768 



NAIURE 



[February lo, 1921 



T" 



Notes. 



Next week's issue of Nature, February 17, will 

 be a special number devoted to articles upon the 

 principle of relativity. We have been fortunate in 

 securing contributions from leading authorities upon 

 this subject, including Prof. Einstein himself, and the 

 whole number will form the most important presenta- 

 tion of its various scientific aspects yet published. 

 The principle is of such wide significance, and so 

 many books and papers have been written u|)on it, 

 that a synoptic statement of its structure and con- 

 sequences will be of [jermanent value. 



The .\ctonian prize of the Royal Institution has 

 been awarded to Prof. G. E. Hale, director of the 

 Mount Wilson Solar Ob.servatory, California, for his 

 contributions to solar physics. On Saturday next, 

 February 12, at 3 o'clock. Prof. .\. Fowler will begin 

 a course of three lectures at the institution on spectro- 

 scopy. The Friday evening discourse on February 1 1 

 will be delivered by Dr. F. W. Aston on isotopes and 

 atomic weights, and on February 18 by Mr. Solomon 

 J. Solomon on strategic camouflage. 



The newly incorporated Institute of Physics has 

 issued a pamphlet describing its objects and giving the 

 regulations for the admission of members. The insti- 

 tute proposes to grant diplomas to members indicating 

 a high standard of professional competency, and hopes 

 in this wav to secure proper recognition of the pro- 

 fessional status of the physicist. It will serve also to 

 co-ordinate the work of existing societies connected 

 with phvsics and its applications. Any member of a 

 "participating society" is eligible as an ordinary 

 member of the institute, but to become an associate 

 or a fellow he must satisfy certain other conditions 

 which relate generally to his training as a physicist 

 and to the importance of the work in physics in which 

 he has been engaged. The annual subscriptions are : 

 for fellows and associates, two guineas and one guinea' 

 respectively, while ordinary members pay no subscrip- 

 tion. .V member of two or more participating socie- 

 ties pays a reduced subscription to those societies, and 

 under certain conditions the charges for the publica- 

 tions of the societies are reduced. The oflice of the 

 institute is at 10 Essex Street, W.C.2. 



Sir James J. Dobbie, whose recent retirement from 

 the position of Government Chemist and Principal of 

 the Government Laboratory, held by him since 1909, 

 was re/erred to last week, has to his credit a con- 

 siderable amount of research work, particularly 

 relating to the constitution of the alkaloids. He has 

 also devoted much attention, in conjunction with the 

 late Prof. Hartley, to the study of absorption spectra, 

 v.ith special reference to the relation between absorp- 

 tion and chemical constitution, and a large number 

 of papers on these subjects were published in the 

 Transactions of the Chemical Society between 1898 

 and iqi2. Quite recently he contributed paiiers to 

 the Royal Society (conjointly with Dr. Fox, of the 

 Government Laboratory) on the absorption of light 

 by elements in a state of vapour in relation to their 

 molecular constitution. As Government Chemist Sir 

 NO. 2676, VOL. 106] 



James Dobbie has been resjionsible for numerous im- 

 portant investigations for various Government Depart- 

 ments, such as the nature of the pigments used for 

 postage and other stamps, the properties of celluloid, 

 the preservation of the timber in the roof of West- 

 minster Hall, etc. During the war a large amount of 

 difficult and responsible work was thrown upon the 

 Government Laboratory in connection with the War 

 Trade Department, the analysis of metals and alloys 

 for the Air Board and Admiralty, and the examina- 

 tion of food-supplies for the Expeditionary Forces. 

 Chemical stations were established at the principal 

 supply depfits, and it is acknowledged that the almost 

 total absence of complaints from the Front as to 

 the quality of the food was largely due to the work 

 of the Government Laboratory. Sir James Dobbie is 

 a past-president of the Institute of Chemistry, and is 

 just about to complete his ternt of office as president 

 of the Chemical Society. We trust that his right to 

 complete enjoyment of his well-earned ot'xum cum 

 dignitatc may not be long delayed. 



.\ NLMHER of conferences on questions of national 

 interest are announced for the Daily Mail Efficiency 

 Exhibition lo be held at Olympia on February 10-26. 

 The meetings of the first four days will be devoted to 

 personal efficiency and public health ; on February 10 

 Dr. C. W. Saleeby will speak on child welfare and 

 maternity, and Mr. E. B. Turner, Dr. Latham, and 

 Mr. E. Farmer on industrial fatigue. Sir H. 

 Baldwin, Prof. E. L. Collis, and .Mr. F. Watts will 

 discuss preventable diseases on February 11. Both 

 conferences arranged for February 14 will deal with 

 fatigue elimination; the speakers will be Major F. 

 Gilbreth, Mr. Eric Farmer, Dr. H. M. Vernon, and 

 Prof. .\. F. Stanley Kent. Fuel efficiency will be 

 discussed on F-ebruary 17 and 18, when Mr. F. W. 

 (Joodenough will deal with coal gas and Capt. R. H. 

 .Montgonierv with motor fuel. A number of evening 

 medical conferences have also been arranged by the 

 Middlesex Hospital. On February 14, 16, and 23 

 Dr. W. B. Tuck will speak on the relations between 

 chemical research and medicine, health and pharmaco- 

 logy; and Dr. W. S. Lazarus-Barlow will discuss 

 fluorescence. X-rays, and radium on February 15, 18, 

 and 25. .Ml conferences will be open to visitors to 

 the exhibition, but societies and individuals desirous 

 of taking part in them should apply for sijecial tickets 

 to the Higher Production Council, 66 Victoria Street, 

 London, S.W.i. 



Mr. L. Bolton, a senior examiner in the Patent 

 Officxs London, has been awarded the prize, amount- 

 ing to about 1300L, offered by the Scientific American 

 for the clearest explanation for general readers of 

 Prof. Einstein's theory of relativity. 



At the annual meeting,' of the Yorkshire Numis- 

 matic Society, held at Ij;eds University on February 5, 

 the society's first annual medal was presented to Mr. 

 T. Sheppard, curator of the Hull Museums, in recog- 

 nition of his contributions to the study of numis- 

 matics. 



