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By Ralph E. Esarey, G. F. Fix

The oil and gas industry in Indiana in 1938 showed considerable improvement over the preceding year. Most of the drilling and development during the year, as in the past several years, was in the Indiana portion of the Illinois Basin, but increasing interest was apparent in the old Trenton area, for possibilities of further production in the Trenton formation and the underlying St. Peter sandstone. Interest in all other portions of the state was at a new peak, since many areas have never been prospected. Natural gas production continued to drop during 1938, since new discoveries have not been able to keep pace with the rapid decline in older areas. Oil production increased considerably, chiefly through the discovery of new fields. Older fields contributed about the same quantity of oil during 1938 as during the preceding year. There were 159 wells completed in Indiana during 1938, an increase of 25 over the preceding year. Of these, 48 were oil wells, 41 were gas, and '70 failed to find commercial production. Forty-three, or about 20 per cent, were wildcat. Six of these were productive—three oil wells and three gas wells. Thirty-nine wells on which operations started during the year had riot been completed by Dec. 31. Fourteen others were temporarily abandoned, with the possibility that several will be drilled to completion in the near future. A new oil field (Heusler) was discovered in May 1938, in sees. 1 and 12, T. 7 S., R. 12 W., Posey County. Production was found in the Waltersburg (Upper (Chester) sandstone at a depth of approximately 1775 ft. At the close of the year, Heusler field had nine producing wells and two drilling. The Point township area, Posey County, near the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers, held promise of good production from the McClosky lime, but offsets to the, discovery well had only shows of oil. The discovery well declined rapidly in production arid was finally plugged. In the Oaktown field, Knox County, a wildcat came in with a good flow of gas, extending the field to the east, and proving considerably more acreage. A new gas area was discovered in Sullivan County, and four good wells were completed. The discovery well was in sec. 35, T. 8 N., R. 10 W., and had an initial

Jan 1, 1939

By Eric R. Morgan, J. C. Shyne

STRAIN aging is the name given to time-dependent changes which occur in the properties of cold-worked metals and alloys during storage. These changes are best observed through a study of mechanical properties, as illustrated in Fig. I for low-carbon steel. The effects of strain aging are usually regarded as being detrimental, particularly in deep-drawing steels. For example, an increase in yield strength and loss in ductility lead to buckling and tearing during drawing. At the same time the return of the yield point results in the formation of Luders bands or stretcher strains during the pressing operation. As a result of these effects many attempts have been made to eliminate strain aging from low-carbon steel. The problem still remains, however, because all known methods of preventing strain aging result in a more costly steel. The present work is an assessment of the situation in terms of theoretical, practical, and economic factors and suggests a new solution to the problem. Previous Work According to the Cottrell theory,' strain aging in a-iron may be regarded as the migration of interstitial atoms to free dislocations and the anchoring of dislocations by the resulting atmospheres. It may be concluded that the important factors which will govern the degree of strain aging are the diffusivity, the effective amount of interstitial element in solution, and the time of aging. The diffusivities and effective amounts of carbon and nitrogen in solution in low-carbon rimming steel are such that significant aging occurs in a few hours' storage at room temperature. Strain aging in deep-drawing steels cannot be controlled by controlling the time of aging because in commercial practice this is determined by economic factors concerned with inventories and may be several weeks. The diffusivity of nitrogen is twice that of carbon at room temperature but the diffusivities can be controlled by controlling the storage temperature. The retardation produced by only a 25 °C drop in temperature is significant but the cold storage of large steel inventories is an impractical solution to Table I. Analysis of Base Materials Alloy Pet C Yet 0 Pet N Vac 0.0037 0.052 0.0003 H 0.0044 0.013 0.0008 C 0.06 0.0014 0.0001 the problem. By far the most simple and effective ways to control strain aging are through control of the amount of carbon and nitrogen in solution. This may be effected through alloying, controlled precipitation, or by eliminating the carbon and nitrogen. Consider first the control of the amount of carbon in solution. The simplest approach would be alloy -ing in which strong carbide-forming elements are added. Examples of this approach are the additions of titanium' and niobium9 0 steel. These elements also combine with nitrogen and oxygen and when added in sufficient quantity result in a completely killed and non-aging steel. They are, however, impractical additions because they result in a costly steel. Carbon and nitrogen are often removed from iron on a laboratory scale by annealing in wet hydrogen, but because of cost this process has never been adopted on a commercial scale. In practice the amount of carbon in solution is controlled by the rate of cooling from the annealing temperature (710°C or 1310°F). In commercial box

