EXPLOSIVE GAS.

Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1695, 9 June 1874, Page 2

EXPLOSIVE GAS.

ii^ ibr6wnu^iac lea i&itff^ aMJmg&^fltle first occurrence ofitsLkmtl m' anjr^uartzj mine7?on.fthid: fi«ld ?n and prob»b^.WaJ*yj •gdldl- mine,'sttggests-thd'desiFabHity ofj being prepare^'f^i^e(pr«^^ thej rnecessity of taking,prftiiyirj^ 3! -against subhl contingency.; tßi&'end; we propose to Mvb some infornlation on: 'MrWXWr, s^fe^aj; |fenr;j|u^eniac| sources, as to .^efirsV appearance| its <= eMctMiwMshe\ means usedCt^ counteract?^fhose effects, j We „learn ,thaj: jearly. f in jbhe tain German mines Were molested by poisonous choke-damp and "explosire"fife-j damp prithat^isriuto 7 sayi Tby^A:slJffocatiSjgj and 1 by fiery vapOurs, the formerlof which j put out life/silently but summarily,- 'witile! ihe-latter -might -blow its unfortunate] victims to pieces. Van Helmont imposed • upon themr-thername^of yGhopts or Gases, j in sarcastieplayfuinesVwith y the popular j superstitionjasTtoithefe gnardjansriof'; tho | treasures of the earth. But it is agsertgd iM^aK^li^fi!M^#Wli6fe m. &mtfg positively about them. Boyle was the; first to attribute these gases to certain solid bodies, which, under certain cir-cumstances-rS-wherin they tare >h¥aWdj£ffr instance—throw off artificial air?, resem."b'lin^iihel iommbh'' atmoispherSc -gases -in thinnesss and elasticity, as well as in' ■; dryness ": and - permanericy^ nbiit differing from the.m. he c.ould not .tell how.' "'^latek, 0 ;rrchemist which Scotland , lias produced,, is^creafte'd with rbeihg the 1 first ftbtak& a positively^, chemical step,in |he,,pjr<?gress, ; ,of discovery "of the nature these gases. He .found; that.Jjmes.tone, .(prjnchft^, or marble,' or oyster shell)' when burned in the r .and s fheteby .rendered quick, parts with a kind or air in which no animal can breathe.or live ;^^^nd,.,al30 J th^t jit. is owing to its setting/reethis air or gas that tbe ehangp from inactive limestone toJcMsj^ quicklfme ji flue-Y M? !<&BM:ft ffixeiair, imprisoned in the rock till the furnacegprfpHofrvitriolr off the spir.it; -q£ salt, extricated ii^froin its fixture. 1 He per'C9pro^edjthat,this r ive^^nd ( l^eA^irjiwas neither more nor less than. of the; nature of an acid, in the airjr or gaseous state; a»drit-was-theneoncerved-that-there may e^is|rmany-,differeQfr kipds ot airy matter just^atfth'ei'fe 3re many kinds of solid* and liquid substances. TJiis: discovery pf ;fiM#'s Tt%:a&iSfMbw'cd' By ;forttfer; researches, attentioS haviti§: been''directed to ther^a^er^and-j onefpriestly inyew^ed an easy of collecting" and handling gaseous bodies, 'ffamely, the pneumatic trough-with Us j|ars.^ M% came tupon nine' diflfe'rdat J gases, alt' differing from ■.-■:•.■■-■■■■ .■l-\.r^&n-y^U^ tl -•.. . .■

