METALLURGY. 



485 



with alxnit 18 per cent, of its weight, of granu- 

 lated nliiininuiu and a suitiiMu llux, and tin- 

 mixture is heated 111 magiirsite cruriMrs to a 

 temperature near tin- inciting |u>int o| ea>t iron. 

 As soon as the temperature of read ion is reached 

 I lie nia promptly fuses, and must lie poured 

 from Ihr crucible at its maximum temperature. 



Adolpho Carnot's nu-thod for the assay of 

 mailman. >< oxides with hydrogen peroxide is 

 based on the fact that while oxygenated water is 

 decomposed \viih effervescence in contact with 

 manganese peroxide, and that a small quantity 

 of this oxide sullices to destroy an indefinite 

 quantity of oxygenated water, the result is dif- 

 frivnt when the peroxide and the oxygenated 

 water are in presence of an acid which, though 

 very dilute or weak, is capable of combining 

 with manganous oxide. Ihere occurs then a 

 simultaneous decomposition of the two per- 

 oxides, and the quantity of oxygen liberated is 

 exactly double that which exists in the manga- 

 nese peroxide over and above MnO. The reaction 

 occurs readily, even in the cold, whether witli 

 dilute nitric or sulphuric acid or with acetic 

 acid, as long as the acids attack Mn0 8 . 



Alloys. A new crystal ferro-nickel alloy was 

 observed in breaking a pot of copper-nickel matte 

 at the Canadian Copper Works, when a cavity 

 was disclosed lined with brilliant tin-white crys- 

 tals, which penetrated into the surrounding 

 matte. Analysis of two samples gave percent- 

 ages of iron and nickel nearly the same m both, 

 with a small, varying percentage of copper. 

 Prom this variation, and from the fact that 

 crystals of pure copper were strewed on the sur- 

 face of the crystals of ferro-nickel, that element 

 was supposed to be an impurity, and the com- 

 position of the pure crystals corresponded very 

 closely with the formula, Ni B Fe g . 



In applying W. H. Greene's and W. H. WahPs 

 method of reducing metallic oxides to the pro- 

 duction of ferro-alloys, a silicide is desirable 

 containing as high a proportion of silicon and 

 as low a proportion of carbon as possible. In 

 the preparation of, for instance, a ferro-manga- 

 nese, the object in view is substantially the manu- 

 facture directly from the oxide of a ferro-alloy 

 sutliciently high in manganese and sufficiently 

 low in carbon to be employed with economic ad- 

 vantage in the production of manganese steel 

 and the deoxidation of the charge in the Besse- 

 mer converter or on the hearth. The chemistry 

 of the operation is extremely simple. 



Manganese metal, manganese copper, and 

 manganese bronze are manufactured at the Isa- 

 bellenhlUte, Dillenburg, Austria. The alloys of 

 manganese with copper and zinc are easily ham- 

 mered and rolled, and serve for the production 

 of household utensils and fancy articles. 



A bronze alloy of great strength and ductilitv, 

 manufactured by A. K. Huntington and R. T. 

 Preston, consists" mainly of copper and zinc, to 

 which are added various proportions of ferro- 

 manganese and nickel, along with small propor- 

 tions of deoxidizing and fluxing agents, such as 

 sodium, or potassium, or magnesium aluminum, 

 or silicon ; or silicon may be used in larger quan- 

 tities to form a sensible portion of the alloy, 

 while tin may also be employed in a proportion 

 seldom exceeding 1 per cent. 



Alloys of aluminum and antimony are obtained 



by M. D. A. Roche in all proportions* in several 

 ways. The simplest process is a direct fusion of 

 the two metals at a low temperature. The alloys 

 containing a low percentage of antimon- 

 than 5 per cent.) are hard, and possess a greater 

 tenacity and elasticity than pure aluminum, yet 

 are quite malleable. Their color is a little lees 

 white than that of aluminum, but their brilliancy 

 is greater and more silvery, enabling them to 

 well resist the atmosphere. When the percent- 

 age of antimony is increased the alloy becomes 

 harder, but its elasticity is diminished, and it is 

 friable ; the crystallization proper to aluminum 

 gradually disappears, and when 90 per cent, of 

 antimony is reached the alloy contains groups 

 of separated crystals. It was also noted that the 

 melting point became higher as the percentage 

 of antimony increased, as did likewise the altera- 

 bility of the compound in the air up to a point 

 where the alloy had a composition : Al, 18-37 

 per cent. ; Sb, 81'63 per cent. This appears to 

 be a true antimonide of aluminum. It is infusi- 

 ble at the highest temperature of the Perrot 

 furnace, its melting point being apparently above 

 that of soft steel. It is inalterable in dry air at 

 ordinary temperatures, but at very high temper- 

 atures the antimony volatilizes. Moist air de- 

 composes it even at low temperatures, a blackish 

 powder containing aluminum being precipitated, 

 and antimony hydride being evolved. The same 

 reaction takes place with cold water. Alloys 

 rich in antimony have a lower melting point, 

 but they are less alterable in moist air. Accord- 

 ing to the author, the aluminum-antimony alloys 

 combine with other metals, forming more com- 

 plex combinations, some of which can be used 

 in the industrial arts. Among these he men- 

 tions the nickel and tungsten alloys, which are 

 remarkable for their hardness, tenacity, and 

 elasticity, and the silver alloy, which is suscepti- 

 ble of a very high polish. 



The second report of the Alloys Research Com- 

 mittee of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, 

 by Prof. W. C. Roberts-Austen, after discussing 

 the chemical philosophy of alloyage and solution, 

 deals with the experiments made by the commit- 

 tee, first with the influence of impurities on cop- 

 per. The question was raised whether normal 

 copper can be made to assume an allotropic state, 

 and whether the allotropic varieties may differ 

 as much as those of nonmetallic elements. Prof. 

 Roberts- Austen has little doubt that copper can 

 be prepared by electrolytic deposit ion in an allo- 

 tropic state having a different density from that 

 of normal copper. Figures were given showing 

 how different may be the qualities of a metal 

 chemically pure ; for instance, rods of pure elec- 

 trolytic copper, all the same sample, but various- 

 ly treated, broke under stresses varying between 

 8,219 tons and 18,750 tons to the square inch, 

 the former being the tensile strength of cast 

 rods, and the latter of cast rods worked and not 

 annealed; while cast rods carefully worked and 

 annealed gave a tensile strength of 18,259 per 

 square inch. The experiments show a difficulty 

 in determining a standard tenacity for copper. 

 Pure copper has been considered the best that can 

 be used for engineering purposes, and specifica- 

 tions are generally framed to this effect. The 

 Research Committee, however, show that the 

 metal may be, and frequently is, as a matter of 



