HEAT PRODUCER

Hokitika Guardian, 9 November 1936, Page 2

HEAT PRODUCER

EXPERIMENT IN AMERICA

LONDON, October 26

The chemist, popularly regarded as the man who sells toothpaste and who possesses the unique ability of deciphering doctors’ handwriting, may one day provide the world with a new heating system —when supplies of coal and oil are exhausted. Tangible evidence of this forecast was seen tins week at the Chemists’ Exhibtion in Westminster, when a liquid called arochlor—a chlorinated diphenyl compound—was on show in England for the first, time.

Sitiiiliar in appearance to glycerine, its possibly enormous value as a heat transfer agent was discovered bv an American after it had been, used for some years by industry fpr, the moisture proofing of v paper, the cooling of electrical transformers, and as, a constituent of cellulose varnishes. /. A machine has been invented in America and was demonstrated for the first time at the third M'orld Power Conference in Washington this month. It consists of. aTiihiniuni mirrors which focus the sun’s rays on concentric glass tubes through one of which runs the arochlor. The chemical is heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and the heat is transferred to water in a boiler. At present only a laboratory toy, the machine, may one day prove of world importance. 'At tile exhibition the arochlor was «ho>yn in‘a plain, unlabelled bottle, and placed '<j n a littlenoticed cornei.