SOME RECENT TRANSMUTATIONS 47 



bountiful metals into our agreed standard of exchange, for, as a rule, 

 such are thought, with and without reason, to be in no position to give 

 adequate return for money advanced to perfect the methods which 

 investors are assured will produce the desired results. Especially is 

 this true of the possessor of so valuable a secret, who may alone soon 

 place himself beyond financial concern through the agency the knowl- 

 edge, which he seeks to share with a few preferred ones. 



At the corresponding meeting of this section just ten years ago, 

 my friend, the late Dr. H. Carrington Bolton, presented a paper on 

 this subject, 6 dealing specifically with the publications of S. H. 

 Emmens, of New York. 



It has long been known that golden-yellow specks would occasionally 

 show themselves in silver solutions, but could not be obtained at will. 

 Probably this phenomenon has often led to a supposition that silver 

 might be transmuted into gold. Silver can be converted wholly into 

 this form by the reduction of silver tartrate by ferrous tartrate. The 

 solutions must be rather dilute and must be freshly prepared. A red 

 powder is precipitated; this changes to black, and on the filter has a 

 bronze color. After washing, it is removed in a pasty condition and 

 allowed to dry spontaneously. This form of silver is very permanent 

 when dry. It dries into lumps resembling polished gold. By brushing 

 a thick paste of this substance over clean glass, beautiful gold-colored 

 mirrors are obtained. The stronger acids, even when much diluted, 

 instantly convert this allotropic form of silver into normal gray silver; 

 this is also effected by means of pressure. 7 



Using Lea's method, just described, as a starting point, Emmens 8 

 thought to extend Andrew's doctrine of critical temperatures. By 

 " the combined effect of impact and very low temperature," the former 

 being produced by his force engine, a substance was obtained which 

 was claimed to be common to both gold 9 and silver, hence the name 

 argentaurum. One ounce of silver was said to produce three quarters 

 of an ounce of gold. It was stated that the chief source of expense 

 incurred was in the time required for bringing about the desired 

 molecular changes. A profit of at least $3 per ounce on all silver 

 used was assured, however. 



Sir William Crookes did not succeed, to his satisfaction, in repeat- 

 ing the work, although Dr. Emmens stated that during that year 

 Dr. Cabel Whitehead, assayer to the mint in Washington, accepted six 

 ingots of the alloy, approximately a thousand dollars in value. 



* Chemical News, 76, 61. 



1 " Gold-yellow and Copper-colored Silver," M. C. Lea, Chemical News, 1889, 

 60, 54. 



8 Papers by John MacKenzie in the Spokane Mines and Electrician, February 

 17, 1898; and Bolton, Chemical News, 76, 61. 



9 Efforts on the part of the writer at the time failed to secure samples of 

 argentaurum from Dr. Emmens. 



