oo4 



NATURE 



[August 2, 1894 



fibre equally stretched in both cases, a most necessary condition, 

 for I have found that the torsional rigidity is seriously affected 

 by variation in stretching. 



Means are provided by which I can effect the transfer of the 

 gold balls from the beam to the side hooks or the reverse, or 

 change their places without opening the window ; but these and 

 numerous other important details I must pass over. 



Unfortunately accidents are liable to happen, and, as I know 

 by dearly-bought experience, the gold balls may sometimes he 

 precipitated down the central lube. I have recovered them 

 sometimes by .in india-rubber tube, let down through the window 

 aperture, sucking at the other end until they closed the open 

 end, when they could be drawn up. Latterly I have made use 

 of a magnetised tuning-fork to pick up a very small fragment of 

 iron tied to a silk line, by means of which I could draw up a 

 diaphragm with anything th.it might have fallen upon it. 



(To bt continued.) 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The following list of Royal .Scholarships, Medals and Prizes 

 awarded luly, 1S94, in connection with the Royal College of 

 Science, London, has just been issued : — First Year's Royal 

 Scholarships : Robert Sowler, Arthur Ormiston Allen, Henry 

 Thoma> Davidge, John Bousfield Chambers. Second Year's 

 Royal Scholarships : Robert William Forsyth, William Long- 

 shaw. Medals and Prizes: "Edward Forbes" Medal and 

 Prize of Books for Biology, George Stephen West ; " Mur- 

 chison " Prize of Books for Geology, John James Green, 

 Francis Chambers Hariison ; "Murchison Medal," not 

 awarded; " Tyndall " Prize of Books for Physics, Part L, 

 Robert Sowter ; "De la Beche" Medal for Mining, John 

 Ball ; "Bessemer" Medal and Prize of Books for Metallurgy, 

 Charles Howard Sidebotham ; " Frank Hation" Prize of Books 

 for Chemistry, John Thomas. Prizes of Books given by the 

 Department of Science and Art : Mechanics, Harold Kigby 

 Cnllen ; Astronomical Physics, Francis Richard Penn, Robert 

 Sowter ; Practical Chemistry, Bouchier Mervyn Cole Marshall ; 

 Mining, John Ball ; Principles of Agriculture, William Wilson. 



The Council of the City and Guilds of London Institute 

 have conferred the Fellowship of the Institute upon Dr. W. E. 

 Sumpner, who was awarded the Diploma of Associate of the 

 Institute in 1887, and has since, by many original and valuable 

 researches, coDlribttted to the advancement of the electrical in- 

 dustry. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



American Journal of Science, July. — Spiral goniometry 

 in its relation to the measurement of activity, by Carl Barus. 

 One type of the spiral goniometer consists of a " dial " in the 

 form ol a circular plate, on one half of which a series of con- 

 centric semicircles are traced, and an " index " in the form of 

 another plate, bounded on one side by a semicircle, and on the 

 other by two symmetric confluent spirals, traced so that equal 

 increments of angle correspond to equal radial increments. 

 These two parts are mounted on the same axis in such a manner 

 as to be capable of revolving independently. When they arc 

 connected by a spring and made to actuate a dynamometer, 

 the angle between the fundamental diameters of the dial and 

 index can be read off by counting the number of semicircles 

 visible on the revolving disc. These will be apparently drawn 

 oat inlD circles, and can be counted at any speed. This gives 

 a rocanf for mcajiuring the activity of motors. In another form, 

 the index outline is nut a spiral but a diameter, and (he semi- 

 circles are cut offin the outline of a spiral. — On some methods 

 for the determination of water, by S. L. I'enfield. This diffi- 

 cult operation may be considerably facilitated by the use of 

 special forms of bulb tubes, which enable the analyst to separate 

 the expelled water from the mineral, and weigli it in a closed 

 tnbe. Two bulbs are blown half-way along the length of the 

 lube, and kept cool by a strip of wet cloth. The water is 

 driven up into the first of these. After it is all expelled, the 

 l{las< IS luied down upon the substance, and the end containing 

 the substance is pulled off. The water is then weighed in the 

 remaining part of the tube. For ca^es where the water is only 



NO. 1292, VOL. 50] 



expelled with difficulty, the author uses a kind of charccil 

 furnace, protecting the glass by a sheet of platinum foil. For 

 entirely decomposing a mineral by fusion with sodium cir- 

 bonale, the substance is placed in a platinum boat inside the 

 combustion tube, and a sheet of platinum is wrapped round 

 the outside. The tube must be well supported, as it is apt to 

 fuse, but it does not leak even at a full white heat. The method 

 is accurate, and superior to the use of porcel.ain or platinum. 

