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By William C. Buell

As used in connection with open-hearth or other high-temperature operations, "insulation" refers to a multitude of substances, natural or manufactured, that have the one principal property of preventing the flow of heat by conduction to a greater degree than refractories can prevent it, the principal properties of the latter being resistance to temperature and/or chemical action. The term "control" as commonly applied to the mechanization of management functions is inappropriate without qualification, for without some degree of control of every operation we could produce no steel worthy of the name. Although grouped together in this paper, insulation and control in open-hearth furnaces have little, if any, interrelationship, therefore the paper is made up of two distinct parts. INSULATION OF OPEN-HEARTH FURNACES More than ten years ago the writer proposed the insulation of an acid open-hearth furnace system below the charging floor, and it was accomplished, with gratifying results. Possibly that was the first time the insulation of regenerators and slag pockets of any open-hearth furnace was undertaken, but shortly thereafter such insulation became general, and when the six groups of 150-ton furnaces1 were built in 1929-1930, they were completely insulated below the charging floor. While the practice was accepted at least five years ago, it was not well understood, however, as indicated by the following incident which occurred in connection with an installation made in 1929. After the

Jan 1, 1935

Three. meetings for the presentation and discussion of papers were held in 1914, as follows: The 107th Meeting, including the Annual Business Meeting, in New York, Feb. 16 to 19; the 108th Meeting, Aug. 10 to 14, in Salt Lake City, and the 109th Meeting, Oct. 8 to 10, in Pittsburgh, Pa., under the auspices of Iron and Steel Committee, Committee on Coal and Coke, Committee on Petroleum and Gas, Committee on Non-Metallic Minerals. Local Sections ' Three new local sections were established during the year, namely; / Pennsylvania Anthracite Section, Chicago Section, and Utah Section.

Jan 1, 1917

By Owen Rice

CHANGES in coke hardness affect the working of the blast furnace, for soft coke is an obstacle to proper furnace operation. Soft coke is due to a low hydrogen-oxygen ratio in the coal charged; increasing this ratio increases the hardness of the coke. The best means of determining the hardness of coke is the combined tumbler and ball-mill. Soft coke is a great hindrance to proper blast-furnace operation and changes in coke hardness affect the working of the furnace. The best method of determining the hardness of coke is by using a combination tumbler-ball-mill. Soft coke is due to a low hydrogen-oxygen ratio in the coal charged. An increase of this ratio improves the hardness of the resulting coke. WHAT IS GOOD COKE? It is not always appreciated that the correct answer may be such a reliable forecast to the physical condition of the blast furnace, and incidentally its entire operation, that among the ordinary variations in other raw materials and also in operating conditions, it assumes a position of primary significance. Inasmuch as coke forms two-thirds of the total bulk of material charged, this assertion will not seem exaggerated, and in the subsequent discussion its applicability will be presented. Coke is the ideal blast-furnace fuel because it is strong and hard enough to resist the crushing and grinding effects of the furnace burden, and its porosity allows the ready passage of gas upward through the charge, and rapid combustion before the tuyeres. Coke deprived of its strength and with a cell structure physically frail and chemically susceptible to solution by carbon dioxide, has its chief asset eliminated. When the melting zones are approached the fluid cinder trickling toward the hearth will envelope the small pieces of coke and form a sticky mass that will retard the free passage of gas. Blast pressure will then rise, driving

Jan 1, 1921

By S. D. Michaelson, Eric Sinkinson

Many of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally enclosed in serpentine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is incidentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumina, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18" C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact, MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18" C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H2O) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H2O), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1938

