422 



NA TURE 



{Feb. 28, I i 



nent diminution of volume. Some even retained their specific 

 weight intact under extreme pressure. — Observations on M. 

 van Beneden's last note respecting the discovery of fossil iguano- 

 dons at Bernissart, by E. Dupont. This communication closes 

 the controversy. — Note on the literature of international law 

 before the publication of Grotius's " Jus belli et pacis" (1625), 

 part ii., by Alph. Rivier. — A literary study on the position of 

 words in the Latin sentence, by J. Gantrelle. 



ymirnal of the Russian Chemicnl and Physical Society, vol. 

 XV. fasc. S. — On dipropylacrylic acid, by A. Albitsky. — On 

 the action of iodide of allyl and zinc on epichlorhydrine, by 

 M. Lopatkin. — On an accessory product obtained during the 

 preparation of diallyl carbinol, by W. Shestakofif. — On the 

 action of iodide of allyl and of isobutyl on acetone, by A. 

 Shatsky. — On the hydrocarbon CgHij, by S. Reformatsky. — 

 On tbe refractinsj power of Cj„H„||, by A. Albitzky.— Attempt 

 ■ if a theory of dissolutiiins, by W. Alexeyefif. — On C.,iH.^„ and 

 the products of its oxidation, by W. Hemilian. — Analysis of a 

 phosphorite from Nijni-Novgorcd, by N. Lubavin. — On some 

 phenomena of remanant magnetism, by P. Bakhmetieff. — On the 

 changes in the galvanic resistance of selenium under the influ- 

 ence of liglit, by N. Hesehus. It depends chiefly upon allotroiiic 

 dis-ociation of the molecules. — On the characters of the intra- 

 molecular force, by M. Bardsky, being a mathematical discussion 

 of its dependence upon temperature. 



Bulletin de VAcadanie Iniph-ialc dcs Sciences de St. Peters- 

 bou7-g, vol. xxviii. No. 4. — Demonstration of several propositions 

 relative to the numerical function '£,{x), second paper, by V. 

 Bouniakovsky. — Contributions towards palaeontology, by M. 

 Schmalhatisen (with two plates) ; being a description of fossil 

 plants of the Jura coal-basin of Kuznetsk, in the Altay ( Thyrso- 

 pteris prisca and Hhipto^amiles gapperti), from North-West 

 Mongolia, at the sources of the Yenisei, on the high plateau of 

 the L'lu-khem [Bornia radiata, Neuroptcris cardiopteroides, Lepi- 

 dodendron veltheimiannm, Phiploc^amilcs gapperti, Czekanowskia 

 rigida, and Phanicopsis angiistifolia), and from the Djiin-khair- 

 khan Mountains (Asplenium argiitulitin and spectabile, and 

 Czekanowskia rigida). — On the sympathetic nervous system of 

 the Petromyzon, by Ph. Ousiannikow. — On the camphor of the 

 Ledum paliistre, by M. Rizza. — Analyses of samples of water 

 from thermal sources of Southern Altay (Byelukha-Rakh- 

 manovka), and from a number of lakes and wells in the same 

 region, by Prof. Carl Schmidt. Compared with thirty other 

 thermal waters of Europe, Asia, New Zealand, &c. (the compo- 

 sition of which is given in a table), the Altay water shows a 

 minimum of mineral substance. — Letter oti natural history phe- 

 nomena observed at the Lena Polar station, by Dr. Bunge. 



Rendiconti of the Sessions of the Accademia delle Scienze di 

 Bologna, March 14, 1883. — On a remarkable anatomical pecu- 

 liarity observed in the eye of the swordfish (Xiphias gladius, L.) 

 (one illustration), by Prof. G. V. Ciaccio. — Some observations on 

 the Mucor racemosus, Fresenius, by Dr. F. Morini. 



April 8. — A century of premature artificial births at the 

 Lying-in Hospital of Bologna, by Dr. C. Belluzzi. — Chemical 

 analysis of the meteorite which fell at Alfianello on February 

 16, 1883. — Researches on the Phellandrium aquaticum, by Dr. 

 Leone Pesci. — Thermal and galvanometrical researches on the 

 internal discharges of condensers, by Prof. E. Villari. — New 

 studies on the polygenesis of crystallised minerals, by Prof. h. 

 Bombicci. — Researches on the action of the magnet and of the 

 thermal agents in hy-terical hypnosis. — Observation on the series 

 of functions, by Prof. C. Arzela. — On the infinite products by 

 analytical functions, by Prof. S. Piucherle. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Royal Society, January 17. — "On the Electrolysis of 

 Dilute Sul| huric Acid and other Hydrated Salts." By J. PL 

 Gladstone and Alfred Tribe. 



