HEAT WITHOUT FIRE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12868, 2 January 1906, Page 3

HEAT WITHOUT FIRE.

There is-novsmpke -without fire,";says the ancient adage;' but it is possible, "nt all events hot food -without the agency of. *inyi visible or actual fire whatever. Every schoolboy, is familiar with the fact that a great many chemical combinations apart from those in- • volved in actual combustion arecapable of liberating a considerable amountof heat. Sulphuric acid mixed 'with' water will bring it in a few, seconds -to boiling point, ana water poured upon quicklime will: evolve an amount of heat which is capable - of doing real .and valuable work. . To' a* company working under the name of "Caloric" must be given the -credit of recognising this last fact and putting it to solid; commercial use. Ah .ordinary tin of, soup, . for instance, is fitted with an outer-, also of tin, which in turn is provided!" with a; false bottom entirely. separated' from, the rest of ; the container "by a tin ;partition.This -space is .filled with ordinary; water,and the space surrounding' ths scrap-con-tainer with beads of. quicklime,-'Jand the whole is soldered up and hermetically seal- - Hot soup may be obtained! fiat a few minutes' - notice in the following'"inainner: Turn the tin upside down, and, by means of the wire tool sold with it, punch one or two holes in the bottom in places indicated by indentations. The little tool goes right • through the false bottom, and the water dribbles through into quicklime. In a very few minutes the whole-container is hot enough to scorch the labels on the outside, and by turning it over «nd; opening the tin of soup in. the...ordinary way the food is ready for immediate consumption, and is found to be quite as hot as it can comfortably be consumed. There js no possibility of the lime gaining access to the or entree, or whatever may. be contained in the tin. It ia needless to point out the numerous classes of people to whom this invention should prove a valuable boon.