A MARVELLOUS DISCOVERY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10306, 7 March 1922, Page 3

A MARVELLOUS DISCOVERY.

If the average man was told • that \ it was possible to convert a liquid in- X to a solid by temporarily adding a & substance and taking it away again % [which substance underwent no s 'change, and entered into no chemical « combination, and could be used an $ 'indefinite number of times for the J same purpose, he would decline to « take such a statement at its face .■% value as a scientific fact without very 2j strong and definite proofs. Such a | story, sounds like one ~.af.„ the , old $ legends of : the daysrof ttie alchemists. .% who-:were.talways looking Cfor.-jsoflie « mvsterious substance which would J ••chahgc- l '3eaU «iiito ; ' gold. ■ sounite-'-retnafkably like ;th«j- <'W ■;« dreanvabbut Vet A ,this marvel is strictly true, and is the J ibase of many great commercial mi- •<; ; dertaking.s. It was of„ special value S : during the war period.' • ' ' -' <j !• In the early.days.p,f, the'war there > hvas a great shortage of fat, and the i oils produced in tropical J ■ regions were in great demand in con- \ sequence. ' But these oils could" not j 'take the place,of hard fat in many .manufacturing processes, including ; ilthat- of soap-making. Fat was « for many purposes in a solid >and not a'liquid form. The;diff er- ;'J •enco between an oil and .a fat is mainly a physical difference. !'i ; rVv-ir-l v 1 v;::;:.'U..«.:3/,' oil is called [ and fat stearin. -.The actual j chemical difference in these sub- § stauees'is trifling, but, of course, the ] physical differences are very marked. \ Liquid oil consists of IS atoms of ; carbon, two of oxygen, and 34 of hy- \ drogen Solid fat is composed of IS [ atoms of carbon, two of oxygen, and j "30 of hydrogen. As a pint, of ; hvdrogen weighs about one six-hun- 1 dredth part of an ounce, the tiny ? 'fraction of hydrogen which makes 1 •the difference between a solid fat and \ a liquid oil is almost ' a negligible ; quantity in the total weight of the | isubstan'ce. •- 1 ! : Naturally, when analytical chemists ; got down to the actual composition I ■of these substances, the obvious thing * j seemed to be to mix a little more hy- : drogen with warm vegetable oil, in \ the hope that* when.it was cold it ; would- be,, transformed into a solid : r faU . "'Making, hydrogen is a very ] simple and cheap proposition. I If there were any great demand j for. it, hydrogen could be made quite \ as cheaply, as ordinry coal gas.. Hy- 1 | drogen was forced through liquid j ■•oil,' but nothing happened. The '! next step.,.was.to...try to find out I something" which would act as a ,i catalytic agent-. 1 A catalytic agent is .] a substance which causes two or j more .other, substances to unite in chemical : union without undergoing : anv change itself. For instance, '■ there are cases-where two substances -j can be volatilised by lieat and thor- \' •oughly mixed in a vaporised form, V but when they are condensed they .go back into their original form. If the same two substances are volatised and forced through a*perforated platinum plate, .they will condense in complete union as a fresh substance. "Nothing whtevcr happens ■to the, platinum plate, which can bo used for an indefinite period without , losing its properties. As merely forcing hydrogen through warm oil did not convert it into fat, the idea was tried of blowing in a little powdered platinum with the hydrogen. When that oil cooled down it was transformed into a solid fat. with the platinum dust at the bottom unchanged. Later on it/ w.is"discovered that powdered nickel would do just as ' well as platinum dust. This powdered metal--can be used any number of times without undergoing any change whatever, and without any diminution of its catalytic power. To-day in many parts of the world t'jero are enormous commercial concerns transforming vegetable oils into solid fat by the catalytic method. The world's soap makers and nmgarine manufacturers are using onormous quan'titios of'.artificially-hard- ! cned vegetable oils,, and In many ' cases natural solid fats are being dis- ■ placed by this artificial: product. If ; some smart commercial personage had made this discovery, and could have secured a world patent, he 1 might have been a multi-millionaire l ~M£ some other equally smart person < had not managed to pirate his patent. , As it is this marvellous discovery 1 was just something that, happened in' the dav'n work of scientists woo we're patiently following a track blazed "by some former pjonoor through hitherto unknown "regions. No one can explain the action of a , catalytic We only know that cortain things happen under certain circumstances. That is about as far as ' anyone has got at present.