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ALBERT SAUVEUR, Chairman. A. A. STEVENSON, Vice-Chairman. HERBERT M. BOYLSTON, Secretary, Abbot Bldg., Cambridge, Mass. John Birkinbine, William Kelly, J. S. Unger, William H. Blauvelt, Charles Kirchhoff, Felix A. Vogel, James Gayley, Richard Moldenke, Leonard Waldo, Henry D. Hibbard, Joseph W. Richards, William R. Walker, Henry M. Howe, C. F. W. Rys, William R. Webster, Robert W. Hunt, E. Gybbon Spilsbury, Frederick W. Wood. J. E. Johnson, Jr., The innovation of a special meeting under the auspices of the Iron and Steel Committee was well justified, if we accept as a criterion the number of papers presented at the meeting held on Oct. 16 and 17 in New York and the attendance at that meeting. Twenty-four papers were read, and most of these were widely discussed orally, while doubtless the written discussions will be even larger in extent. Discussions will be received up to Dec. 1, 1913. The attendance at the meeting of 106 members and 75 guests is an evidence of the wide anti growing interest in the Institute of men interested chiefly in iron and steel. It is especially interesting to note this large attendance at a meeting where very little of a social nature was introduced into the program. An informal dinner for the men at the Engineers' Club closed the meeting. At this dinner were present about 70 members and guests. One of the Vice-Chairmen and the Secretary of the new Committee on Petroleum and Gas told of the important plans in prospect of that Committee. Brief impromptu speeches by a considerable number of the members and guests were enjoyed. Professor Marburg reiterated his previous assertion that he believed that the Institute and the American Society for Testing Materials, as well as some of the other technical societies, were all fighting for one good cause; that there was room in the field for all of these societies with their various points of view; and that they should march shoulder to shoulder. The success of this dinner was due largely to the efforts of Mr. Johnson who had the affair in charge.

Jan 11, 1913

By B. Post, F. W. Glaser

Three borides of zirconium have been reported: ZrB,l ZrB2,2,3 and ZrB12, 4 The phase relationships, ranges of stability, and some physical properties of these compounds are described. THE zirconium borides differ considerably from one another, particularly with respect to their relative stabilities at high temperatures in the presence of carbon.4,5 ZrB2 is extremelv stable at all temperatures (to the melting point) in contact with carbon. Both ZrB and ZrB12 tend to decompose at elevated temperatures when carbon is present in excess of about 0.5 pct. ZrB forms ZrB2 and ZrC, and ZrB12 decomposes to form ZrB2 and a boron-carbide phase. In the ZrB12 preparation, boron present in excess of that needed to form ZrB2 reacts with carbon, if present, to form carbides, in preference to forming the higher boride. Similar instability of borides, other than diborides of the transition metals of the 4th and 5th groups of the periodic table, has been reported.5,6 special precautions had, therefore, to be taken to minimize carbon contamination in the preparation of ZrB and ZrB12. Reactions below 1400°C were carried out by heating powdered mixtures of zirconium hydride and boron in quartz tubes in a hydrogen atmosphere. For temperatures above 1400°C, reactions were carried out in graphite molds. Carbon contamination from the molds was minimized by employing extremely rapid heating rates to reduce carbon diffusion into the body of the specimen, and by subsequent "shaving" of sample surfaces that had been in contact with the graphite dies. A heating rate of about 2000°C per min was obtained by heating the dies (by direct conduction), using a current of 40,000 amp. Although this type of heating cycle apparently allowed little time for "homogenization," close approximations to equilibrium conditions were usually obtained as a result of the very strongly exothermic reactions between zirconium hydride and boron at elevated temperatures. Reproducibility of results in repeated runs under varying conditions was taken as a reasonable indication that equilibrium conditions had been effectively achieved. Quenching was accomplished by rapidly immersing the entire die, containing the reaction products, in water. Specimens could also be cooled at controlled rates by adjustment of the rate of flow of water through the water-cooled copper electrodes in contact with the graphite dies.

