May 5, 1904] 



NA TURE 



23 



velocity in high latitudes. It seemed as if the spots had 

 caused' the superficial layers to rotate more in accordance 

 with the law of rotation of a rigid body, a mode of state- 

 ment, however, which was not to be accepted as involving 

 any physical theory. — In a paper on the viscosity of aqueous 

 solutions of chlorides, bromides, and iodides, Dr. W. \V. 

 Taylor and Mr. Clerk Ranken gave determinations of the 

 relative viscosities of KCl, KBr, KI, HCl, and HBr, in 

 solutions containing i mol., 2 mol., and 3 mol. per litre 

 at 0°, 15°, and 25°. The effect of temperature change and 

 concentration on the viscosity was found to be different for 

 the chlorine, bromine, and iodine solutions. The molecular 

 conductivities of the fifteen solutions at 0° were also deter- 

 mined, and showed no greater differences than for solutions 

 of similar concentration at iS". — In a note on the unit of 

 relative viscosity and on negative viscosity. Dr. \V. \v. 

 Taylor pointed out the disadvantages of expressing the 

 relative viscosities of solutions by taking as unit the 

 viscosity of the solvent at the temperature of experiment. 

 Instead, they should all be referred to water at 0° as 

 standard. Until quite recently only aqueous electrolytes 

 were known to exhibit the phenomenon of " negative 

 viscosity," i.e. the viscosity of the solution less than that 

 of the solvent at the same temperature. According 

 as the temperature coefficient of the solution is greater 

 or less than that of the solvent, a solution may exhibit 

 negative viscosity at high temperatures or at low tempera- 

 tures. — In a paper on the action of chloroform on the heart 

 and arteries. Prof. Schafer and Dr. Scharlieb showed, 

 as had been previously proved by Gaskell, McWilliam, Hill, 

 Embley, Sherrington, and others, that chloroform has a 

 powerfully paralysing action upon the mammalian heart, 

 inducing in it a condition in which all irritability is lost, and 

 is only recoverable by washing away the poison by passing 

 a stream of unpoisoned blood or saline solution through the 

 cardiac vessels. They further show that this paralytic con- 

 dition is not due to vagal inhibition, which is only rarely 

 to be seen in chloroform anaesthesia, and is then probably 

 due to dyspnoea ; it is therefore not capable of being 

 antagonised by atropine. Even such a powerful agent as 

 suprarenal medulla, which is one of the strongest cardiac 

 stimulants known, is powerless to provoke contraction in 

 a heart paralysed by chloroform. But sometimes artificial 

 respiration by chest compression may, by inducing some 

 sort of circulation through the coronary vessels, cause the 

 removal of the drug from the heart. No benefit has been 

 obtained by directly " massaging " the heart. The addition 

 of a small percentage of ammonia vapour to the chloroform- 

 laden air used for inhalation is shown to have a markedly 

 beneficial effect upon the result, the heart's force and the 

 blood pressure and respiration being maintained far better 

 than with chloroform alone. Alcohol vapour has a similar 

 but less marked effect. On the other hand, too large a pro- 

 portion of ammonia vapour is liable to produce instant and 

 permanent arrest of the heart's action. While the respira- 

 tion usually stops before the heart, in some cases the 

 cessation is simultaneous, and in a few the heart ceases 

 before the respiration, .^fter having completely stopped the 

 heart may after a minute or two recommence to beat, but 

 the respirations rarely begin again spontaneously, except 

 that, as in asphy.xia, a staircase of about a dozen respira- 

 tions may make its appearance long after the ordinary 

 respiratory movements have ceased. These are, however, 

 ineffectual to produce recovery, and if artificial respiration 

 be not resorted to the heart soon ceases permanently. The 

 effect of chloroform upon the arterioles has been determined 

 both in the frog and in the isolated mammalian kidney by 

 perfusion of Ringer's solution containing dissolved chloro- 

 form. In the frog, solutions containing from i in 200 to 

 I in 20,000 produce constriction of arterioles in proportion 

 to the amount of chloroform contained in solution. In the 

 mammal, while stronger solutions (such as i in 500) pro- 

 duce powerful constriction of arterioles, dilatation is obtained 

 with weaker solutions (i in 5000), a strength which in the 

 frog produces marked contraction. This confirms an observ- 

 ation by Dr. C. J. Martin, recently communicated to the 

 Physiological Society. Further experiments are needed to 

 I clear up this discrepancy between the results in the frog and 

 mammal. — Mr. G. .\. Carse communicated a paper on the 

 thermal expansion of solutions of the hydroxides of sodiun}^ 



NO. I 80 1, VOL. 70] 



barium, and strontium, in each of which the volume of the 

 solution is less than that of the water used in its prepar- 

 ation. In the case of sodium hydroxide the expansion in 

 all cases, whether positive or negative, increased alge- 

 braically with rise of temperature. The same was true for 

 strontium hydroxide. In the case of barium hydroxide the 

 expansion was so small and the variation with temperature 

 so slight that nothing definite could be predicated, although 

 all solutions examined agreed in giving negative expansion. 