By Carl H. Beal

The most important factors that should be given consideration in the valuation of oil lands are: (1) the amount of oil the property will produce; (2) the amount of money this oil will bring (based upon the future prices of oil); (3) development and production costs; (4) the rate of interest on the investment; (5) the retirement or amortization of invested capital; and (6) the salvage or "scrap" value of the equipment when the property is exhausted. These factors are of varying importance and some of them may not enter all valuation problems, but most of them should be given consideration in any valuation even though only a rough estimate of the value of the property is desired. The value of a property may be changed over night by the completion of important test wells, by the sudden water flooding, or by a change in the price of oil. The best a petroleum engineer can give is the value of the property under the conditions existing at the time the appraisal is made with a fair forecast of future action of the wells and of the price of oil. Our experience in the scientific valuation of oil lands is not broad and there is very little published information on the subject; it, therefore, becomes necessary in studying such problems to form comparisons with the factors involved in the valuation of mines—the closest parallel. One of the reasons for the lack of substantial progress in oil-land valuation methods has been the necessity of making an estimate of the future production of the oil property to be valued. Oil men and accountants have not generally conceded that such estimates could be made with any degree of accuracy. It has been shown, however, in several recent publications that with certain data available reasonably close estimates can be made. The accuracy of an appraisal depends chiefly on the accuracy of the estimates of future production and of the future price of oil. The accuracy of the former is sometimes necessarily based on geological inferences. Geology is not an exact science and geological data in connection with oil production cannot always be mathematically evaluated.

Jan 1, 1921

By S. D. Michaelson, Eric Sinkinson

Many of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally enclosed in serpentine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is incidentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumina, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18" C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact, MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18" C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H2O) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H2O), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1938

By Hamilton Bell, E. W. Webb

RepressuRIng, or gas drive, was first tried in the Seal Beach oil field during the fall of 1927, and was carried on until the spring of 1928. This experiment in the Upper or Bixby zone was highly successful in proving the feasibility of compressing gas to high pressures and also showed great increases in production. The project was discontinued because there were not enough wells to protect the property lines. In the development of the second or Selover zone, many more wells were drilled and after 2½ years of production the gas was depleted so that all producing wells in the zone were either pumping or on gas-lift. Edge-wat'er encroachment and the deepening of wells on neighboring properties to a third zone practically isolated the lease, so that during the spring of 1929 it was considered feasible to repressure the Selover zone on the Bixby lease of the Continental Oil Co. (Marland). As shown on Fig. 1, the main Seal Beach structure is an elongated dome with a northwest-southeast trend, and the north flank is cut by a fault nearly parallel to the axis of the structure. Bixby well No. 24 was chosen for the injection well on account of its location, as it is backed up by the fault and is surrounded by wells that protect the property lines. The results of the test made in the Bixby zone indicated that an injection well on the flanks of the structure would drive oil quickly to up-structure wells but would have a tendency to cause by-passing, while the drive to down-structure wells would be slower but more evenly distributed. Preferably the injection well would have been located on top of the dome but property divisions made this inadvisable. Well 24 had been completed in November, 1928, but on account of gas depletion the well failed to flow naturally. On gas-lift the well had an initial production of 1000 bbl. of oil with 30 per cent. emulsion. This well is 4825 ft, deep, penetrating 200 ft. of oil-bearing formation. At the time the well was prepared

Jan 1, 1930

By R. D. Irving

THE object of the present paper is to give an outline account of the mineral resources of the State of Wisconsin, so far as they are now known, including both metallic ores and non-metallic useful mineral substances. The only previous publication making any attempt at such an account is one of a popular nature, prepared by the writer for Snyder and Van Vechten's Historical Atlas of Wisconsin, which was published at Milwaukee in 1878. The data upon which the statements of the following pages are based are chiefly from the

Jan 1, 1880

When Ponce de León landed in Florida in 1573 he was told of an Indian chief that possessed much gold. In 1576 Diego Meruelo obtained some of it from the Indians, and in 1579 Álvarez de Pineda reported that the natives wore ornaments of gold, which they obtained from the rivers. These statements all refer to the southern Appalachian region. The name is recorded in 1527; when Pamphilo Narváez landed at Tampa he heard that there was much gold to be obtained in a region named Apalache. * In 1564 René Laudonnière describes the methods used by the natives to win gold in the Apalatcy mountains.† However, no serious mining operations were undertaken until long afterward; the mining of gold in the Southern States may be said to have had its beginning when a nugget was found at the Reed mine, in North Carolina, in 1799. This nugget, which was of "the size of a small smoothing iron", was kept for several years before the finder learned what it was, but later more lumps, one weighing 28 pounds, were found in the same locality, and eager digging ensued. ‡ Thomas Jefferson, in his `Notes on Virginia', mentions the finding of a quartz specimen, not a nugget as is generally stated, that contained 17 pennyweights of gold; this was found on the Rappahannock river in 1782. §

