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LEFT STEAM WINCH STEAM WINCH, a form of hoisting apparatus in which rotary motion is im- parted to the winding axle from the pis- ton rod of a steam engine, directly or intermediately, through bevel gearing. The former is more rapid; the latter affords greater power. Specially used for loading and unloading ships. STEAEATES, compounds of stearic acid with the alkalies and metals. They have the consistence of hard soaps and plasters, and are mostly insoluble in wa- ter. Stearate of potassium, CisHaoKOj, separates on cooling from a solution of one part stearic acid and one part po- tassic hydrate in 10 parts of water. It forms shining delicate needles, having a faint alkaline taste, and dissolves in 6.7 parts boiling alcohol and 25 parts boiling water. Acid stearate of potassium, CisHssKOa-CisHGcOa, obtained by decom- posing the neutral salt with 1,000 parts of water. When dried and dissolved in alcohol it separates in silvery scales in- odorous and soft to the touch. It dis- solves in four parts of boiling absolute alcohol. STEARIC ACID, in chemistry CisHssO- OH, an acid discovered by Chevreul, and found as a frequent constituent of fats derived from the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and especially abundant as a tristearin in beef and mutton suet. It may be obtained by saponifying the fat with soda lye, decomposing with sul- phuric acid, dissolving the fatty acids in alcohol, and repeatedly crystallizing, the first portions of the fatty acid only being taken. When pure it crystallizes from alcohol in nacreous laminae or needles, is tasteless and inodorous, and has a dis- tinct acid reaction. Its specific gravity is nearly that of water, it melts at 69- 69.2°, distills in a vacuum without alter- ation, and is sparingly soluble in alcohol, more so in ether and benzene. STEARINE, or STEARIN, in chemis- try, CstHhoOh, the chief ingredient of suet and tallow, or the harder ingredient of animal fats, oleine being the softer one. It is obtained from mutton suet by re- peated solution in ether and crystalli- zation. It may also be obtained by pressing tallow between hot plates, and afterward dissolving in hot ether, which on cooling deposits the stearine. It has a pearly luster, is soft to the touch, but not grreasy. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in hot alcohol and ether. When treated with superheated steam it is sep- arated into stearic acid and glycerin, and when boiled with alkalies is saponified, that is, the stearic acid combines with the alkali, forming soap, and glycerin 67 STEEL is separated. When melted it resembles wax. STEDMAN, EDMUND CLARENCE, an American poet and banker; born in Hartford, Conn., Oct. 8, 1833; was a student at Yale, but did not graduate. In 1852 he became editor of the Norwich ''Tribune," and later of the Winsted "Herald." He was a war correspond- ent of the New York "World" during the American Civil War. In 1884 he became a stock broker in New York City. He wrote: "Poems Lyric and Idyllic" (1860) ; "Alice of Monmouth, and Other Poems" (1864) ; "The Blameless Prince, and Other Poems" (1869); "Hawthorne, and Other Poems" (1877) ; "Lyrics and Idylls" (1879) ; "Poems Now First Col- lected" (1897) ; and poems for special occasions, the "Dartmouth Ode"; "Get- tysburg"; etc. The best known of his critical works are: "Victorian Poets" (1875; revised and supplemented, 1887 and 1891) ; "Edgar Allan Poe" (1880) ; and "Poets of America" (1885). He edited in collaboration with Ellen M. Hutchinson "A Library of American Literature" (1888-1890). He died Jan. 18, 1908. STEED, H. WICKHAM, an English journalist and writer, born in 1871. He was educated at the universities of Jena, Berlin, and Paris. For many years he was acting correspondent of the London "Times" at Berlin, and following this he served in the same capacity in Rome and Vienna. In 1913 he was appointed special editor of the "Times." He made a specialty of Austrian and Balkan af- fairs and was considered an authority on the subject. He took an active part in the deliberations at the Paris Peace Conference and was consulted on ques- tions relating to Austria-Hungary and the Balkan States. In 1920 he was ap- pointed editor of the London "Times." He wrote "The Socialist and Labour Movement in England, Germany, and France" (1894) ; "The Hapsburg Mon- archy" (1914) ; "England in the War" (1915); "The English Effort" (1916); "Democratic Britain" (1918). STEEL. Steel may in a general way be defined as a variety or condition of iron capable of being melted and cast, hammered and welded, and of being tem- pered, or hardened and softened. It is thus in its properties intermediate be- tween malleable and cast iron, and in itg composition it also occupies a middle place between these two varieties. The proportion of carbon contained in the metal is the chief element in determining its character, cast iron containing gen-