Quotation from: General ScienceWritten by: Bertha M. Clark |
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148. Acetylene. In 1892 it was discovered that lime and coal fused together in the intense heat of the electric furnace formed a crystalline, metallic-looking substance called calcium carbide. As a result of that discovery, this substance was soon made on a large scale and sold at a moderate price. The cheapness of calcium carbide has made it possible for the isolated farmhouse to discard oil lamps and to have a private gas system. When the hard, gray crystals of calcium carbide are put in water, they give off acetylene, a colorless gas which burns with a brilliant white flame. If bits of calcium carbide are dropped into a test tube containing water, bubbles of gas will be seen to form and escape into the air, and the escaping gas may be ignited by a burning match held near the mouth of the test tube. When chemical action between the water and carbide has ceased, and gas bubbles have stopped forming, slaked lime is all that is left of the dark gray crystals which were put into the water.
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