44 



NATURE 



[May 14, 1 89 1 



Englishmen, possessed of exceptional powers of applying to 

 important practical purposes the results of research, have created 

 and have developed to an extent foreshadowing their high im- 

 portance, gradually passed out of our hands through the far- 

 sightedness of the Germans, who have very long since recog- 

 nized the absolute dependence of progress in such industries 

 upon the constant pursuit of chemical research into the far- 

 reaching and continually spreading ramifications of organic 

 chemistry. Thus, in fields of work, where, in days past, and 

 even of late, our industrial chemists have been content to pursue 

 their attempts at progress with the co-operation of one or two 

 young chemical assistants, small armies of highly-trained che- 

 mists, who have gained academic honours, and have won their 

 spurs in original investigation, are in constant employment at 

 the magnificent manufacturing establishments in Germany, 

 systematically pursuing researches which constitute succes- 

 sive indispensable links in a great network of exhaustive 

 inquiry, and which, while conferring large benefits on the 

 science itself, are continuously productive of improvements in 

 existing processes, or of the development of new methods, while, 

 ever and anon, they result in some fresh discovery of great tech- 

 nical importance and high commercial value. Similarly elaborate 

 and comprehensive arrangements now exist at important German 

 iron and steel works for systematic investigation and comparison 

 f materials of products and processes." 



We must hurry over the remaining parts of Sir Frederick's 

 "Kldress, and can only mention some of the chief subjects touched 

 upon, referring our readers to the Proceedings of the Institute 

 for fuller information. Thus we find the following matters occu- 

 pying attention : the presence and effect of nitrogen in iron ; 

 the state in which carbon exists in steel ; Osmond's study, by 

 means of the Le Chatelier pyrometer, of the slow cooling of 

 iron and steel, together with the phenomena of recalescence, 

 and the existence of two allotropic forms of iron ; the effect of 

 aluminium iu iron ; Hadfield's researches in connection with 

 manganese steel ; the progress of nickel steel ; and the inter- 

 esting discovery of Langer, Quincke, and Ludwig Mond of 

 the action of carbonic acid upon finely divided nickel at high 

 temperature, in which it was found that the metal had the 

 power of separating carbon from the gas, with production of 

 carbonic acid in place of the oxide. These and other matters 

 were dealt with at greater or less length, and constituted a most 

 interesting and characteristic address. 



Only one paper was read on the first day of the meeting. 

 This was Dr. Anderson's contribution on tests for steel used in 

 the manufacture of artillery. The announcement of a contri- 

 bution on this subject by the Director-General of Ordnance 

 Factories had caused a good deal of interest both among the 

 scientific and manufacturing members of the Institute, more 

 especially as it was known that the Government authorities had 

 been overhauling the official test regulations. Unfortunately, 

 however, the meeting was a little too early, so far as Dr. 

 Anderson's paper was concerned, for the new regulations 

 have not yet been officially published, and, until they are, 

 it is against official etiquette, if not official rules, that they 

 should be made known. The paper was therefore very like the 

 play of " Hamlet " with the Prince of Denmark left out, and bore 

 evidence of having been brought forward rather with a view of 

 fulfilling a promise than because the author had anything new 

 to advance. It was not Dr. Anderson's fault that his paper was 

 robbed of its chief interest, and certainly the thanks of the 

 Council were due to him for good-naturedly allowing it to stand 

 on the programme. Notwithstanding what we have said, the 

 paper was very interesting, but as we hope to hear Dr. Anderson 

 again on the subject, when the official veto has been removed 

 by publication of the new tests, we shall treat the matter briefly. 

 It is first pointed out that the mechanical properties of steel, 

 and of alloys generally, are affected in a remarkable manner by 

 extremely minute quantities of substances, by the relative pro- 

 portions, by the changes in some or all, produced by the more 

 or less rapid changes of temperature, which influence dissociation 

 and reveal their effects by recalescence ; indicating, to a less 

 degree, allotropic changes in some or all of the components. 

