Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/26

* • CALCHAS. 12 oracle of Apollo at Clarus, he met the prophet JIopsiis. who defeated him in a contest of proph- ety, whereupon lie died of grief. His grave was shown in Italy. CALCIF'EROUS (Lat. calx, lime +• ferre, to bear i . Tliu ti-nn given to a subdivision of the Ordovician system. It is usually a sandy niag- nesian limestone, known as the caloiferoiis sand rnck. It is found in Canada and New York, ex- tending southward tluough New Jersey and Penn- sylvania. Its equivalent is also to be seen in the magnesian limestones of Iowa, Jlissouri, and Michigan. The formation is now known as the Heekniantown beds, from the locality near the vil- lage of that name in Xew York State. See Or- dovician. CALCIMINE (Lat. ra/.r, limestone). A composition of zinc-white and glue sizing mixed with water, and a])])!ied as a finish to the plas- tered ceilings and side-walls of rooms. By add- ing coloring matter, any color desired may be produced. CALCINATION, or CALCINING (Fr., !Med. Lat. citlcinatio, from Lat. calx, lime). The process of heating or roasting in furnaces, kilns, or heaps the various metallic ores, limestones, cement-mixtures, etc. It is resorted to as the first stage in the extraction of the majority of the common metals from their ores, is an essen- tial process in lime and cement manufacture, and is a process of oxidation. Sec Irox and Steel; Cement. CALCITE (Lat. calx, lime). Calcareous ■ Spar, or ('ah -spar. An anhydrous calcium carbonate that crystallizes in the hexagonal sys- tem, and dilVers from the mineral aragonite only in its form of crystallization. The massive and crystalline varieties are known as limestone, marble, and chalk (qq.v.), and are fcnind almost nniversally, and in all geological formations. It is generally white or colorless, although pale shades of gray, red, green, blue, violet, and yellow are known, and, owing to the presence of imi)uri- ties, even black and brown varieties are found. The crystallized varieties include the dug-loolli s/iar, tile acute sealenohedral, crystals of which suggest its name; similarly, the name of nail- h<ad spar has been suggested by the form of its truncated crystals; satin spar is a line fibrous variety with a silky lustre. Iceland spar, orig- inally found in basalt rocks in Iceland, is a fine, colorless, translucent variety, with the property of double refraction: the finest specimens of this variety are u^ed for making polarizing ))risins. Caleite is found chielly in the following locali- ties: Andreasberg in the Ilarz Mountains. Alston Moor and I'^gremont, Cumberland, and Matlock, Derbyshire, England, and Rossie, X. '., the cop- per-mines at Lake Superior, and Warsaw, 111., in the United States. CAL'CIUM (Xeo-Lat., from Lat. calx, lime). A nictallie clement isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808. The name is derived from the Latin calx, lime, showing that calcium is the metal contained in lime. Calcium is not found native, but occurs extensively in combination with other elements in the forms of calcitc ( in- cluding limestone, marble, and chalk), aragonite. dolomite, selenite. gypsum, etc. It is also found in river and spring waters and in the bodies of plants arid animals. Spectrum analysis ha-s re- vealed its presence in the sun. Davy ubtaincd CALCRAFT. metallic calcium by the electrolysis of calcium chloride in the jiresence of mercury, the metal remaining as a jiowdiT on heating the amalgam thus ])roduced. Calcium (symbol, Ca : atomic weight, 40.07) is a lustrous, clear, yellowish- white, very ductile, and malleable metal of speci- fic gravity 1.5". It melts at a red heat. The metal itself has no commercial application, al- though it is capable of forming a crystalline alloy with zinc. It is readily oxidized in the air, even at ordinarv temperatures, and when )ieated to redness it burns with a very bright yellow llame. Like sodium and potassium, it decom- poses water with evolution of hydrogen. 'itli the non-metallic elements it is capable of forming compounds which are generally colorless and have an acrid taste. The more important of these compounds are described under their special names. CALCIUM CARBIDE, CaC.. A compound of eahiuni and earlinn. It was originally dis- covered in 1830 by Edmund Davy, who produced it simply as a laboratory curiosity. In 18U2 Wiihler prepared it in (iiitlingen. :ind about the same time Berthelot. in Paris, olitained it, but only in small quantities. In 18il2 Thomas L. Willson. in S))ray, N. C. found that by heating a mi.xtiire of lime and carbon in an electrical fur- nace, calcium carbide and carbon mono.xide were formed. Almost simultaneously Henri Aloissan, in Paris, announced his discovery of a similar method for its production. Its property of de- composing water with the formation of acetylene gas had already hnig 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- cially in the United States. The calcium carbide, or carbide, as it is called commercially, is now largely manufactured at Niagara Falls, N. Y., and Sault Stc. Marie, Mich.; and also ;it various places in Euro])e. The process consists essen- tially in sulimilting a mixture of powdered lime and coke-dust to the action of carbon electrodes in a furnace at a tem|)erature of al)Out li.SOO" 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 hislre and a specifie gravity of 2.'2"2. that is nim-infiammablc. infusible, and insoluble in most aeids and all alkalies; is absolutely unaf- fected by jars, concussions, or time, and is an inert and stable substance, except when l)rought into contact with water. Its principal use is for the manufacture of acetylene. Since its com- mercial introduction into the United States, its manufacture has passed into the control of a single corporation, who report that over 7000 tons of carbide were consumed in the year ending • Tune 1. 18!l!t. Its liistcJi'v and methods of pro- duction have been largely dcseribed in the various technical journals, and the Aceti/lene (las .lour- iial, published in Bufl'alo, N. Y'., is devoted to the exploitation of the new ilhiminant. Consult, also. Thompson, Acetylene (las: Its Nature, Properties, and T'scs: also Calcium Carhide: Its (Composition. Properties, and Method of Manu- facture (Lcmdon. isnfl). See Acetylene. CALCIUM LIGHT. See Diummond Light. CAL'CRAFT, .Ioiin William. The nom de plumr iif .Idlin Willi:im Cole. See Bride of Lah- MERMooR, The.