Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1919 — Strange Power of Metals. [ARTICLE]

Strange Power of Metals.

The importance of the remarkable surface actions that distinguish metals generally was noted in a lecture by Sir William Tilden at the British scientific products exhibition. The property of platinum - of causing the combi tuition of oxygen gas with hydrogen and other combustible substances was dis- ■ Covered by Davy just 100 years ago, but other metals show still stranger powers. One of The most valuable Is the powerjrossessed by nickel of causing hydrogen to combine with heated oil. con verting it into a fat that is solid when cold. A substance acting by itsmere presencein—this w r ay is termed a catalyst, and catalytic actions are now turned to account on a large scale in making sulphuric and nitric acids and ammonia, in the surface combustion of gas, in obtaining fats from whale oil and in a variety of manu-facturing-processes. A great field is open in the study of catalytic effects.