Excerpt from Quicksilver Resources of California: With a Section on Metallurgy and Ore-Dressing The important uses of quicksilver are the recovery of gold and silver from ores by amalgamation, the manufacture of fulminate for explosive caps, of electrical appliances and scientific apparatus, and in the preparation of drugs, vermilion, and an anti-fouling paint for ships' bottoms. Another interesting use to which quicksilver is also put, though in which it is not 'consumed, ' is as a floating bearing for the re volving lenses of lighthouses. About 600 pounds of quicksilver are required (depending on the size of the light) - being placed in a ciren lar groove or channel. The lens or lighting unit is set on a pontoon which. In turn, rests and revolves on the mercury. As the metal is not consumed, the loss after installation is insignificant. By far the great est consumption of quicksilver is in the manufacture of fulminate and of drugs. The increased adoption of the cyanide process in place of amalgamation in the treatment of gold and silver ores has materially decreased that demand for quicksilver of recent years, particularly in the western United States and in Mexico. The newest use for quick silver is the introduction of a small amount into the cylinders of steam turbines to improve the vapor pressure and thus increase efficiency. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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