THE SYDNEY EXPLOSION.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13546, 6 October 1909, Page 7

THE SYDNEY EXPLOSION.

A 'CHEMIST'S'EXPLANATION. > »SM,

An interesting explanation .jof'"> causes leading up to the./explceioif the premises of v tb6 Pharmacy '■ Company \:waA. 1 ' i : ,; fiiveuv^ ; t»jjy|? a ■ "Press".''reciter:.' Mr W. • cable stated that pants of the chop was boiiinK a couple :r]i of gallons of camphorated oil counter- llie ; liquid raa. flared up. In the endeavour to "estai|i :l*'i guish the flames the vessel Tipeert; *n4;;|~ tie explosion followed. Mr : - Ber**W'ilo eaid that camphorated oil ' proportion of one in five of camphor. >: ~ When the oil was heated up to a pretty ' high temperature and caught fire it I would throw off a very dense volume-of i hydro-carbon dust (very heavy black ' 6inoke) from the camphor.- ' - \ If a room was charged heavily with , 1 the hydro-carbon dust it would be in J: almost exactly the position that ueed to obtain in soma coal mines before -; ventilation was brought to its present* i stage ff efficiency. There used to be ! any amount of explosions, but tie in- - vestigators could never understand hofcr : they .pore caused till they realised that " an osygeti atmosphere like oar" own, / ; carrying a given percentage of fine coal - dust, or hydro-carbon, became an ex- ' plosive mixture. -. The feydro-carbon thrown o£f by the camphor, Mr Barnett . continued, would be just ae. explosive as a room filled with ordinary burning gas- It. I v. as evident that the room in which the explosion occurred ."was small and : confiriec, so that the dense fumee of the hydro-carbon could not escape; readOy.- He believed, in regard to'the ..> explosive qualities of the gas, that dtistr of camphor was used in, connection/ - with some modern ammunition. . ,