300 Chronicles of Science. | April, 
dynamic electricity, and upon this principle constructs a new and 
very cheap rheostat. 
M. Hempel has noticed a curious fact respecting the electric 
conductibility of hyponitric acid. He states that with a. power- 
fal machine in full activity and giving strong sparks, the sparks 
cease and the machine loses all its tension if a vessel contaimng 
nitric acid and some copper-turnings be placed so that the red 
vapours of hyponitric acid may escape into the space traversed by 
the spark. ‘The tension of the machine reappears as soon as the 
vessel is removed and the red cloud has been dissipated. To succeed 
well with this experiment it must be made in a dry atmosphere, or 
nitric acid will be produced. 
Mr. G. Jean has, by meanis of electricity; succeeded im the split- 
ting up of carbonic acid into ozonised oxygen and carbonic oxide. 
The author employs an induction coil, provided with a peculiar con- 
denser, for dividing the spark into an infinite number of very feeble 
sparks. By this apparatus, he says, he proves that carbonic acid, 
under the influence of the sparks, splits up into carbonic oxide and 
oxygen; and the odour and other tests showed that the oxygen is 
strongly ozonised. Atmospheric air exposed to the same influence 
becomes ozonised, and forms nitric acid (?), which suddenly decom- 
poses into nitrous acid when the air is heated. Ozonised oxygen, 
the author says, has the property of giving rise to vapours when 
mixed with sulphurous or nitrous acids, and these vapours are very 
persistent in the presence of ammonia and iodine. Crystals of 
iodine dropped into a vessel of ozonised oxygen also gives rise to a 
very thick vapour, which gradually precipitates in the form of iodic 
acid. A coating of linseed oil on glass exposed to ozonised oxygen 
became dry in an hour, and its weight was found to have increased 
by 20 per cent. The quantity actually absorbed, the author stated, 
must have been much more considerable, for it was disengaged in 
the form of strongly-smelling acid vapours: 
A paper “ On Deaths by Lightning and their Division between 
the Sexes” has been communicated to the Academy of Sciences by 
M. Boudin. Ina former paper the author showed that more men 
than women were killed by lightning in France. He now adds 
statistics for 1864, in which year 87 people were killed, 61 males 
and 26 females. Putting together his figures, and making a guess 
for the three new departments, he calculates that in the period of 
thirty years there have been in the France of to-day 2,431 deaths 
by lightning. He adds, that the total number of individuals 
injured is at least four times that of the number killed outnmght. 
Thus, the whole number struck from 1835 to 1864 inclusive must 
have been 12,000, or 400 a year. From 1854 to 1864 inclusive, 
967 people were killed in France, 698 being males, and 269 being 
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