Edward Goodrich Acheson project

Script

Adam Audet

2-7-13

5^th hour

            Most scientists and inventors are known for their discoveries and inventions. We know of these people because we use their creations and the results of their discoveries in our everyday lives. However, there are thousands of people who have made discoveries and inventions in our everyday lives. The things we do in our everyday lives could not be possible without some of those people. The little known scientists are the ones who make an impact on our lives the greatest yet we only know of their contributions to society.

            During the early 19^th century, the major countries of the world underwent a second industrial revolution. This time the advancements in technology were through mass production and assembly lines in factories. Scientists were routinely trying to discover new ways to increase production rates. One of the scientists who made a great impact on this era was Edward Goodrich Acheson. His inventions included the second hardest substance to diamond- Carborundum. He also produced various types of graphite based lubricants to aid in the production of metals and other hard substances.

            Edward Goodrich Acheson was born in Washington, Pennsylvania on March 9, 1856. When he was only sixteen years old his father passed away and he was forced to go to work to support his family. He worked for his father’s railroad company and after hours he pursued his interest in electricity and engineering by studying the fundamentals of electricity and various inventions. Soon, he decided to apply for a job at Edward Weston, a company that produced electroplating dynamos. Acheson was turned down for the job and he continued searching for other jobs. At the age of twenty-five he got a job working for Thomas Edison at his research lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. While working for Edison he helped with the development and installation of electrical lighting, a new potential source of light for everyday people at the time. Edison noticed Acheson’s potential as a natural inventor and engineer and promoted him to assistant chief engineer. Eventually, in 1884 Edward moved to New York to work as a superintendent of a plant that produced lamps he helped Edison invent. While working at the plant Acheson began conduction experiments with different substances. He first tried heating super- heating carbon to the point where it would produce diamond in an attempt to create a super hard abrasive. The experiment failed and he became mixing carbon and clay, and electrically fusing it. The result product was a silicon carbon mix strong enough to scratch glass. At first, Acheson mistook the substance to be a compound of carbon and alumina. Once he realized his mistake he called the substance Carborundum and obtained a patent for it in 1893. After he perfected the process of producing the substance, Acheson realized the mass production of hard substances such as building materials and metals would be nearly impossible without it. To produce the substance he built a factory in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. However, the demand for a cheap, easy to produce abrasive became so high that he had to build a second factory in Niagara Falls in 1895. Edward began conducting further experiments on the substance and discovered that overheating the substance produced almost pure graphite. When the compound reached 4, 150 degrees Celsius the silicon portion of the substance vaporizes and leaves behind graphitic carbon. He began producing lubricants using the graphite including oildag and aquadag, and created Acheson Graphite Co. in 1899.  To increase production and the growth of his company Acheson merged his company with National Carbon Co.

            Over the course of his career Acheson received seventy patents for his inventions and discoveries. In 1928 he used his earnings over the course of his career to create the Edward Goodrich Acheson award for people who have accomplished major discoveries in the advancements of science and technology; he was the first to receive the award in 1929. He also received the Count Rumford medal for his inventions, the John Scott medal for his invention of Carborundum and artificial graphite and the Grand Prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. Edward Goodrich Acheson died on July 6, 1931. His discoveries and inventions helped form the foundation of the mass production of strong building materials and metals for today.

Works Cited

Bellis, Mary. "Edward Goodrich Acheson - Carborundum." About.com Inventors. N.p.. Web. 13 Feb 2013. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blacheson.htm>.

. "Edward Goodrich Acheson." Cemmical Heritage Foundation. The Berndt Group, n.d. Web. 13 Feb 2013. <http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/electrochemistry/acheson.asp&xgt;.

. "Inventor of the week Edward Acheson Carborandum." Lemelson-MIT. N.p.. Web. 13 Feb 2013. <http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/acheson.html>.