then turned with its body nearly horizontal, and the charge of melted iron is run in at its mouth.[1] The vessel is next turned so that its body becomes erect (as in Fig. 57), and, as soon as this turning commences, the blast is put on. An enormous discharge of particles of burning iron escapes from the vessel's mouth as it moves toward an erect position, and when the turning ceases it is evident that a most intense reaction is taking place between the oxygen of the air blown into the "converter" and the silicon and carbon contained in the
Fig. 58.—Pouring Steel from a Converter.
iron. The mechanical action of the blast in throwing about the liquid metal augments the internal tumult—intense flame issues with an angry roar from the converter's mouth, and the whole apparatus trembles as though it was possessed of a devil that was reluctant to be cast out.
Fig. 59.—Casting Ladle and Mold.
After the lapse of a certain time (varying with the character and quantity of the metal being operated upon), the flame at the mouth of the converter undergoes a great reduction in volume and change in character, and it is by the appearance of this flame
- ↑ The early "converters" had a capacity of from one to three tons, but we now hear of "vessels" holding from fifteen to twenty tons.