Jan 1, 1954

By Robert A. Colten, Frederick C. Hull, Robert F. Mehl

It is known that pearlite forms from austenite by a process of nucleation and growth, and that the rate of formation of pearlite may be described by a rate of nucleation and a rate of growth.l,2 The manner in which these two quantities operate to produce the observed isothermal reaction curve has been analyzed in a paper published in I939.3 Two types of process were described: (I) that in which nucleation occurs at the grain boundaries of the parent phase, with the nodules growing toward the centers of the grains, initially as hemispheres and then after impingement as roughly radial-columnar structures; and (2) that in which nucleation occurs generally, with the nodules growing to full spheres until impingement with other growing nodules restricts growth. Both cases are met in the formation of pearlite from austenite (Fig. I);2,4 the former, occurring near the knee of the S-curve, has been named "grain-boundary transformation," and the latter, occurring at temperatures near Ael, has been named "group-nodule transformation." In developing our knowledge of the factors that determine the rate of formation of pearlite from austenite, it is important1,2 to obtain data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite. Such data, when obtained near the knee of the S-curve, will furnish information of use in understanding the factors that affect hardenabil-ity; when obtained at higher temperatures, such data will be useful in understanding the behavior of steels that during heat-treatment react to pearlite.2 It is the purpose of this paper to present data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite in dependence upon composition, grain size, temperature, and the degree of homogeneity of the parent austenite. The studies are restricted chiefly to plain carbon commercial steels." Previous Data on Rate of nucleation and rate of Growth Data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite have been published by Scheil and Lange-Weise,5 by Mirkin and Blanter,6,7 by Meh1,l and by Dorn, De Garmo and Flanigan.2, It is difficult to interpret the data, for in most cases too little information is given on austenitizing temperatures and times, the state of homogeneity of the austenite (presence or absence of carbide, etc.), austenite grain size, and mode of formation of pearlite at the temperatures given. Except for the approximations of Mehl and the work of Dorn, austenite grain size was disregarded, though it is well known

Jan 1, 1942

By Robert A. Colten, Frederick C. Hull, Robert F. Mehl

It is known that pearlite forms from austenite by a process of nucleation and growth, and that the rate of formation of pearlite may be described by a rate of nucleation and a rate of growth.l,2 The manner in which these two quantities operate to produce the observed isothermal reaction curve has been analyzed in a paper published in I939.3 Two types of process were described: (I) that in which nucleation occurs at the grain boundaries of the parent phase, with the nodules growing toward the centers of the grains, initially as hemispheres and then after impingement as roughly radial-columnar structures; and (2) that in which nucleation occurs generally, with the nodules growing to full spheres until impingement with other growing nodules restricts growth. Both cases are met in the formation of pearlite from austenite (Fig. I);2,4 the former, occurring near the knee of the S-curve, has been named "grain-boundary transformation," and the latter, occurring at temperatures near Ael, has been named "group-nodule transformation." In developing our knowledge of the factors that determine the rate of formation of pearlite from austenite, it is important1,2 to obtain data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite. Such data, when obtained near the knee of the S-curve, will furnish information of use in understanding the factors that affect hardenabil-ity; when obtained at higher temperatures, such data will be useful in understanding the behavior of steels that during heat-treatment react to pearlite.2 It is the purpose of this paper to present data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite in dependence upon composition, grain size, temperature, and the degree of homogeneity of the parent austenite. The studies are restricted chiefly to plain carbon commercial steels." Previous Data on Rate of nucleation and rate of Growth Data on the rate of nucleation and the rate of growth of pearlite have been published by Scheil and Lange-Weise,5 by Mirkin and Blanter,6,7 by Meh1,l and by Dorn, De Garmo and Flanigan.2, It is difficult to interpret the data, for in most cases too little information is given on austenitizing temperatures and times, the state of homogeneity of the austenite (presence or absence of carbide, etc.), austenite grain size, and mode of formation of pearlite at the temperatures given. Except for the approximations of Mehl and the work of Dorn, austenite grain size was disregarded, though it is well known

Jan 1, 1942

By S. F. Bartram, G. A. Chase

COMPUTED X-ray diffraction powder patterns of YNi3, YNi5, and CbBe3 are available on request from either author.