ordinary air and from each other. Scheele, a Swedish chemist, added two or ih*ee imore to the list of gases, and a hosltr'' of f others followed, resulting^ in ,tho discovery of hydrogen.&f#ifro:genvpj; oxygen and the res& and,.th'^rfact th^.jwateifis of twp gase£; until4fc ha» become known that glajws are -the,steam? of liquids which ,boil Tm'mei&ely '}bw npints of temperatirtiijpthese liquids being the liquefactions of solid bodies which : m4^fctQi»peraj;ur^s. l^wer^tn^andthat^ lEeirefore, there" may re~ff^'cmd''tb'i;ltcr number of B tji||^dndS>oJfgftiJiebUs matterj as;" there js^no &nbwn limit"to the TasVvariety oHiquid^arid-soTidsT— ~: v-Thej-facts ,a^o^e stated-are £ briet.T£v on^theJJ 1 bsei^Bt^r of the gases," from one of the popular works of John Timbs, F.S.A. Accepting J&g. above as a scientific dictum, especially that portion which BSf^haplfp^eiia^fl be no end to the number of me kinds of gaseousmajtt.fr, preoisplyfas^tfyere is noknown limifejto t^lfrasj/Nlariet^ of liquids! and solil's/^ilmighTbfiftge^eli ttiaTthV explosive gas met with in the Crorau Prince mine is a new gas, previously unoMfiQwnttdosciential;- -fore although .^ery ff isitoilarJ'toofwhatMia 'jknpwff as -fireidampy-/ the facfc'4hafvsudh:pa«noiSejida.i inrquartZE mines has hitherto been unknown, or at any rate but 1 Very WHom meS fwith7mvgh% warrant jthe. belief .thai; it was ngt firedamp,, mr^mtkis<meism®h Kkejjfci We read—" The gas called by miners firef9&m^;""or !3sim^ with in jx^ivg-tiST^x^kv&dß^-c(m.o;Mi coal field. '^Oiise'tffrepe - d»l|«J; choke-damp prevails, this being carbonie-i acid gas ; and it'is^ot^ttnlikMy'tha^otH^r^ eases are mixed from time to time;witlr> these. S3JJXOT£ When, however, gas of whateVeiflklmd^ comes off regularly, the meetofeidal iflfcfcn«< of ventiEti3ii f bonimbklsra2ople^sar& su£ ficient. It is only^when^there are sudden, unexpected and la^^plsiof^asanistan-y tanqcruslypsoure^^forth,pandj7when, >: thi#r gas 7 'mixea jwjiJE hi ,cpiifmon^ air f ; befibimes J arises. „„_ To .counteract, the ,effects of ,car-bufeite'd-ih'yd^n <ofehe teer'sP and aver^lfe' fearYiP^onsfequ'eifees%McW did/ antTdoTs 1 nbf^rSpWof Safl f%rWa<t£ tiong, .entail, Sir Humphrey Pavyr,"~a~ fire-damp, or carburetted hydrogen, had already been ascertained by Dr. Henry^, who found that, " when this gas is mingled in certain proportion's fwithiats mospheric air^-jit forms a^mixture^which kindles uporif tj|e csntacj;|pf jf ; lighted pandle, a^d oftfen eiplodesiwith? tremendous yiplenpe, kjllingth^menjand; horses, and projecting mtfchfaf tW'corite'nts Tof the mine through the shafts or apertures ,like an enormous., piece,, of artillery." After an explosion of this kind of more than ordinarj; severity, which destroyed more than al^und^dminerp, a.cpnimittee^ of proprietors beso.ugb.jt Sir Humphrey to provide a method of prepaying for supß -,vißitat|on?T=:not ayprtjuog.if'*, remember.; get Mmiiel|p about completing the invention which his earlier researches had suggested. He had, early in^C?e^e.rimen]tjedzealously.on^ke, effeijts^^glisejHn 1 fresfpiratidir; -at 'tlie; age of twenty-one he had brpatfcpd pitrous_ oxide, and nearly lost his life from bypathing TcarlSuf^^teHiß^ro'g6n.L tltfccbifcelfed" that flame and explosion might be regulated, and commenced a minute chemical examinations fi£Bs»£sm& .HftfefflAsftftV: carburetted-hydrrgen gas, evea wfeen mixed with fourteen times its bulk of atmospheric aii?, was still explosive, and his efforts, were directed to pontrglling the explosion resulting fr^n\ the °f the fire-dabp wtW-flame r burning inJordif nary air. He succeeded in producing the lamp which bears his namej the principleof which is that while the mixture of the fire-damp and atmospheric r air within ihe cage explodes upon pommg^ponpapt with the flame, the combustion cannot pass through the wire gauze ; and being thus imprisoned Cftunot impart to jthe explosive atmosphere of the mive vanybf its force.' The r rsarety;, lamp, wi t tji.ventihition ; pro-. vided"on the inp^, appr^yed^rineiples, is the only safeguard thatrffi^ininerathome, has against' 'tne^hflux It will have been noticed, that; .fir 6-., damp it is sajld f <^o ; bec.oimo expjlo: ■ sive when mixed' its bulk. P( pf o rpr.4ipa.ryp,i|j)?.^ It 'dp^s'niot 1 state, nor fiav'e'we rea fd xfelsevUe.tpjj;jt||§.f' v fire dampj^ynofc, cpinbustible in ; contact; withVflanieburning iji'atiflosphericairicjfa greater^bulk-Jhanfour^en^mfis^he^eigl.)^ of the fire-damp'pre ( yailirig. '_Thjs qu.es^,Qßj might, be sj?ttlej[,\by/some,'of our, }6cal Bcieni;iVts bottlmg J6ff a little of the txplesive ( gafr. exhaling ..fron^: the. bole; ; in the Grown Prince mine, an experiment' which would also r set at rest- the.t«iu©stipn r W v^ e". ther°it !Ciß "fire-damp at alii It has been suggested .that tha-Grpwnf Princ^ .w,ork-. ings may be" on the bb^ndiry ;ojP';a ,ep^.l seam. rr^f such, jwerq; the |ftai?.ej t^e,,^wgence of" fi^'e-daimp "wbiiid ; be' explained, and we are assured that it is by no means contrary ? g^plogjcal, deductions. -ci|h^t coal maybe^fbutid^Al! t'b'erlevesl frifcivfiyie. forra^tortretiinftMi flirptigfu^t; is; not tfSj^ to .account for the explosive' gas an the P Crown Prince mine, is written above is in substance the, histpryT-of. the discoyepy <jf pxpjoiiv6 ' gases" in mines, and the means taken to. cpmbat their' effeots^ iJ*./Phttel. Jiiforujatioa 7 has: lieeo > necessarily condensed tp bring; ij; within the limits of our space : our object; betrnf-^ direct attention to the phe'nomeribnlwmch has so unexpectedly made its appearance in one of our pßomiognit mtnes. r r The phenomenon is ne-w^ind sjt»ang!e tp tfs ftll|| it has come in£a m'fld form'(but wi'ili sjifficient significance fo mate it worthy of morp tb,an ;/ a pass.ing> comment. It may disappear 1 $&»£s. time, bnly^-cbme ia a^ more disastrous shape, desitructive to life andj^pert/, when it will

take preventive measures. claim no credit for calling public "atlftttroa to the matter; but should the w~&r3ißg.4ofaiegJected Avq shall stand^cquj^d^Wfl fblame ; and' 'ij^ tue, phWom6?On should • jkn'tiriiy tfstffaear' W li^TKill have; j&tfnkigie by | attracting pftj^taf attenMo%.>lt|^|ie