X I'KOCEEDINGS. [Deccuiber 2uci, / gij;. 



Ordinary Meeting, December 2nd, 1913. 



Professor Y. E. AVeiss, D.Sc, F.L.S., Vice-President, 

 in the Chair. 



A vote of thanks was accorded the donors of the books 

 upon the table. Amongst these was " Results of Obstrvations 

 made at the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Alagnetic 

 Observatory, near Honolulu, igii and igi2," by D. L. Hazard 

 (4to , Washington, 1913), presented by the United States Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey. 



Professor Weiss, in referring to the loss sustained by the 

 death of Sir WiUiam PI. Bailey, spoke of the deep regret felt 

 by the members of the Society at his loss. Sir William Bailey 

 had been a Member of the Society for twenty-five years, and 

 had held the ofiSce of President for the years 1905-6 and 

 T 906-7. He was also a Vice-President for five years. Mr. 

 K. L. Taylor represented the Society at the funeral. 



A resolution, expressing the sympathy of the members of 

 the Society with the members of the family of the deceased in 

 the great loss they had sustained, was passed, and the Secretaries 

 were requested to convey this expression of sympathy to the 

 members of the family. 



Professor Ernest Rutherford, D.Sc, F.R.S., read a paper 

 on " The Structure of the Atom." 



Jn a paper given to this Society two years ago he described 

 a new type of model atom which has since been called the 

 "Nucleus Atom." It was supposed that the atom consisted of 

 a central nucleus, probably charged positively, of exceedingly 

 small dimensions, in which practically all the mass of the atom 

 was concentrated. This was surrounded by a distribution of 

 negative electrons, sufficient to make the atom electrically 

 neutral. This type of atom was specially devised in order to 

 explain the fact that the swift a particles in traversing matter 

 are occasionally deflected through more than a right angle as 



