678 PH 



PHYSIOLOGY. 



lifted in tlu- magnetic field, the modification 

 :., -ing -.Hi. lent I- account f--r khf dyssj li in< : ' * ot 

 the I (all effect. 



r.irioiM Jtttnomma of Rlfetrifaatia*. S- 



:,.- 851 in a IIIIJNT IM 

 motion of an ei, -ei rifled ellipsoid. d. 

 that when a charged >phere or ellip**nd move- with 



tin- \el.H-ity of light ihe.-hnrg i any surface i- in 



equilibrium. It would itsai impossible to make a 



;.d lodv move at a _ -1 t linn t hi-, t he 



energv becoming infinite at tin- \.-i.M-ity. Nichols 

 mid . .y-Mcal K. \prih find 



from measurement* of the change of sufaoetension 

 in liquid*, due to electrification, that as the poten- 



li.tl incrv.-i f.-we tension fall- off >lo\\ly at 



tnd thru morv ami more rapidly. Jill at ulMiut 



IU.IMMI \,.i;- it i- minced one half. No difference 



ion of positive and 

 \.-Ivin ami .McLean i Kdinhurgh 

 Royal Society, April 5) have \ 



- of fumes from flame- and burning 

 ;il. and find that with a flame the fum- 



.1 hile those from gl 



Kehin anl McLean i //,//.. .Inly ."n. in experi- 

 ment* on leakage from electrified metal plates 

 placed above and below unin-ulated flames, find 

 that the amount of discharge under a flame i- 



nter when the |NM|V ends in a flame than when 

 ids in a |Miint. >waii (London Koyal Soeieiy. 

 June l?i finds that by .-leetrifleation stress is pro - 



duoed in a viscid mixture of resin and oil. s<> that 

 .issing a spark near it a -tar--liaped figure 

 forms on the surface. Thi- i- a fleeted by the sign 

 of the electrification, the form and size of the ter- 

 minals and their distance from the dieleetrie. the 

 character of the spark, and the density of the atmos- 

 phere. A- the density diminishes the figun 

 come more diffuse, and they almost di -appear 

 millimetres. 



f 'r Electrical Measurement. Moler and 

 Bedell (American Association) have devi.-ed two 

 form- of apparatus to determine the frequency of 

 an alternating current. The first eon-i-t- o fa small 

 synchronou- motor brought to -peed by a geared 

 crank and containing an electric speed-counter; 

 the other is a IIHIIKM hord of adjustable pitch 

 mounted between the pole- of a perniftnent mai:net 

 and traversed by the eurrcnt. whose frequency is 

 det.-rmiiH-d by "its vibration. Perot and Fa'iiry 

 - Academy of S-ierie.-x have de>igned an ali- 

 solute electrometer for measuring electro-motive 

 forees of about on- volt, con-.i-ting of an attracted 

 disk ele<-tromfter in which the necessary sensit ivi- 

 nens is obtained by greatly reducing the distance 

 ii the plates, this distance being measured by 

 an interfere^ ial methol. Rowland ("American 

 Journal of ' December) describes 24 ineth- 



OIH of mi-a.-.iiring inductance, capm-ity. an. 1 i 

 ance by means of alternating currents. Some of 

 these depend on a new -principle, two current- being 

 adjusted to a phase difference of !( by i 

 through the fixM| coil of an electro-dynamo 

 and the other through the suutN-nded roil. Induct- 

 ances call be compared to within T i r , of 1 JHT cent.. 

 thiiH Diving the problem of standard indm-tai 



Xairncti-in. ,. - |->,, m ii 



maun 5" Annah-n." M.-.y. fmls that coiicu~j,, n , x . 

 erts upon magi: k w.-H-l.-fmrd ,.ff,.,-t. inde- 



psodeol of that pn-lu. -d by deformation and of 

 the magnet ie history. It probably produces group- 

 ings of the molecular magnet-, reduc ii,. 



movement and l..w.-ni.g tl,,- su-ceptibility. 

