h8 



NATURE 



[August 25, 1910 



In connection with the production of undamped electrical 

 ■oscillations of high frequency by the arc and condenser 

 method, Messrs. M. Kimura and K. Yamamoto, of the 

 Kyoto University, have carried out a series of determina- 

 tions of the effects of atmospheres of various vapours on 

 the volt-ampere " characteristic curves " of the carbon- 

 copper arc. The carbon electrode was solid, and was used 

 as the kathode. The copper anode was water-cooled. The 

 •curves obtained are all of the usual form, which suggests 

 a rectangular hyperbola, and show that the vapours tried 

 stand in the following order of relative efficiency :— 

 hydrogen, hydrogen mixed with benzene, methyl alcohol, 

 methyl and ethyl alcohols mixed, ethyl alcohol, air, the 

 volts absorbed for a given current being highest for 

 hydrogen. The complete paper is contained in part iv. of 

 the second volume of the Memoirs of the College of Science 

 and Engineering of Kyoto University, just to hand. 



The following figures for the solubility of ether in water 

 are given by Mr. Y. Osaka in the Memoirs of the College 

 of Science at K3'Oto, and will be of interest to people who 

 are constantly making use of this solvent : — 



Temoerature o° s" lo^ i =;' ?c^ 25' '^o" 



■Solubility (Osaka) 13-13 ifi8 9-55 8-22 7-0'? 613 539 pt. per 100 gr. 



Solubility (.Seidell) 13-12 11-4 05 8-2 6-95 6-05 5-4 gr. per 100 gr. 



Prof. Bone and Dr. H. F. Coward have replied, in the 

 Journal of the Chemical Society, to the criticisms by 

 Berthelot and others of their work on the production of 

 methane by the direct union of hydrogen with carbon. 

 In their most recent experiments they have obtained yields 

 ■of 95^8, 95-6, and 91 per cent, of that theoretically obtain- 

 able from the weight of carbon used. The carbon used 

 was particularly pure, containing not more than 0^06 per 

 cent, of hydrogen, or o.o6 per cent, of ash. The gas 

 produced (at 1150°) contained only a trace of carbon 

 monoxide, never exceeding 0.03 per cent., and the amount 

 ■of nitrogen was also very small. 



It is seldom now that one firm is entrusted with the 

 ■order for as many as ten vessels for any navy, and the 

 successful completion of such an order by Messrs. Yarrow 

 and Co. for the Brazilian Government forms the subject 

 of an article in Engineering^ for August 19. The ten 

 torpedo-boat destroyers are all of one design, an important 

 advantage both from the tactical point of view and also 

 from the standpoint of management by Brazilian officers 

 and crews. They partake generally of the British " river " 

 class, in which were embodied greater strength and other 

 qualities to enable the vessels to maintain their speed in 

 a heavy sea. The guaranteed speed of 27 knots has been 

 easily exceeded by every ship. The length between per- 

 pendiculars is 240 feet, and the displacement is 650 tons. 

 The ratio of length to beam is 10-2 to i. Each vessel has 

 two sets of four-cylinder triple-expansion engines, balanced 

 on the Y'arrow-Schlick-T weedy system, and supplied with 

 steam from two double-ended Yarrow boilers. The greatest 

 power developed on an official trial was 8877 indicated 

 horse-power, in the case of the Parana. The coal-con- 

 sumption trials showed that at 14 knots speed the radius 

 of action was 3690 nautical miles. 



