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ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 768 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM

ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM . The solid or semi-solid kinds of See also:

BITUMEN

bitumen (q.v.) were termed &r4aXros by the Greeks; and by some See also:

ancient classical writers the name of pissasphaltum (irio'o'a, See also:

pitch) was also sometimes employed. The asphalt of the Dead See also:

Sea (known as Lacus Asphaltites) received considerable See also:

NOTICE

notice from See also:

early travellers, and Diodorus the historian states that the inhabitants of the surrounding parts were accustomed to collect it for use in See also:

EGYPT

Egypt for See also:

EMBALMING (Gr. 06Xaaµov, balsam; Ger. Einbalsamiren; Fr. embaumement)

embalming. In See also:

COMMON

common with other forms of bitumen, asphalt is very widely distributed geographically and occurs in greater or less quantity in rocks of all ages. There is some divergence in the views expressed as to the precise manner of its See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production, but it may certainly be said that the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal asphalt deposits are merely the result of the evaporation and oxidation of liquid See also:

PETROLEUM (Lat. Petra, rock, and oleuin, oil)

petroleum which has escaped from outcropping strata. The celebrated Pitch See also:

Lake of See also:

TRINIDAD

Trinidad was See also:

long regarded as the largest See also:

DEPOSIT (Lat. depositurn, from deponere, to lay down, to put in the care of)

deposit of asphalt in existence, but it is said to be exceeded in See also:

AREA

area, if not in See also:

DEPTH

depth also, by one in See also:

VENEZUELA

Venezuela. The Trinidad " Lake " has an area of 99.3 acres, and is sufficiently See also:

FIRM

firm in places to support a team of horses. The deposit is worked with picks to a depth of a See also:

FOOT

foot or two, and the excavations soon become filled up by the plastic material flowing in from below and hardening. The depth of the deposit is not accurately known. The See also:

SURFACE

surface is not level but is composed of irregularly tumescent masses of various sizes, each said to be subject to See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent See also:

motion, whereby the interior of each rises and flows centrifugally towards the edges. As the spaces between them are always Ailed with See also:

WATER

water, these masses are prevented from coalescing. The softer parts of the lake constantly evolve See also:

gas, which is stated to consist largely of See also:

CARBON (symbol C, atomic weight 12)

carbon dioxide and sulphuretted See also:

HYDROGEN [symbol H, atomic weight x-oo8 (0=16)]

hydrogen, and the pitch, which is See also:

HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey-combed with gas-cavities, continues to exhibit this See also:

ACTION

action for some See also:

time after its removal from the lake.

The working of the deposit is in the hands of the New Trinidad Asphalt See also:

COMPANY

Company, who hold the concession up to the See also:

YEAR

year 1930 on See also:

PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

payment to the See also:

government of a minimum See also:

ROYALTY (0. Fr. realte, reialte, royaulte, from Med. Lat. regalitas, the substantive of regalis, of or belonging to a king, rex)

royalty of £I0,o0o a year. A circular See also:

LINE

line of See also:

TRAMWAY

tramway, supported on See also:

palm-leaves, has been laid on the lake to facilitate the removal bf the asphalt. Very large quantities are exported for paving and other purposes, the See also:

ANNUAL

annual shipments amounting to about 130,000 tons from the lake and about 30,000 tons from other properties. The amount of asphalt in the lake has been estimated at 158,400 tons for each foot of depth, and if the See also:

AVERAGE

average depth be taken at 20 ft. this would give a See also:

TOTAL

total of 3,168,000 tons; but in 1908, though 1,885,600 tons had been removed in the previous See also:

THIRTY

thirty-five years, there was but little See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of reduction in the quantity. The Venezuelan deposit already referred to is in the See also:

state of See also:

BERMUDEZ

Bermudez, and the area of it is reported to be more than See also:

root) acres. The asphalt of See also:

CUBA (the aboriginal name)

Cuba is a well-known See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article of See also:

commerce, of which 7252 tons was exported to the See also:

UNITED

United States in 1902. The principal deposits are near the See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour of See also:

CARDENAS (San Juan de Dios de Cardenas)

Cardenas (70 ft. thick), in the Pinar del Rio, near See also:

HAVANA (the name is of aboriginal origin; Span. Habana or, more fully, San Cristobal de la Habana)

Havana (18 ft. thick), at Canas Tomasita (105 ft. thick); and a specially pure variety near Vuelta. The See also:

COMPARATIVE

comparative See also:

composition of Trinidad and Cuba asphalt is given in the following table: Refined Refined Refined Trinidad, Cuba(soft), Cuba(hard), Melting Melting Melting point point point 185° F. I15° F. 16o° F. Water . . .

0.17 0.13 0.11 Volatile bitumen . . 51.81 64'03 8'34 See also:

SULPHUR

Sulphur . . . . See also:

I000

I000 8.35 8.92 Ash (earthy See also:

MATTER

matter) . 28.30 19.51 16.6o Fixed carbon 9.72 7.98 66.03 See also:

I00.00 I00.00 I00.00 See also:

ASPHODEL (Asphodelus)

ASPHODEL The chemical composition of Trinidad asphalt has been given as: 0. I S. I.40 11.48 — Asphalt in its purest forms is generally See also:

black or blackish See also:

brown in See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour, and is frequently brittle at See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary temperatures. Apart from its principal use in the manufacture of paving materials, it is largely employed in See also:

BUILDING

building as a " See also:

DAMP

damp-course " and as a water-excluding coating for See also:

concrete floors, as well as in the manufacture, of roofing-See also:

FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt. It also enters largely into the composition of black See also:

VARNISH

varnish. The material chiefly used in the construction of asphalt roadways is an asphaltic or bituminous See also:

LIMESTONE

limestone found in the Val de Travers, See also:

canton of See also:

Neuchatel; in the neighbourhood of Seyssel, See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department of See also:

Ain; at Limmer, near the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of See also:

Hanover; and else-where. The proportion of bitumen See also:

PRESENT

present in asphalt See also:

rock usually ranges from 7 to 20 %, but it is found that rock containing more than I I % cannot be satisfactorily used for See also:

street pavements, and it is accordingly customary to mix the richer and poorer varieties in See also:

FINE

fine See also:

POWDER (through O. Fr. puldre, modern poudre, from Lat. pulvis, pulveris, dust)

powder in such respective quantities that the proportion of bitumen present is from 9 to 10 %. The richer rock is utilized as a source of asphalt " See also:

MASTIC, or MASTICH (Gr. µao-rixrt, probably connected with µaoavOai, to chew, since mastic is used in the East as a chewing gum)

mastic,” which is employed for footpaths, floors, See also:

ROOFS

roofs, &c.

Excellent See also:

FOUNDATIONS

foundations ,for See also:

steam-hammers, dynamos and high-See also:

SPEED, JOHN (1552–1629)

speed engines are made of asphaltic concrete. (B.

End of Article: ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM

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