 The latter is found at high temperatures to permit of the pass.tgc 

 of gases through its substance. — The detection of alkaline 

 perchlorates associated with chlorides, chlorates, and nitrates, 

 by F. A. Gooch and D. Albert Kreider. The chlorates are 

 destroyed by treating with the strongest hydrochloric acid and 

 evaporating to dryness. The nitrates are decomposed by a 

 saturated solution of manganous chloride in the strongest 

 hydrochloric acid, the manganese being then eliminated by 

 sodium carbonate. The perchlorates are then tested for by 

 fusing with anhydrous zinc chloride. 



.American Meteorological Journal^ July. — Changes in the 

 definitions of clouds since Howard, by H. H. Clayton. The 

 author quotes extracts from various authorities to show that 

 there has been a gradual evolution since Howard. Thus a dis- 

 tinction between high and low cirro-stratus and high and low 

 cirro-cumulus has been established, and the lower forms called 

 alto-stratus and alto-cumulus. The stratus h.-is been separated 

 into fog and low sheet clouds, and two distinct forms of rain 

 cloud recognised. He agrees with Hildebrandsson that ten 

 terms, all compounded of Howard's four fundamental types, 

 would fully meet the requirements of practic.1l meteorology. — 

 The newspaper weather maps of the United States, by R. De 

 C. Ward. The history of the publication of these maps is 

 given, together with specimens of those now issued. At pre- 

 sent only four daily papers in the United St.ites print weather 

 maps regularly. The New ) ork Herald was the first paper to 

 issue them in the United Stales, and it occasionally prints them 

 now, to illustrate special weather conditions. — Psychrometer 

 studies, by H. A. Hazen. This paper is a criticism of the 

 introduction to the tables recently published by Dr. J. Hann, 

 of Vienna, and has especial reference to the difficulty found in 

 using the wet and dry bulb thermometers when the temperature | 

 is near or below the freezing point. Prof. Hazen states that I 

 nearly all the difficulty vanishes when the thermometers are 1 

 well ventilated. — List of cloud photographs and lantern-slides, 

 by R. De C. Ward. .-V list of typical cloud forms, cla>sified 

 according to the international system, has been prepared, with ' 

 an explanation of each, for use in lectures. The photographs 

 are chictly from pictures taken by Riggenbach and Manucci, 

 during various positions and conditions. 



Wiedemann's .innalen dcr Phyiik uiid Chemie, No. S. — On | 

 the mechanical effects of waves upon resonators at rest, by Peter | 

 Lebedew. The case of electromagnetic waves is the first dealt 

 with. Instruments called magnetic and electric resonators, 

 respectively, were constructed in such a manner that they could 

 be suspended l)y quartz fibres parallel to the planes of their colls. 

 One of these was arranged .so as to resound to the magnetic, ] 

 the other to the electric components of the waves only. It was 

 found that both resonators behaved in the same way. When 

 " tuned " to a higher pitch, they were attr.icted by the incident 

 wave system ; when tuned lower, they were repelled, the 

 maximum effects occurring when mostclosely approaching perfect 

 resonance. The phenomena can be explained by supposing 

 that the excitation of electric resonators obeys the laws govern- 

 ing all elastic vibrations, and that the laws of Coulomb and , 

 Ampere with respect to the relation between impulse and motion j 

 also apply to electric oscillations. The experiments are , 

 analogous to attempts to elucidate the molecular forces attending 

 the propagation of light. — On the velocities of sound in air, 

 gases, and vapours for simple tones of different pitches, by ! 

 James Webster Low. F'rom experiments performed with a 

 'Juincke interference lube, it appears that, contrary to the results \ 

 obtained by Kundl, Rcgnault, Konig, and others, for closc.l 

 tubes, the velocity of sound in air and in carbonic acid is M 

 same for notes ol different pilch and intensity when they .1 

 propagated in open space. — On the seal of the electric charge n. 

 con:lcnsers, by A. Kleiner. The experiments were performed 

 chiefly on mica condensers, one coating of which consisted ol 

 pure mercury, and the other of tinfoil. The discharges obtained ] 

 aficr the coalings had been taken off and replaced were alvmi 

 5 per cent, less than those from the undisturbed condcns' 