Jan 1, 1968

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Jan 1, 1938

By Friedrich Wellmer

INTRODUCTION The Ramsbeck Pb/Zn Mine is located in the northern Sauerland area of West Germany, 150 km N of Frankfurt and 120 km E of Cologne. This is a vein deposit which has been worked from the middle of the 19th century to 1974. About 15 million tons of ore were mined and milled. The ore district contains several vein deposits and is roughly 14 km in length and 4 to 5 km in width. The host rocks are strata of Lower Middle Devonian age. The strata strike 60° to 70° NE and where overturned have a dip steeper than the veins (Fig. 1). The galena-sphalerite mineralization is in quartz veins, which are mineralized where they cut the "Main Ramsbeck Quartzite" horizon, a very competent host rock. Vein structures strike at 65º to 75º, dip about 20° to 25º SE and cut the quartzite at approximately 60 m intervals. The main or "steep veins" within each vein structure dip at 10º to 80° SE with an average of 30° and are offset by thrust faults dipping 5º N to 40° S with an average of 5º S. "Flat veins" usually weakly mineralized occur in the thrust faults between the "steep veins", thus forming the overall step-like vein structure. The mineralization is very irregular and changes a- long strike and down dip. It consists of thin veins of pure sphalerite and galena with quartz and pyrite. The thicknesses of the pure sphalerite and galena veins

Jan 1, 1977

By R. W. Raymond

THE absence of a convenient glossary of terms connected with mining and metallurgy has long been felt by the general public. It is to meet this want, not to furnish a technical manual for experts, that the following glossary has been prepared. It originated in an attempt on my part to revise for publication the manuscript of a compilation prepared from the appendix of Yale's work on Mining Titles and one or two other sources, to serve as an appendix to a new work on mining law, about to be published by Mr. H. N. Copp, of Washington, D. C. This revision soon assumed, contrary to my original intention, the proportions of a reconstruction; and with the consent of Mr. Copp, and for the purpose of receiving from my fellow-members valuable aid, I presented my still incomplete work as a paper at the Lake Superior meeting of the Institute, inviting from any quarter suggestions of new terms or better definitions to be incorporated in the glossary before its final publication. This invitation was so widely and generously responded to, that I cannot undertake to make in this place individual acknowledgments to those members of the Institute, and professional colleagues outside of it, who have favored me with assistance and advice. The labor bestowed upon this paper since its presentation at the Lake Superior meeting has considerably exceeded that of its first preparation, as may be inferred from its great increase in length, as well as the numerous alterations which it has undergone. It could certainly be still further enlarged and improved; but I think a comparison of it with any of the glossaries of the same class now in print will show, at least, that it is an advance upon what has hitherto been accomplished. 1 shall be grateful, however, for further criticisms and suggestions; and I purpose at some future time to incorporate in a supplementary paper the results of such additional collections or corrections as I may obtain. To avoid too great prolixity, I adopted at the outset the following general principles: 1. To include the most important technical words and phrases used by American miners and metallurgists, or occurring in English books and periodicals.

Jan 1, 1881

Established as a Division February 22, 1928 J J Golden, Chairman M Tenenbaum, Past Chairman Gerhard Derge, Chairman-Elect R W Shearman, Secretary-Treasurer AIME, 29 West 39th Street New York 18, N Y

Jan 1, 1960

On June 1, the offices of the Engineering Division of the National Research Council were moved from Washington to the sixteenth floor of the Engineering Societies Building, 29 W. 39th St., New York City.