Jan 1, 1932

By L. C. Graton

INTRODUCTION CLEAR recognition by Lindgren1 of the important control exerted by physical conditions on the formation of ores laid the foundation for that long-sought attainment, a classification? of mineral deposits based consistently on origin. In probably no other portion of the realm of mineral deposition has the importance of physical influences been so manifest or the validity of Lindgren's genetic classification been so well proved as in that extremely important family of ore deposits which are now universally classed as hydrothermal and generally regarded as of magmatic derivation. While many varieties of deposits, some of them possessing great scientific interest and economic importance, fall outside the limits of this hydrothermal group, inclusion within it of most of the veins and a vast number of the replacement deposits of the world gives to this grand genetic class at once a dominating importance and a powerful scientific appeal. Nowhere are these vein and replacement deposits of hydro- thermal lineage more generously distributed, more extensively exploited or more thoroughly known than in the Cordilleran province of the United States. One of the respects in which these hydrothermal deposits command the interest of both geologists and mine operators is in their relation to depth: the great vertical range through which many of them have already been developed, the disappointing failure of others at relatively shallow levels, and the noteworthy downward changes in character and tenor exhibited by still others. In this hydrothermal category (if the Rand be granted place here) are included the ores of all the very deep mines of the world, ranging from 5,000 to nearly 8,000 ft., as well as of many other mines undoubtedly destined in time to attain corresponding depths.

Jan 1, 1933

By Robert L. Voss, Richard D. Hagni

Sparry dolomite from all of the operating mines in the Viburnum Trend of Southeast Missouri have been found by cathodoluminescence microscopy to reveal a systematic pattern of banding resulting from a growth zoning within individual dolomite rhombs. Four principal bands have been recognized throughout the entire Trend and each of the major bands contain even finer internal banding. Minor bands a few microns in width can be correlated in specimens collected ten's of kilometers apart along the trend. The first three principal dolomite bands decrease from south to north. This feature, together with the fact that the white sparry dolomite crystals decrease in abundance from south to north in the Trend, suggests that a major source for the fluids was from the south. The application of cathodoluminescence microscopy to crystalline dolomite demonstrates a strong correlation between ore grade and the intensity of internal banding and dissolution textures.

Jan 1, 1985

By Norman P. Goss

What would appear to be a very simple process on paper has proved to be overrun with a multitude of unseen difficulties. For more than 70 years attempts have been made to cast metals in a continuous manner, but it has been only within the last Io years that some degree of success has been achieved.1 Historical Development Bessemer's Experiments—Method I Bessemer was the first to try to cast molten metal in a continuous manner. His method is fully described in U. S. Patent No. 49053, issued in 1865. The patent drawing is shown in Fig. I. In this method the molten metal was poured between a pair of rolls of large diameter, which were cooled by water sprays. Means were provided to prevent moisture from coming into direct coptact with the molten metal. The width of the strip was controlled by the flanges. On paper this should work to perfection, but it is beset with many difficulties still awaiting solution. Bessemer failed to reduce his invention to commercial practice. About 1890 Bessemer's method was revived by Norton and associates (U. S. Patent No. 441375). They formed the Fluid Metal Rolling Co. at Maywood, Ill., and spent $250,000 in endeavoring to develop the technique for this simple method. Finally they had to abandon it. Naturally, they did carry the technical development far beyond anything Bessemer had done, but even so it was far from being a useful commercial success. In recent years it has undergone further development by C. W. Hazelett (U. S. Patent No. 2058447), who has succeeded in obtaining long lengths of copper, brass, aluminum, and even stainless steel. He introduced many' ingenious devices but the greatest obstacle still remained—the disintegration of the roll surface when the surface is heated and chilled in rapid succession. Difficulty is also experienced in maintaining a uniform supply of molten metal to the rolls. The patents pertaining to this method would indicate these to be the major obstacles. Experimental work by Mellen—Method 2 A departure from the method introduced by Bessemer, was tried by Grenville Mellen, of East Orange, K. J., sometime between 1914 and 1920, who obtained a number of patents.2 His method is illustrated in Fig. 2. This method failed to make an impression upon the art; however, it is of value in pointing out the difficulties the inventor ran into and the way in which he tried to meet them. The split mold sections form two endless chains. When going through the center of the apparatus, these sections engage each other to form a complete mold. As the engaged mold section moves downward at a constant speed, molten metal is teemed into it. As this is going on, another set of cooperating mold sections move into position on top of the one being filled. The molten metal is teemed into the mold through a silica tube. According to the teachings of this patent, the level of molten