Jan 1, 1958

By John T. Ryan

DEFINITE improvement in its accident fatality rate in the coal-mining industry was recorded during 1941, based on preliminary figures for the period from January through October. Total production during this ten-month period was approximately 91 percent of the total production in all of 1940. The ten-month accident rate for both bituminous and anthracite mining in 1941 was 2.15 killed per million tons of coal mined, compared with a rate of 2.66 for the full year of 1940. The bituminous rate decreased from 2.55 in 1940 to 1.99 in ten months of 1941, and the anthracite rate from 3.62 to 3.53 in similar periods. The decrease is more apparent for the bituminous branch of the industry, as the high figure in 1940 was due to seven major disasters which brought death to 276 men. The same number of major explosions during ten months of 1941 caused only 64 lives to be lost. The severity of the explosions has been lower this year but a definite need still exists for reduction in this type of accident.

Jan 1, 1942

By John Gross

The group of claims, comprising over 1,100 acres, located at Maitland (formerly known as Garden City), in the Ida Gray mining district, Lawrence county, South Dakota, are now being developed and operated by Alexander Maitland, the owner. Prior to the acquisition of this property two years ago by Mr. Maitland, but little work had been done in this district, and little was known of the extent of the ore-deposits. Recent development, however, has opened up some very promising ore-shoots. The ores so far encountered are the so-called " Potsdam siliceous ores," occurring in the flat formation lying immediately above the Cambrian quartzite, which dips at this locality about 12º. Both oxidized and blue ores are found, and the latter have proven particularly refractory to treat. No prospecting in the underlying slates of the Archean period has so far been attempted; but this work is one of the future considerations in the development of the property. Small quantities of blue ores are unavoidably sent to the mill, but special care is taken to send only the oxidized ores for the cyanide treatment. The ores, being close-grained and hard, have given considerable trouble in their treatment. Pyrrhotite arid pyrite exist in about equal proportions; arsenic, copper, and traces of antimony and tellurium are encountered, and considerable quantities of bismuth have been found in the zinc-box precipitates. The silver in the low-grade ores is slightly greater than the gold, while in the high-grade ores the reverse is generally true. Table I., showing the variations in the analyses of these ores, gives a fair idea of their general character. Early in 1902, the building of a 40-stamp wet-crushing cyanide-mill was begun, and it was finally placed in commission

