Abstract
THIS book describes the evolution of the “hydrogenlamp” for the detection and estimation of fire-damp in coal-mines, as well as for the detection of other gases and vapours which may form explosive mixtures with air. In an historical introduction, and in various appendices, Prof. Clowes gives an account of the various appliances which have been brought forward for the detection of small quantities of fire-damp, and each method in turn is criticised and condemned in view of the “superior advantages” of the hydrogen-lamp. How far it is desirable for the inventor of a particular process to write a book on the general subject of gas-testing, and to criticise rival inventions in it, need not be discussed; the literary character of the book certainly suffers, as witness the following:—“The advantages of the hydrogenflame render it so distinctly superior to every other testing-flame, that those who have once become familiar with its use prefer it to all other flames in delicate and accurate testing.” This is not taken from a page of advertisements, but is the last paragraph of the “historical summary.”
The Detection and Measurement of Inflammable Gas and Vapour in the Air.
By F. Clowes Boverton Redwood Pp. xii + 206. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1896.)
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The Detection and Measurement of Inflammable Gas and Vapour in the Air. Nature 54, 620 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/054620a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/054620a0