Dec. 9, 1880] 



NATURE 



139 



may be safely affirmed that they could not have been presented 

 to the world in the form in which they appear without the co- 

 operation of his remarkable union of technical knowledge and 

 mastery of mathematical analysis with the chemical science of 

 Prof. Abel. His beautiful invention of the Chronoscope, an 

 instrument constructed by him at great cost, by which intervals 

 of time as small as the one-millionth part of a second can be 

 measured, has been of indispensable value in these researches. 

 He is the author of papers which have been translated into mo^t 

 European languages on subjects of gunnery and gunpowder ; he 

 is perhaps the highest authority we possess on the higher 

 branches of artillery science, and the best known on the Con- 

 tinent. His great talents and attainments are not more con- 

 spicuous than his singular modesty and his indefatigable 

 industry. He has been engaged on these subjects about twenty 

 years, having published the first experiments in this country 

 with Navez' electroballistic apparatus, in 1862. 



The Rumford Medal has been awarded to Dr. William 

 Huggins, F.R.S. In 1866 a Royal Medal was awarded ; to 

 Dr.°Huggins for his important researches. .Since that time he 

 has been continually engaged in prosecuting the subject of 

 celestial spectroscopy, both in the departments in which he had 

 already done so much, and in others of its branches. One 

 subject of Dr. Huggins' researches relates to the determination 

 of the radial component of the velocity of the heavenly bodies 

 relatively to our earth, by means of the alteration of the refran- 

 gibility of certain definite kinds of light which they emit, or 

 whicli are stopped by their atmospheres. The smalhiess of the 

 alteration corresponding to a relative velocity comparable with 

 the velocity of the earth in its orbit makes the determination a 

 matter of extreme delicacy. But as early as 1S6S he had ob- 

 tained such trustworthy determinations that he was able to 

 announce before the Royal Society in that year tliat Sirius was 

 receding from our solar system with a velocity of about 29 '94 

 miles per second. 



In a paper presented to the Royal Society in 1872 he has 

 given the results obtained for a large number of stars, and has 

 shown that some are receding and some approaching, and that 

 there seems to be a balance of recession in those parts of the 

 heavens, from which we have reason, from the observed proper 

 motions, which of course can only be transversal, to conclude 

 that the' solar system is receding, and a balance in favour of 

 approach in the opposite direction ; while yet it does not appear 

 that the motion of the solar system would alone account for the 

 whole of the proper motions of the stars in a radial direction. 



The same inquiry was extended to the nebuire, the spectrum 

 of which consists of bright lines, and in this case it presented 

 greater difficulties. As those nebular lines which appear pretty 

 certainly to be identifiable with hydrogen are too faint to be 

 employed in the investigation, and the others are not at present 

 identified with those of any known element or compound, he 

 was obliged to avail himself of a coincidence between the 

 brightest nebular line and a line of lead. But as the coincidence 

 is probably merely fortuitous, the results give only \iiz dig'eraic€s 

 of approach or recess of different nebula?. The observations 

 seem to show that, so far as has been observed, the nehulx are 

 objects of greater fixity as regards motion in space, than the stars. 

 The other subject to which Dr. Huggins has more particularly 

 devoted himself of late, is the mapping of the photographic 

 spectra of stars. This was a research of great delicacy, partly on 

 account of the small quantity pi light at the disposal of the 

 observer, partly from the great accuracy with which the com- 

 parison had to be made with the spectra of known sub- 

 stances, in order that satisfactory conclusions should be deducible 

 as to the presence or absence of such or such substances in the 

 stars. The results obtained led to a remarkable division of the 

 stars into two great classes, naturally with transition cases, 

 namely, white stars, which showed a group of twelve dark lines 

 belonging, apparently, to the same substance, probably hydro- 

 gen, and the group of stars, of which our o\vn sun may be taken 

 as a type. 



Besides the researches already mentioned, other papers have 

 been presented by Dr. Huggins to the Royal Society, on the 

 spectra of comets, on the spectrum of iUranus ; and in parti- 

 cular one in which he showed that it ^vas possible to detect the 

 heat of the stars, and has given the results obtained for several. 



The Davy Medal has been awarded to Frof. Charle^Friedel, 

 Member of the Institute of France. 



