SULPHATES 



5620 



SULPHUR 



Persia, became known around the world. It 

 should not be forgotten that Sullivan also com- 

 posed sacred music of an unusually high stand- 

 ard. His Te Deum, The Light of the World, 

 The Golden Legend, and his hymn, Onward, 

 Christian Soldiers, are among the most notable 

 specimens. His Lost Chord has been declared 

 one of the most successful songs of the nine- 

 teenth century. R.D.M. 



SULPHATES, sul'jayts, are salts of sul- 

 phuric acid. As a rule they are stable crystal- 

 line compounds, more or less soluble in water, 

 with the exception of barium, strontium and 

 lead sulphates. These salts are very important. 

 The following minerals heavy spar, gypsum, 

 celestine and epsom salts are sulphates of 

 barium, calcium, strontium and magnesium, re- 

 spectively. Copper sulphate, or blue vitriol, 

 is used in a variety of industries, including 

 dyeing and calico printing; iron sulphate is 

 used in making ink and as a medicine; manga- 

 nese sulphate is employed in calico printing; 

 zinc sulphate in surgery, in calico printing and 

 in drying oils for varnishes. A double sulphate 

 of potassium and aluminum, known as alum, is 

 a constituent of some baking powders. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes should be read in connection wifh 

 this subject : 



Alum 

 Barium 

 Blue Vitriol 

 Calcium 

 Epsom Salts 



Gypsum 

 Magnesium 

 Strontium 

 Sulphuric Acid 



SULPHUR, sul'jur, a substance that is found 

 in abundance in nature and used in modern in- 

 dustry in the manufacture of a great number 

 of important products. It occurs either in a 

 pure state, or in combination with other sub- 

 stances, mostly metals, with which it forms 

 valuable metallic ores, such as pyrite, which is 

 a sulphide of iron; galena, which is a sulphide 

 of lead; cinnabar, which is a sulphide of mer- 

 cury; and barite, which is a sulphide of barium. 

 In a pure state it occurs in great abundance 

 in the neighborhood of volcanoes, both active 

 and extinct. It has therefore been known from 

 the earliest ages, and on account of the low 

 temperature at which it burns it is called brim- 

 stone. Sulphur has been known to occur occa- 

 sionally in a pure state in beds of gypsum, and 

 sometimes of clay. 



Eggs and several vegetables, such as onions, 

 garlic, horse-radish and mustard contain sul- 

 phur. It is also one of the elements found in 

 the human body; it is estimated that the hu- 



man body contains about a quarter of a pound 

 of it. Sulphur is also found in coal and petro- 

 leum. 



Properties. Sulphur is a chemical element 

 (symbol S; atomic weight, 32). After carbon 

 it is the most important of the nonmetallic ele- 

 ments. Ordinary sulphur is a solid substance, 

 yellow in color, almost tasteless, and when 

 rubbed or melted it emits a peculiar odor. It 

 is not a good conductor, either of heat or elec- 

 tricity. Sulphur melts at the comparatively 

 low temperature of 230 F. It possesses the 

 peculiar property of becoming viscous or of 

 solidifying when heated to a higher degree. 

 At about 480 F. the fluid is so thick that it 

 cannot be poured from the vessel, but it be- 

 comes again fluid when the temperature is 

 raised above that point. Sulphur boils at 

 792 F., emitting a yellowish-brown vapor, 

 which condenses in closed vessels in the form of 

 a fine, yellow powder called flowers of sulphur. 

 The roll sulphur of commerce is made by pour- 

 .ing sulphur in fluid state into cylindrical molds, 

 where it is cast. 



Sulphur ignites readily at a low temperature 

 and burns with a pale blue flame, forming sul- 

 phur dioxide, which is a colorless gas. It also 

 combines readily with hydrogen, forming sul- 

 phureted hydrogen, and with chlorine, car- 

 bon and a great number of metals. Divided 

 into very fine particles, it oxidizes in moist air 

 arid forms sulphuric acid. This process takes 

 place in the atmosphere of large cities which 

 burn a large amount of coal and gas. 



Where Sulphur Is Found. Until a few years 

 ago most of the sulphur used in commerce 

 came from the large deposits of pure sulphur 

 found in Sicily. To-day large quantities are 

 extracted in the United States. The chief 

 American source of supply is Sulphur, in Cal- 

 casieu Parish, Louisiana, where the sulphur is 

 extracted from the deep-lying beds by an 

 ingenious process. Sulphur is also obtained in 

 small quantities in Texas, Wyoming and Ne- 

 vada. The production of sulphur in the United 

 States amounts to about 350,000 tons a year; 

 in 1900 it was 3,147 tons. Deposits are also 

 found in Chile, ^Peru, New Zealand, Japan and 

 some parts of Asiatic. Russia. 



Its Uses. Sulphur finds a great number of 

 uses in modern industry, chief among them 

 being the manufacture of sulphuric acid, gun- 

 powder, matches, fireworks and in vulcanizing 

 rubber. It is also used in medicine, and its 

 compounds are utilized in the manufacture of 

 a great number of products. O.B. 



