E. G. Acheson, the inventor of carborundum, which may be called an
artificial gem that, unlike the majority of gems, is much more useful
than ornamental, has proven that for a man of ideas and ability the
world of to-day is as full of opportunities as it was in those periods
which are somewhat vaguely alluded to by less successful men as “the
good old times.” Mr. Acheson was born at Washington, Pennsylvania,
in 1854, and after receiving a public school, college and technical
training, entered the employ of Edison, the inventor. From the first
he was a persistent and somewhat daring experimentalist, one of his
scientific fads being the manufacture of artificial diamonds, and
it was during the investigations made by him in relation thereunto
that carborundum—a substance which has revolutionized some industries
and incidentally brought fame and fortune to its discoverer and his
associates—was obtained. The principle of the electric furnace, by
means of which the substance in question is manufactured, was in
existence many years before Mr. Acheson began to use it in connection
with his experimental work, but other scientists had failed to
recognize its possibilities. Carborundum is produced by fusing carbon
and silicon by means of a huge electric arc, the result being a mass of
beautifully colored crystals which are harder than any known substance
except diamonds. Carborundum is rapidly taking the place of emery for
abrasive purposes. Another product of the electric furnace—artificial
graphite—is also a discovery of Mr. Acheson, and which is of great
value in many of the arts and sciences.