On March 1 last a communication was presented to the Royal 

 Society by Prof. Franklarid in which, among other things, the 

 reactions the authors had described as taking place in the 

 charging and discharging of secondary batteries were confirmed. 

 Prof. Frankland expressed these reactions, however, by formukx- 

 founded on the electrolysis, not of H„S04, but of hexabasic 

 sulphuric acid, H5SO5, in accordance with the views of 

 Bourgoin. 



The French chemist employed a divided cell, analysing the 

 liquid in each compartment at the close of the experiment. He 

 calls the increase of the acid in the positive compartment o, and 

 concludes that 20 represents the amount of sulphuric acid 

 electrolysed. This conclusion rests on the well-known theoreti- 

 cal views of Grotthuss, and, did his theory express all that goes 

 on in the electrolytic proccsss, the method would readily dis- 

 criminate between the actions rei^resented by the following 

 formulae ; — 



After electrolysis 

 Before electrolysis Positive pole Negative pole 



(I.) SO;,H.,0 = SOs-i-O H„ 



(2.) S033H.jO = SO3 -f O, H„ 



(3.) S03«H.,0 = SO3-I-O;, H„„ 



But it was pointed out by Reuss, as far back as 1807, that, 

 when electrolytic action occurs across a permeable diaphragm, a 

 portion of the liquid may travel from the positive to the negative 

 compartment of the compound cell by what is now called elec- 

 trical endosmose. Daniell and Miller in 1844 pointe 1 out that 

 ill electrolytic action there was also an unequal transference of 

 the ions. Moreover, Daniell investigated the electrolysis of 

 sulphuric acid of very different strengths by a similar method, 

 and concluded that, for each equivalent of hydrogen liberated, 

 the acid which passed across the diaphragm was not more than 

 one-fourth nor less than one-fifth of an equivalent. Most of his 

 experiments incline to the former. Did 2a, therefore, represent 

 the amount of sulphuric acid electrolysed, it would appear from 

 his results that tctra-, rather than hexa-, basic sulphuric acid wa^ 

 decomposed by the current. These discrepancies, both of 

 observation and deduction, led the authors to make some 

 ex)?eriments on the subject. 



The apparatus employed consisted of a U "shaped tube of about 

 70 c.c. capacity, having a stop-cock in the centre of the horizontal 

 part. The vertical I'arts of the apparatus were divided into 

 millimetres, and the hole in the stop-cock packed with asbestos. 

 The authors found that the closeness of the packing could be so 

 nicely adjusted as to allow very little mechanical admixture of 

 the fluids or electrical endosmose. In their experiments the 

 current density was varied, and, unlike Bourgoin, they found that 

 the increase of sulphuric acid in the positive compartment per 

 equivalent of hydrogen set free decreased along w-ith the decrease 

 in the current density. The results are set out in the aimexed 

 table. 



of sulphuric acid 

 tive compartment 

 part of hydrogen 



32-8 



33"4 



72-3 



727 



106 ... 2 iro 



117 ... 2-5 ... 10-5 



215 ... 1-5 ... 1205 



220 . I ... I2'04 



229 .. 2 ... I2'3I 



It is necessary also to bear in mind the remarkable phenome- 

 non called by the Germans " Wanderung der lonen." Daniell 

 long ago described an experiment in which he placed dilute sul- 

 phuric acid in the positive compartment and a solution of sul- 

 phate of copper in the negative. He found that when 15 '5 grs. 

 of copper had been deposited on the negative electrode there 

 were 23 grs. of sulphuric acid in the same compartment. Now, 

 as 1 5 'S grs. of copper are equivalent to 24 grs. of .sulphuric 

 acid, and as Bourgoin's formula allows for the formation of 

 only half an equivalent of sulphuric acid, that is, 12 grs., it is 

 evident that there was a considerable accumulation of that sub- 

 stance unaccounted for. In two similar experiments the authors 

 obtained for o'l47 and O'laj grm. of deposited copper 0-209 ^id 

 o'iSo grm. of free sulphuric acid. The half equivalents would 

 be o'il4 and 0-097 grm. respectively. If both compartments 

 had been filled w-ith sulphuric acid, some similar transference 

 would doubtless have taken place, in addition to what is ex- 

 pressed in Grotthuss' chain of decomposition. 



The authors conclude, therefore, that the method employed is 

 incapable of determining whether it is I-I.,S04 or some hydrate 

 which yields to the current. 



Copper Sulphate 



An examination of the chemical changes which accompany 

 the electrolysis of a solution of copper sulphate appeared, how- 



hour; 



6 



2-5 



9-17 

 95 



9'4 



