Some Developments in Modern Chemistry. II

Some Developments in Modern Chemistry BY DR. ROBERT STEWART, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY OF THE UTAH AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

II The application of chemistry to the refining of gold and silver is manifold. It has led to the utilization of the "tailings," or waste materials, of many of the old worked mines, and has added greatly to the store of gold in the world. Rich results have been obtained from the study of the alloys and the isolation of many new materials, such as cromium, tungsten, and aluminum. The aluminum cooking utensils of the kitchen are one of the direct results of this application of chemistry, and the manufacture of the tungsten lamp is another. The isolation of the elements tungsten, and aluminum, in commercial form has been the production of these two essential articles of the household. Again, chemistry has shown how it is possible to obtain the so-called "electrolytic" iron, which is now the purest form of iron known. If an electric current under certain conditions be conducted through a solution of iron, the iron may be precipitated in any form desired, as a sheet of iron which can easily be welded into different sheets of any thickness desired, possessing a bright lustre which does not need polish. In the same way, the iron may be precipitated in the form of a spiral or in the form of seamless iron tubes, the advantage of which is of course obvious. Furthermore, this iron so precipitated is the purest form of iron that we know of. All the impurities have been eliminated from it so that if the electromagnets in an electric motor now be made of'this iron, a great saving of energy is possible. With the electromagnets of the electrical motor made of the purest kind of iron obtainable before this process was discovered, it was possible to develop a half horse-power motor. Now with the same energy, by using the different electromagnets made out of electrolytic iron, it is possible to develop a motor having a capacity of one and one-fourth horse-power. This saving of energy, of course, is of great economic value. This is the

210 IMPROVEMENT ERA

day and age of conservation. We are concerned with the conservation of our natural resources, such as the conservation of the coal and iron supply of the world, the conservation of, the fer- the conservation of the manhood and womanhood tility of the soil,

of the nation. It is interesting to note that we are extremely wasteful of our coal resources when coal is used for the purpose of obtaining energy by means of a steam boiler. In the average steam engine, 85 per cent of the energy of the coal is wasted lost — to the human race forever. Chemistry has shown how the efficiency of this material may be at least multiplied by three. If the coal be first converted into gas and the gas utilized in the gas engine, the efficiency is trebled. This result in itself is very significant and we have only just commenced. In the domain of organic chemistry, remarkable results have been achieved. Eighty-two years ago^and prior to that time, it was thought to be impossible to prepare in the chemical laboratory any of the so-called organic compounds, because these compounds were supposed to be produced in nature in the plant and animal bodies by means of some mysterious vital forces, and that it amounted to nothing more nor less than sacrilege for the presumptive chemist to attempt to prepare such an organic compound. A German chemist, in 1828, working with an inorganic compound known as Ammonium Isocynate, converted it into an organic compound, then converted it from a compound which

would not burn into one which would burn, and the result was the production of an artificial uria, the characteristic excretory product of the human body. This was the first synthetic preparation of an organic chemical compound, and since that time we have prepared in the chemical laboratory something like 150,000 organic chemical compounds of every conceivable kind, and we are adding to that number at the rate of from eight to ten thousand new organic chemical compounds per year. Twenty years ago a Frenchman, M. Berthelot, in Paris, made the artificial preparation of the fats, the one great class of foodstuffs. Fisher, about the same time, prepared artificial sugars in the chemical laboratory, signifying the possibility of reparation of the second great class of foodstuffs. Fisher was enabled out of the carbonic acid of the atmosphere to prepare artificial glucose and fructose. Recently he prepared a substance of a very complex nature, which is very

SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN CHEMISTRY 211

closely related to the proteins, out of the more simple compounds obtained. We thus see that we are able to prepare the members of the three great classes of food compounds, the fats have been prepared, the carbohydrates have been prepared, the protein-like substances have been prepared. Of course the preparation of these three great classes of compounds, as prepared at present, are only curiosities, but the curiosities of today are likely to become practical compounds of commercial interest tomorrow. One of the most common chemical compounds occurring in the vegetable world is the compound known as cellulose, one form of which exists as the wood that we see surrounding us in the various trees, and the stalks of grain, etc., a pure form of which may be seen in filter paper, in ordinary paper, and in cotton. Cotton and filter paper are usually regarded as being the purest form of cellulose that we have. Cellulose has been put by the chemist to a great number of important purposes. By means of it the chemist has been able to prepare smokeless gunpowder, the significance and importance of which in modern warfare cannot be overestimated. It has contributed its small part to the rendering of war among modern nations undesirable by increasing the destructive power of the "man behind the gun." Of course, the common use of wood in the manufacture of papers of different kinds and forms is obvious to all. Without the chemical process by which cellulose may be converted into paper, we would be without our daily newspapers and magazines of today. Cellulose has also been converted into such compounds as collodium and celluloid. It has also been put to important use in the production of the photographic film which makes modern photography possible. In addition, chemists by certain chemical processes have been enabled to prepare out of cellulose artificial silk, which can be detected from pure silk only by careful examina-

tion. The artificial silk, of course, being made out of cellulose, while the natural silk is a nitrogenous compound and contains nitrogen. In addition, the chemist has been enabled to make artificial hair out of cellulose, and, with the modern civilization of

