SEPTEMBER 25, 1913] 
NATURE 
109 
In addition to the reports just mentioned, the 
volume also contains a detailed account of the deter- 
mination by wireless telegraphy of the difference in 
longitude between Paris and Bizerta. 
SpecTRUM OF Wo r-Rayet Star D.M. +30° 3639.— 
Mr. Paul W. Merrill records in the Lick Bulletin, 
No. 230, the result of the examination of the red end of 
the spectrum of the Wolf-Rayet star D.M. +30° 3639, 
the photographic magnitude of which is too, and 
position for 1900.0 R.A. 19h. 30m. 8s., Dec. +30° 18’. 
The following previously observed bright lines appear : 
—A4652 broad; H8 monochromatic, strong; 5694 
broad; A581 broad, trace; D, doubtful; Ha mono- 
chromatic, strong. In addition to the above, the fol- 
lowing two bright lines appear :—A6548'5 mono- 
chromatic, 04 as strong as Ha; 65834 mono- 
chromatic, slightly stronger than He. The chief 
nebular lines are not seen in the star’s spectrum. It 
is pointed out that these two nebular lines were ob- 
served by Wright in the nebula N.G.C. 7027, but are 
otherwise unidentified. While the two lines appear 
together it does not necessarily follow that their origins 
are identical. 
THE BERLIN MEETING OF THE 
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL 
COMMISSION. 
ee meeting of the International Electrotechnical 
Commission was held in Berlin at the Kunstler- 
haus from September 1 to September 6. It was well 
attended, twenty-four nations being represented by 
seventy delegates. In addition to the voting delegates 
sent by the local committees of the countries repre- 
sented, some of the Governments also nominated their 
official representatives, those representing England 
being Dr. Glazebrook, who was unfortunately not able 
to attend, Dr. Gisbert Kapp, Dr. Silvanus P. Thomp- 
son, and Mr. Duddell, the president of the Institution 
of Electrical Engineers. The German Government 
was represented by Dr. Jaegar, Geheimrat Dr. 
Strecker, and several others. Unfortunately, Dr. E. 
Budde, the president of the International Electro- 
technical Commission, was absent through illness, but 
his place was very efficiently filled by Dr. Warburg, 
the president of the Reichsanstalt. 
The commission was welcomed on behalf of the 
German Government by Dr. Lewald, Director of the 
Ministry of the Interior. Prof. Paul Janet, of the 
Laboratoire Centrale, Paris, replied on behalf of the 
commission. s 
The proceedings were opened by the reading of the 
report of the honorary secretary, Col. Crompton, on 
the work which had been accomplished up to date and 
confirmed by the last plenary meetings held two years 
previously at Brussels; he also briefly described the 
new work which had been prepared during the two 
years’ interval by the various national committees, 
and by the four special committees which had been 
appointed to bring forward the four main subjects 
requiring international treatment; and which required 
confirmation at this the second plenary meeting, to 
ensure final acceptance by all the national committees. 
The first two days were occupied by the final meet- 
ings of the special committees. The first, and cer- 
tainly the most difficult, question to be decided inter- 
nationally, was that of providing a means of inter- 
national rating of electrical machinery. This matter, 
touching closely as it does on industrial questions, was 
naturally very warmly debated, both in the meetings 
of the special committee, which was presided over by 
Huber Stockar, the well-known Swiss engineer, and 
NO, 2291, VOL. 92] 
at the full meeting, but although much valuable 
evidence was brought forward on the test methods 
to be adopted for international rating, the only 
figures that were unanimously agreed to were the 
final temperatures permissible in the hottest 
parts of working generators, motors, and trans- 
formers, but the remaining very necessary factors, 
namely agreement as to temperature-rise and as 
to the standard temperature of the ‘ambient air 
from which the temperature-rise must be calculated, 
were not considered to be sufficiently settled to allow 
of unanimity. 
On the latter point the English and American 
engineers insisted on taking the ambient air tempera- 
ture at a figure of 4o° C., which is very frequently 
obtained at certain times of the year in all tropical and 
in many temperate climates, especially in engine- 
rooms, stokeholds, and similar places. It will be 
noted that the choice of this high temperature is 
greatly to the advantage of a purchaser, as it ensures 
that a machine ordered on standard international rat- 
ing will be a somewhat large machine capable of a 
larger overload in cool weather than was hitherto 
considered necessary by manufacturers. The majority 
of the meeting was apparently in favour of adopting 
this high figure so favourable to the consumer; but 
the German and Swedish engineers thought that the 
matter was too important to be decided off-hand, so 
the filling in of these two figures is left for further 
consideration by the national committees. It is hoped 
that an agreement may be arrived at in the course of 
this year, or at any rate before the next plenary 
meeting, which is to be held at San Francisco two 
years hence. 
The reports and the recommendations of the three 
other special committees, first that on nomenclature, 
second on the international standardisation of 
symbols in use for formule, and third on the 
definitions and terminology for prime-movers used for 
electrical generating plant, were all unanimously 
adopted. It is needless to point out that the 
unification of symbols is of immense benefit to the 
engineering student, and the unanimity arrived at by 
a number of delegates who, in the majority of cases, 
are largely interested in other branches, and particu- 
larly mechanical engineering, makes it probable that 
this unification of symbols will extend to all branches 
of engineering science, and perhaps eventually to all 
branches of physical investigation. 
As regards nomenclature, although the work done 
is undoubtedly good and useful, at first sight it seems 
‘small in amount, as a list of only eighty terms with 
the expressions defining them was adopted. It has 
been found necessary to modify the original arrange- 
ments by which there should be two official languages, 
English and French, to which others should be re- 
ferred, but the inconvenience of having two languages 
of reference was so marked that the English agreed 
to forego their claim that English should con- 
tinue to be one of the official languages, 
French now remains as the one language of refer- 
ence from which all words and expressions must be 
translated, but it was decided that the vocabuiary 
which has now been prepared should contain the 
official corresponding words now agreed to, in four 
| languages—French, English, German, and Spanish. 
The delegates from five countries using the Spanish 
language informed the meeting that this unification 
of terms in the Spanish language would be of great 
service to them, for already misunderstandings had 
arisen, as some of the South American countries 
using the Spanish language had shown a tendency to 
adopt different Spanish words for one and the same 
expression. 
