40 



NA TURE 



[March lo, 1910 



THE DA\'\-VARADAY LABORATORY. 



THE late Dr. Mond was keenly interested in the pro- 

 R'ress of science in all its' branches, and his interest 

 exhibited itself in a very practical manner. He was 

 always ready to aid experimenters in carrying- out 

 costly researches, and his assistance enabled many 

 ■young men to pursue original investigations of the 

 most various kinds. Perhaps, however, the most 

 conspicuous instance of his munificent aid to science 

 was his founding of the Davy-Faraday laboratory. 

 This institution was founded and maintained entirelv 

 ^t Dr. Mond's expense; its accommodation was placed 

 at the disposal of investigators of all nationalities, 

 and of both sexes, quite free of charge. It is probable 

 that no institution of a precisely similar character 

 is to be found elsewhere throughout the world ; 

 for it is not, in the general sense of the phrase, 

 an educational institution : its staff comprises no one 

 whose duty it is to give instruction, it has remained 

 unconnected with the universities, and no sort of 

 diploma is given to those who have worked there. 

 It was intended to be of service to investigators, 

 qualified by previous training to pursue original re- 

 searches on their own initiative, and many such 

 investigators have gratefully availed themselves of the 

 facilities afforded to them. 



At most institutions which foster original researches, 

 the character of the work done is largely influenced 

 by the professors in charge of the various depart- 

 ments ; thus, to mention only one instance, students at 

 the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, have been 

 engaged mostly in investigations connected with the 

 ionisation of gases, under the inspiring influence of 

 Sir Joseph Thomson ; but at the Davy-Faraday labora- 

 tory, work of the most diverse kinds has been 

 carried on. At the time when the present writer was 

 privileged to occupy one of the rooms provided for 

 investigators, researches w^ere in progress in other 

 rooms on such widely different subjects as the pressure 

 produced during explosions,, the rate of melting of 

 ice under various conditions, the vapour pressure of 

 strong solutions, the action of metals and other sub- 

 stances on photographic plates, the properties of 

 platinum black, &c. It is possible that work of 

 this character, ranging over most branches of phy- 

 sical and chemical science, has gained less public 

 recognition than if a more restricted line of research 

 had been pursued ; but, for all that, the gain to 

 science has been none the less real and lasting. 



The Davy-Faraday laboratory was installed in a 

 house adjoining the Royal Institution, Albemarle 

 Street, and its name was chosen to honour the 

 memory of two investigators whose labours have 

 rendered the Royal Institution famous for ever. It 

 was at first intended to endow the laboratory, and to 

 place it entirely under the charge of the authorities 

 of the Royal Institution ; but, owing to some hitch in 

 the negotiations to this end, a change of plan was 

 decided upon : the laboratory was equipped at the 

 expense of Dr. Mond, and a yearly grant was guar- 

 anteed for its maintenance, subject to the condition 

 that, in the event of Dr. Mond or his heirs fail- 

 ing to provide this grant within a stated period of 

 its falling due, the laboratory should become the 

 prooerty of the authorities of the Royal Institution. 



The house in Albemarle Street was converted into 

 a laboratory, or rather a series a laboratories, at great 

 trouble and expense. A lift was provided for the 

 conveyance of the workers to all floors of the building, 

 and a well-furnished workshc^i was installed in the 

 basement. In most cases workers occupy separate 

 rooms, supplred with gas, water, and electricitv; 

 general laboratories, fitted for ordinary chemical 

 work, can also be used. A wine-cellar was converted 

 NO. 2106, VOL. 83] 



into a room in which researches, demanding constancy 

 of temperature, can be pursued. Balance rooms, and 

 rooms for the storage of apparatus and chemicals, 

 were provided. In short, everything was done that 

 could possibly aid in effectively converting a dwelling- 

 house into an up-to-date laboratory. On the other 

 hand, rooms in a dwelling-house can hardlv be 

 rendered suitable for certain classes of investigations, 

 however much skill and foresight may be used m 

 their conversion ; thus, delicate optical researches are 

 rendered difficult by the shakiness of the buildin/. 

 But for researches in physical chemistry, for which 

 the laboratory was especially designed, the rooms are 

 suited admirably ; and most accessories required in 

 such researches, including some of great value, are 

 at the disposal of the workers; in this connection, a 

 Rowland's concave grating, and its necessary adjuncts, 

 may be mentioned. The valuable library in the Roval 

 Institution is placed at the disposal of workers in the 

 laboratory. 



The laboratory has been managed bv a committee 

 w^hich included Dr. Mond, Lord Rayleigh, and Sir 

 James Dewar as members. This committee selects 

 the candidates who can be accommodated in the 

 laboratory; almost from the first the working space 

 of the laboratory has been fully utilised. The staff 

 of the laboratory includes the superintendent, Dr. 

 Scott, F.R.S.. several assistants, and a competent 

 mechanic. When the present writer was working at 

 the laboratory, a delightful bonhomie existed between 

 the workers; and with so many specialists on different 

 subjects congregated under one roof, the interchange 

 of ideas was both stimulating and instructive, and one 

 at least of the workers profited from it, and is glad 

 of this opportunity to acknowledge his indebtedness ; 

 he is sure that everyone who has been privileged to 

 work in the laboratory will associate the name of 

 Dr. Mond with feeliners of lasting gratitude, stronger 

 than it has been possible to express in these brief and 

 inadequate reminiscences of the Davy-Faraday Labora- 

 tory. Edwin Edser. 



NOTES. 

 The Bakerian lecture of the Royal Society will be 

 delivered on March 17 by Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., 

 and Dr. Guy Barlow, upon the subject of " The Pressure 

 of Light against the Source: the Recoil from Light." 



We notice with great regret the announcement of the 

 death, at seventy-six years of age, of Dr. E. P. Wright, 

 for many years professor of botany in Dublin University 

 and keeper of the herbarium, Trinity College, Dublin. 



Dr. H. a. Miers, F.R.S., principal of the University of 

 London, has been elected a member of the Athenaeum Club 

 under the provisions of the rule which empowers the annual 

 election by the committee of nine persons '* of distinguished 

 eminence in science, literature, the arts, or for public 

 services." 



The second annual Aero and Motor-boat Exhibition is 

 to be held at Olympia on March 11-19, under the patronage 

 of the King. Reviewing the list of exhibitors, it appears 

 that the monoplane will predominate, as most of the firms 

 are devoting their attention to this type of aerocraft. In 

 addition to the display of actual flyers, some ingenious 

 models will be shown, while to the lover of rriechanics the 

 engines for aeronautical purposes will be of interest. 



The University of Kansas has lost its professor of 

 mathematics by the sudden death, in his fiftieth year, of 

 Prof. H. B. Newson. Prof. Nevvson was the managing 

 editor of the University's Science Bulletin, and was the 



