Acetylene Gas, Its Nature, Properties and Uses; Also Calcium Carbide, Its Composition, Properties and Method of Manufacture

Acetylene as a light source is associated with a much lower risk in its use compared to ordinary coal gas, its distinct and pungent odor makes its presence known long before any dangerous amount can appear, and compared to water gas, the risk is even less due to the fact that the latter is practically odorless and its presence is not detected until symptoms of poisoning appear. These facts, therefore, show that many unfounded and unnecessary fears have arisen regarding acetylene, which are not only unfair to it, but also absurd from the point of view of the general education of our time. The author was early convinced of the importance of the discovery that made the synthetic production of acetylene a commercial opportunity, and he has taken an active interest in the subject since the time when calcium carbide first became a commercial article. This work has been prepared with the intention of being a complete summary of the subject and is in all respects an account of the state of knowledge at that time in relation to acetylene, and every effort has been made to make it worthy and accepted as a standard work on this topic. The design of the work is to set out the general principles governing the subject matter and the various associated terms and conditions. Therefore, the description of a specific device is not made due to the variety of forms adopted by several manufacturers, each of which has features and advantages inherent to itself. Despite the fact that the author does not claim to be an authority on the chemical aspect of the subject, nevertheless, he claims that he acquired some knowledge about the nature and properties of acetylene and established the best conditions under which it can be obtained and used.