Jan 1, 1905

By D. E. Wolfson, D. A. Reynolds, F. W. Smith

IN 1948 the U. S. Bureau of Mines began a three-phase program to evaluate the extent and quality of U. S. coking coal: 1) a factual appraisal of known recoverable reserves in beds of mineable thickness, 2) a study of preparation characteristics, and 3) a study of carbonization properties. A previous paper presented the methods used in assessing reserves.' Although this investigation is only partly completed, data on coking properties of the Pittsburgh district coals are now available. The results are presented in this article. When coals are selected for manufacture of metallurgical coke more factors must be considered than for any other major use, as no basic industry requires coal of such high quality and uniformity. This is particularly true in the Pittsburgh district, where blast furnace practice is based on use of cokes from high quality coals. Although it is true that inferior coals are carbonized in other industrial areas, both here and abroad, the Pittsburgh coals are the best economically obtainable in the required tonnages, even though they are not the most desirable for metallurgical use. In the general evaluation of suitability of coals for coke making, particular attention is given to: 1) reserve, 2) ash and sulfur content, 3) inherent properties of forming strong, well fused coke, 4) expanding characteristics, and 5) blending properties. Items 1 and 2 are covered in detail in the first two phases of the survey, and coking behavior is considered in items 3 through 5. Problems is Coal Evaluation: Although not all coal beds of immediate or potential use to the coking industry in the Pittsburgh area have been tested for their coking properties, enough tests have been made to permit certain generalized statements. Virtually all the coals that will be used in this district are from the Appalachian region, and except for high oxygen coals from outcrops or stripping operations, they are coking coals. Hence the evaluation problem is not so much that of distinguishing between coking and noncoking coals as attempting to measure quantitatively differences in the coking and expanding properties of the better coking coals. Quantitative differentiation between good coking coals, is complex, since differences in their coking abilities are frequently of about the same magnitude as the precision of the test. Small-scale tests are generally unsuitable for measuring these slight differences, and there has been gradual acceptance of pilot-scale tests. Test Methods Employed: All the data reported here were obtained in two units known as the Bureau of Mines-American Gas Association (BM-AGA) carbonization apparatus and the sole-heated expansion oven. The BM-AGA unit, which consists essentially of a cylindrical steel retort about 18 in. diam and 26 in. high, carbonizes enough coal (180 lb) to allow evaluation of the coke by standard methods of the American Society for Testing Materials. The BM-AGA carbonization procedure and methods of testing the gas, liquid, and solid products have been described.' Expanding characteristics of the coals were determined in the sole-heated expansion oven," wherein the coal charge, heated from the bottom only, is carbonized under a constant applied force and the linear expansion or contraction is measured. Although results in this oven have never been quantitatively correlated with the expansion behavior of coals in conventional slot ovens, they are useful in assessing expansion behavior. In this report discussion will be confined to results obtained from these pilot-scale units, although the following data are available for most coals: proximate and ultimate analyses, free swelling index, agglutinating value, and plasticity. Sources of Coals Tested: In selection of coals for coke manufacture, economic considerations are as important as quality, and each coke plant balances these two factors to meet requirements of the most satisfactory coke at lowest price. Although these economic factors may in some instances outbalance small differences in coke quality, they are usually specific to each coke plant and cannot be given in any general statement. Recognizing that coal and plant operating costs are beyond the scope of the survey, the USBM evaluates the coking quality of various coals without regard to their competitive economic status. For the purpose of this article, coals of interest to the Pittsburgh district are arbitrarily defined as

Jan 1, 1958

Electrical requirements in surface mining can be divided into three categories: main substation, plant power, and pit distribution. A main substation may vary from a 500-kva transformer supplying 480-v power to motor-driven pumps and conveyors, to a 50,000-kva substation serving a large beneficiation plant or a large strip mining operation. Regard- less of size, it should be designed with the realization that a failure of the main substation will totally shut down the operation. Location of a main substation usually is a compromise between expense of running the incoming high-voltage transmission lines and the voltage drop of long secondary runs. Based on a geological survey for immediate and future areas of excavation, the main substation should be located as near to the center of load as possible.

Jan 10, 1967

By Michael Tenenbaum, T. L. Joseph

Recent researches on the reduction of iron ores have stimulated interest in the effect of increased pressures within the iron blast furnace. From a physicochemical viewpoint, it seems logical to suppose that the increased pressure would increase the rate of reduction of the iron ore within the furnace. This increased reaction velocity would in turn be reflected in an increase in the output of the blast furnace. Any substantial effect of elevated blast-furnace pressures should accordingly be of both technical and economic interest to the operator. It is doubtful whether it is possible to increase the pressure in the stack of the blast furnace beyond two or three atmospheres without incurring severe mechanical difficulties. The benefits to be procured by elevations in pressure must therefore be restricted to pressures below two, or at the most, three atmospheres. Within this range it would seem both economically and mechanically feasible to modify the present design of the upper portion of the blast furnace to accommodate these more stringent operating conditions. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of moderate pressures on the rate of reduction of iron ore with hydrogen. The use of carbon monoxide is contemplated for later work. Although any results that are obtained in the laboratory cannot be interpreted directly in terms of large-scale commercial operations, it is possible, through such an investigation, to ascertain the order of magnitude of the effects of higher pressure. A more quantitative conception of the effects that would result from the use of increased pressures in the modern blast furnace is needed. In some recent work, Diepschlagl found that, all other factors remaining constant, the degree of reduction of iron ores was much greater when carried out under pressure. Pressures as high as seven atmospheres were used. The degree of reduction was determined from the ferrous and ferric iron in the sponge iron. Results were obtained using both carbon monoxide and hydrogen at temperatures of 400°, 600° and

