Show mysterious las explosions A who always to reach hiso irico punctually at nine was starting one morning his wife cill cil kiiru back and asked him to alo an errand fur her he grumbled a little for it would make liim late but he went and so lie did not reach his ollice butil a quarter when lie arrived ho firo and a crowd of people alio door and that the liall and stairways were nil blown to pieces the people told libin that there had been a gw explosion in tle cellar at just about nine it the lawyer had been going upstairs at the moment ho would probably havo been killed how could this be how can gas which is burned freely in city houses and halls create such an explosion tiro socrat is that although gas is i s not ordinarily explosive yet is mixed niah atmospheric air compound it lighted will explode willi great violence the best proportion is when one pas is mingled with about live parts of air hence aceil not be n great clcil of gas at large in a cellar to imke tho air enough to do damage and a great many disasters are caused in cities and largo towns in this way A pipe springs a little leak or some one carelessly leaves a burner turned in one of the rooms tho gas steadily though very slowly perhaps pours into thu cellar or room and beloro iong the people begin to say what a strong smell of gas roust be n leak somewhere they ought never to anso a light in searching for the leak iset often one is used if the trouble is in an upstairs room and it is evening a servant girl very likely goes n a lamp to lind the burner which is open and closes it or it it be in alie cellar and a gas fitter or plumber is sent for he very often carries own a burning cindle then the mixed gis ami air will blow the building to pieces anil may very likely kill alic people in the cities men walk the streets yelling toy balloons these balloons aru made of very iliin liblit india rubber and am about alio size of a large soap bubble they arc filled with common gas such mis burned in houses one day a gentleman glit one and was carrying it along tho street holding it by a string about three feet long which lay over hiis shoulder and allowed the balloon to bloat in the air behind him bobbing up and down as ho walked in alio crowd a gentleman smoking a cigar came near and the balloon touched the lighted end of the cigar the brein the cigar burned or melted a hole in the balloon the gas and atmospheric air mingled together forming an nc compound and took lire and immediately was an explosion in tho smokers face singeing his whiskers and burning his dosu t ala lm not know it may be dangerous to carry a lamp into a room lias iwan ii little cas escaping but one would gnp posu repairing sis pipes would understand ill about it many however jo not alio people in lie boiku to v atchi 1 workman alicy senj down cellar to nal a cak annl see ali it he docs not 1 liblit an albiny man sent to ho is compier compi nr to li iro a leak in his cellar anit the workman who came truck aruil cb the cv blew up iiii floors so that alio mang anil daughter were blown thron sli ho ceiling of alic room in which almy vore silling up into ho next story anil sort of calin uty has happened in a great inina caws froni like carelessness of gas themselves if you notice a person lighting the gis after alic faucet has been turned little yon will sometimes notice that it lights with a little puff when what is called an argend burner is aed this finite loud for alio chimney liolis a liello aiu of thodis mingled with air and alio pud yon hear is tho explosion of this mixture A grown person could show you a pretty good illustration of those explosions by holding a mug or tumbler over a gas burner and letting a little gas pour into it which would immediately mix the air already in it and then lighting this mixture bilut tho mug or tumbler should be a pretty strong one else alm explosion might shatter it christian envin |