 Chemical analysis sufficiently minute to detect even traces of 

 every substance associated with iron would be tedious and 

 costly. Years must pass away before chemical and physical 

 science together will succeed in determining the laws which 

 govern the mechanicalproperties of alloys. For these reasons, 

 and others, the specifications of gun-steel used in Her Ma- 

 jesty's service exclude all definitions of chemical composition, 



NO. I I 24, VOL. 44] 



so far, at any rate, as ordinary ingredients are concerned. The 

 author thinks it is not sufficiently realized that metals are in- 

 capable of appreciable cubical compression under any stress that 

 can in practice be brought to bear on them, whether fluid, pasty, 

 or cold. Like ice and water, steel and cast-iron have a greater 

 volume in a solid than in the Hquid state, and, therefore, red- 

 hot solid cast-iron or steel floats on the surface of the molten 

 mass : although, it should be added, cold cast-iron will at first 

 sink in a bath of liquid iron, but will rise to the surface and 

 float when it has acquired a sufficient degree of heat to bring it 

 about to a cherry red. This was shown by the well-known 

 experiments of Mr. Wrightson, referred to at the meeting. 

 The manner in which, during cooling, compressive stress 

 is suddenly turned into tension high enough to cause rupture 

 (due to the swelling during solidification) is dealt with ; this 

 being a subject also treated upon in the President's address. 

 The bearing of these phenomena upon the process of hardening 

 is also discussed. The relative influence of carbon in iron as a 

 definite compound of carbon and iron dissolved in an excess of 

 iron, and as a finely subdivided carbon diffused through the mass, 

 is considered, and the author expresses an opinion that the 

 "apparently capricious behaviour of steel" is due not only to the 

 internal stresses engendered by oil-hardening, but also to the 

 circumstance that the chemical condition of the steel and its 

 molecular structure are greatly influenced by comparatively 

 slight errors of judgment, or by carelessness in the adjustment 

 of the temperatures at which the operations are performed. 



A discussion followed the reading of the paper, in which the 

 most interesting incident was Mr. Wrightson's description of 

 his experiments to determine the volume of cast-iron at different 

 temperatures. Mr, Edmunds, of Woolwich, defended the 

 practice of oil-hardening for gun-steel ; and Mr. Hadfield would 

 attribute cracks in steel rather to contraction than expansion. 



On the second day of the meeting the proceedings were 

 opened by Prof. Roberts- Austen giving a verbal description of 

 the Le Chatelier pyrometer, an instrument which is now well 

 known to the scientific world. It may be of interest to state 

 that Sir Lowthian Bell and other practical men spoke of the 

 great assistance this pyrometer had been to them in the course 

 of manufacturing operations. 



M. Osmond's paper on the micro-structure of steel was no 

 more than a note which accompanied the presentation of a 

 series of micro-photographs. The paper of Dr. E. J. Ball, 

 which followed, was supplemental to a previous paper contributed 

 by him (see Journal Iron and Steel Inst., 1890, No. i, p. 85) ; 

 and, as the present paper will be supplemented by another, we 

 will refer our readers to the Proceedings, merely giving the 

 general conclusions arrived at by the author, which are as 

 follows : — " (l) That in iron containing 0"i per cent, of carbon, 

 the tenacity of the metal increases by hardening, either in oil or 

 in water, with the temperature at which the metal is quenched 

 with a view to hardening, a maximum tensile strength being 

 reached at a temperature of about 1300" C. This temperature 

 once exceeded, however, the tenacity of the metal diminishes, 

 although the extensibility increases. (2) By raising the per- 

 centage of carbon from O'l to 0-2, the maximum tenacity is 

 attained, not at 1300° C, but at a much lower temperature — about 

 1000° — below the melting-point of iron oxide, which, moreover, 

 was not present. (3) By further considerably increasing the 

 percentage of carbon, this point of maximum tenacity appar- 

 ently disappears almost entirely, the annealed metal having 

 nearly as high a tensile strength as the same metal which has 

 been quenched in oil from any temperature up to a bright red 

 heat. Beyond this temperature, or when quenched in water, the 

 hardened metal became so hard and brittle that it could not be 

 gripped by the jaws of the testing machine." It will be remem- 

 bered by those who attended the meeting when Dr. Ball's last 

 paper was read that M. Osmond put forward the idea that the 

 fourth point in change (in addition to Osmond's three points), 

 which occurs, according to Dr. Ball, in very mild steel at a 

 temperature approaching the melting-point, might be due to the 

 fusion of iron oxide. The present paper is founded on this 

 remark, but for the results, beyond the salient features given, we 

 must, as we have said, refer our readers to the originals. Mr. 

 Turner's paper, which was read next, does not require a detailed 

 notice at our hands. It was an economic paper on a subject 

 which is rapidly losing economic interest ; and the author does 

 not appear to have made himself well acquainted with the 

 labours of previous investigators in this field. The paper of 

 Mr. Jenkins does not admit of an abstract being made ; whilst 