Jan 1, 1939

By Michael Tenenbaum, T. L. Joseph

Recent researches on the reduction of iron ores have stimulated interest in the effect of increased pressures within the iron blast furnace. From a physicochemical viewpoint, it seems logical to suppose that the increased pressure would increase the rate of reduction of the iron ore within the furnace. This increased reaction velocity would in turn be reflected in an increase in the output of the blast furnace. Any substantial effect of elevated blast-furnace pressures should accordingly be of both technical and economic interest to the operator. It is doubtful whether it is possible to increase the pressure in the stack of the blast furnace beyond two or three atmospheres without incurring severe mechanical difficulties. The benefits to be procured by elevations in pressure must therefore be restricted to pressures below two, or at the most, three atmospheres. Within this range it would seem both economically and mechanically feasible to modify the present design of the upper portion of the blast furnace to accommodate these more stringent operating conditions. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of moderate pressures on the rate of reduction of iron ore with hydrogen. The use of carbon monoxide is contemplated for later work. Although any results that are obtained in the laboratory cannot be interpreted directly in terms of large-scale commercial operations, it is possible, through such an investigation, to ascertain the order of magnitude of the effects of higher pressure. A more quantitative conception of the effects that would result from the use of increased pressures in the modern blast furnace is needed. In some recent work, Diepschlagl found that, all other factors remaining constant, the degree of reduction of iron ores was much greater when carried out under pressure. Pressures as high as seven atmospheres were used. The degree of reduction was determined from the ferrous and ferric iron in the sponge iron. Results were obtained using both carbon monoxide and hydrogen at temperatures of 400°, 600° and

Jan 1, 1939

By Hsun Hu

NOT much data are available in the literature on textures in cross-rolled metal sheets. Among the body-centered-cubic metals, a few investigators have studied the preferred orientations developed in cross-rolled and in subsequently annealed molybdenum specimens.1-4 Semchyshen and Timmons5 onstructed complete pole figures for the cross-rolled and subsequently annealed arc-cast molybdenum. They used the conventional photographic method. Similar data on cross-rolled iron are still lacking. In view of the fundamental importance of iron as a basic metal for magnetic alloys and many industrial steels, the present investigation was undertaken in an attempt to understand more about its properties. The material selected for the present work was of high purity, and the textures were determined by the Geiger counter spectrometer technique, which permits the construction of quantitative pole figures. Experimental Procedure The material used for this investigation was NRC (National Research Corp.) high-purity, gas-free iron. The total gas content (N2 + O2 + H2) given was less than 0.026 pct, and the carbon content, less than 0.005 pct. Spectrographic analysis of a 2 in. cast ingot showed the percentage of metallic impurities as 0.0004 pct Cu, 0.0002 pct Mg, 0.001 pct Mn, 0.01 pct Ni, and 0.006 pct Si. A 1 in. thick slice was cut off from the 2 in. cast ingot. It was hot-forged at 850 °C to destroy most of the cast structure. Surface scale was removed by milling the forged piece to a size 2 in. long, 1½ in. wide, and ¾ in. thick. After normalizing at 915 °C for 15 min, the piece was alternately cold-rolled 40 pct and annealed at 750°C in hydrogen to a final thickness of 0.165 in., with a resulting uniform grain size of 0.1 mm.

