January i6,, 19 13] 



NATURE 



561 



as steel, concrete, copper, &c. We want oil, gas and 

 steam engines, and refrigerators, as well as dynamos 

 and all sorts of electrical apparatus." As an induce- 

 ment to manufacturers and others to give generously. 

 Prof. Smith said : — " We will house your gifts and 

 keep your samples running and in good condition. 

 We will show your present and future customers the 

 merits of your machines, and we will advertise your 

 goods in the centre of the greatest market of the 

 near future." There seems every likelihood that Prof. 

 Smith will be successful in his efforts to secure well- 

 equipped laboratories of a modern type. Already, we 

 understand, the Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., 

 of Manchester, has decided to present to the Univer- 

 sity of Hong Kong a complete battery of their chloride 

 accumulators for use in the electrical laboratory. It 

 may be hoped that ere long each of the pieces of 

 apparatus in the list needed at the new University, 

 which has been circulated widely by Prof. Smith, will 

 be secured. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Mathematical Society, January 9. — Prof. A. E. H. 

 Love, president, and temporarily Sir Joseph Larmor, 

 treasurer, in the chair. — J. C. Fields : Proofs of certain 

 general theorems relating to orders of coincidence. — 

 W. E. H. Berwick : The reduction of ideal numbers. — 

 A. E. H. Love : Notes on the dynamical theory of the 

 tides. — W. H. Young : L^niform oscillation of the first 

 and second kind. — H. Bateman : Some definite in- 

 tegrals occurring in the harmonic analysis connected 

 with a circular disc. 



Royal Astronomical Society, January 10. — Dr. F. W. 

 Dyson, F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Dr. S. S. 

 Hough : The periodic errors in the right ascensions 

 of standard catalogues. In giving an account of this 

 paper, Sir D. Gill explained in detail the method 

 adopted at the Cape Observatory for obtaining great 

 accuracy in meridian observations, notwithstanding 

 some instability in the foundations of the instruments. 

 — Prof. Douglass spoke on the records of solar radia- 

 tion made in Arizona. — H. E. Wood : Work at 

 Union Observatory, Transvaal, and photographs of 

 Gale's comet. The comet had two straight tails, one 

 of them of considerable length. — Rev. A. L. Cortie : 

 Sun-spots and terrestrial magnetic phenomena, 1898- 

 191 1. Second paper, the greater magnetic storms. 

 It was concluded that while a general state of sun- 

 spot activity corresponds with a general state of 

 terrestrial magnetic activity, it requires the advent of 

 a large spot, the influence of which extends in all 

 directions, or a spot favourably situated in helio- 

 graphic latitude, to disturb the equilibrium by the 

 precipitation of a magnetic storm. — Prof. H. C. 

 Plummer : The motions and distances of the brighter 

 stars of the type B-B5, being a continuation of pre- 

 vious researches on stellar motions. The whole of 

 the stars of the first type appear to be at about 200 

 light-years' distance, and to be very uniformly dis- 

 tributed in a plane, their motions being parallel to the 

 Milky Way. The author considered that there were two 

 star streams. — Mr. Eddington pointed out that the 

 motions of the B-type stars were very small, and that 

 thev might be moving in a direction perpendicular 

 to "the Milkv Way.— C. Martin and H. C. Plummer : 

 The short-period variable SLT Cygni. Prof. Plummer 

 showed a diagram of the interesting light-curve of 

 the star, 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, December 30, 1912. — M. Lipp- 

 mann in the chair. — H. De-slandres : The general mag- 

 netic field of the upper layers of the solar atmosphere. 

 New verifications. Regarding the upper solar layer 



NO. 2255, VOL. go] 



as strongly ionised, the behaviour of the ions in a 

 magnetic field offers a simple explanation of the 

 phenomena hitherto observed. Further experimental 

 proofs are given. — A. Haller and Edouard Bauer : The 

 formation of dimethylstyrolene, starting with phenyl- 

 dimethylethyl alcohol. The alcohol was obtained by 

 the reduction of phenyldimethylacetamide with sodium 

 and absolute alcohol. Various by-products of the 

 reaction are described. — The secretary announced the 

 death of Paul Gordan, correspondant for the section 

 of geometry. — J. Guillaume : Observations of the sun 

 made at the Observatory of Lyons during the third 

 quarter of 1912. The results of observations made 

 on seventy-two days are given in tabular form. — M. 

 Luizet : Elements of the orbit of the variable star 

 RR Lion (BD4-24-2i83°).— Ch. Gallisot : The influ- 

 ence of the colour and magnitude in sudden varia- 

 tions of brightness of a stellar image. An account of 

 a repetition of some experiments of Broca and 

 Sulzer, for the case of luminous points. — Georges 

 R£moundos : The theory of M. Picard and algebroid 

 functions. — J. Taffanel and H. Dautriche : The detona- 

 tion of dynamite No. i. — G. Eiffel : The resistance of 

 spheres in air in motion. An experimental study of 

 the causes of the divergence of the author's results and 

 those obtained at the aerodynamical laboratory at 

 Gottingen. In the expression, R = KSV^, in which 

 R is the total resistance, S the diametral surface, V 

 the velocity of the air, and K a constant, K is only 

 really constant after a certain critical value of V has 

 been reached. In the Gottingen experiments V was 

 below this critical value. The existence of this critical 

 velocity is of practical importance, and must be taken 

 into account in apparatus used to measure the velocity 

 of the wind, or of aeroplanes. — Ren6 Arnoux : A new 

 method of steering aeroplanes by means of the motor. 

 — Gustave Plaisant : A mode of cycloidal attack of 

 the air. — A. Korn : The potentials of an attracting 

 volume the densitv of which satisfies the Laplace 

 equation. — F. Croze : New observations relating to the 

 Zeeman phenomenon in the hydrogen spectrum. The 

 author's experimental results are not in accord with 

 those recentlv published by Paschen and Back. An 

 account is given of further experiments on the cause 

 of these discrepancies. — Guillaume de Fontenay : The 

 action of inks on the photographic plate. The action 

 is complicated, and varies greatly with the method of 

 working. — Ch. Boulanger and G. Urbain : The theory 

 of efflorescence. The influence of the magnitude of 

 the crystal. An expression is given for the rates of 

 loss of moisture of two crystals of different masses of 

 the same material, and this is submitted to experi- 

 mental confirmation with a special form of micro- 

 balance. — .'\ndr^ Brochet : The relation between the 

 conductivity of acids and their absorption by hide 

 powder. The acid absorption is a general phenomenon, 

 and is due to a chemical combination, since whatever 

 acid is employed the amount absorbed is sensibly 

 proportional to the chemical equivalent. — Jean Bieleckt 

 and Victor Henri : The quantitative study of the 

 absorption of the ultra-violet rays by fatty acids and 

 their isomeric esters. The absorption of ultra-violet 

 rays by acids and esters is not determined by their 

 empirical formula. It depends on the constitution of 

 the molecule. — H. Labbfi : The influence of alkaline 

 salts on the elimination of urinary ammonia in normal 

 dogs. ^Michel Cohendy and D. M. Bertrand : Living 

 sensibilised antistaphylococcus vaccine. — A. Trillat and 

 F. Mallein : Study of the action of the filtrate or 

 distillate of a fresh culture of B. proteus on the 

 evolution of the disease caused by pneumococcus in 

 mice. — E. L. Trouessart : Migrating and sedentary 

 forms in the ornithological fauna of Europe. — Louis 

 Besson : A periodic element in the variations of the 

 barometer. 



