Steel Cutting by Electric Arc
STEEL cutting by means of the electric arc is a recent discovery that is now to a considerable extent occupying the attention of people whose interests such a discovery seems likely to affect. It has been known for several years that steel could be cut, or melted through, with comparative ease, by a direct application of the intense heat generated in the electric arc. Practical use has been made of this knowledge in preparing steel for use in the construction of buildings. The possibility of a less proper use of the new method of steel piercing suggested itself, however, to bankers and others interested in the preservation of valuables in steel safes and vaults. The process was one that could be made to serve the purpose of the burglar. Armed with such a device, the bank robber would have little trouble in getting into the best-constructed safe, and his liability of detection would be lessened by the absence of the noise which accompanies an explosion. It was thought at first that the use of the electric arc in cutting steel would require a current of high voltage, which, together with the fact that a brilliant light is produced at the point of contact of the carbon with the steel, it was believed would lessen the danger of its use for criminal purposes. But it has been shown that a small storage battery, or the wires of an electric light plant, or the battery of an electric automobile, will suffice for the current; and as some means could no doubt be found for confining the light to a small area, the fear that science will become a powerful ally of the lawbreaker in this matter seems to be justified. More and more it is becoming evident that the best place for the deposit of earthly treasure is the bank of heaven.