CHEMISTRY. 287 



combustion and in eliminating them. The outcome thus far seems 

 to indicate that even the highest results previously obtained from 

 benzene were not quite high enough. This research is still in prog- 

 ress and will be continued by the same assistant next year. 



(5) An automatic adiahatic calorimeter: 



With the help of G. D. Osgood a generally applicable device was 

 perfected wliich establishes automatically the temperature of the 

 environing bath of the adiabatic calorimeter. For known reactions 

 the arrangements adopted in the previously described research 

 answers ver}^ well, but for unknown or irregular reactions it is of 

 course inapplicable. The arrangement now under discussion was 

 entirely different from the other; it consisted of a very sensitive 

 hydrogen differential-thermometer with a very delicate mercury con- 

 tact. A feeble current through this contact actuated a relay which 

 caused a stronger current to open or close a burette delivering con- 

 centrated acid into the outer vessel. In this way it was found that 

 with due precautions the outer bath could be kept automatically not 

 more than 0.02° apart from the temperature of the inner calorimeter, 

 no matter at what varying rates the inner bath might change. This 

 device bids fair to be of great service in the future. 



(6) Electromotive forces of concentrated thallium amalgams: 



This research, a continuation of work already done in this direc- 

 tion, was carried on during last winter by Farrington Daniels. With 

 better apparatus than before, he obtained exceedingly consistent 

 results concerning amalgams containing as much as 40 per cent of 

 thallium. Not only were the electromotive forces between amal- 

 gams of different concentrations measured, but also the pure metal 

 was studied in the same connection, and heats of solution of the metal 

 and of various amalgams in mercury were determined. A beginning 

 was made also in the determination of the specific heats of the various 

 liquid and solid solutions. This research is to be continued next 

 year, and when it is finished should present an unusually complete 

 series of data for thermodynamic reasoning. 



(7) The electromotive forces of alkali metals dissolved in melted lead: 

 With the help of W. B. Meldrum the attempt was made to study 



the alkali metals dissolved in melted lead in the same manner as the 

 amalgams above mentioned. Many difficulties were met in this 

 research, the chief being due to the formation of alkali subchlorides. 

 All other difficulties in the technique were successfully overcome, but 

 this obstacle, inherent in the nature of the problem, still remained. 

 Nevertheless, approximate results which may be of value were ob- 

 tained from mixtures in which equilibrium had been nearly, if not 

 quite, attained. Incidentally a series of exact measurements of the 



