148 



NATURE 



[April 13, 19 16 



OVR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Comet 1916a (Neujmin). — Prof. E. Stromgren, in a 

 post-card dated April i, from the Copenhagen Ob- 

 servatory, gives the following observation of Neujmin's 

 comet at Bamberg on March 23 : — loh. 7m, 15s. M.T. 

 Bamberg; a app. = 9h. 15m. 7- 15s. ;8 app. = +2° i8' 31-9*. 

 The corrections to the positions given in M. J. 

 Fischer-Petersen's ephemeris are, for March 23 :+7s., 

 + i-o'. — Copenhagen Post-card No. 16 gives the follow- 

 ing <X)ntinuation of the ephemeris : — 



i2h. G.M.T. 



OccuLTATiON OF Mars, OCTOBER 2, 1915. — Observa- 

 tions were made by W. Voss at Altona {Astronomische 

 Nachrichten, No. 4831). Although the altitude was 

 low (17°) and the air unsteady, all four contacts were 

 recorded. The successive phases anticipated the cal- 

 culated times by loo, 138, 27- 1, and 31 -8 seconds 

 respectively. Corrections to the ephemeris of the 

 moon have been calculated from the observations of 

 second and third contacts. Taking into account the 

 effect of the phase of the planet on the emersion, it 

 api>ears that the moon is 10" further on its path, and 

 in the direction at right angles 3" to the north of the 

 position given by the Nautical Almanac. 



The Radiation Laws and Stellar Photometry. — 

 In Meddelande No. 67, Lund's Observatory, Dr. C. V. L. 

 Charlier continues a statistical investigation of the 

 consequences of various laws of radiation in regard 

 to stellar light emission. Although Planck's law does 

 not, yet both Stephan's and Wien's radiation laws indi- 

 cate the existence of an inversion-temperature (visual 

 >i8,ooo°), at which for a given wave-length the radia- 

 tion is a maximum recalling the results obtained by 

 Kovesligethy. This important inference applied to 

 the phenomena of new stars is considered to remove 

 the objection to collision hypotheses, justifying the 

 ingenious suggestion that the observed rapid diminu- 

 tion in brightness is due to the fact that the inversion- 

 temperature has been passed. The investigation has 

 a direct bearing on the question of colour-indices. A 

 rigorous interpretation of the usual determinations 

 is shown to require the numerical evaluation of several 

 instrumental factors, which determine the difference 

 between the measured and the actual energy. 



Dark Markings in the Sky. — Some striking photo- 

 graphs possibly showing dark objects are reproduced 

 in a paper by Prof. E. E. Barnard in the January 

 number of the Astrophysical Journal (in modified 

 covers). A dark marking in Cepheus (18600, R.A. 

 2oh. 48-om. + 59° 6') would almost pass for a negative 

 of the gaseous nebula N.G.C. 6995. Prof. Barnard 

 advances the interesting suggestion that these dark 

 bodies are rendered apparent by a faint general 

 luminescence of the background. This bears a sort 

 of reciprocal relation to Prof. H. H. Turner's sug- 

 gested widespread absorbing areas, yet it is not impos- 

 sible that both refer to coincident areas in space. 



A Cluster of Nebula in Cetus. — ^To the north of 

 the 95 mag. star, B.D., 2° 128', Prof. M. Wolf has 

 found a rich cluster of small nebulous objects. In a 



NO. 2424, VOL. 97] 



region 30' diameter around R.A. =oh. 49-orn., 8=— 20' 

 (1855), no fewer than fifty nuclei were discerned with 

 the 16 in. The nebulae are nearly as abundant but 

 much smaller than in the nebulous areas in Coma 

 Berenices and Virgo, and all are to be regarded as 

 either the remnants of, or the brightest parts of, very 

 faint spiral nebulae. Replicas on the tiniest scale of 

 the Andromedae nebulae are very numerous. The 

 cluster is not strongly condensed, but it is rather the 

 arrangement in winding lines that attracts attention 

 {Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4833). 



THE NEW CHEMICAL LABORATORIES AT 

 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. 



THE provision of properly equipped chemical labora- 

 tories with ample facilities, not only for teach- 

 ing, but also research, is a matter of the utmost 

 national importance. Fortunately, University College, 

 London, has been engaged for the last five years in 

 the endeavour to obtain a chemical laboratory worthy 

 of its famous tradition, associated with the names of 

 Graham, Williamson, and Ramsay, and equal to the 

 strenuous demands of the present day and the years 

 of keen scientific and industrial rivalry which await 

 all civilised nations after the war. 



As a result of strenuous effort and the generosity of 

 many private benefactors and public bodies, a fine 

 new^ building has been erected. The main facade 

 has a frontage of more than a hundred yards, whilst 

 the building itself occupies an area of about 18,000 

 square feet. The basement, which is, in reality, only 

 a half-basement, and is amply illuminated owing to the 

 use of prismatic glass in the windows and of white 

 tiles and white glazed bricks on the walls, is devoted 

 mainly to physical chemistry, electrochemistry, and 

 technical chemistry, for all of which spacious labora- 

 tories are provided. A novel feature here is the pro- 

 vision of a very large room, about 50 ft. square, for 

 the carrying out of chemical operations on an engineer- 

 ing scale (Fig. i). This room will be provided wuth 

 gas, water, steam, compressed air, electrical power, and 

 special ventilation. The ceiling is very high, and 

 strong steel girders run across from wall to wall at 

 approximately half the height from floor to ceiling. 

 These enable scaffolding to be rapidly erected, heavy 

 machiner)' and apparatus to be moved about, tanks 

 to be hoisted into position, etc. As everj^ practical 

 man knows, "technical" chemistry (a term very much 

 misunderstood in this country) is simply, when effec- 

 tive, a combination of good chemistry, good engineer- 

 ing, and good business. The ample provision made at 

 University College for adequate engineering tests of 

 chemical processes marks the beginning of a new era 

 in the development of university chemical laboratories. 

 It is significant that this provision was designed and 

 planned several years before the outbreak of the pre- 

 sent war, and owes its inception to the insight and 

 prescience of Sir William Ramsay. In September, 

 19 15, the laboratory of technical chemistry was placed 

 at the disposal of the Ministry of Munitions, and has 

 been in constant use since then for the working out 

 of the chemical engineering details of a new process, 

 under the supervision of Prof. B. D. Steele, of the 

 University, of Queensland. As a result of this work a 

 large new factory is in process of erection by the 

 Government. 



The basement also contains a large, well-equipped 

 workshop (the equipment of which was made possible 

 by the generosity of Dr. R. Messel, F.R.S.), and 

 special rooms for storage batteries, electrical 

 machinery, the liquefaction of gases, and spectroscopic 

 and calorimetric work. In the rooms devoted to 

 physical chemistry ample accomrnodation is provided 