China, where the Chinese are taking to cutting off their hair, and thus depriving the feminine world of the more civilized countries of this supply of their necessary equipment of warfare, the chemist has gallantly come to their rescue by the production of a supe-

212 IMPROVEMENT ERA

rior article out of thewaste product of nature, containing cellulose. Of course, since this artificial hair would be colorless, or nearly so, the chemist again comes to their rescue by the production of the artificial so-called analine dyes, by means of which every conceivable shade and color desired may be obtained. When coal is submitted to destructive distillation, that is, dis- absence of air, for the production of the gas with tillation in the

which the large cities are supplied, there are a number of byproducts obtained. One important by-product is the so-called coal tar, which was formerly regarded as a waste product having no

value. In the destructive distillation of coal, there are three main products obtained, the gas, the coke, and the tar. Of course the coke and the gas have been, used from the beginning, but it is only in the past fifty years or so that we have made utilization of the coal tar. Out of this coal tar we are now enabled to obtain a great number of chemical compounds having wide economic value. For example, carbolic acid may be obtained and is obtained from this source. The coal tar is then converted into a number of different so-called coal tar dyes. The chemistry of the dyes has been studied so thoroughly that almost any conceivable color demanded may be obtained. The economic importance of this process may be indicated when it is considered that out of Germany alone $75,000,000 worth of dyes are produced every year. Of course there is a certain amount of danger which may be incurred from the indiscriminate use of dyes. For example, the coal tar dyes in the hands of an artist may be used in such a way as to give to an ordinary rag carpet, the appearance of an Oriental rug. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that out of this coal tar a product known as artificial sugar (saccharine) is obtained. This substance is considered as being about 600 times sweeter than cane sugar. It has no food value and is being prohibited from being used in the preservation of fruits by order of those controlling the pure food law. Formerly, however, it was much used as the sweetening material of foods placed upon the market. In the preparation of indigo, we have another significant achievement of the chemist. Indigo was formerly obtained from a plant grown in India, hence its name. Formerly vast tracts of land were devoted to the growing of this material for exportation

SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN CHEMISTRY 213

to European countries. It is estimated that it took twenty chemists working approximately twenty-five years to determine the constitutional formula, so-called, of indigo, and as a result of which it was seen that indigo must consist of three chemical compounds united together in certain proportions. These three chemical compounds are brought together and as a result we have the

artificial production of indigo. Now five-sixths of the indigo of the world is the synthetic product manufactured in the chemical laboratory. In Germany alone $10,000,000 worth of artificial

indigo is placed on the market annually, and all that vast section of the country in famine-stricken India formerly used for indigo can now be given over to the growing of wheat and rice, which is so sorely needed by the natives of that country. The chemist has been enabled to isolate, to study, and prepare synthetically, in the laboratory, not only the coloring matter of the leaves of plants, but the coloring matter of the blood of the human body. These compounds now may be prepared artificially in the chemical laboratory. Another industry of great significance in the world today is the production of rubber. Those having anything to do with automobiles know how costly the rubber may become when purchased in the form of automobile tires. The demand for rubber in the last few years has increased at such a marked rate that the natural

supply has not been able to keep up with the demand, and hence the price of this material has gone, like the cost of living, skyward. For three-quarters of a century, the chemist has been trying to make artificial rubber and only recently have his efforts met with success. Isoprene, a chemical compound similar to the benzine of the drug store, has recently by certain chemical treatment been converted into artificial rubber, which has all the appearance and value of the natural product. That is, the production of synthetic rubber is an actual fact, and we may expect within the next few years the establishment of manufacturing industries whereby the artificial rubber may be placed on the market to the great gratification at least of the users of automobiles. Another compound, somewhat closely related chemically to rubber, is camphor. In the past, camphor has been obtained largely, if not wholly, from the Island of Formosa, in the Pacific Ocean. During the Chinese-Japanese war of 1895, Japan secured

