmugh a n aqueous bath of Lanaset, followed by uniform squeezing through a mangle, drying, heat curing, and washing. Toolite, a self-hardening phenolic plastic, which has been developed by Berger of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, if superior in many respects to aluminum and steel. One use is t o replace metal machine tools and dyes in the production of aluminum aircraft parts. Hercolyn is a plasticizer, supplied by Hercules Powder Company, that is used with antifouling paints to keep the paint open and sufficientlysoft that the poison prevents the barnacles from cementing themselves t o the hull of a ship. Geon is the trade name of a B. F. Goodrich polyvinyl material, which may he made resistant t o abrasion, acids, aging, air, alkalies. cold, creasing. flame, grease, heat, mildew, oil, ozone, sunlight, and water. A glass cloth, coated with synthetic rubber, which is flame proof and resistant t o deterioration by acid, alka!i, gasoline, grease, oil, insects. mildew, and water, has been developed by U. S. Rubber Co. I t is estimated that nylon will be available in sufficient quantity in the postwar period t o produce 450,000,000 pairs of stockings annually. Colored cotton, with color-fast lints in red, green, auburn, dark brown, blue, and khaki, has been produced hy Russian
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Neoprene-fiherglas conveyer belts, produced by B. F. Goodrich Company, give long and dependable service. The hydrogen ion concentration. accordinr. t o Dr. Hamer of the
National Bureau of Standards, accounts for the fact that red roses are red and blue cornflowers are blue. The United Nations control about 85 per cent of the world's mineral production. Minerals valued a t $8,543,000,000 were produced in Alaska and the United States during 1944. It is estimated that one-eighth of the gold and silver mined since A.D. 1500, now lies unclaimed a t the bottom of the ocean. R-301 is a new aluminum alloy which is used today in airplane construction. Tomorrow it will he used in cars, homes, and trains. The new sound-on-tape machine, in its first commercial model, is reported t o be a neat, compact unit, which is not much longer than a table model radio receiver and records and plays back on cellophane tape with high fidelity. Tape about an inch in width and 320 feet long, permits up t o 8 hours' recording a t a cost of only 50 cents an hour. The postwar stove will be smokeless as the result of a new design which will utilize every bit of coal and gas that goes into it. According t o U. S. patent No. 2,351,614. meat may be tenderized by injecting 0.02 mg. to 1.0 mg. of adrenaline per kilogram of body weight into the living animal a few hours before slaughter. I t isclaimed that this depletes tissueglycogenandreducesacidity. Developments in color photography will permit the processing of color film by the amateur. Weedless tobacco plant beds are achieved by treating the soil with granular Aero cyanamid about 90 days before seeding time. The initial decomposition affords disinfection of the soil, whereas subsequent decomposition supplies nutrients for the plant. A 0.05 per cent concentration in aqueous solution of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2-4-D for short) is reported t o be &ective as a turf-weed killer when applied a t the rate of 5 gallons per 1000 square feet. According to claims, i t kills weeds in grass plots, lawns, and pastures without damaging the grasses. Practically pure pyrethrins can be obtained from the petroleum extract of pyrethrum flowers by the use of nitromethane as a selective solvent. The distillation of the nitromethane yields a pyretbrin residue which has no irritating properties. These products are particularly useful in the manufacture of odorless household fly sprays. Copper plating feet has been used successfully in the South Pacific t o stop athletes foot. The treatment takes about six minutes, is repeated for six or seven days, and requires only a copper plate, a copper sulfate solution, and a six-volt battery. Rntin, which is an extract of flue-cured tobacco, is definitely effective in treating increased capillary fragility, which is a form of high hlood pressure. The inhalation of Penicillin, in the form of an aerosol, has been found t o he effective in the treatment of pneumonia. According t o Herbert 0. Calvery. solid DDT, when applied topically to the skin of animals is not appreciably absorbed and is nonirritating and nonsensitizing. When dissolved in organic solvents, however, it readily penetrates the skin, is mildly irritating, and is a very mild sensitizing agent. "The pharmacological manifestations of effect from D D T are principally loss of appetite, mild t o severe tremors of central nervous system origin, convulsions, and death." A by-product of the blood banks is a hlood paste of red cells, which speeds healing of wounds. G.I. Joe had discovered that dimethyl phthalate does a twofold job when used as a hair goo: it serves very well as both a staycomb and a mosquito repellent. Hyoscine, known also as scopolamine, has been used effectively in preventing airsickness a t the Naval Training Center a t Pensacola. Pills containing hyoscine are ingested about an hour before the take-off.