Jan 1, 1945

By Thomas Read

SUMMARY THE cost of labor turnover in industry is so large as to justify the adoption of almost any means to bring about its reduction. Intensive study has shown that faulty methods of hiring and discharging men is the most important factor in labor turnover. Complete control over hiring and discharging by the foreman is a relic of outgrown industrial conditions; centralized hiring permits this work to be put on a scientific basis and also does away with many serious evils that cannot otherwise be reached. Centralized hiring does not impair the authority of the foreman; he hires his men from the employment office and discharges them back to it, instead of from and to the street. The employment manager, being a direct representative of the employer, tends to restore the former relation of direct intercourse between employee and employer that was helpful in avoiding friction between them. Being a specialist, he is able to bring special knowledge and skill to bear upon the task of selling employment in his concern to desirable workmen; lie is also able to give the foreign workman the special attention he requires. Employment managers have been used for the past few years by a number of large organizations, a few of which are engaged in the mining and metallurgical industries. They have invariably reduced labor turnover, in some cases to as little as one-tenth of what it had been. So great a reduction is due in part to other changes made in the light of the data made available by scientific study of the labor problem. In my former paper on personnel work1 I advocated the more general use of the employment manager in mining and metallurgical enterprises as a means of reducing labor turnover. The form of organization recommended seems not be to understood by all, and I have requested the privilege of explaining it at greater length, since it is perhaps the most important factor of all in personnel work, and has a vital influence on the cost sheet of every industrial enterprise.

Jan 2, 1918

By R. R. Hawkins

PEoperly designed tubing strings make it possible to continue the flowing life of wells beyond the stage where ordinarily they would be put to pumping. Wells no longer able to flow through 2-in. tubing can be made to produce through smaller tubing if conditions within the well are carefully studied and correctly designed strings are installed. In this way, pumping expense may be postponed and in some pools it is within reason that the entire recovery may be obtained by natural flow if maintenance of pressure is practiced. Infrequent tubing changes would be necessary but their cost would be much less than that of installing and maintaining pumping equipment. If small wells are to be made to flow naturally, careful consideration must be given the actual lifting mechanics within the string, so that fairly accurate knowledge of reservoir conditions, especially pressure, is essential. Wells producing between 5 and 25 bbl. daily are classified here as "small wells." Exponential Flow A maximum of the energy contained in the expanding gas must be employed to do useful work if natural flow is to be continued. It is evident that adiabatic expansion would defeat this purpose, therefore the velocity of the gas must be held down to a minimum in order that isothermal expansion may be approached. Of course, true isothermal expansion would not be obtainable in an oil well, hence the use of the term "exponential." 1 Obviously the closer the approach to isothermal expansion, the more efficient the lift. Experiments by the U. 8. Bureau of Mines² have shown that for isothermal expansion to take place in a gas well where water is being produced, a definite relationship exists between the depth of the well and the minimum operating pressure. The latter must be such that the tubing fill-up, if static conditions prevailed, would be equivalent to 14 per cent of the distance between the top of the fluid inside the tubing and the tubing head. It has been observed that variations in this essential ratio

