72 



NATURE 



[March 17, 192 1 



Letters to the Editor. 



[T/ie Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions 

 expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 

 to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected 

 manuscripts intended for this or any other part of Nature. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications.'] 



The International Research Council. 



The issue of the Times published on March 8 con- 

 tains an article headed "The Progress of Science : 

 Revolt against Super-Organisation." A few words of 

 comment are necessary, though the task is disagree- 

 able owing to the general tenor of the article, which 

 in parts is frankly abusive and in others misleading. 

 Its chief invective'is directed against the International 

 Research Council. This, according to the author, is 

 to be "the supreme body in all the affairs of science," 

 and he follows up this product of his imagination by 

 enumerating in the same sentence the avowed objects 

 of the International Research Council, placing a pure 

 invention of his own in juxtaposition to the actual 

 functions of the body concerned so as to leave the 

 impression that both have equal authority. 



The International Research Council was founded in 

 the first instance through the action of the Royal 

 Society and the Academies of Paris, Italy, Brussels, 

 and Washington. Its object was to reorganise inter- 

 national work which had come to a standstill through 

 the war, and to extend it where found desirable. The 

 question as to the time at which former enemy 

 countries should be admitted is a matter for argu- 

 ment, and it may be the policy of the Times to urge 

 their immediate inclusion in the interests of the 

 general peace of the world. Recent incidents at a 

 meeting in Paris at which a German professor took 

 part do not confirm this view, but the question has 

 reallv nothing to do with the purpose which the 

 article pretends to discuss. It should not be for- 

 gotten, however, that a friendly personal intercourse 

 is an essential condition of the success of international 

 conferences. This is recognised by the countries 

 neutral during the war. which have nearly all accepted 

 the invitation of the International Research Council 

 to take part in this common enterprise. 



The International Research Council has initiated 

 the formation of unions for the conduct of scientific 

 work. In the subjects of astronomy, geodesy and 

 geophysics, and chernistry such unions are actually at 

 work, and two others have been formed. Once an 

 international union is established it becomes auto- 

 nomous, and conducts its work without interference 

 from the International Research Council except in a 

 few matters in which a common policy is desirable. 



Everyone knows that the decisions of an interna- 

 tional conference are only advisory, and have no 

 binding force on the separate countries. Representa- 

 tives taking part in the conference report to the home 

 authorities concerned, who act as they think fit, 

 accepting, no doubt, in general such recommendations 

 as have secured practical unanimity. At a recent 

 meeting in Brussels certain countries desired to 

 initiate the formation of an International Union of 

 Biology, and their representatives tentatively drew up 

 some statutes. These were submitted to a competent 

 body in this country, which reported unfavourably, and 

 there the matter ends so far as Great Britain is con- 

 cerned. This does not, of course, prevent France, 

 Italy, the United States, and other countries from 

 forming a Union of Biology if they wish. I 

 fail to understand where the grievance of the Times 

 comes in. Arthur Schuster, 



General Secretary of the International 

 Research Council. 



The Constitution of the Alkali Metals. 



In a recent letter (Nature, February 24, p. 827) 

 attention was directed to positive rays of metallic 

 elements generated by means of a heated anode by 

 which lithium (atomic weight 6-94) was demonstrated 

 to contain two isotopes 6 and 7. The mass spectro- 

 graph has now been successfully applied to the analysis 

 of these rays and the investigation thereby extended 

 to the heavier members of the group. 



The method presents some peculiar technical diffi- 

 culties, and the intensity of the lines yielded is very 

 poor in comparison with that of the "gas " lines pro- 

 duced by the ordinary discharge tube. On the other 

 hand, the arrangement is such that none of these 

 ordinary "gas " lines appear at all, so that any line, 

 however faint, if satisfactorily confirmed by repeti- 

 tions with different fields, is conclusive evidence of 

 the presence of metallic atoms of corresponding mass 

 in the salt employed on the heated anode. 



Sodium (atomic weight 2300) is the easiest metal 

 to deal with ; its mass spectrum consists of a single 

 line only. From the known values of the fields em- 

 ployed this line is in the position expected from the 

 atomic weight ; it is therefore assumed to be exactly 

 23, and used as a standard comparison line. 



Potassium (atomic weight 39-10) gives a strong line 

 at 39 and a very weak companion at 41. These 

 figures are integers within about a quarter of a unit 

 when compared with sodium 23. The relative intensi- 

 ties of the lines are not inconsistent with the accepted 

 atomic weight. Potassium therefore probably consists 

 of two isotopes 39 and 41. 



Rubidium (atomic weight 85-45) gives two lines two 

 units apart of relative intensity about 3 to i. Com- 

 parison with the potassium line 39 gives these the 

 masses 85 and 87 to within a fraction of a unit. As 

 these values are in excellent agreement with the 

 accepted atomic weight they may be taken, provi- 

 sionally at least, as the weights of the two isotopic 

 constituents of rubidium. 



The mass spectra obtained from caesium (atomic 

 weight 132-81) have so far exhibited only one line, 

 which when measured against the rubidium lines 

 indicates a mass 133. The intensity of this line leaves 

 much to be desired, but it is sufficient to point to the 

 conclusion that if, as the atomic weight would lead 

 one to expect, another isotope of caesium exists, it is 

 present in proportions of less than 5 per cent. 



F. W. Aston. 



Cavendish Laboratory, March 12. 



NO. 



2681, VOL. 107] 



The Designation of Vitamines. 



It is often said that a rose by any other name would 

 smell as sweet but in chemistry this is not the case ; 

 the name is of consequence and the choice limited. 

 I am glad that Prof. Liversidge takes exception in 

 Nature of March 10 to the sufficiency of the sug- 

 gested dropping of the "e" from "vitamine" — the 

 sting is still left in the "amin" tail; moreover, the 

 word should be got rid of altogether, as it is but a 

 monument of a gross experimental blunder. 



In my early days one of the most valuable lessons 

 I learnt was from the late Prof. A. W. Williamson, 

 one of the keenest intellects of his day among 

 chemists. He always insisted that we did well to 

 use non-committal names — names which did not give 

 expression to a view open to question but were simply 

 descriptive of some recognisable character in no way 

 open to doubt. No better illustration can be given 

 than the use of the name "carbamide" for urea, 

 actually enforced by the Chemical Society. "Urea" 

 is non-committal but absolutelv significant of the 