From. 1856 to the present time the investigations of M. Charles 

 Friedel, ranging over widely-remote fields of chemical inquiry, 

 have been continuous, numerou-, and important. Mlneralogical, 

 theoretical, and general chemistry are indebted to him for many 

 valuable contributions ; but it is In the department of so-called 

 organic chemistry that he has more especially Isboured ; and 

 herein he has done much to assist in breaking down the barriers 

 at one time regarded as impassably isolating the chemistiy of 

 carbon compounds. 



Among the subjects of M. Friedel's successful work may be 

 mentioned more particularly the chemistry of the 3-carbon family 

 of organic bodies, to which belong propionic acid, lactic acid, 

 glycerine, propylene, and acetone. The establi>hment of the con- 

 stitution of lactic acid and of acetone, with the determination of 

 the relationships to one another of the various, and In many cases 

 isomeric, members of this large family, constituted for a long 

 time one of the most fiercely-contested, as it was, and is, one of 

 the most fundamental problems of organic chemistry. In the 

 labours effecting the satisfactory solution of this problem 

 M. Friedel bore a large share. 



Passing to another branch of investigation, M. Friedel, partly 

 by himself, but largely in conjunction in some parts of the work 

 with Mr. J. M. Crafts, and In other parts with M. A. Ladenburg, 

 made out, or confirmed in a very striking manner, the analogy 

 subsisting between the modes of combination of carbon and of 

 silicon, the most characteristic elements of the organic and 

 inorganic kingdoms respectively. 



To mention but one more subject of M. Fi iedel's research, he 

 has, in conjunction with Mr. J. M. Crafts, made out and 

 defined a simple method of wide application for effecting the 

 synthesis of organic compounds. This method consists in bring- 

 ing together a hydrocarbon and an organic chloride in presence 

 of chloride of aluminum, whereby the lesidues of the two com- 

 pounds enter into combination to form a more complex, frequently 

 a highly complex, body. Independently of Its utility, this process 

 of synthesis is of remarkable interest from the part taken in it by 

 the chloride of aluminum, which, though essential to the reaction, 

 is found unaltered at the end, and seems to act by suffering 

 continuously, little by little, a correlative transformation and 

 regeneration. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



O.XFORD. — The statutes made by the new Commissioners for 

 the different colleges are appearing in their final shape. The 

 statutes of six colleges are already printed and In the hands of 

 Members of Convocation. They resemble each other closely in 

 several respects. Ordinary Fellows are to be elected by examina- 

 tion, all the branches of learning recognised In the final schools 

 of the University being taken from time to time as the subject 

 of examination. These Fellowships are tenable for seven years. 

 Tutorial Fellows are elected without examination, but the colleges 

 may require two years' college work from an ordinary Fellow, 

 having given notice of such requirement before the examination. 

 The colleges may elect persons distinguished in literary or scien- 

 tific work to Fellowslilps tenable for a term of years, during 

 ■\\hich the Fellows shall devote themselves to a definite research 

 specified in the resolution appointing them. 



Several meetings of the Professors and College Tutors engaged 

 in teaching different branches of Physics in the University have 

 been held during the last fortnight at the instance of Prof. 

 Clifton. The object was to prepare a scheme of lectures for 

 next term, such that the lecturers would cover most of the 

 ground without clashing with each other or with the lecturers in 

 other branches of science. It may be mentioned that this is the 

 first time such an arrangement has been arrived at in the 

 Natural Science School at Oxford. The following plan of 

 lectures has been agreed upon for next Lent Term : — 



Optics (treated Mathematically), Prof. Price, Tuesday, Thurs- 

 day, and Saturday, at 12 ; Magnetism (treated experimentally). 

 Prof. Clifton, Wednesday and Saturday, at 12 ; Practical Physics, 

 Prof. Clifton, Mr. Stocker, Mr. Jones, dally, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

 Thermodynamics and Electrodynamics (treated mathematically), 

 Mr. Baynes, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 10 ; Electro- 

 statics (treated mathematically), Mr. Hayes, Saturday at tl ; 

 Elementary Mechanics (treated experimentally), Mr. Stocker, 

 Monday and Wednesday, at 10 ; Problems in Elementaiy Me- 

 chanics and Physics, Mr. Jones, Friday, at 10 ; Elementary 

 Physics (treated experimentally), Mr. Dixon, Monday, Wednes- 