Jan 1, 1958

By AIME AIME

DURING my senior year at college a professor said to his class that a student who failed to obtain a passing grade in that certain subject could not graduate with his class and that his diploma would be withheld until the failure had been removed. In that way for four years a diploma had been made to appear to us as the objective in attending college. We grew up to think that a diploma was the means of providing employment; consequently, a diploma could not be jeopardized and, heeding the professor's remarks, we resolved to put forth special efforts and make good. During one of our class periods this same professor digressed briefly from his prepared lecture in metallurgy and advised the boys to join a national technical society. He spoke with earnestness and sincerity. After class we students discussed those remarks. We concluded that the professor had not convinced us. We were already members of technical societies at school and saw no need of joining another. In fact, even up to that moment a society had never indicated to any of us that joining it had any relation to landing a job, and we were fully aware that joining another society meant paying out more money, for fees and dues, which money we then needed to buy food, clothes, and perhaps a new slide rule. Furthermore, we knew that joining a society was not part of the curriculum and, therefore, the diploma could not be withheld if we did not follow the advice. Our conclusion was that we would not join but would concentrate on our work that assured getting our diplomas.

Jan 1, 1936

By W. G. Scott

SINCE devising the incline top-slicing method in use It the Coronado mine,1 I have had numerous inquiries is to how the same system could be adapted to larger orebodies. Based upon our experience here, 1 have outlined below some suggestions for its, application to orebodies of larger size. Modifications and extensions, of course, would have to be made to take care of different dimensions and irregularities. In order that one may have a better understanding of the scheme, a brief description of the Coronado method will he given first.

Jan 11, 1917

By James A. McGurty, Walter J. Koshuba, Samuel G. Gordon, Gilbert E. Klein

ONE of the problems encountered in working with metals at elevated temperatures is the instability resulting from solid-solid diffusion at a -common interface. A determination of the nature and magnitude of this phenomenon is important as related to structural properties of materials potentially useful in high temperature applications. This paper is concerned with the solid state reaction between metallic molybdenum and beryllium at elevated temperatures. In the older literature,' there were no known inter-metallic compounds in the system Be-Mo, and the list of beryllium intermetallics was rather small. New compilations have been made by Smithells' and by Taylor," listing all the then known beryllium binary intermetallic compounds. In addition to these, some new phases have just been reported' in the system Zr-Be and some further compounds of the type MBe,3 have been currently described. The new compound MoBe,, which is reported upon in this paper differs considerably from the above mentioned MBe13 group, and will be discussed in detail. Diffusion Study The nature of the solid diffusion at a Mo-Be interface was determined by sealing a beryllium rod inside a molybdenum capsule and heating at a temperature of 2000°F' (1100°C) for 100 hr. The molybdenum capsule was fabricated from % in. swaged molybdenum rod obtained from the Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. The beryllium metal was obtained from Brush Beryllium Corp. as % in. cold-drawn rod. This material assayed 99.05 pct Be and contained as impurities 0.84 pct Be0 and 0.19 pct Be2C. The molybdenum capsule was % in. in OD x 2 in. long. To prepare it, a concentric hole 0.250 in. + 0.001 in. — 0.000 in. in diam was drilled and reamed in one end of a rod to a depth of 1 '/2 in. A 1 in. long beryllium rod 0.250 in. + 0.000 in. — 0.001 in. in diam was pressed into the molybdenum capsule. A molybdenum plug 0.250 in. & 0.001 in. in diam x 9/16 in. long was then used to seal the beryllium in place. The capsules were placed in a molybdenum resistance furnace and heated at 2000°F (1100°C) for 100 hr. On cooling, the specimens were cut and examined metallographically. Fig. 1 is a micrograph at X250 of a portion of the interface from a transverse section. Four phases are clearly visible, with sharp boundaries between them. Phase A is a section of the molybdenum capsule; phase B is the molybdenum-rich intermetallic composition MoBe,; phase C is the beryllium-rich compound MoBe13; phase D is a section of the beryllium rod. All phases were readily polished to a high metallic luster. The molybdenum-rich phase has a pronounced purple tinge. The beryllium-rich phase (C) is only slightly darker than the pure beryllium. In polarized reflected light, however, it shows striking birefringence between crossed Nicols. The black areas represent flaws or pores in the material. A small representative amount of powdered material from each of the phases was carefully removed under the microscope with a diamond tool. With this material, powder X-ray diffraction patterns were made for the identification of each phase. Table I lists the X-ray diffraction spacings and corresponding indexes characteristic of these intermetallic compounds. Synthesis To establish the formula of the new intermetallic compound, X-ray diffraction patterns were made from powders obtained from solidified melts of known composition. The syntheses were made by