Jan 7, 1919

By F. Cadena, Fred C. Bond, Walter L. Maxon

Grinding is one of the major problems in present-day milling practice, and in many cases, it represents one of the main items of expense. It becomes necessary from time to time, to compare grinding practice in one plant with that in another plant, and in making such comparisons, it would be very desirable were there available accepted standards of grinding resistance for the materials involved. Such a set of grinding constants would also be of considerable value in planning new grinding installations. There have been some tests published, notably those of Lennox,' which have been generally cited as a basis for such comparisons. Most of the tests made have been based upon open-circuit grinding, in which a weighed sample of the ore was crushed to pass a certain mesh, and was then ground under certain conditions, either wet or dry. Grinding was continued until a certain desired fineness was attained, and the comparisons based on the grinding time, or the samples were all ground for a certain specified length of time and comparison based upon the screen analysis of the products. Such methods have been acceptable where the ore was to be ground in open circuit. However, in modern milling practice, many grinding problems involve closed circuits wherein the oversize returns to the mill and a large circulating load builds up. A method of testing that does not take the circulating load into consideration might yield results quite different from those to be expected in practice, because the minerals in the ore that offer maximum resistance to grinding will accumulate in the circulating load up to an equilibrium value. Thus the nature of the ore charge in the mill at any instant may differ greatly from that of the new feed, with a consequent error in the rate of grinding determined by such a method. For example, let it be assumed that an ore to be tested consists of equal parts of difficult grinding mineral and easy grinding mineral. This is to be compared with an ore used as a standard, and consisting of minerals which are all of about the same grindability. If a comparison

Jan 1, 1935

By W. R. Ingalls

THE manufacture of zinc oxide directly from the ore is one of the most important contributions that America has made to the metallurgy of zinc. Heretofore, this has been clone chiefly for the production of zinc and zinc-lead pigments, and the method has been known as the Wetherill process. While that term may properly be applied to the process for pigment manufacture, it must be recognized that the principles of the process are of far wider application; and that there is going to be wider application in the immediate future is more than an expectation. I have in mind the use of the process as a method of igneous concentration. Igneous concentration is broader in its scope than the Wetherill process, for it may be done in the blast smelting furnace, or in the reverberatory, or by other means. Igneous concentration is a rather clumsy term, and I prefer to introduce the new generic expression of "zinc burning," which is convenient, readily understood and precise, for in all cases the zinc oxide is reduced to metallic form, is volatilized and is then burned to zinc oxide, the latter happening, however, after the zinc has been separated from the residue of the ore. As previously indicated, zinc burning may be done either in blast or reverberatory smelting, the gangue of the ore being scorified and drawn off as slag, while other metallic minerals are reduced to matte or metal. Such processes have heretofore been practised on fairly large scales. Thus, F. L. Bartlett smelted zinc ores at Canyon City, Colo., in specially designed blast furnaces, wherein the smelting column was only about 18 in. high. Such a limitation was necessary in order to prevent zinky accretions in the shaft of the furnace, which in course of time would have interfered with its operation. In running the Bartlett furnaces it was easy to bar them off, indeed, to poke right down into the smelting zone, and keep things going freely. Some iron blast furnaces in Virginia and the spiegeleisen furnaces of the New Jersey Zinc Co. afford other examples of zinc burning in blast-furnace smelting, although in their cases the happening is incidental rather than a primary purpose.

