From:
"Marcus" <marcus@zzzzzzzzzzzzzz>
Date:
Fri, 10 Dec 2004 22:36:34 -0500
Subject:
portland cement?
Chaz,
From what little I've been able to find about the origen of portland cement,
Smeaton made a type of concrete with quicklime and called it portland
cement, but Aspdin was the first one to burn lime and clay hot enough to
produce something like what we think of as modern pc. He thought it was
cool and stuccoed a pub with it, but never realized the greater potential of
the stuff.
Awhile ago I was thinking about writing an article about Aspdin and the
discovery of portland, but I couldn't get enough info from the web or my
local libraries so I gave up. And a lot of what I read was contradictory
too. But I find it incredible that information about an invention that has
had such a profound impact on modern life, right up there with the lightbulb
and the automobile, is so sketchy. I can only attribute this to two
factors: the average person considers cars a lot more interesting than
concrete and Aspdin didn't know what he had - it took several other
innovative guys to figure out what to do with the stuff.
If you know more about this or can point me to a more authoritative book,
article or website I'd be most appreciative.
Marcus
Quoted text begins.Smeaton deserves at least
as great a share of the credit as Aspdin becuase he was the first to
introduce a scientific method to the analysis of mortars and why they work
or don't work.
End of quote.
- References
- message 00534: mortar for limestone blocks - Charles Kibby (11 Dec 2004)
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