Jan 1, 1952

By D. Brion, J. J. Prédali, J. Hayer

The need to grind volcanic-sedimentary ores very finely (d80 < 20 µm) so as to liberate Pb, Zn, and Cu sulfides from their pyritic gangue causes difficulties in selective flotation. The pyrite, which accounts for 70-80% of the mineral content, is insufficiently depressed by the usual pH and NaCN techniques. To determine better depressing methods, the surface evolution of pyrite during flotation was followed by ESCA spectroscopy to compare the stability range in the Eh-pH diagram. Surface iron hydroxide was formed, which is the main pyrite-depressing factor. NaCN appears to play a more restrictive part, since no ferricyanides were detected, except for very small amounts at pH 7.

Jan 1, 1980

By N. L. ALISON

MUCH has been published on the general subject of metal mine ventilation but, so far as I can discover, few specific data on selection of fan equipment to meet the requirements of a given mine ventilation problem are available. This article is intended to point out some of the more important considerations which influence the selection of such equipment. It will be assumed that the mine operator is able to determine the quantity of air which is necessary in the various parts of his mine to produce the required results and the pressure in inches water gage needed to circulate this quantity of air through the mine. There may be instances in which this assumption is not justified, but the fact remains that, with proper engineering talent, these data can be approximated sufficiently close for practical purposes.

Jan 1, 1930

By R. B. Schluter, M. M. Fine

Development of a process for winning copper from pelletized chalcocite concentrate is underway at the Bureau of Mines, Twin Cities Metallurgy Research Center. The new route from concentrate to metal by which the Bureau seeks to eliminate matte smelting and converting includes a two-stage fluid bed treatment. In the first stage, pelletized concentrate containing 32%Cu and 7% S is first desulfurized to less than 1.0% S in an oxidizing atmosphere. In the second stage, the calcine is metallized by reduction with hydrogen. Thereafter, the reduced product plus 10% CaO is routed to a smelting furnace which separates metallic copper from the gangue. Recovery and Cu content at this point are in the 97-98% range. This product must be refined to remove sulfur and iron so the metal is suitable for making wirebar copper. An important feature of the process is fine concentrate pelletization prior to fluid-bed treatment. This permits a shorter reaction time, a decrease in dusting and easier subsequent processing. In a broad sense, sulfide copper pyrometallurgy is a batch sequence in three separate vessels, i.e., a reverberatory furnace to yield matte copper, a converter to produce blister copper and another reverberatory furnace to produce fire-refined copper. Matte-smelting has remained relatively unchanged since it became a universal practice some 50 to 60 years ago. It is now serving a wide range of smelter feed materials, but many concentrates are not immediately amenable to the process. There are abundant copper resources which lack sufficient sulfur and other elements lo sustain the full chemistry involved in matte-smelting. This necessitates adding sulfur to make the product fit the process, and usually none of the sulfur is recovered. From the standpoint of pollution alone, the development of a smelting technique for low-sulfur concentrates not requiring the addition of sulfur would be a significant gain.