Jan 1, 1932

By W. H. Howard

As the result of a series of analyses and volume determinations of gases discharged from the converters at the Garfield Smelting Co.'s. smelter at Garfield, Utah, it was found that a considerable amount of lead fume was escaping from the stacks of the converter plant, and `that if this lead could be recovered at a reasonable expense an attempt should be made to collect it. Two methods suggested themselves: (1) filtration through bags; (2) electrical precipitation of the condensed fume by a Cottrell plant. Filtration through Bags Tests were made in filtering converter gases through the ordinary woolen bags of lead-smelter bag houses to determine how long such material could withstand the corrosive action of the gases. While blowing on white metal only, the fabric was usually destroyed in 10 to 14 hr. In tests conducted in filtering gases when blowing on matte or slagging stage exclusively and when relatively considerable lead was being volatilized, bags in one instance lasted 60.5 hr. It therefore was evident that the Garfield converter gases did not contain in themselves sufficient neutralizing elements for the purpose of direct bag filtration, even during the slagging stage. Such results were more or less anticipated, but it was thus proved that under all conditions of blowing Garfield mattes a very considerable amount of neutralizing agent, zinc oxide or lime, or both combined, as in the Sprague process, would be required to render bag filtration possible. Again, owing to the constantly changing quantities of SO3 from a given battery of converters, depending on the number blowing at a given time and on the stages of the blow, it would be practically impossible to feed automatically the required amount of neutralizer. In order to safeguard the bags sufficient neutralizer would have to be continuously added to meet the maximum SO3 output, thus. wasting neutralizers and giving an undesirably diluted final product. Such a condition is entirely different

Jan 8, 1914

By S. Arthur Krom

Recent experiments indicate that the usual type of concen-trating-table is not only poorly adapted to produce the desired results, but also is based upon an incorrect principle, namely, the use of riffles to perform the work of stratifying the various minerals. We have heard a good deal about riffles for concentratiug-tables; exhaustive experiments have been made to discover the proper form of riffle, or to prove the superiority of this or that form; disputes and patent-litigation have arisen over the matter of riffles, and thus marly have been led to believe that the riffle is the saving-device upon which the process of concentration depends. In the present paper it is proposed to show that the riffle is greatly overrated as to the part it performs in the concentration of minerals, and that, in the near future, it may possibly be eliminated entirely from that process. The experiments in question have shown that the troublesome riffle can be considered of secondary importance at the most, and should be so classed in the construction of a concen-trating-table built upon the right lines. The action of any form of riffle on a concentrating-table is such as to upset and retard the process of settling and stratifying the various minerals on the table-deck. From the deck of a riffled table no concentrates can be delivered until the deck is " bedded," that is, until a suffcient amount of metallic values has been fed to the table to spread over a large portion of the deck, forming a substratum of the heavier minerals. This substratum must be maintained by the feed within quite narrow limits, and directly proportional to the rate of discharge from the table, in order that the bed shall not be lost. On the other hand, the riffles having a very limited carrying-capacity, considerable care must be taken not to overfeed a riffled table, in which case the table proceeds, in mill parlance, to rob itself. As soon as the space between the

Jan 1, 1912

By R. G. Ward, P. L. Sachdev

Using an improved maximum bubble pressure technique, the densities of iron silicates at 1400°C have been measured under nitrogen. At the wiistite composition the density has been measured by bubble-blowing experments with both argon and nitrogen and calculated from the measured volume of a known mass of melt under nitrogen. The densities under nitrogen are significantly different from those measured under argon for melts containing less than 28 wt pct SiO2. THE constitution of liquid slags is not well understood, largely because no single property or parameter can be measured which gives conclusive evi- dence of the types and packing of the ions present. Of the many property measurements which can provide information leading to a picture of the constitution of slags, density gives the most direct evidence and has been studied extensively. The work reported here is part of a program of study of densities in multicomponent melts in which the iron oxide-silica system is the solvent. These melts are important as they are fundamental to basic steelmaking, and they allow the study of basic silicate compositions which have hitherto been largely neglected. As considerable disparity exists

