Northeast High School - Nor Easter Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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23 or' easter called tinned can because it is nothing but an iron can covered with a very thin coat of tin. As this tin can rusts away it leaves iron oxide, or rust as it is more commonly called. This is the same product that we would derive if we burned iron in oxygen, for iron burns in oxygen. A more striking comparison can be made between two pieces of wood, one piece being burned and the other left on a wet ground to rot, or a process of slow oxidation. lf a chemical analysis were made of the products of both pieces of wood, after the chemical reaction is complete, they will be found to be composed of the same compounds and elements. Also the amount of heat liberated in both cases will be found to be the same. Another case of slow oxidation, is that which takes place in the human body. We inhale the air of which one- fifth is oxygen. Those who have studied physiology know that the blood, after having flown through the body, flows to the lungs, liberates carbon dioxide, heat, water vapor, and other impurities, and absorbs the oxygen from the air in the lungs. The blood carries this oxygen to the various tis- sues of the body. There the oxygen reacts with these tissues, forming the above named products as well as gen- erating enough heat to keep the body at a normal temperature of about nine- ty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. The same thing is true in all animal bodies. And you, who have studied physiology, have wondered why your body is al- ways compared to a steam engine. The reason for this is that the products of respiration are the same as those from any other burning. Spontaneous combustion is an oxi- dation involving both of the above mentioned oxidations. It is an actual burning started by the accumulation of heat of a slow oxidation. Oily rags. for instance, are very poor conductors of heat. A slow oxidation is taking place between the oils in the rags and the oxygen in the air. Heat is evolved, the same as in the human body, for in a case of slow oxidation, as well as in the other oxidations, there is alwaye a certain amount of heat evolved, due to the fact that the molecules of both substance undergo a chemical change and in the friction thereof, a small amount of heat is generated. Since rags are poor conductors of heat, this heat accumulates until the kindling temperature of the rags fthe lowest temperature at which a substance will take fire in air and continue to burnj has been reached. Then, if such a pile of rags should happen to be left lying in the corner of a factory, which has no automatic sprinkler system, and the watchman is down in the engine room exchanging yarns with the en- gineer, we would see in the morning papers with great headlines, Another factory destroyed by fire due to spon- taneous combustionf' A great many grain elevators, hay stacks, hay barns, and paint factories are destroyed by spontaneous combustion. Now we come to the last but not the least of the four types of oxidations namely: explosion. Specifically de- fined, explosion is a very rapid com- bustion, accompanied by a sudden in- crease in pressure due to the increase of the volume of the gas. Let us take the case of a' cartridge about to be fired from a gun. At the head ofthe cartridge there is a primer composed of fulminate of mercury, definitely formed and shaped, and exactly weighed. The hammer of the gun as soon as it hits this primer, creates enough heat to cause this fulminate of mercury to ignite. The ignited fulmi- nate of mercury, having a much lower kindling temperature than the powder, in turn ignites the powder. As the powder burns, which it does very rapidly, a gas is evolved. It is this sudden increase in volume due to the gases formed which forces the bullet from the shell. A similar case of ex plosion is made use of in the gasoline engines. In this case, the mixture of gasoline vapor and air burns in the cylinder, having been ignited by the spark from the spark plug, and having, previous to this, been compressed. iCo11tinued on Page 647 C L st 1 ei tc w D oi fr te oi or a a su ge th at w: se ba a Dc Sc ga Se ga SC4 Se mz an 3 3 on on- sni of Fr

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' 'ri-: 'Hives-921124:-l:--2-.xii-1 2-waexzwfa-:e:frm'i:-155-o.'.r,a.,,,,, .. 2 63,53 ,,. ,Im L 1165 7 . 3720 00-72 . 72- per 305f I4 14 feet Bcity v of ffer- :rent ong- :hers ona- ienv s, to Lvoid VVe open Xvill the ever e. 22 said it of 1 the fould show ap it aeast ckin- their : and I2 Pm The The en in . The it for first OID' 83.511813 27 Northeast representation in that paper. The school Science and Mathematics Monthly, as the name implies, is pub- lished every month during the school year. Several interesting topics are always printed as well as problems and their solutions in both fields of Science and Mathematics. Every issue con- tains a problem capable' of being solved by the average high school student, not only in America, but over the whole world. The last issue even con- tained a solution for the above proh- lem by Richard Cumming from Dal- keith, Scotland. . So you see that the name Northeast High School, Kansas City, Missouri, and its representatives, does travel outside of its own vicinity. ARTS AND SCIENCE EDITOR. CGNCERNING CHEMISTRY .We would not be far from wrong if we said that the study of chemistry has advanced more in the last century and a half, than it has since its begin- ning. The ancients studied chemical actions, and the art of changing some baser metal into a more precious metal. This study was called alchemy. We therefore have no old laws in chemis- try, as for instance, Archimedes Prin- ciple in Physics which has stood the test of the Twentieth Century scien- tists. ' ' ' ' The entire reason for this lies in the fact that the most important chem- ical action, namely: burning, was not understood until the middle of the Eighteenth Century, when Antoine Laurent Lavoiser discovered the chem- ical