Ii6 



NATURE 



[June 4, 1903 



council. Substantial agreement has been arrived at between 

 the three colleges, which have constituted Victoria Uni- 

 versity, as to a common matriculation examination for all 

 the three Universities of Yorkshire, Manchester, and Liver- 

 pool, and provision has been made for a joint board to be 

 constituted from the three Universities to deal with the 

 question. The additions to the staff and equipment of the 

 college essential to the proper carrying on of an independent 

 University will, it is thought, require a minimum additional 

 expenditure of about 7000/. a year, while extensive additions 

 will also be required to the college buildings. The coal- 

 owners of Yorkshire have decided to erect a separate build- 

 ing for the mining department, an^ have collected a sum 

 of 5500Z. for the purpose. The council of the college is 

 desirous also of completing the main block of the college, 

 and it is estimated that this would cost about 60,000/. 

 Three friends of the college have each promised 5000L, while 

 a fourth has promised 2000Z. The Clothworkers' Company 

 of London offers to transfer to the new University as its 

 absolute property the whole of the buildings and equipment 

 of the textile industries, dyeing and art departments, which 

 are at present held in trust by the college for the Cloth- 

 workers' Company. Attached to the offer is a condition 

 that these departments shall be recognised as integral parts 

 of the University. The Company has also promised to 

 grant in perpetuity to the University for the maintenance 

 of these departments an annual sum of not less than 4000/. 

 This means a gift to the University of a capitalised sum 

 of upwards of 2oo,oooZ. 



We learn from the Pioneer Mail that the Government of 

 India has addressed to the Bombay Government a long 

 letter on the subject of the proposed Tata endowment of 

 a research institute for India. It is in the main an explan- 

 ation of the delay of four years vyhich has occurred in 

 giving effect to the scheme. As has been already explained 

 in these columns, the scheme owes its origin to the 

 munificent intentions of Mr. J. N. Tata, who in 1896 pro- 

 posed to vest in trustees properties in Bombay, representing 

 a capital of thirty lakhs of rupees, in order that the net in- 

 come, amounting to some 8000L, might be applied towards 

 the endowment of a research institute for India. The pro- 

 posal soon assumed the form of an Imperial teaching uni- 

 versity, intended to train Indian graduates in scientific 

 research, to confer degrees, and to select the best students 

 for further training in Europe and America. Mr. Tata was 

 later asked to consider whether the original scheme was not 

 too ambitious, and whether it might not be proceeded with, 

 so far as funds permitted, leaving the further development to 

 come with the growth of income. Mr. Tata met a small 

 conference of educational experts, and with them defined 

 the general principles to be kept in view in launching the 

 scheme. Sir William Ramsay was invited to visit India 

 to advise, and the help of other experts was obtained. 

 Much delay has been caused by a consideration of numerous 

 recommendations received, but we are glad to know that 

 financial difficulties appear to have been overcome, and 

 that legislation will probably soon follow with a view to 

 provide India with an institution for higher scientific 

 instruction. The institute is to be located at Bangalore, 

 and the Mysore durbar, in addition to making a free grant 

 of land, has undertaken to contribute 3333/. per annum 

 for a period of ten years. The Government of India is 

 prepared to make a similar annual subsidy. This will raise 

 the income to 15,000/. per annum, which exceeds by 1000/. 

 the highest estimate of necessary expenditure framed by Sir 

 \yilliam Ramsay. The Government also proposes to con- 

 tribute one lakh of rupees towards the cost of the construc- 

 tion and equipment of the necessary buildings. The insti- 

 tute is to comprise a department of chemistry, a department 

 of experimental physics, and a department "of experimental 

 biology. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Royal Society, May 14. — "The Comhinatiun of Hydrogen 

 and Chlorine under the Influence of Light." By P. V. 

 Bevan. Communicated by Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



The first point studied in this investigation was the initial 

 expansion, or Dra:per effect, when light is allowed to fall 

 on a mixture of hydrogen and chlorine. This expansion 



NO. 1753, VOL. 68] 



was shown to be due to heat developed by the combination 

 of the hydrogen and chlorine to form hydrochloric acid. 

