August 24, 19 16] 



NATURE 



527 



In the Times Trade Supplement for August Prof. 

 H. E. Armstrong strongly urges that, without delay, 

 concerted action should be taken for the complete 

 association and organisation of all the interests 

 connected with the manufacture of dye-stuffs. He 

 argues that the Government has failed to appreciate 

 the requirements of the situation, and has antagonised 

 the interests concerned, and advocates the provision, 

 in place of the body now ruling British Dyes, Ltd., 

 which is described as incompetent, of a satisfactory 

 joint management on which the fine chemical industry 

 shall also be represented. Prof. Armstrong points out 

 that five-sixths of the coal raised in this countr}- is 

 used direct, whilst the valuable volatile matters are 

 conserved only from the remaining sixth. If the whole 

 of the raw bituminous coal were coked at suitable 

 temperatures, large quantities of liquid fuel suitable 

 for use in internal combustion engines would be 

 obtained ; there would be a more than sufficient supply 

 of the raw materials necessar}- for the manufacture of 

 modern high explosives ; the raw material for dyes 

 would be more than enough to supply the whole 

 world ; large quantities of ammonia would be avail- 

 able for agricultural use ; the volume of high-grade gas 

 produced would be more than sufficient for domestic 

 use ; and bv using the resulting soft coke the open fire 

 could be retained with the advantage that soot and 

 smoke would be abolished and less acid sent into the 

 atmosphere. It has been stated that since the war 

 began ten or more works for the carbonisation of coal 

 at low temperatures (designed on the experience gained 

 from experiments carried out in this countr}) have been 

 erected in Germany, whilst our works are still in the 

 course of erection. Prof. Armstrong urges that the 

 Government should legislate forbidding the use of raw- 

 coal, and endorses the suggestion of the President of 

 the Society- of Chemical Industry that only the export 

 of coke, not that of raw bituminous coal, should be 

 allowed. Legislation is also necessary for the provi- 

 sion of funds for the study of all problems relating to 

 the development of coking processes, the efficient use 

 of fuels, and the utilisation of by-products. More than 

 600,000/. could be obtained annually for this purpose 

 by placing a tax of only one halfpenny on each ton of 

 coal raised. Not only would all the industries depen- 

 dent on coal as a basis be developed as a result of such 

 legislation, but our universities would be stimulated in 

 the production of highly trained scientific workers, for 

 whom there would then be a considerable demand. 



CiRcui-AR No. 19, issued by the Bureau of Standards, 

 United States Department of Commerce, consists 

 : chiefly of a collection of standard density and volu- 

 I metric tables issued in connection with the use of the 

 , hydrometer for industrial purposes or for the assess- 

 '■ ment of revenue duties. The confusion which had 

 resulted from the employment of insufficiently defined 

 : hydrometer scales, and the lack of a uniform basis 

 for the verification of standards, led the Bureau to 

 investigate the problems connected with hydrometry, 

 and to prepare standard density tables which would 

 I serve the purposes of accurate definition. The tables 

 are set out clearly, so that there is no ambiguity- as 

 to their meaning or as to the bases on which the 

 calculations are founded. In addition to the main 

 particulars referring to aqueous solutions of ethyl 

 and methyl alcohols, sulphuric acid, and cane sugar, 

 various auxiliary tables are given, including tempera- 

 ture corrections, Baume equivalents, and reduction 

 weighings in air to the corresponding values in 

 'tto. The inclusion of various physical constants, 

 and of data for the computation of volumetric capa- 

 ; citj' from apparent weight of water-content, increases 

 the usefulness of the compilation. A similar produc- 



NO. 2443, VOL. 97] 



tion adapted to British requirements might with ad- 

 vantage be made available for use in this country. 



We have received Technologic Paper No. 76 of the 

 Bureau of Standards, L'.S. Department of Commerce. 

 It contains an account of experiments made uf)on the 

 determination of the proportion of volatile " thinning '* 

 or diluent substances present in oil varnishes. 



The trajectory of a body falling freely in vacuo 

 forms the subject of a paper by M. A. Viljev ?n the 

 Bui. Acad. Sci., Petrograd (May, 191b, pp. 643-671). 

 After referring to the work of previous investigators 

 he sums up the results of his own researches thus : 

 1. In dealing with this problem some authors have 

 used inaccurate equations of motion, while others 

 have not correctly defined the position of the vertical 

 line. 2. A distinction must be made between the 

 vertical line and the plane of the prime vertical at 

 the upper point of the trajectory, corresponding to 

 the initial position of the falling body, and the vertical 

 line and plane of the prime vertical at the lower 

 point of the trajectory, where the fall of the body 

 ceases. At each point the vertical line is defined as 

 passing through the initial position of the body per- 

 pendicular to the surface of the equipotential of the 

 full force of gravity, produced through the given 

 point. The plane of the meridian passes through the 

 axis of the earth's rotation and the initial position 

 of the body. The plane of the prime vertical passes 

 through the vertical line as above defined and is 

 perpendicular to the plane of the meridian. 3. On 

 the basis of these definitions it is found that the body 

 swerves from the plane of the prime vertical of the 

 upper point of the trajectory' slightly towards the 

 pole. Relatively to the plane of the prime vertical 

 of the lower point of the trajectory it swerves more 

 towards the equator. 4. In falling in a shaft it 

 swerves from the plane of the prime vertical of the 

 uf>per pKjint of the trajectory towards the equator. 

 Also relatively to the plane of the prime vertical of 

 the lower point of the trajectory it swerves towards 

 the equator. 



The Royal Worcester Porcelain Company, Ltd., has 

 sent us some specimens of its porcelain dishes and 

 crucibles for chemical use. As is well known, before 

 the war our chemical laboratories were entirely depen- 

 dent on material of German origin. This Worcester 

 porcelain has been examined by the National Physical 

 Laboratory-, which reports that in regard to all the 

 qualities which can be examined in a short-period 

 test the Royal Worcester laboratory- ware is as good 

 as the best laboratory- ware hitherto employed, of 

 which the Royal Berlin ware is a typical example. 

 Details are given of the tests, which included the 

 effect of strong sulphuric acid, and 10 per cent, solu- 

 tions of caustic soda and sodium carbonate, the be- 

 haviour of the glaze at high temperatures, the con- 

 stancy of weight of the dishes, and the resistance to 

 sudden changes of temperature. As regards crucibles, 

 thanks to the purely- British industry in fused silica 

 ware, we are almost independent of the quality of 

 porcelain, but for basins porcelain is still essential. 

 For these it is a vital point that material used in one 

 experiment shall not be in part retained by the glaze 

 and carried on to the next, and the National 

 Physical Laboratory report would carry more 

 conviction if greater attention had been paid 

 to this matter. There was a slight gain in 

 weight after the treatment with sulphuric acid, and 

 on this the remark is made : " It has not been con- 

 sidered necessary- to ascertain whether the increase in 

 weight is due to combination between the sulphuric 

 acid and the material of the glaze or to a slight pene- 



