NITROGEN. LORD RAYLEIGH. 165 



Simply because the Smithsonian Publications in question 

 are not presenting true science resting on observed facts, 

 but the Pickwickian form so much more palatable to the 

 capacity of Official Scientists at Washington. 



Now, in the second edition of the Smithsonian Atomic 

 Weights, the density values of 1882, having proved to be 

 greatly in error, and the new and correct density determina- 

 tions by Lord Rayleigh being absolutely irreconciliable with 

 the chemical determination of Stas, does Clarke recognize 

 the experimental fact and discard the experimentally dis- 

 proved and condemned atomic weights of nitrogen, resulting 

 from the chemical determinations made by Stas? 



Nothing of the sort; he simply absolutely disregards the 

 experimental work of Lord Rayleigh, because he has long 

 ago become a blind believer in the extreme accuracy and 

 perfection of the chemical determinations of Stas, to such 

 an extent, that he does evidently not even know that the 

 determinations of Stas are themselves mutually irreconcili- 

 able! Only under boron (p. 175) he gives a slight indication 

 of discomfort about certain " discordances." See p. 150, 

 supra. 



He merely says, that on account of the presence of 

 argon, the former determinations of the density (and hence 

 the atomic weight) of nitrogen, were "all too high, and 

 " unavailable for any discussion of atomic weights," see 

 1. c., p. 60. 



This sentence is rather mixed up, and has only a Pick- 

 wickian sense as it stands in the book. It really, de facto, 

 implies that the work of Lord Rayleigh is " unavailable." 



Clarke adds a few lines further on : 



" Perhaps j at some future time, when the density of argon 

 " is accurately known and its amount in the atmosphere has 

 u been precisely determined, these figures may be so corrected 

 " as to be useful for atomic weight calculations." 



" These figures " are the older ones, including those of 

 Lord Rayleigh of 1893. But the conflict established, the 

 error should have been conceded. Lord Rayleigh has 

 corrected the older values, as shown, by removing the argon. 



Having in my True Atomic Weights of 1894, with great 



