THE NEW CHEMICAL AGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20982, 19 September 1931, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE NEW CHEMICAL AGE.

glimpses of new world. af m P? es °f a new world were revealed f f ,, 0 Jubilee conference of the Society ' 'emical Industry in London recentlv. weec suits that have not come from a s ieep s back; boot leather made from woo , industrial alcohol distilled from reacle, silk from stockings conjured from , , an d soap that will double the aundry life of clothes are among the possibilities of the immediate future which were discussed. Dr. 11.I 1 . Armstrong, one of the secretaries of the society, said to an interviewer that Great "Britain, in the last 15 years, had made greater strides in the chemistry of industry than had any other country in the world. '"A few years ago aluminium was a rare metal of purely scientific interest," he said. " Evon now, though it is the basis of an enormous industry on which the hardware, aeroplane, motor-car, moving picture and scientific instrument industries are largely dependent, chemists believe that wo have scarcely touched the fringe of its possibilities. Aluminium has replaced castiron and tinware for pots and pans, steel for tanks for the transport of milk and other liquids. Stainless steel, another product of industrial chemistry, will be produced so cheaply that it will take the place of iron, brass and other corroding metals for every kind of household and motorcar fitting made of metal. The bodies of motor-cars may ev<*n be made of thin indestructible steel. Industrial chemistry has given the farmer an unlimited supply of nitrogenous fertiliser at the very moment when pessimists were prophesying the end of civilisation if tho supply of deposited nitrates became exhausted. The new nitrate supply has trebled the potential fertility of the soil of England. " Within the next few months the discovery of a new freezing substance made from carbon dioxide will revolutionise the food supply. Pellets of this new ' dry ice," placed in cartons of food, will keep it sweet and fresh indefinitely, and people may look forward to green peas and strawberries at Christmas. Cellephane, a new transparent wrapping material, will alter the whole practice of food packing." THE VALUE OF TEARS. An English biologist has just discovered that tears have a practical value. He tells the world that tear fluid, even greatly diluted, is an exceedingly powerful destroyer of bacteria. The bacteria poison in tears is so strong that a solution of 40,000 parts of water to one of the fluid fully retains its germicidal property. Presence of this powerful antiseptic in the tear ducts undoubtedly protects the eye from many germ-carried ills. Many a man has also found, to his cost, that tears have a practical value when judiciously turned on by a number of the fair sex. INDICATORS FOR AIR PILOTS. England has now her first smoke indicator for air pilots. There are many ; types, but most are so big that they must be installed too high to be of practical use. Hanworth Park Aerodrome has an ingenious one, built on the ground. It is a triple oil burner with an iron plate on the top. Oil constantly drips on to this hot plate, producing a white smoke curl, which escapes through a special funnel. Currents of air on the landing ground move the smoke column about, and the pilot can see their direction at once as be lands. ANTI-MOSQUITO MIXTURE. An unusual convenience for hunters, fishermen, and campers, is a tube ot anti-mosquito mixture, which is worn strapped to the wrist. The tube is small, not much larger than a wristwatch, so that it does not interfere with outdoor pastimes. From time to time, as the little .-pests begin to crowd around, a small quantity of the contents of the tube is squeezed on to the back of the wearer's hand. Since the mixture has a strong pungent odour, said to _be intolerable to mosquitoes, they immediately leave to seek meals in a more favourable situation. UNBREAKABLE SPECTACLES. Unbreakable spectacle lenses are a recent invention. Two pieces of glass with a piece of celluloid between them are cemented together under pressure, formin » one solid piece. This glass sandwich is "slightly thicker than ordinary glass, but, it°is just as transparent, the celluloid being invisible. Unbreakable glass has for some time been employed in the windshields of motor vehicles and aeroplanes and in factory goggles, but this is believed to be its first use in spectacles.