Jan 1, 1965

By R. R. Sayers

VENTILATION may be defined as the process by which vitiated air of an inclosed or partly inclosed space is continuously replaced by fresh air. Fresh air has been defined as invigorating pure air. Pure dry air at sea level contains the following gases:1 Analysis of Air at Sea Level PER CENT. Oxygen 20.94 Nitrogen 78.09 Carbon dioxide 0.03 Argon 0.94 Helium, krypton, neon, xenon, hydrogen, hydrogen peroxid, ammonia, ozone traces CARBON DIOXIDE LIMIT For many years carbon dioxide was used as an index of the purity of the air vitiated by the metabolism of people. It was, however, well known that the untoward effects produced on those exposed to such air was not due to the concentration of the carbon dioxide. It has been found that the untoward effects on the comfort and efficiency of those so exposed are due to the increased temperature and humidity. It has been found that men can breathe air containing many times the amount of carbon dioxide found in our worst ventilated theaters and assembly halls, which, according to Rosenau, do not contain above 0.5 per cent. carbon dioxide.

Jan 7, 1926

By C. P. Parsons

To properly account for the various characteristics of drilling muds obtained in different areas and geological horizons, it is necessary to study the composition of the mud from a chemical and physical standpoint as determined by the proportions and activities of the various solid contituents that are present in various states of division. Briefly summarized, science teaches that there are three states of division into which these solid constituents or particles may be grouped: namely, the suspended state, the individual particles of which are known as suspensoids; the colloidal state, in which the individual particles are termed colloids; and the crystalloidal state, wherein the individual particles are held in true solution and are termed crystalloids. The suspended state is one wherein the particles are fairly large and are present as molecular complexes, having none of the properties of colloids or crystalloids. Since matter varies in physical character and in chemical activities with its state of division, these coarser suspensoids do not themselves materially affect the physical or chemical properties of the solution in which they are suspended. On the other hand, they are distinctly detrimental in drilling muds and it is desirable that they be removed. Under the general classification of suspensoids are included sand, gravel and cuttings which contribute nothing to the colloidal stability or other desirable properties of the drilling fluid. As the state of division approaches but does not reach a molecular simplification, the term "colloidal state" is used in describing this condition. The colloidal state arises when one form of matter is in a very fine state of division and is distributed through a second phase. The material in the finely divided state is called the dispersed phase, while the liquid in which it is dispersed is called the dispersive phase. These particles of matter are in a colloidal state and will not settle out from the dispersive phase so long as colloidal conditions are stable. Moreover, they exhibit the property of having an oscillating movement around a central position in solution (the Brownian movement). In the third state of division, the crystalloidal state, the individual particles are held in true solution and are usually present as single molecules or ions. In a drilling fluid the water content of the fluid contains

Jan 1, 1931

By Eugene Grace

IN THE careers of the men to whom I have referred we find typified the development of the chief prob-lems of engineering. The first is to shape and direct the forces of nature and thus to bring the world's resources to add to the comfort and welfare of man-kind. That, in a word, is the problem of production. Engineers have made a supreme contribution to the solution of that problem. But I feel that we have two somewhat newer branches of engineering which must command more and more of our attention. Those are what might be termed commercial and human engineering. Of what value is all our efficiency in pro-duction if we do not distribute efficiently, economically and effectively? And of what value is any of it unless we can add to the happiness and deeper satisfaction of those engaged in industry, as well as those who enjoy its -products? I predict that the outstanding advances in business over the next ten years will be in improved merchan-dising and distributing methods. Herein lies a wide field of opportunity for the engineer. We have briefly reviewed certain qualities of engi-neers who have become successful business executives. Is it possible for us to say that the material success of all these men was due to any one characteristic com-mon to each one of them? Indeed, I venture to assert that there is one quality which, in the last analysis, is determining as to whether any roan shall realize material success in this world of ours. That quality-so notable in the character of each one of the men I have named-is sound judgment. Moments arise in every life when it is necessary to say "yes" or to say "no" to a particular proposition or to a proposed line of action. It is the man who says "yes" at the proper time and "no" at the proper time who, in the final analysis, realizes business success. The ability to do this wisely is the mark of sound judg-ment, which is necessary in a business executive. I have known many business men seemingly slow in their mental processes, possessed apparently, of little imagination and of none of the flair which gives fasci-nation to so many characters, and yet who, when crises come-be they big or be they little-are able so to steer their business courses that they move in the right direction instead of into shallow waters or upon the rocks of trouble.

Jan 4, 1928