change which a metal undergoes when heated in air. He took a quan- tity of mercury, and heating it to the temperature just below the boiling point of mercury C357OCj, noticed that after a few days, a red powder was formed Qmercuric oxidej. On weigh- ing this mercuric oxide he found that it weighed more than the mercury. Then he took this mercuric oxide, an-il, heating it for several days to a tem- perature above the boiling point of mercury, found that a quantity of gas was evolved, and that small particQes of mercury were clinging to the sices of the vessel. The evolved gas he called oxygen. Un again weighing tfie mercury he found that it had the same weight as the mercury with which he had started. Then on weighing the gas he found that the loss of weigfit of the mercuric oxide was equal to the weight of the oxygen. On investigat- ing further, he found that in burning, the weight of the entire products ex- ceeds the weight of the fuel. And with these experiments, and experiments of similar nature by other great scien- tists, such as Joseph Priestly, who was a contemporary of Lavoiser, the study of chemistry was revolutionized. Lavoiser, in 1786, was the first to explain ordinary burning as the com- bining of a substance with oxygen. Such a combining is an oxidation and the compounds formed are known as oxides. There are four different kinds of oxidations, namely: ordinary burn- ing, slow oxidation, spontaneous com- bustion, and explosion. Qrdinary burn- ing is an oxidation accompanied by noticeable light and heat. Take the case of a burning candle fone of the most interesting lectures was given by Michael Faraday at the Royal Institu- tion in London on The Chemical His- tory of a Candle j, we notice the light and heat but do not realize that a chemical change is occurring. Neither would we believe that the gaseous products which are formed, will weigh more than the candle itself unless we were actually shown that such is the case, as was demonstrated in the chem- istry classes. Even then it is hard to believe. This increase in weight is due to the oxygen taken out of the air. In ordinary burning nearly all substances undergo similar changes. In slow oxidation, no noticeable light or heat are evolved.. Neverthe- less the same kind of action is taking place in slow oxidation, the only dif- ference, as the name implies, is that if goes on at a much slower rate. Let us take, for instance, the rusting of a tin can, which really should be 1 1 -. . . . . . . . . . - - - - . ' ' - ' ' :' ' ' - ' .4Z.. : , ..'f'i?1i:'S'EiEiT?ifi7'r -:f:L1?z1f1 'T L55 ' 151' ' -:V f - -- '

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'f 1 n 'U'F 1'l YL'v'!1 ' ff. x. 'vQ'E!!'0'rgh14-an .e!,..-Km' pp,-4, due Joth mge mall rince this lling west will urnl pile vine has and .gine en- ning rther pon- nany arns, dby t the tions de- com- n in- rease take ,o be fi the Josed iitely Lactly in as eates ite of ulmi- .ower wder, s the very s this o the bullet if ey soline ire of n the y the aving, essed. Q 0 X 'X ' ,F ,A gfftli O cY' I in Lrnlf-IJ A l JF F I agigvii ' x ill :-- J, T i 112 iii X O i THEODORE MILLER, Editor. ' Qld Man Basketball got a flying start at Northeast for the season of 1921-1922, when the Sophomores emerged victorious in the inter-class tournament which was held during the week of November twenty-eighth to December second, nineteen twenty- one. The contests were hard-fought from beginning to end, and were in- teresting throughout. In the first series, which was held on November twenty-eighth, the Soph- omores overwhelmed the Freshmen by a score of 23 to 6. This contest was a good beginning, for it showed the superiority of the second year aggre- gation over the first and it also showed the first year team the system of play at Northeast. Stockwell, playing for- ward for the Freshmen, displayed senior, even first team ability to play basketball. Bash, at center, also played a good game. For the Sophomores, DelVIarea, at guard, and Jeffries, the Sophomore captain, each played a fine game, DelVIarea caging six goals. In the second game of the series the Seniors and juniors played a tight game, the Seniors finally winning by a score of 25 to 19. The forwards of the Senior team, Onafrio and johnson, made a splendid pair. Lapin, at guard, and Southern at forward, each played a game worthy of praise. THE SECOND SERIES. At the sound of the referee's whistle on November twenty-ninth, the sec- ond series got under way. The Juniors snowed the Freshmen under by a score of 23 to 1. The lone point of the Freshmen was made by Stockwell, playing forward. McDonald and South- ern, both forwards, played a mi ht . . .. g Y fine game at their positions. Griggs, at center, also played a good game. In the SCC.O11d game of the series the finally victorious champions, :the Sophomores, humbled the aggregation 1 an interesting game, the Seniors re- ceiving the short end of the score of ll to 9. For the Seniors, L. Qnafrio, a guard, played a good game, as did Foreman, at center. Koonse, diminu- tive forward, played a fine game, DQ- Marea at guard, also starred at his position. 1 THE THIRD SERIES. On November first, the series which proved to be the hardest fought of all the contests, started. The Seniors ho-oked up with the team representing the Freshmen and were defeated by the close score of 12 to ll. As the score indicates the game was hard fought. Fouls were very noticeable, the Seniors committing twelve and the Freshmen ten. The Onafrio brothers, Nick and Louie, starred at forward and guard, respectively. Stockwell, as in previous encounters with upper classmen, played well for the Freshmen. His spectacular shots from center and near center aroused interest. In the second battle of the day, the Sophomores went into the affray lead- ing the school by a percentage of l,OOO, having won two games and lost none, but they were humbled by the second place juniors by a score of 18 to 12. It was a hard fought contest as is in- dicated by the final score. The wu.q,.g ,.v.-4 -vazemanaifcfiiaiwzs vane i fl- 21 is - V , -LN. ---