Engineering for August 19 directs attention to the 

 iinportant and continuous increase in Germany's imports 

 of British coal — from 1899 to 1909 the increase is more 

 than 115 per cent. The figures are 4,873,555 tons in 1899 

 to 10,498,118 tons in 1909. In no place, perhaps, has 

 British coal to a more marked extent encroached upon 

 German coal than in Berlin. In 1890 British coal con- 

 sumption in Berlin amounted to 105,894 tons, or 7.53 per 

 cent. ; last year the respective figures were 946,102 tons, 

 NO. 2130, VOL. 84] 



and 3988 per cent. The total consumption in Berlin in 

 the two years was respectively 1,406,961 tons and 2,372,310 

 tons. Coinciding with this increase in British coal con- 

 sumption is a notable decrease in the consumption of coal 

 from Silesia, and it is from this quarter also that com- 

 plaints are loudest. Fears are openly expressed that 

 British coal is in a fair way of, lastingly and fully, 

 securing the Berlin market unless proper precautions are 

 taken soon and with the greatest possible energy. The 

 increase in import of British coal to Berlin is to a great 

 extent owing to the growing consumption of British gas- 

 coal at the Berlin gas-works. 



Many ingenious pieces of apparatus for illustrating the 

 principles and laws of heat are described and illustrated 

 in a new catalogue (List 56) just issued by Messrs. A. ■ 

 Gallenkamp and Co., Ltd. The aim of the makers has 

 been to produce at a moderate price instruments which can 

 be used continuously by students without getting out of 

 order, and will yield accurate results. A noteworthy feature 

 is the inclusion of a number of new devices which have 

 been, described in text-books or periodicals, or before 

 scientific societies. Teachers of physics will find the cata- 

 logue of service in the selection of experiments for the 

 lecture-room and laboratory. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Perseid Meteoric Shower. — Observations of this 

 phenomenon have been received by Mr. Denning from 

 twelve stations, and he informs us that the results are 

 fairly satisfactory. Clouds, it is true, greatly interfered 

 with watcmng on the important nights of August n 

 and 12, but August 10 was clear. 



The character of the display seems to have been of an 

 average character. Meteors were not strikingly abundant, 

 but there were enough to make the event exciting and to 

 attract the interest of the general public. In Norfolk one 

 observer was very successful, and relates that he counted 

 twenty-one meteors in eight minutes between ih. i6m. and 

 ih. 24m. on the morning of August 12, and estimated that 

 they were falling at the rate of about 250 per hour ! Other 

 observers give the number as much less, but testify as 

 to the brilliancy of some of the individual meteors. 



Mr. C. L. Brook, of Meltham, saw splendid Perseids 

 on .August 8, iih. 265m., and on August 10, i2h. 55m., 

 with paths from 3i9°4-68° to 279°-l-5o'' and ~l° + 4ii'' to 

 350°-|-2s° respectively. Mr. W. H. Steavenson, at Chelten- 

 ham, recorded the latter as moving from 90° + 58° to 

 i20°-l-48°, and saw another magnificent meteor at 

 I3h. iim., twice as bright as Venus, shooting from 

 120° -I- 48° to i35°-|-40°. Others, comparable with Jupiter, 

 followed at I3h. i8m. and I3h. 30m. The fireball of 

 I2h. 55m. fell from a height of 81 to 51 miles over the 

 eastern region of Yorkshire. Its length of path was 45 

 miles, and velocity about 31 miles per second. It was a 

 true Perseid, with radiant at about 45-1-56, but the exact 

 place is not defined, as at Meetham Mr. Brook saw the 

 meteor moving westwards, while at Cheltenham Mr. 

 Steavenson observed it travelling to east. • 



Miss Warner, at Bristol, saw a number of meteors on 

 August 10, the finest being a Perseid equal to Venus at 

 loh. 25m. It was, however, very low in the east, passing 

 under Andromeda and Pegasus. Mr. D. E. Packer, of 

 Birmingham, saw 200 meteors in watches of twenty-one 

 hours between July 31 and August 14. There were thirty 

 of the apparent brightness of Jupiter and twenty equal to 

 Saturn. 

 ■ Mr. W. Johnson, of Lastingham, witnessed a fine 

 meteoric display on August 12. During the evening there 

 were many brilliant meteors, including two of quite excep- 

 tional lustre. The display seemed at its best between 

 II and 12 p.m.; clouds prevented observations after mid- 

 night. 



Metc.^lf's Comet, 19106. — Numerous observations of the 

 comet discovered by the Rev. J. H. Metcalf on August 9 

 arc recorded in No. 4434 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. 



