CALCIUM CARBIDE, CaC,,. A compound of calcium and carbon. It was originally dis covered in 1836 by Edmund Davy. who produced it. simply as a laboratory curiosity. In IS62 Wiihler prepared it, in and about the same time Berthelot, in Paris, obtained it, but only in small quantities. In Thomas L. Willson, in Spray, N. C., found that by heating a mixture of lime and carbon in an electrical fur nace, calcium carbide and carbon monoxide were formed. Almost simultaneously Henri Moissan, in Paris, announced his discovery of a similar method for its production. Its property of de water with the formation of acetylene gas had :already long been known. and the fore going method just described made possible the economical production of acetylene gas for il luminating purposes. and accordingly that in dustry has since been largely developed, espe ially in the States. The calcium carbide, or earbide, as it is called commercially, Is now largely manufactured at Niagara Falls, N. Y., and Sault. Ste.laric, Mich.; and also at various places in Europe. The process consists essen tially in submitting a mixture of powdered lime and coke-dust to the action of carbon electrodes in a furnace at a temperature of alma 3300° C.
The fused material is allowed to cool and harden, after which it is removed. Calcium Carbide is a hard, brownish crystalline compound with a metallic lustre and a specific gravity of 2.22. that is non-inflağmiable, infusible, and insoluble in most. acids and all alkalies; is absolutely unaf fected by jars, eoncussions, or time, and is an inert and stable substance, except when brought into contact with water. Its principal use is for the manufacture of acetylene. Since its com mercial introduction into the l'nited States, its manufacture has passed into the control of a single corporation, who report that over 7000 tons of varbide were consumed in the year ending June 1, 1809. Its history and methods of pro duet ion have been largely described in the various I °clinical and the .1cOpiene Gas jour nal, published in Bffirnio. Y.. is devoted to the exploitation of the new illmninant. Consult, also, Thom],s(ol, .1retylene Gas: its Nature, Properties, Uses; also Calrium Carbide: Its Composition, Properties, and Method of .11anu f art 'sr(' (London, 1899). See ACETYLENE.