Jan 1, 1970

By Haakon Styri

In discussion of Dr. Fitterer&apos;s paper on electrolytic separation of slag inclusions, some results from experiments on electrolyzing high-carbon steels at the SKF Research Laboratory were given. l We had been working for a number of years on chemical methods of separating the inclusions but could not find any solvent that would dissolve the steel without attacking some of the inclusions, particularly the sulfides in which we were mostly interested at the time, nor any that would dissolve all sulfide or silica in filings as fine as 300 mesh without attacking the iron. Electrolytic methods had also been tried without any real progress until we learned from the Bureau of Mines about the use of the collodion membrane around the anode. Our early difficulties were to some extent different from those of the Bureau of Mines, perhaps because of experimenting on steels of higher carbon content, but most of our difficulties were of the same nature as those of the Bureau. Formation of large quantities of basic hydroxides was traced to the use of impure and oxidized ferrous sulfate. To protect from oxidation from the atmosphere during electrolysis, after purer chemicals were obtained, a thin layer, 54 in. or less, of molten paraffin was poured over the surface of the cathode liquid, where it solidified. It was found desirable also to hold the cathode chamber slightly acid by initial addition of 0.1 per cent acid (sulfuric or hydrochloric) to prevent precipitation of the hydroxide. This acidity would decrease gradually and the cathode chamber would become neutral before the end of the electrolyzing. The increase in acidity in the anode chamber during our early experiments had appeared to cause attack of the precipitated sulfides in the residue, which originally was analyzed by volumetric method for sulfur, and for this reason a 10 per cent sodium citrate solution was substituted for the sulfate in the anode chamber. With the use of the more reliable Eschka method for sulfur determination (as in coke), there was however no serious attack on the sulfides in the anode chamber with a variety of different liquids, as shown in Tables 2 and 4. The Eschka method gives a higher sulfur value than

Jan 1, 1933

By C. E. Birchenall, C L. McCabe

IN attempting to extend vapor pressure measurements of the type previously reported by Schadel and Birchenall1 for silver and by Schadel, Derge, and Birchenall&apos; for silver-silicon to other systems, it was observed that the materials melted at indicated temperatures 10" to 15" below their accepted melting points. Further investigation revealed that the thermocouple readings were in error due to appreciable conduction losses along the reference thermocouple wires. If the wire diameter of the reference couple inserted into the Knudsen cell was reduced, the correction for the indicating couple changed in a manner tending to explain the melting behavior. When extrapolated to zero wire diameter from measurements with several reference thermocouples of different wire thickness, the melting point of silver then agreed with the indicated temperature at which silver chips were observed to coalesce into a sphere. Approximately the same calibration was given by observing the melting of small wires of silver or gold in the Knudsen cell connected in series with an ammeter, where the leads into the cell were very fine in order to minimize heat conduction. Unfortunately neither of these methods seemed to yield a sufficiently precise temperature calibration to match the apparent precision of the other aspects of the vapor pressure measurement. It was decided. therefore, to redetermine the vapor pressure of silver in another setup under conditions permitting precise temperature measurement. The vapor pressure of pure silver could then be used as an internal calibration of temperature in the older unit in making runs on alloys. This has been done; the present report is a correction to ref. 1. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, shown in Fig. 1, was very similar to that employed by Harteck,3 except that the orifice sizes were smaller and the residual pressure in the vacuum system was probably much lower. A small, sharp-edged hole, nearly circular in shape, was ground into the rounded end of a quartz tube. The orifice area was then measured by tracing the image at known magnification on graph paper and counting the squares enclosed. The silver specimen was sealed into the tube to make a Knudsen cell. A tantalum jacket surrounding the cell served to increase the uniformity of temperature. This assembly was placed in the bottom of a long quartz tube with an inside diameter of about 1 in., which was connected to the vacuum system through a ground joint sealed with picein wax well removed from the furnace. A thermocouple tube inserted through the top of the vacuum line reached into the tantalum jacket so that the thermocouple junction was immediately adjacent to the Knudsen cell except for the protection tube wall. A resistance furnace could be raised to cover the end of the quartz tube containing the cell in such a way that the cell was in the uniform temperature zone 13 in. from the end of the furnace. An ionization gage was included in the vacuum system in the cold lines of wide diameter, immediately beyond the ground joint. The vacuum system consisted of a mercury one-stage diffusion pump, backed by a Welch duo-seal mechanical pump. The pumps were separated from the reactor chamber by a dry ice trap. The ionization gage always read less than 10-5 mm Hg after initial outgassing and before each run was started. Each newly filled Knudsen cell was evacuated at high temperature overnight before the first weighing was made. The cell was returned to the system, heated for a measured time at constant temperature, cooled, and reweighed. The heating and cooling times were quite short since the hot furnace was raised to receive the reactor at the beginning of the run and removed again at the end. The tube heated or cooled quickly. The total mass loss was attributed entirely to effusion of silver vapor from the quartz cell, since empty quartz cells maintained constant mass through similar heating cycles. The vaporized silver condensed on the cold walls of the quartz tube extending above the furnace. Earlier studies in the induction heated unit had shown that the same vapor pressure was found for silver, whether the silver was in contact with the tantalum metal cell or with porcelain or quartz liners. The Pt-Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple was calibrated against a secondary standard of the same material and found to agree with the published tables. Always operating in air at temperatures below 100O°C,