Jan 9, 1917

By M. T. Hepworth, R. Schuhmann

Hydrogen solubility measurements were made on a series of Ti-O alloys, and a portion of the 800°C isotherm for the Ti-O-H system was determined. Activities of oxygen and titanium were calculated from the experimentally measured activities of hydrogen, using ternary Gibbs-Duhem integrations. The data were extrapolated to obtain thermo-dynamic properties of binary Ti-O solutions. The thermodynamic properties of a Ti-0 solid solutions thus determined were compared with properties predicted from interstitial models. The Gibbs-Duhem equation, long used to calculate activities in binary systems, has been extended. recently to ternary systems.1"3 When the activity of one component in a ternary system is known as a function of composition, the activities of the other two components can be calculated from that of the first by an integration procedure, provided certain restrictions are observed on the path of integration. Often the activity of one component in a ternary system can be measured readily, while the activities of the other two components are difficult to measure. Gibbs-Duhem calculations are especially applicable to such systems. The further possibility arises of developing a new and indirect approach to activity measurement in binary systems. The proposed new method for binary systems consists of adding varying amounts of a third component whose thermodynamic behavior is easily measured. The activity of this added component is determined experimentally as a function of composition. Then the activities of the two components of the original binary system are calculated by Gibbs-Duhem integrations and extrapolations. For the work to be described in this paper, the Ti-0-H system was selected as a promising system for evaluating this approach. Investigations of the Ti-H system have shown that the activity of hydrogen can be measured precisely with little difficulty. Pure titanium transforms from a low-temperature a form (hcp) to a higher-temperature /3 firm (bcc) at 882.5"~ The phase transformation occurs in a temperature range where hydrogen pressures are easily measured. Also, the diffusivity of hydrogen at temperatures above 600" or 700"~ is large enough that equilibrium can be reached within a reasonable time.

Jan 1, 1962

Butte Meeting. It is expected that the technical program of the Butte meeting will be a sufficient attraction to draw to that point every member who can possibly get away long enough to attend. Attention is particularly called to the papers already sent in by the Committee on Precious and Base Metals, and the papers which they are undertaking to secure for the meeting, as published on pp. ix and x. In addition to these papers, and in addition to those published in this Bulletin, the office of the Institute already has in hand several papers, which will be published at an early date, and presented in abstract and discussed at the meeting. Of the discussion of these papers a special feature is being made. Therefore, let every member come to Butte who can do so. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Institute will also be held at Butte. In the May Bulletin, we stated for the information of members the railway excursion rates for two suggested tours in connection with the meeting, which included Glacier Park before the meeting and Yellowstone after it. The itineraries there given and rates quoted were planned and offered by the railway agent bureaus in New York. Circulars have been sent to the members of the Institute by A. E. Vaughan & Co., a tourist trip agency of New York City, containing details of tours nearly identical with those outlined in the Bulletin, and quoting rates covering, the expenses of the whole trip. Members can easily compare these rates with the rates offered by the railroads, and published in the last Bulletin. In order that no misapprehension may exist, the statement is here made that the Institute and its officers have no connection whatever with Vaughan & Co.'s proposals and that any such tours will be strictly personal matters between said company and the members of the Institute who take them. Nevertheless, the Board of Directors calls to the attention of members the circumstance that tours such as these will afford an opportunity for members to travel together to the meeting.

Jan 6, 1913

By Joseph E. Pouge

For the purposes of this analysis it is assumed that the petroleum industry has undergone a basic economic change whereby the degree of competition present in its operation is reduced by the collective control of production brought about by statme-directed proration. Formerly freely competitive in all its parts, the industry is now fully competitive only in its marketing, its manufacturing and transportation, its search for new oil supplies, its drilling operations (with some qualifications), and its capital movements. The practical problem before the industry in its new status is the maintenance of equilibrium, with planned control of crude-oil production (proration) substituted for competition and price as the regulatory mechanism at one point in the supply-demand system. It is further assumed that proration has become so firmly established in the legal and operating framework of the business that it may be looked upon as an institution. The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the effect of unregulated drilling upon the orderly functioning of proration. Economic Structure of Petroleum Industry The economic structure of the petroleum industry, under the current form of proration, may be visualized, in simplified form, as shown in Fig. 1. This diagram is designed to indicate the existing mechanism whereby supply and demand are equated. Demand is created largely by conditions external to the oil business, whereas supply is conditioned by a series of stages incidental to the discovery, development and production of a resource. The time elements involved in changes in demand and supply are of an entirely different order, the demand factor being much more flexible and "quicker" than the supply factors. It should be observed, also, that the position of price, formerly between "demand" and "supply," has been moved to a sidewise location where it still affects demand but influences current supply only through its bearing upon proration, drilling and search. Proration has been substituted for price as a throttle at the well head, but at this point only. The mechanism now works in this fashion: a declining price stimulates demand and the

