It seems
probable that the flashing-point will sooner or later be raised.
One instance may be cited to show how necessary it is that the native
mineral oils which have been discovered should have this effectual test
applied to them.
When the oil-wells were first discovered in America, the oil was obtained
simply by a process of boring, and the fountain of oil which was bored
into at times was so prolific, that it rushed out with a force which
carried all obstacles before it, and defied all control. In one instance
a column of oil shot into the air to a height of forty feet, and defied
all attempts to keep it under. In order to prevent further accident, all
lights in the immediate neighbourhood were extinguished, the nearest
remaining being at a distance of four hundred feet. But in this crude
naphtha there was, as usual, a quantity of volatile spirit which was
being given off even at the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.
This soon became ignited, and with an explosion the column of oil was
suddenly converted into a roaring column of fire. The owner of the
property was thrown a distance of twenty feet by the explosion, and soon
afterwards died from the burns which he had received from it. Such an
accident could not now, however, happen. The tapping, stopping, and
regulating of gushing wells can now be more effectually dealt with, and
in the process of refining; the most inflammable portions are separated,
with a result that, as no oil is used in the country which flashes under
100 deg.
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