Jan 1, 1954

By John Hillman

Reconstruction of the British mining industry began shortly after nationalization in 1947 and continued until well into the 1950s with the support of the government. This support diminished as plentiful supplies of cheap oil from the Middle East made many coal mines uneconomic. The planned rundown which followed was foreshadowed in the 1965 White Paper which outlined financial measures to speed the closure of uneconomic collieries. The decline appeared likely to continue into the 21st century as the role of coal in UK energy requirements became less and less significant. This policy was well on course in 1973 when the oil crisis led to a complete reappraisal of the position. A government examination in 1974 of the coal industry then supported the National Coal Board&apos;s general strategy of major capital investment as set out in its &apos; Plan for Coal &apos; .1

Jan 11, 1979

By D. Harrington

ONE of the main functions of the United States Bureau of Mines is to obtain and disseminate information that will promote safety in and around mines, and the health and safety of employees engaged in mining. Serious health and safety conditions arising out&apos; of contamination of air in metal mines by dust, fumes from explosives and fires, and absorption of oxygen by timber and other causes, led the Bureau of Mines to cooperate with the United States Public Health Service in the study of dust occurrence and ventilation in metal mines in various parts of the country. Dr. A. J. Lanza, of the U. S. Public Health Service, and Edwin Higgins, mining engineer of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, in 1915, made a detailed study in the mines around Joplin, Mo., their reports1 are now available. In 1916, 1917, and 1918, a similar study was made in the Butte, Mont., region by Doctor Lanza and D. Harrington, mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines; the reports of this investigation will be available soon. In 1919, the study was continued in some of the Arizona mines by D. Harrington, of the Bureau of Mines, and G. E. McElroy and Dr. R. A. Koronski, of the U. S. Public Health Service, the underground work being completed in June, 1920; these reports are now being prepared for publication. In the spring of 1920, the scope of the work was extended, with D. Harrington in charge as supervising mining engineer, and short studies made in the mines of the Coeur d&apos; Alenes in Idaho and around Oatman, Ariz. It is hoped soon to extend the work into mines of California, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota, and ultimately to other states should the mining companies be willing to cooperate.

Jan 2, 1921

By Henry Fernald

THE accounting system or bookkeeping methods of any company are principally the concern of that company and of those who are in control of its affairs. Its published financial report is, however, primarily intended for those who are not already fully informed regarding its operations and finances. Whatever may be the advantages of standardization of accounting and bookkeeping methods, it must be admitted that a company has a certain right to handle its accounts and keep its books and records in whatever manner may seem to it best adapted to its affairs, even though such methods may differ materially from those generally adopted by others. In its financial reports it should not, however, either ask or expect that the statements it makes or the terms which it uses will be given in its case a meaning and interpretation different from that which they are ordinarily considered to have in similar reports and statements of other companies. The particular form and arrangement of such reports is a matter concerning which there may be much difference of opinion. It is of little importance whether current assets come first or last in the Balance Sheet, but it is important that there should not be included under this designation any items which are not properly current assets within the generally accepted meaning of that term. The extent to which stockholders or others interested are to be made acquainted with the full details of a company&apos;s business is a question which the proper authorities must in each case decide. It should, however, be recognized that there are certain facts regarding a mining com-pany which must be set forth in a financial statement if it is fully to cover the conditions and affairs of the company. For example, a financial, statement which does not include or is not accompanied by a statement, of the ore reserves of the company does not fully set forth its financial condition. This is true whether the absence of such a statement of ore reserves is because it is not desired to make public the figures or whether it is because the ore reserves themselves are not definitely known, or accurately measured.

Jan 1, 1928