 With sodium hydroxide the maximum contraction point 

 slowly shifted towards the concentration origin with rise 

 of temperature. — Mr. John Doug;all presented a complete 

 and elaborate discussion of the analytical theory of the 

 equilibrium of an isotropic elastic plate. The solution was 

 obtained in the first instance for an infinite plate, and was 

 then applied to cases of finite plates. — The Rev. F. H. 

 Jackson communicated a theorem relating to a general- 

 isation of the Bessel function. 



P.ARIS. 



Academy of Sciences, April 25. — M. Mascart in the 

 chair. — Report presented by the commission charged with 

 the scientific control of the geodesic operations at the 

 equator. A description of the work done during the year 

 1903, and a sketch of that proposed for 1904 and 1905. 

 Unfavourable meteorological conditions interfered consider- 

 ably with the work done last year. — M. Bigourdan was 

 elected a member in the section of astronomy in the place 

 of the late M. Callandreau, and M. Gordan a correspondant 

 for the section of geometry in the place of the late Prof. 

 Salmon. — Note on an earthquake at Roustchouk, in 

 Bulgaria, communicated by the French consul. — Observ- 

 ations on the comet 1904 a (Brooks), made at the Observ- 

 atory of Besancon : P. Chofardet. On April 19 the comet 

 appeared as a star of the ninth magnitude, with a rounded 

 head i' in diameter, and with a central nucleus. There 

 was a slight tail from 2' to 3' in length in the 

 direction of the south-west. — Observations on the comet 

 1904 a (Brooks), made at the Observatory of Paris ; 

 >i. Salet. — Provisional elements of the Brooks comet 

 (1904, .\pril 16) : G. Fayet. — The Leonids in 1903, and the 

 determination of their height by means of simultaneous 

 observations ; Maurice Farman, Em. Touchet, and 

 H. Chretien. The simultaneous observations were carried 

 out at stations 287 kilometres apart, and results were 

 obtained for eighty-three meteors. The average height of 

 the first appearance was 103-6 kilometres (extremes 138-5 

 and 53-9), of disappearance 75-8 (extremes 13 1-6 and 33-4), 

 the average length of the trajectory being 35-2 kilometres. 

 — On the singularities of analytical functions : L. Zoretti. 

 — .■\n attempt at a determination of the difference of longi- 

 tude chronometrically : Paul Ditisheim. The difference of 

 longitude between Paris and Neuchatel was determined uy 

 carrying with special precautions five chronometers between 

 the two places, the mean result being i8m. 28-865. It 

 is proposed to check this by a new telegraphic determin- 

 ation. — On the fall of water in rivers : Edmond Maillet. — 

 On the melting point of gold and the expansion of some 

 gases between o" and 1000° C. : .Adrien Jacquerod and 

 F. Louis Perrot (see p. 14). — On the atomic weights of 

 hydrogen and oxygen, and on the probable value of their 

 atomic ratio : Ph. -A. Guye and Ed. Mallet. The method 

 proposed by Vallier for treating a limited number of observ- 

 ations is applied to the reduction of the observations of 

 E. W. Morley on the atomic weights of hydrogen and 

 oxygen. The final value is = 15-8787 for H = i. — Experi- 

 mental researches relating to some cyclic amines : P. 

 Lemoult. The heats of combustion of some amines calcu- 

 lated by means of the formula given by the author in a 

 previous paper show in a few cases wide deviations, and 

 it appeared advisable to re-determine experimentally some 

 of these measurements. The results of determinations made 

 with the Berthelot bomb for xylidine, monoethylaniline, 

 /)-anisidine, a-naphthylamine, and /3-naphthylamine are 

 given, anti agree with the figures calculated from the 

 formula within 0-5 per cent. — The formation of hydrogen 

 silicide by direct synthesis from its elements : A. Dufour. 

 hi a very high temperature, hydrogen and silicon unite 

 directlv to form hydrogen silicide. The amount formed is 

 small, and the product was identified by its chemical rer 



