Peter,
A bit late, but I could not resist asking why it is that you cling so
determinedly to diffusion as a model for the spread of ideas/technology.
Careful research has shown that, faced with similar problems and the
limitations of the day's technology, very similar answers are generally
arrived at by quite disparate individuals. Swan and Edison's invention of
the incandescent lamp (plus I think an Italian) is one example.
Of the crazing mill, you write "I might have expected it to be used in the
preparation of silver rich lead ores". Why?
The separation of silver was after smelting, not during dressing. All our
knowledge points to lead smelters preferring lump ore. The sort of fines
produced by the crazing mill would have made smelting very difficult and led
to major losses.
Mike Gill
|