214 IMPROVEMENT ERA

was enabled to establish a possession of this island and thus monopoly upon the camphor product of the world. This condi- tion of affairs caused the chemists to investigate the possibilities of preparing artificial camphor ; and, as a result, artificial camphor is now being placed on the market and the Japanese monopoly of this product has been destroyed. The chemist has shown how it is possible to prepare artificial resin, out of which a great many

toilet articles may be prepared, such as combs, necklaces, etc., and

in a similar way out of casein of milk it is now possible to prepare

a great number of artificial toilet articles, such as combs, brushes, necklaces, Collars made of the casein of milk are and collars. superior to the collarsmade from celluloid, in that they are not combustible, for which of course the masculine members of society are duly thankful. In modern medicine, the chemical compounds prepared by the chemist which have found a use therein are too many to be counted. One of the most recent discoveries is of exceedingly great interest. A new compound known as Veronal, which is a very powerful hypnotic, has recently been synthetically prepared in the laboratory. This is very effective in exceedingly small quantities, and sends one off to sleep almost immediately. A very simple antidote to the action of this compound is found in a cup of the ordinary tea, which will offset readily the action of this drug. The characteristic ingredient of tea and coffee, of course, iscaffeine, which acts as a stimulant upon the nervous system and upon the heart. This stimulant itself is now being prepared by the chemist on a large scale. It has been found in chemical study of the uric acid, the characteristic excretory product of birds and reptiles, that it differs from caffeine only in containing one less methyl group. Very easily, therefore, the chemist can introduce this lacking methyl group in uric acid, and the result is the artificial product of caffeine, the characteristic ingredient of tea and coffee and the substance used in large quantities as a component in headache medicines. It is possible, therefore, that as soon as we discover a substance which gives to tea and coffee its flavor we shall be enabled to prepare artificial tea and artificial coffee. Another interesting compound which has recently been discovered is Adrenalin, a substance which is secreted in the mouth from the suprarenal glands. This substance is intimately asso-

SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN CHEMISTRY 215

ciated with the control of the blood pressure and is now prepared on a large scale and finds a ready use in medicine. It has the power when placed upon a portion of the body which is overly supplied with blood (such as a red nose for example) of causing the red blood to recede from that portion. Of course, it may be mentioned incidentally that this compound cannot be used as a cosmetic, because its action is too irregular, but it does find very ready use in delicate surgical operations, such as those of the eye, ear, and nose, where excessive bleeding would be of disadvantage. Again the chemist has invaded the domain of the flowers. In the preparation of a great number of artificial perfumes. A chemical compound prepared on a large scale and sold under the name

of Ionan, contains the characteristic aroma found in the odor of the violet. The artificial violet perfume and the natural violet perfume are one and the same thing. The human nose cannot detect any difference in the delicate odor obtained from the artificial product as contrasted with that of the natural product. The artificial product is obtained by a certain chemical treatment of such substances as waste lemon peel. A great many other arti- perfumes have been prepared, such as the perfume obtained ficial

from the Maybell, Jasmine, and the Lilac, and in fact we now have on the market the artificial oil of roses, the most delicate, probably, of all the perfumes obtained from flowers. The oil of roses that has been obtained by the chemist consists of eighteen different chemical compounds, mixed together in certain definite proportions. Yet the chemist has been enabled to isolate all of these different chemical compounds, determine the constitutional formula of each, also the way they have been made up, and has been able

to synthesize them in the chemical laboratory and unite them together in such a way that we have now the artificial oil of roses which cannot be distinguished from the natural oil of roses by even the most delicate nose. These are a few of the many ways in which the modern chemist is trying to be of benefit to the human race, and in this latter

day we must regard the chemist as a benefactor of mankind, and not as one who is practicing the "black art," and supposed to be in league with the Evil One. LOGAN, UTAH.

A Cliff House on the Colorado, WesternSan Juan County.

Chapter VI — The Great Intangible Soorowits came back, after a long time, but to Ben he spoke neither good nor bad. He saw the boy, of course he viewed him ;

from the corner of his evil eye, and followed him with that outward apathy, behind which a Pahute likes to hide his sinister intentions. Yet Soorowits had other troubles, —troubles which have broken the ardor of braver men and greater philosophers than he. The truce with Nariant had been arranged, and it provided that Soorowits should pay Nariant twelve saddle horses, and marry Nariant's maiden sister whom no dusky brave would consent to wed. The cayuse-clause of the truce had given the old horse-thief no annoyance whatever, but the maiden sister became a blight to his cantankerous spirit. At first sight of her Ben decided she was not Toorah's sister at all, but a child stolen from some distant tribe. Her face was an absolute night-mare. Any kind of a swelling would have improved it, though no swelling could have concealed her biting, wire-plier jaws, nor the stilted cheek bones, against which her slant eyes leaned. No amount of hair would have disguised the shape of her harrow-tooth head no amount of padding and dress ;

would have changed her big-jointed, board-like form. She had no eye-brows, no eye-winkers, and a measely dearth of scraggy, straight locks hanging in all directions from her spiky cranium. Her eye would frighten a cat from under a granary, and the sight of her finger-nails would send a cold chill of terror straight to a man's socks.