A BOMB EXPLODES IN THE LABORATORY

A Swansea Student’s Alarming Shock During Scientific Experiments

It was in the pages of the South Wales Daily Post, published in July 1926, that readers first encountered the explosive story emerging from Swansea University College at Singleton — a tale of scientific inquiry interrupted by a sudden and startling detonation. Within the quiet precincts of the Summer Mining School, where earnest students labour to unlock the mysteries of coal and combustion, an unexpected blast shattered the calm and drew public attention.

The Experiment — A Device of Heat and Pressure

The young scholar at the centre of the affair, Mr. Wilfred Maliphant, of “Brookfields,” Kingsbridge, Gorseinon, had been engaged in determining the heating value of a particular grade of coal by means of a bomb colorimeter — a compact vessel designed to endure intense pressure. With the apparatus prepared and the coal sample secured within, Mr. Maliphant bent to the telescope to observe the readings that would reveal the fuel’s latent energy.

The Sudden Explosion — A Flash and a Blow

Without warning, the instrument exploded, sending a sharp report through the laboratory and striking the student’s right eye. The injury, though painful, was mercifully not of serious character. Instructors later observed that had Mr. Maliphant not been peering through the telescope at the critical moment, he would have escaped entirely unscathed, for the bomb lacked the strength to inflict grave harm upon its surroundings.

A Narrow Escape — Fortune in the Midst of Danger

Thus concluded an episode that might easily have taken a darker turn. The young man’s slight injury served as a solemn reminder of the hazards that accompany scientific inquiry. Even the smallest vessel, when charged with the forces of heat and pressure, may harbour energies capable of startling the unwary.