FIERY MAGIC

and Coke enter the furnace next to the electrode and almost immediately become red hot this is at the very top of the furnace and further down the charge becomes first incandescent then it melts and the carbon of the coke combines with the calcium of the lime to form the calcium carbide the electrodes themselves are consumed in this Inferno created by over a qu of a million amp of 200 vol current the massive bus bars carry 990,000 amp to each electrode enough current to supply a th000 homes and the entire electric consumption would Supply a city the size of Columbus Ohio or San Antonio Texas tons of water cool the electrical connections and holder rings at the electrodes in a complex system which like the entire plant is under constant control by an elaborate system of instruments which adjust IND at and record the performance and behavior of every part of the manufacturing process the flow sheet is the only way the whole thing can be seen at once the accurately proportioned charge is carried to the top of the plant on a bucket conveyor mixed by vibration and fed to the furnace at the top at the bottom molten calcium carbide is tapped into a continuous belt of of Ingot mold conveyors which take it back to the top of the plant Again The Inferno of the tapping floor is an unforgettable sight full of fire and dazzling light as the tapping crew with a big electric Stinger keeped the white hot carbide flowing The Hearth and shell of these huge furnaces rotate slowly on massive underground Wheels periodically bringing a different taphole into working position then the Stinger is moved over on its trolley and the new hole opened up to maintain continuous production pouring into the Ingot moles of the carbide conveyor system at a rate of more than 200 tons per day the molten calcium carbide moves away from the furnace at a constant rate at the edge of the tapping floor the conveyor turns vertical carrying its load upward the cycle never stops molten carbide flows day and night into the Ingot molds and here as it starts to cool we can see our product calcium carbide for the first time this Ingot conveyor is driven by huge sprockets as tall as a man with Mighty teeth each the size of your fist even a few feet from the taphole the car B has begun to cool and it will cool still further in its 80t vertical trip to the highest level of the plant here it turns another corner to travel horizontally again back to the center of the plant where the still hot ingots are dumped unceremoniously into the choots that lead to the crusher and the empty Ingot molds continue their endless trip back to the furnace driven by Mighty Motors equipped with massive spinning flywheels The Crushers reduce the finished carbide to useful size quickly and uniformly and the production job is pretty well finished lime and Coke have come intoed the plant through automatic conveying and weighing equipment the lime and Coke have been tested proportioned and fed into the furnace where vast amounts of electrical energy create the calcium carbide from the tapping floor Ingot mold conveyors carry the product across and up and dump it into the crusher system now it goes on still on automatic conveyors to a water cooled rotary drum where the last Heat is extracted and it continues on out of the plant to storage shipment or or the acyline generators the crushed cooled carbide leaves the plant on vibrator conveyors protected from moisture and weather they run through the plant yard either to the storage and shipping center or to the acetan plant carrying a continuous stream of the finest quality calcium carbide and the quality of the carbide is never left to chance samples are taken frequently right in the midst of tapping and almost before they've cooled they arrive at the gas yield test house after crushing each specimen is accurately weighed and goes into a small scale aclin generator specially designed and built to test gas yield accurately after careful checking of the adjustment of the test unit the specimen is brought into contact with water and an accurate measurement made of the acety in it yields the standard that prevails here is high a critical eye is kept on every step of production and no test is more carefully watch than this meantime the sizing of screened calcium carbide is checked with a set of standard test screens in the laboratory to prove out the accuracy of sizes in random samples taken on the line during actual production packing operations in another stage of this unending quality control the amount of dust controlling oil applied to the carbide is checked by distilling a carbon tetra chloride wash from a measured quantity of product so we're always sure of effective dust control without excessive oil these tests and many others are part and parcel of national carbides unremitting insistence on product quality and product uniformity at every Point testing begins with raw materials and never ends until approved top quality calcium carbide is packed for shipment each station in the packing Department feeds an individual size of crushed screened and treated carbide into the familiar and famous bright red drums which are vibration packed to assure full measure and solid filling this is the end product of all our efforts and the constant quality control assures the user that National carbide will be top quality accurately sized consistent and uniform in gas yield Thrifty and efficient in use it is packed