Jan 1, 1936

By Joseph E. Pouge

For the purposes of this analysis it is assumed that the petroleum industry has undergone a basic economic change whereby the degree of competition present in its operation is reduced by the collective control of production brought about by statme-directed proration. Formerly freely competitive in all its parts, the industry is now fully competitive only in its marketing, its manufacturing and transportation, its search for new oil supplies, its drilling operations (with some qualifications), and its capital movements. The practical problem before the industry in its new status is the maintenance of equilibrium, with planned control of crude-oil production (proration) substituted for competition and price as the regulatory mechanism at one point in the supply-demand system. It is further assumed that proration has become so firmly established in the legal and operating framework of the business that it may be looked upon as an institution. The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the effect of unregulated drilling upon the orderly functioning of proration. Economic Structure of Petroleum Industry The economic structure of the petroleum industry, under the current form of proration, may be visualized, in simplified form, as shown in Fig. 1. This diagram is designed to indicate the existing mechanism whereby supply and demand are equated. Demand is created largely by conditions external to the oil business, whereas supply is conditioned by a series of stages incidental to the discovery, development and production of a resource. The time elements involved in changes in demand and supply are of an entirely different order, the demand factor being much more flexible and "quicker" than the supply factors. It should be observed, also, that the position of price, formerly between "demand" and "supply," has been moved to a sidewise location where it still affects demand but influences current supply only through its bearing upon proration, drilling and search. Proration has been substituted for price as a throttle at the well head, but at this point only. The mechanism now works in this fashion: a declining price stimulates demand and the

Jan 1, 1936

By J. G. Hall

Introduction When one thinks about world metal economics today, it seems to me he must go beyond the traditional factors such as exploration, discovery, economic feasibility of development, management, labor, and the application of technology. These elements have been and will continue to be very important, of course, in making available the resources that experts believe the world will require during the remainder of this century. There are, however, some new forces as well as new or different emphasis on some of the old factors that could materially affect the development of the world metal mining industries. For example, in my own company two of the most significant considerations affecting our economics today have to do with foreign political decisions and with environmental concerns here in the U. S. -both of which play a far more significant role in our economic considerations than they did as recently as 10 years ago. After a brief look at some historical data and some projections of probable future demands for the world's major metals, I shall then identify and comment upon some of the factors that I believe will have an increasing impact on the future of the economics of our industries. I do not have any magic solutions to the problems we will face; nevertheless, we in the mining industries of the world are going to have to cope with these matters and find satisfactory answers to the problems they will create. The Past Although the age in which we live has been described as the atomic age, the space age and the computer age, we are, in fact, living in a metals age, and we have lived in a metals age for a very long time. The discovery of copper smelting, for example, is placed at about 4000 B.C. Gold was used in a primitive way before that. Other metals - lead, silver, tin, iron and mercury - were discovered and used before 2000 B.C. In all probability, we will be dependent upon metals beyond the vision of anyone living today. In industrialized nations of the world, man's mode of living is based to a great extent on metals, and it is extremely unlikely