 Holbom (Berlin* g , in experiment! 



on the coefficient *.f magnetization of different 

 kinds of iron and steel finds that in a feeble field 

 of force i' - a linear function of the 



temperature, Wilde (London Koyal Society. 



i:5i, by a new method of determining limits of 



neti/ation. finds that this limit in iron is beyond 4*8 



|M.unds to the s.pian- inch. Folglierail<- r 1,. ; 

 tempted to detenu me fr..ni the present magneti/at ion 



of Hllcieli: , - the Iliaglietie roli-lanl- 



at the in f their manufai-turi-. In a recent paper 



i" Att i dei I. in' -ues that no modifloauon 



in their magnet i/atimi can ha\c taken place in the 

 ceiiturie- tlmt ha\e elapsed -iliee 1 h< > \\. r. -baked. 

 -iiK'e the Irairincnt- of \a-e- long lin>kcii an- found 

 t" be as regularly magn.-ti/i-.l \\hen lilted together 

 a- if the vast* had been preserved entire. The only 

 (lenient wanting to exact detenu mat ion of th 



lletic elements ill the aiieieiit Ktlli-can period is 



knowledge <.f the orientation of the \a-es in t he 

 kiln, and tin- I>r. l-'olgherailer ho|>e- to obtain by 

 the di <>f that epoch with vases 



in sifu. The -aine April |.") 



finds from obx-r\at ion- on the magneti-m of build- 



. ;ian ('ampagna that the-e structure- 



freouently exhibit singular point- and /ones similar 



toutost obserred in ro<-k-. The tones, sinoc they 



include numerous adjacent stone- and the mortar 



letWee|| them, must have been formed -iliee the 



erection of the building-, ami I>r. 

 gard- them as due to light ning <li- 



C/i ' "fuiHi-. Klingcnlicrg. in an inaugu- 



ral disscrtat ion at llo-tock l'ni\er-it \. ha- made an 

 attempt t<> co-oi - dinate the magnetic phenomena of 

 iron, nickel, and cobalt in term- of the -hape and 

 orientation of the molecular magnet-, v. 

 tion he believe- to be the ino-t e--ciitial feature in 

 these phenomena. Kimtt (Mdinburgh IJoyai 

 ety. .lune ?) finds that iron and steel tubes dilate 

 longitudinally in a longitudinal magnetic field, 

 positively in moderate fields, negatively in higher- 

 ones. Nickel behave- more Simply, the cubical 

 dilatation being alway- positive and incr- 

 .-teadily with the field.' Later (.Inly 1!>) he reports 

 that in a nickel tube magneti/ation jm-du 

 small diminution of volume and a comparatively 

 large apparent diminution of volume, as indicated 

 by its outer dimension- when plugged at both end.-. 



PIMxiol.OM. In !N nview 'of tl, 

 of physiology during the reign of (,}ueen Vi(;toria, 

 the - Lancet " mentions the importance of the cell 

 as the physiological unit as having been fully es- 

 tablished,' though the e-timated value of its 'com- 

 ponent parts cell wall, protoplasm, and nu< ! 

 has of late years undergone modification, while 

 -acli ha- been -ho\vn to possess a .-tincture far 

 more complex than was believed to exist by the 

 originators of the cell tin ho\\. 



Much service ha- been derived from improvemcnt- 

 in the microscope, whereby observers have been 

 enabled to comprehend the structure of the differ- 

 ent organs of the body, and thus to gain some in- 

 sight into the mechanism by which the varion- 

 functioiis of secretion, sensation, and motion are 

 effected. The inquiry has only been begun, and w- 

 ill very far from comprehending the mode in 

 which this 'mechanism acts: but the little knowl- 

 ihat has been gained ha- -wept away much 

 that was inaccurate and even absurd in the opin- 

 ion- and practice of our predecessors, and ha- 

 hclpcd to establish bet ter. because more rational, 

 methods of treatment of di-ease. Kxperirncntal 

 physiology ha- been pursued with great energy dur- 

 ing the la-t fe\\ .UK! with very instructive 

 and - | results. Immen-e adranoefl have 

 been made in 'many brandic- by the combined 

 labors of numerous painstaking and accurate <>b- 

 n in different count!].-. In re-peei to the 

 blood, our kn<wledge ha* been rendered far more 

 D regard to the form. si/e. an<l 



number of the corpu-c| -s : to the relative propor- 

 tion of the colored and uncolored bodies, \v the 



