326 



NA TURE 



[February i, 1900 



This novel and ingenious idea was never practically 

 tried, but it established the fact that Hughes was the 

 inventor of oil insulation. 



In 1878 he brought out the microphone. No one who 

 remembers the period can ever forget the sensation pro- 

 duced by his simple apparatus and striking experiments. 

 Bell had just brought out the telephone, Edison had 

 patented his carbon transmitter and invented the phono- 

 graph ; but Hughes captured the town by causing the 

 footsteps of a house fly to resound like the tread of an 

 elephant. 



In 1879 he showed how to eliminate the effects of 

 mutual induction from lateral wires by using a metallic 

 circuit and twisting the wires around each other. 



This was followed by his beautiful induction balance, 

 and subsequently by a series of elegant researches in 

 magnetism and inductance. Hughes was essentially an 

 experimenter. His manipulation of rough materials was 

 phenomenal. He scorned the scientific instrument 

 maker. Pill boxes, common nails, sealing wax, bonnet 

 wire, knitting needles, tumblers, cheap copper were 

 enough for liim. His cells, galvanometers and telephones 

 were all home-made. He was not a mathematician, nor 

 was he deeply versed in scientific literature ; but he had 

 an instinctive perception of truth, and he jumped by 

 intuition to facts which he could speedily verify with his 

 own hands in the crudest fashion and by the homeliest 

 aid. He loved science, and his constant attendance at 

 the Royal Society and the Royal Institution evidenced 

 his interest in scientific progress. 



The Royal Society presented him with a Royal Medal 

 in 1885, and he was awarded the Albert Medal by the 

 Society of Arts in 1897. He was President of the Insti- 

 tution of Electrical Engineers in 1886, and was for many 

 years a manager of the Royal Institution. 



He was a genial, charming companion, and his pre- 

 sence will be very much missed by many who knew him 

 well. 



The funeral of Prof Hughes took place on Saturday, 

 January 27. The pall bearers were Lord Lister, Prof A. 

 W. Riicker, Mr. Choate (the United States Ambassador), 

 Prof S. P. Thompson, Prof Dewar and Major-General 

 Webber. Among the other men of science present at the 

 special service at All Souls', Langham Place, some of 

 whom went on to Highgate Cemetery, where the inter- 

 ment took place, were Mr. E. Clodd and the Servian 

 Consul, Lord Kelvin, Sir William Crookes, Sir Frederick 

 Bramwell, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Dr. Johnstone Stoney, Sir 

 Henry Mance, Mr. R. E. Crompton, Prof Perry, Prof 

 Meldola, Mr. A. Siemens, Mr. A. B. Kempe, Mr. J. 

 Swinburne, Mr. J. Wimshurst, M. Daeschner (secretary 

 of the French Embassy), the Greek Charge d'Affaires, 

 Sir F. Abel, Sir H. T. Wood, Mr. A. P. Trotter and Mr. 

 C. E. Spagnoletti. The Duke of Northumberland and 

 Sir W. Preece were represented. 



NOTES. 



The Geological Society of France has received a legacy of 

 forty thousand francs from Mme. Beaucourt, for the encourage- 

 ment of irivestigaticns which assist geological progress. 



The Engineer states that the War Office is making an allow- 

 ance of 3000/. for the provision of apparatus for use by the 

 electrical engineer volunteers going to South Africa. 



The Institute of France has accepted the conditions of the 

 gift by M. Daniel Osiris of a sum of money for the foundation 

 of a triennial prize of one hundred thousand francs, to be 

 awarded for the most remarkable discovery or work in science, 

 art, or letters. 



The Special Meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philo- 

 sophical Society for the presentation of the Wilde and Dalton 

 Medals, and for the delivery of the Wilde Lecture on " Flight, 

 KG. 1579, VOL. 61] 



natural and artificial," by Lord Kayleigh, F.R.S,, will be held 

 on Tuesday, February 13, at 4.30 p.m. 



The death is announced of General Alexis de Tillo, the 

 distinguished Russian geographer, and correspondant of the 

 Paris Academy of Sciences, in the section of geography and 

 navigation. For more than twenty years General Tillo was 

 one of the most active and earnest members of the Russian 

 Imperial Geographical Society, and contributed many papers 

 on the hypsometry, terrestrial magnetism, and climatology of 

 Russia. 



Baron Le Baume Pi.uvinei,, who has been to Spain on 

 behalf of the French Astronomical Society, to inquire into the 

 weather prospects during the forthcoming solar eclipse at various 

 places along the line of totality, and to make arrangements for 

 the accommodation of the members who will go to observe it, 

 will give an address to the Society on February 7, on the results 

 of his visit. 



The twenty-seventh annual dinner of the old students of the 

 Royal School of Mines was held at the Hotel Cecil on Friday, 

 January 26. Mr. H. G. Graves was in the chair, and was pre- 

 sented with a loving cup, «S:c. , in consideration of his service 

 for several years as secretary, by Mr. H. Bauerman, on behalf 

 of the committee. The other speakers were Sir W. Roberts- 

 Austen, Prof. C. Le Neve Foster, Prof. Perry, Mr. Bennett H. 

 Brough, Mr. H. Hatfield, Mr. Teall, Mr. F. W. Harbord, Mr. 

 E. Woakes, and the present secretary, Mr. IF C. McNeill. 



Mr. Samuel Barber informs us that a very brilliant meteor 

 was observed at Chesterton, near Peterborough, on January 28, 

 about 5.56 p.m. Attention was drawn to the meteor by an 

 almost blinding flash that resembled lightning. Then the ball 

 of light was observed " travelling across the sky like a large 

 rocket, in an easterly direction, and with a conspicuous trail a 

 few degrees wide on either side of its course. Before vanishing 

 there was a distinct gap left, in which the trail did not appear, 

 i.e. between the point of departure of the meteor and the end 

 of the trail. The meteor disappeared instantaneously. No 

 sound was heard." 



The researches undertaken by the Institution of Mechanical 

 Engineers were referred to in the report of the council, pre- 

 sented at the annual meeting on January 26. The fifth report 

 of the research committee on alloys was presented and fully 

 discussed a year ago, and Sir William Roberts-Austen, the 

 reporter, is now at work upon the effect of annealing and tem- 

 pering on the properties of steel, which will form the principal 

 subject of the next report. The gas engine research has been 

 further advanced by Prof. Burstall, who hopes to be able to 

 present his report early in the present year. The value of the 

 steam-jacket is the subject under investigation by Prof. Beare, 

 who has accumulated further data towards his fourth report. 

 The compound steam-jacketed condensing engine at King's 

 College, London, has been >vorking. Prof. Capper has not yet 

 been able to commence the first series of complete tests, but 

 promises his first report soon. 



The annual general meeting of the Mathematical Association 

 was held at University College on Saturday, January 27, 

 the President of the Association, Sir Robert S. Ball, being 

 in the chair. Papers were read by Sir Robert Ball, Prof. 

 R. W. Genese, and Messrs. R. F. Davis and J. A. Third ; 

 and several other papers were received, the authors of which 

 were unable to be present. It was announced that the 

 Mathematical Gazette would in future be issued six instead of 

 three times a year. The aim of the Association in publishing 

 the Gazette is to supply a journal which is of direct and special 

 interest to mathematical teacheis. It is intended that among its 

 special features shall be articles surest! ve of improvements in 



