24 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1911. 



samples, is affected by the tcinperaturc or duration of the 



vulcanizing process. 



FOKM OK S.\MI'I,KS. 



While the broad question of testing samples of rubber com- 

 pounds or of finished products is thus dealt with in the interesting 

 paper under review, the form of the samples to be tested is also 

 treated in much detail, being further elucidated by tabulated 

 results of tests fecently made by the Bureau. 



In dealing with the general question of testing rings or slabs 

 it is stated that while ring tests are possibly not adapted for al! 

 cases, as long as there is nothing better, it seems advisable to 

 continue experiments in that direction, and thus to collect 

 experiences on the subject of rubber testing. 



The recent tests of the Bureau were largely directed to the 

 determination of various points affecting ring types. From the 

 results obtained it would seem that the stamping out of sample 

 rings is prefer.able to cutting them out, as it ensures uniformity 

 of size, being also more economical. In this connection the 

 adoption of a standard form of ring is urged, of uniform width, 

 thickness and diameter, the results of tests being varied by the 

 dimensions of the samples tested. 



In conclusion, the authors of the paper remark : 



"It will be a task deserving of thanks, if the Committee on 

 Rubber Testing, recently appointed by the German .Association 

 for Testing Technical Materials, will devote full attention to the 

 questions here discussed ; particularly as to the dimensions of 

 samples. That Committee will be all the more in a position to 

 do so, as its composition affords it the facility of supplementing 

 technical experiments by the practical tests of its members in 

 the rubber industry." 



Meanwhile, it is of interest to note that the Gross-Lichtcrfelde 

 Bureau contemplates pursuing its tests and investigations upon 

 the subject of rubber testing. 



Arrangements have also been perfected for the keeping of 

 rubber samples under various conditions, in moist and dry places, 

 at normal and other temperatures, in darkness and light, with a 

 view to ascertain the changes to which the samples of different 

 compoundings and different degrees of vulcanization are subject 

 under the above-mentioned conditions. 



DIRIGIBLES 77 YEARS AGO. 



While it is a fact that the dirigible never before occupied so 

 much space in public print as it does at the present time, still 

 as far back as 1834 quite a little was published about dirigible 

 balloons and their possibilities. In that year the French 

 aeronauts, Messrs. Lenon and Edam, of Paris, published a 

 dazzling prospectus of what they were about to achieve in their 

 dirigible L'Aigle, which they advertised would start from the 

 Champ de Mars about the middle of August and would carry 

 them, their two intrepid wives and several other selected 

 passengers on a trip to London some 290 odd miles away. 



This dirigible was actually constructed according to the pros- 

 pectus and was a thoroughly respectable affair — in appearance. 

 It was 130 feet long, nearly 49 feet in diameter, and shaped like 

 a fish ; in other words, not very unlike in its proportions to the 

 modern dirigible. It was inflated with hydrogen and had inside 

 of the big balloon a second much smaller envelop full of air 

 which, with the assistance of pumps, was compressed or rarefied 

 to assist descent or ascent as the need might arise. At the ends 

 of the balloon were wheels furnished with small wings for steering 

 The propelling force was entirely hand machinery — which cer- 

 tainly would discourage any aviator of the present tiiue. Beneath 

 the balloon was a wicker car with accommodations for 10 people. 



At the time advertised the dirigible was conveyed to the Champ 

 de Mars and put in readiness for flight, but for some reason or 

 other refused to fly. A great crowd had gathered and in order 

 not to have its holiday spoiled, after giving the dirigible sufficient 

 time to make good smashed it into small pieces. Such was the 

 fate of the first ambitious dirigible mentioned in history. 



EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF AP- 

 PLIED CHEMISTRY. 



THE secretary of the International Congress of Applied 

 Chemistry, Bernhard C. Hesse, No. 25 Broad street. New 

 York, is sending out to authors who may wish to take part 

 in that congress a set of preliminary rules which will regulate 

 the submission of papers for consideration. The primary ob- 

 ject in sending out these rules at the present time is to invite 

 criticism and suggestions before the rules are fcxrmulated in 

 their final form. Suggestions should be forwarded to him be- 

 fore December first next. The principal points covered in these 

 rules are as follows : 



All papers to be subtuitted to the congress should be in the 

 hands of the secretary by June 30, 1912. They should not be 

 so long that the lime consumed in reading them, or at least 

 in presenting their substance will exceed ten minutes. All pa- 

 pers should be in duplicate and legibly written, preferably type- 

 written and written only on one side of the sheet. Each paper 

 must be accompanied by an abstract of its contents, and con- 

 tributions must be absolutely original, and must not deal with 

 historical matter any further than is necessary for the proper 

 presentation of the particular topic. No paper accepted by the 

 congress and printed in its report can be subsequently published 

 elsewhere without giving full credit to this congress. No paper 

 will be considered that is conspicuously polemical or contains 

 advertising or matter of a personal character. 



A circular giving all the rules in detail may be had on appli- 

 cation to the secretarv. 



SPREADING WITH AN ATOMIZER. 



O AYS Popular Mechanics, "Aeroplanes are now being made in 

 *^ such large numbers in France that time-saving methods are 

 being adopted in their production. The way in which the fabric 

 used for the covering of wings and rudders is coated with rubber 



App.'\r.'\tus for Spr-\ving AERorL.\NE Wings With a Rubber 

 Solution. 



to make it waterproof and give it better sustaining qualities in 

 the air, as employed in the Deperdussin works in Paris, is shown 

 in the illustration. Having been stitched together, the widths of 

 muslin, cut to the desired shape, are stretched on frames and 

 sprayed with a rubber solution. The spraying device is held in 

 the hand of the operator and moved about in front of the cloth. 

 One of the rubber tubes leading from it conveys solution from 

 the portable tank on the floor and the other tube leads to the 

 tanks of compressed air on the hand truck at the left. The 

 supply of compressed air in the tanks is maintained by a small 

 air-compressor driven by a small electric motor." 



Just how this saves time is a' question. It would seem as if a 

 spreader or a calender would accomplish much more. Then too, 

 the query arises as to vulcanization. Do they spray the rubber- 

 ized aeroplane with chloride of sulphur or run it into a hangar 

 fitted up as a dry heater? 



