ALCOHOL 



167 



ALCOHOL 





lacked the same high moral character. Alci- 

 biades was a lawless, impulsive youth, and not 

 even the influence of his good teacher, Socrates, 

 could turn him from acts of violence and dis- 

 sipation. 



He rose rapidly in political power and set 

 himself up against Nicias as leader of the war 

 party. Alcibiades (ook an active part in the 

 Peloponnesian War, which began in 431 B. c., 

 .ind when Nicias was defeated in Thrace in 

 418-417 B.C., he strongly urged that an at- 

 t ick be made against Sicily. Alcibiades was 

 chosen one of the leaders of this expedition, 

 but just before it sailed he was accused of 

 mutilating the busts of Hermes in one of his 

 midnight revels, and was recalled home for the 

 trial almost as soon as he reached Sicily. Fear- 

 ing to face his trial, he escaped to Sparta. 

 There he basely betrayed the secrets of his 

 own countrymen, and by advising the Spartans 

 to send help to the people of Syracuse and 

 to fortify Decelea, in Attica, he became the 

 direct cause of the downfall of Athens. The 

 Spartan generals soon turned against him, and, 

 fleeing to Asia Minor, he allied himself with 

 the Persian leader Tissaphernes. Alcibiades, 

 however, was determined to return to Athens, 

 and succeeded in having his banishment can- 

 celled. 



Before he returned home he took charge of 

 the Athenian fleet near the Hellespont and won 

 several victories over the Spartans. The 

 Athenians joyfully welcomed him home in 

 407 B.C., and made him a general with full 

 powers, but he soon lost their favor by reason 

 of a defeat at Notium. In 405 B.C. came the 

 final crushing defeat of Athens at Aegospotami, 

 and Alcibiades took refuge in Asia Minor, hop- 

 ing to secure the aid of the Persian king against 

 ;i. There he was killed by hired assas- 

 HIIS. 



AL'COHOL, a clear, colorless liquid having 

 th appearance of water, with an agreeable 

 fruity smell and a burning taste. It is the 

 .<! .hoi in beer, wine, whisky, brandy and 

 r spirituous and fermented liquors that 

 makes them intoxicating. 



Composition and Manufacture. Alcohol is 

 composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in 

 proportions of two atoms of carbon to six of 

 hydrogen to one of oxygen. It can be made 

 by distilling wine, brandy, whisky and other 

 >rs, and for this reason it is sometimes 

 called tin >pirits of wine, and sometimes simply 



; inufactured from grains (chi' 

 Indian rorn). from potatoes and from molasses. 



These are fermented as in the manufacture of 

 beer or wine and then distilled. A process of 

 making alcohol from waste wood has been dis- 

 covered, but up to the present has been little 

 used. 



Properties. Alcohol is lighter than water, 

 and in the open air at sea level it boils at a 

 temperature of 173 F., while water must reach 

 212 before it boils. It will withstand intense 

 cold without freezing and is used in ther- 

 mometers designed to measure temperatures 

 lower than 40, at which point mercury 

 freezes. It burns with a light blue flame and 

 intense heat, and is used in alcohol lamps in 

 laboratories, and with chafing dishes and other 

 devices in the home. 



Uses. Alcohol dissolves essential oils, gums, 

 resins and many other substances that cannot 

 be dissolved in water; consequently it is ex- 

 tensively used in the manufacture of varnishes, 

 perfumes and medicines. Ether and chloroform 

 are made from it and it is also employed for 

 many other purposes in the arts. Some vinegar 

 is made from alcohol, and in museums speci- 

 mens are preserved by placing them in sealed 

 vessels containing alcohol. The benefits de- 

 rived from alcohol are many. Without it the 

 world would be deprived of the valuable anes- 

 thetics, ether and chloroform, as well as some 

 of the most effective medicines which are 

 prepared as tinctures. Spirits of camphor con- 

 sists of camphor dissolved in alcohol. 



Denatured Alcohol. Denatured alcohol is 

 alcohol to which something has been added to 

 give it a disagreeable taste. The most common 

 kind of denatured alcohol is methylated spirits. 

 This is a mixture of 100 parts of alcohol, ten 

 parts wood alcohol and a small quantity of 

 benzine or some other substance which renders 

 the mixture unfit for drinking. In 1907 the 

 United States government removed the revenue 

 tax on denatured alcohol, and it is now used 

 extensively for manufacturing purposes, except 

 in those cases where pure alcohol is necessary. 

 In Canada the manufacture of denatured al- 

 cohol (methylated spirits) is a government 

 monopoly. JJ.8. 



Alcohol and the Human System. See the 

 article below, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, which reflects 

 the deepest scientific investigation. 



Itrlntrd Topics. For fuller inquiry Into the 

 tory of alcohol and the various movements di- 

 rected against It, see the following articles in 

 these volumes: 



Alcoholic Drinks Prohibition 



i loon League Temperance 

 Local Option 