Jan 1, 1971

By Benj. E. Shackelford

THE present paper is concerned with typical temperature values experienced in lamp-filament measurements as made on regular factory and engineering products. It deals with the relations existing between temperature, efficiency, lamp size, and life of incandescent lamps, insofar as they affect the rating of the product and its use by the individual consumer. The temperatures measured lie in that range covered only by the general method of radiation pyrometry, as opposed to direct methods used under contact conditions. The range of temperatures ordinarily experienced extends from about 2125° K., for the now almost extinct carbon-filament lamp, to 3200° K. for the comparatively new tungsten-filament motion-picture lamp. Most of the more common sizes of tungsten lamps have temperatures ranging from 2500 to 3000° K. Because of the high temperatures involved and the relatively small area of the sources used, we are practically restricted to two methods of measurement, both of which depend on the light radiated front the filament. The first and more usual method is that of the Morse pyrometer, dependent on the variation in temperature of the amount of light of a given color range yielded by the filament. In this case, the measured temperature is that of a small part of the incandescent body, that is, the part which is focused on the comparison filament. The second method, known usually in this country as that of "color match" and in England as "color-identity" is based on the color of the total light yielded by the filament, the comparison being facilitated by the use of an ordinary photometer- head. A more definite idea of the temperatures involved in the case of filaments of various vacuum and gas-filled lamps, is given by Fig. 1. The size of the lamp, in watts, is plotted along the horizontal axis and the temperature of the filament is plotted along the vertical axis. The lamps concerned are regular product, rated for 1000 hr. life. The temperature values for the old 16-candlepower carbon lamp and the new motion-picture lamp are shown by the cross and circle respectively.

Jan 9, 1919

By L. Sturkey

Quantitative X-ray diffraction studies of the precipitation of thorium in a Mg + 3.3 Th + 0.51 Zr alloy (HK31A) in both the as-cast and cold-worked states show that the precipitation may be described by f = 1 - e(t/T)1/2 over most of the aging period. The effects of cold work and temperature changes are determined. The precipitation of tile equilibrium Mg-Th compotund is Preceded by the formation of a transition phase of higher thorium content, with the cowposition Mg2Th and with a Laves-phase structure. Thorium-containing alloys of magnesium have assumed considerable commercial importance, especially for applications requiring exposures to temperatures greater than 500°F for appreciable lengths of time. The principal commercial wrought alloys in this system are HK31A, containing nominally 3 pet by weight thorium and about 0.7 pet by weight zirconium: and HM21A. containing 2 pet by weight thorium and 1 pet by weight manganese. These two alloys retain a high level of properties even after exposures of 100 hr at 600°F, while the more common alloys containing aluminum and zinc are badly overaged by these conditions. Therefore, in order to obtain some insight into the mechanism by which thorium produces high temperature stability in these wrought alloys, it seems desirable to investi- gate the effect of temperature and mechanical working on the precipitation processes involving thorium. Since the scattering power of a thorium atom for CuKa X-ray radiation is about ten times that for a magnesium atom, the magnesium alloys containing about 3 pet by weight thorium are ideal for quantitative measurements by X-ray diffraction of the amount of Mg-Th compound present at any time. Such quantitative measurements should be of theoretical importance in the study of the effects of time, temperature, and deformation on precipitation and precipitation hardening. Of the two commercial alloys, HM21A and HK31A, the latter is certainly the most suitable for study: In the Mg-Th-Zr2 system, only Mg-Th compounds need be considered, since no ternary compounds or binary Th-Zr3 and Mg-Zr4 compounds exist. The Zr is added to this alloy as a grain refining agent and probably plays a secondary role in precipitation. On the other hand. thorium and manganese form many

Jan 1, 1961

By Chester N. Truax

Still another shadow was cast over coal's largest market-the electric utilities-when President Johnson signed into law the Federal Clean Air Act of 1967. Air pollution-sulfur reduction-was thus brought into sharper focus as one of the central problems of the coal industry. Industry executives testified in both Houses of Congress to enable the lawmakers to develop a workable and economic law. The new legislation calls for the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to establish air control regions. After the regions are outlined the Department will publish air quality criteria on pollutants. Anticipating this legislation, the coal and utility industries have for the last several years been involved in extensive research programs to develop solutions to the air pollution problem. Even though the coal industry has been under strong attack for its part in adding contaminants to the atmosphere, it is by no means the major contributor.

Jan 2, 1968