 The heat effect was measured by the change in resistance 

 observed in a fine platinum wire sealed through the bulb 

 in which the gas mixture was exposed to light. The in- 

 vestigation then considers the period of induction of 

 Bunsen and Roscoe, and the effects of various intensities 

 of light on the rate of combination. Experiments were alsO' 

 made on the effect of illuminating chlorine before mixing 

 with hydrogen, and the original observation of Draper — 

 that the combination takes place more readily after this 

 preillumination — was confirmed. If, however, the gases be 

 bubbled through water after preillumination of chlorine, 

 this effect is destroyed, and the gases behave like the 

 ordinary mixture. To obtain evidence of an intermediate 

 compound, the gases were submitted to sudden expansion 

 producing supersaturation. When the gases were dust free 

 a nucleus-forming substance occurred after illumination, so. 

 that on the expansion a cloud was formed when the super- 

 saturation reached a certain amount. In the non-illumin- 

 ated gas mixture no cloud-producing substance could be 

 observed with yellow light. This cloud is produced in 

 chlorine alone. In the mixture of hydrogen and chlorine 

 the cloud appears before any hydrochloric acid is formed. 

 The theoretical part of the paper considers the action as 

 taking place in three stages, combination to form complex 

 molecules containing hydrogen chlorine and water mole- 

 cules occurring, and then a break down of this complex 

 system giving hydrochloric acid and water. The view thus 

 taken explains the chief features of the induction period, and 

 can be extended to apply to other similar actions where a 

 catalyser is necessary for the progress of the action. 



" On the Photo-electric Discharge from Metallic Surfaces 

 in Different Gases." By W. Mansergh Varley, M.Sc.,. 

 Ph.D. Communicated by Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



The object of the experiments was to study the effect of 

 the pressure and nature of the gas with which a metal 

 surface is surrounded upon the magnitude of the photo- 

 electric current from that surface, the method used being 

 to draw the complete curves connecting the current and 

 the potential difference at each pressure or In each gas 

 examined, keeping the intensity of the ultra-violet illumin- 

 ation and the other conditions unaltered. 



A suitable source of ultra-violet light which would remain 

 constant in intensity while long series of observations were 

 being taken was ultimately found in the spark between 

 iron terminals in an atmosphere of pure dry hydrogen. The 

 spark gap was in parallel with three Leyden jars in the 

 secondary circuit of an induction coil used as a transformer. 

 The photo-electric currents were measured from a metal 

 surface placed a few millimetres behind a fine gauze, 

 through which the light passed, and which served as the 

 positive electrode. A brass vessel, with a quartz window- 

 to admit the light, served to contain the electrodes. 



Series of curves were obtained showing the relation 

 between the photo-electric current and the potential at 

 pressures ranging from 760 mm. to 0-0014 mm. They 

 show that down to pressures of about i mm. no true 

 saturation currents exist, the currents always increasing- 

 with the potential, but less rapidly for a certain range of 

 potential gradients than for lower or higher potential 

 gradients, while at pressures below the critical pressure 

 true saturation currents exist. 



Curves connecting the potentials and corresponding photo- 

 electric currents in air, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and 

 carbon monoxide at various pressures were also obtained, 

 and it was shown that the curves could all be explained 

 on the ionic theory of conduction, both qualitatively and 

 quantitatively. Zinc, platinum and aluminium electrodes 

 were employed. 



" On the Discovery of a Species of Trypanosoma in the 

 Cerebro-spinal Fluid of Cases of Sleeping Sickness." By 

 Aldo Casteilani, M.D. Communicated by the Malaria 

 Committee of the Royal Society. 



The author states that he has found trypanosomes to be 

 present in the cerebro-spinal fluid in twenty out of thirty- 

 four cases of sleeping sickness examined ; in two of the 

 cases trypanosomes were also found in the lateral ventricles, 

 and in one in the blood taken from the finger. The 

 cerebro-spinal fluid was obtained by lumbar puncture, and 

 as the trypanosomes are not numerous, it was first centri- 