in a wide variety of accurately graded sizes from dust to lump and in every size for whatever purpose it is to be used the national carbide in these bright red drums will do the job expected of it the wide choice of carbide sizes is matched by choice of container sizes from the 2 lb can through the 10 lb can the 25lb drum the 100 lb drum and reusable barrels from 250 to 600 lb there is a size for every purpose and even bigger in 5ton Hopper units or special designed Hopper cars and most of the calcium carbide goes to large or small acety and generators where it is made to yield economical High Purity acyline like all generators this big one for pipeline gas reveals next to nothing about its inner workings but in a laboratory setup we can see the principle of operation here we have a vessel containing calcium carbide and a means of adding water which starts the reaction immediately producing hydrated lime and acetylene about 195 a generator just about that simple was an important part of the last word in automobiles for a settlin fueled the headlight on such clamor cars as this and while the ladies serenely watch and smile the proud possessor of this Chariot must pause in his journey and fill his acety and Generator with calcium carbide then another stop turn the valves open the brass bound to subtle and light apply the match and he has light the best available at the time to guide him through the Shadows safely home but a flame of acyline and pure oxygen is more familiar today whether it's used for welding where for many jobs it's unsurpassed or for hardening the surfaces of steel parts or to perform staggering Feats of burning through Mighty chunks of heavy scrap or to slice with Precision through forgings and plates and produce accurate finished Parts this aetl INF flame is a proven Sur of Industry recently calcium carbide itself has become an industrial tool for refining cast iron a special grade of calcium carbide is loaded in this simple injection equipment and as soon as the ladle of iron is full the injection feeder is placed over the top nitrogen gas carries the carbide into the molden metal where its peculiar affinity for sulfur makes it serve as the most efficient method yet of removing that element as an embrittling and weakening impurity in the iron at the same time it desulfurized so effectively the carbide further upgrades the metal in other ways so the finished castings from a Foundry using this process are the highest quality the industry has yet produced yes this calcium carbide is a remarkable material man-made itself from lime and Coke to produce the new molecule of calcium carbide it yields when slaked with water that hungry grasping acetylene molecule the base for dozens of man-made materials here for instance it becomes what is known as a monomer a molecule which links in Chains to form a polymer which here is the base for vinyl Plastics as coril and gon vinyl Plastics have a multitude of technical uses dimensional stability for a slide rule heat forming and sealing for transparent packaging of precision Parts in a bath of oil they provide durable gloves to protect the hands of industry or the softer hands of the housewife a smooth durable clothes line a float to carry a fishnet or a colorful floating fish for a baby's [Music] bath a snug jacket for baby's bottle an insulated bag to keep big folks bottles cooler or a tub to keep the ice from melting place mats and coasters colorful easy to clean gon records shatterproof and High Fidelity a royal flush of coril and Geon products but this is only a random sampling of the Wonders put in the world with this acyline based plastic that same acyline molecule in a different metamorphosis becomes the base for neoprene The Versatile chemical rubber this man-made rubber is a versatile material resistant to oil grease oxygen and sunlight adaptable to a great variety of technical uses gaskets timing belts jackets for electrical wiring and demanding service neoprene makes hoses that can withstand the withering effects of oxygen or last Almost without limit for such Service as gasoline and fuel oil pumps at home it provides a lasting solution to the Everlasting faucet washer problem and comfort and convenience for the housewife in such products as a foot easing floor mat or hand saving gloves Footwear is one of the most demanding uses of neoprene whether combined with other materials or used alone utility Footwear of almost every kind benefits from neoprene and with this specially designed triac Soul Maximum Traction and durability result for Footwear or a thousand other products neoprene is the real tough guy of the rubber industry aclin is also the base for many drugs and medicines like the one this young lady is about to meet in the dentist chair trar pharmaceutical tror ethylene is a dental analgesic a valuable modern means of raising the patient's threshold of pain either without or in conjunction with an anesthetic manufactured by aetl in chemistry it offers new ease to dentist and patient wonderful yes it is like many other acety and based synthetics we have today but none is more wonderful than the miracle of fusing two commonplace substances lime and Coke in the fury of the electric furnace to produce the most uncommon Pebbles of calcium carbide itself and while all calcium carbide looks alike the carbide that carries the national trademark remains unsurpassed for quality and uniformity wherever it is [Music] used