802 



NA TURE 



\). 



analvsrs to Stc.id in the future, after having previously 



till torn. 



1 wvwx . lh;it Stead rose 



to iinl, 



ea;.' . ...._, .... iild, 



and \-six yeat I at 



' "'•'/f-ntci II li •" 



' i]r< I> 111 t : 



' i! • \\ ,in\ utiii ! , nicii nave 



iiti' Mil 1(1 li,i\r made one 



siiliji ' t i.iliHi !ii.in .iimlhi'i pel nil, II 1\ 111. iiwM, it 



was the iiilliHin »■ (il phospliori!^ fni inin. 1 lii> ua-, 



I)(tIi( tl\ iKitiii.il, liir tlif Cli" ;cs are phos- 



plmrii . and |i!iii--|)li(iriis. at ai ii association 



with i,iiii<in. Is tiic worst eneii: I. It is imt 



^riitr.ilK kiiuun tli.it Stead pla r\ iiiijxntaiit 



part ill tlir ( iii\ (i.i\> dI tlic develoj)iii(nt nl the 

 Thoiii.is (iili hrist liasu; lic^iicmer process iur the 

 depli(isi)liniis.itiiii» of phosphoric iron ores, a process 

 which enaUlnl ( icrmany to become the second largest 

 producer of st( 1 1 in the world, with all tlie consequences 

 that have followed. One of the essential features of 

 the process is the so-called " afteriiluw, ' whtn the 

 blowinj: of air through the converter is continued after 

 the coni|)lete removal of carbon. Stead was the first 

 to advance the correct explanation of what takes 

 place, namely, that phosphorus is removed during 

 this period, but not until then, by iron oxide. Thomas 

 and Gilchrist challenged this explanation and only 

 accepted it in the following year when the\ obtained 

 letters patent for the " afterblow." 



Stead was one of the first men in Great I'.rit.iin to 

 realise the importance of Sorby's investigations, which 

 led to the foundation of metallography as a science. 

 With true vision he saw that here was a new experi- 

 mental weapon for investigating the properties of all 

 metals and alloys, and the majority of his investiga- 

 tions have lain in this field. Within the limits of this 

 article it is impossible to give any adequate idea of 

 their scope and variety, but this, at all events, may 

 be said, that his contributions to our knowledge of 

 the crystallisation phenomena observed in iron and 

 steel, and the segregatory and migratory habits of 

 soKds in alloys, were such that he became one of the 

 chief authorities in the world on these subjects. He 

 made important contributions to the technique of 

 microscopic metallography, and his method of heat- 

 tinting specimens by oxidation became an accepted 

 method for the micro-analysis of cast iron. 



Living as he did to the age of seventy-two, it would 

 have been very surprising if honours had not come 

 to Stead. He became a member of council of the 

 Iron and Steel Institute in 1895, a vice-president in 

 1910, and president in 1920. He received the Bessemer 

 medal of the Institute in 1901. In 1910 he was 

 president of Section B of the British Association at 

 Sheffield. He also filled the office of president of the 

 Cleveland Institution of Engineers. The majority of 

 his papers were published before these two Institu- 

 tions. He was given honorar\' doctorates of the 

 Universities of Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield, and 

 he had been for twenty years a fellow of the Royal 

 Society. 



No man revealed himself more characteristically 

 in his papers than Stead. He had a generous and 



NO. 2822, VOL. 112] 



ardent mind, and he pursued the search for trut 



with a indedness which was an inspiratie 



to all liim. The willioL-ness to admit th.; 



he wa is not - 



common .. ..... .,; , ...... i*, .,; '■ '' •'•.-■ 



tion has ai iirected, made hin 



worKci 

 some 1 1 



eil' 



tauurgy, 11! ! V, lUj 



ledge and e:. and 



;; hy generous praise. Iht unt.T 

 ri \<\\ occasions in his own cxf)cri< • . . 



Dunii_: I he last ciL'iito'n months Stead had 

 fontd to li\e in rctireiiunt and indeed had be' 

 a |)h\>iral invalid. Imt his iniri<l remained clear an' 



a(ti\e 1I|) to t!if tin.r .,f hi- dial'i. Tie leaviN l»-hir.i 



him the iiu 



who were jii ..-.........,,. ..t.,,,,,. 



11. < . II. Carpenter. 



M. Maitrice Leblanc. 



P>v the death of Maurice Leblan* 



world loses one of its (rr.Mtcst t;....,.. 



striking originality, nction with M. ili.tn 



he invented \.\\^ amorti^i .'.< .1 .iampin:; coil, which wiit-n 

 applied to alternators » iiahh > tht m to run steadilv in 

 parallel. lie also perfected the method of conv< f 

 indurtion motors into generators by dri\Tng their r 

 at speeds greater than synchronism by prim- 

 He ran them in paralUl. the frequency of t; 

 dependin^^ only on a small alternator in the sui)|il\ 

 circuit, the tuiution of which he compared with that 

 of a chej d'orchestre. In re< ent years i a 



remarkable system for hiLrli- sjxed elc ... :i. 



The energy is communicated to the moving ir 

 out rubbing contacts In means of nv"^"''' 

 He proposed to utilise alternating 

 frequencies of 20.000. the current heini: earned > .-r 

 the track by a stries of tubular condensers adjusted to 

 resonance. The currents in the locomotive circuits are 

 converted to low frequency by thermionic vahe>. 

 They then operate induction motors as in ordinarv 

 traction systems. 



In the very difficult years 191 2-1914 Leblanc filled 

 the post of president of the International FJectro- 

 techni(al Commission with uni\ His 



speech when resigning the oftii. ^ .,. ,.....,.^..: ,.; tiie 

 London meeting in 1919 was a powerful plea inr 

 nations and individuals to give up working ex''' ■' ' 

 for selfish ends. The lack of this in the past ! 

 the greatest catastrophe of all time. ■" From ner. t - 

 forth only productive work will be deemed honour- 

 able." He was elected an honorary- nu 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers in lu; 

 ideals and singleness of purpose made friend.^ i.<r i.im 

 in everv country of the world. A. R. 



We regret to announce the foil. " '" ■ deaths : 



Mr. Thomas Pridgin Teale. the eminent 



surgeon and sanitarian, on .Nwwii.i'rr 13, aged 

 ninety-two. 



Dr. Boris Sidis, of the Sidis Psychotherapeutic 

 Institute. Portsmouth. New Hampshire, known for 

 his work 011 tlie psycliology of suggestion and mental 

 dissociation, on October 25, aged fift\ -six. 



