SOME RECENT TRIUMPHS 



This reaction of aluminum and iron does not, to be 

 sure, give a higher temperature than the electric arc; 

 but this culminating feat has been achieved, in labora- 

 tory experiments, through the explosion of cordite in 

 closed steel chambers; the experimenters being the 

 Englishmen Sir Andrew Noble and Sir F. Abel. It 

 is difficult to estimate accurately the degree of heat 

 and pressure attained in these experiments; but it 

 is believed that the temperature approximated 5,000 

 degrees centigrade, while the pressure represented 

 the almost inconceivable push of ninety tons to the 

 square inch. 



It may be of interest to explain that cordite is a form 

 of smokeless powder composed of gun cotton, nitro- 

 glycerine, and mineral jelly. No doubt the extreme 

 heat produced by its explosion is associated with the 

 suddenness of the reaction; corresponding to the effi- 

 ciency as a propellant that has led to the adoption of this 

 powder for use in the small arms of the British Army. 

 No commercial use has yet been made of cordite as 

 a mere producer of heat; but there is an interesting 

 suggestion of possible future uses in the fact that crys- 

 tals of diamond have been found in the residue of the 

 explosion chamber microscopic in size, to be sure, but 

 veritable diamonds in miniature. Sir William Crookes 

 has suggested that, could the reaction be prolonged 

 sufficiently, "there is little doubt that the artificial 

 formation of diamonds would soon pass from the mi- 

 croscopic stage to a scale more likely to satisfy the 

 requirements of science, if not those of personal 

 adornment." 



[315] 



