PRESENT PROBLEMS OF IN0R(;ANIC CHEMISTRY." 



Bv Sir \A'ii.liam Kamsay. K. ('. H.. F. H. S. 



To (lisriiss the " })i'es(Mi( ])r()l)l('iiis of iiioryjiiiic clicinistrv " is by no 

 means an easy task. The expression might be taken to mean an 

 account of wliat is being actually done at present by those engaged 

 in inorganic research; or it might be taken to relate to what needs 

 doing — to the direction in which research is required. To summarize 

 Avliat is being done in an intelligible manner in the time at my dis- 

 posal would be an almost imi:)()ssible task; hence I Avill choose the lat- 

 ter interpretation of the title of my address. Now, a considerable 

 experience in attempting to iniveil the secrets of nature has convinced 

 me that a delil)erate effort to discover some new law or fact scddom 

 succeeds. The investigator generally l)egins unmethodically, by ran- 

 dom and chance experiments; or })erhaps he is guided by some indica- 

 tion which has struck his attention during some j)revious research; 

 and he is often the plaything of circumstances in his choice. Expe- 

 rience leads him to choose probhMus which most readily admit of solu- 

 tion, or which a])pcai" likely to lead to the most interesting results. 

 If T may be excused the egotism of referi'ing to my own work, I nuiy 

 illusti'ate Avhat I mean l)y relating the following curious coincidence: 

 After Lord Kayleigh had announced his discovery that '' atmosj^heric 

 nitrogen "" was denser than '* chemical nitrogen," I referred to Caven- 

 dish's celebrated paper on the combination of the nitrogen and the 

 oxygen of the air by means of electric sj)ai"ks. Fortified by what I 

 read, and by the knowledge gained during the performance of lectui-e 

 experiments that red-hot magnesium is a good and fairly rapid 

 absorbent of nitrogen, it was not long before a considerable quantity 

 of nearly pure argon had been separated from- atmosphei'ic nitrogen. 

 Now it happened that I possess two cojues of (^ivendish's woi'ks; and 

 some months afterwards I consulted the other copy and found pen- 

 ciled on the margin the words "" look into this." I remembered the 

 circumstance which led to the annotation. About ten years before, 



o An address at the Inteniiitioiial Consi'ess of Arts iind Science. St. Louis, 

 September, 1904. Here printed by perniission of the autiior. 



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