APRIL If, 1912 | 
NATURE 
147 
— ; eos = # 
punching or shearing rolled zinc plates is about go | 1,813 grams, and of the smallest about 20 grams; 
per cent. of the energy required to punch or shear 
mild steel plates. The ductility of rolled zinc is much 
less than that of mild steel, and the ductility of zinc 
plate with the grain is greater than the ductility 
across the grain. 3 
In the new Liverpool Adelphi Hotel of the Midland 
Railway Company, which was opened a few days 
ago, uniform and accurate time is secured throughout 
by an installation of upwards of 200 electrical impulse’ 
” 
dials on the ““Synchronome”’ system, all operated by 
one controlling pendulum. It is necessary that elec- 
_ tric clocks in bedrooms should’ be silent in action, and 
this condition is fulfilled by those on the ‘Syn- 
chronome ” system. 
Pror. KAMERLINGH ONNEs directs our attention to 
an error in our note of March 14 (p. 41) on his 
measurements of the resistance of mercury at low 
temperatures. The values there given are not re- 
sistivities, but the resistances of a wire of solid 
mercury. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 
Tue Ecuipse of Aprit 17.—Anyone intending to see 
the eclipse of the sun from a station on the central 
line as it crosses France 
interest in M. Fayet’s article in the Revue Scientifique 
for March 30. 
After explaining eclipses in general, M. Fayet 
describes the conditions of the coming eclipse, and 
illustrates his description with several maps and 
diagrams; he also gives numerous tables of position 
angles, times, &c., for many stations in France. It 
would appear that a total eclipse is not likely to be 
seen in France, and in any case spectrographic and 
any long-exposure work are out of the question; but 
M. Fayet shows that from the point of view of 
geometrical astronomy the eclipse is a most important 
one, giving exceptional facilities for delicate deter- 
minations of the moon’s place, the apparent size of the 
moon, and the figure of the earth. There are, then, 
plenty of possibilities of a large number of amateurs 
making observations of great value, even if the eclipse 
is only an annular one; no expensive instruments 
will be necessary, and the value of the observations 
will be greatly enhanced as they are multiplied in 
number. In France the observers are being officially 
organised, and preparations are being made for the 
distribution of the exact time and the coordination of 
the results. St. Germain-en-Laye, a few miles west 
of Paris, would appear to be one of the most readily 
accessible points near to the central line. 
In the Comptes rendus (No. 14) for April 1 M. 
Bigourdan discusses very clearly, and explains in 
detail, the observations which may be made for the 
better determination of the moon’s apparent diameter 
and position, and the reasons for making them during 
this particular eclipse. 
THe Et Nakura et Banarta Mereorire.—The 
meteoritic fragments which fell in Lower Egypt on 
June 28, 1911, are described in detail by Dr. John 
Ball in Survey Department Paper No. 25. Altogether 
some forty stones, weighing nearly 10 kgms., have 
been collected, but, as the explosions producing the 
fragments are supposed to have taken place at a con- 
siderable altitude, scattering the pieces over an area 
about 4°5 kms. in diameter, this probably does not 
represent the total mass as it entered the earth’s 
atmosphere. The weight of the heaviest fragment is 
NO. 2215, VOL. 89] 
will find several points of | 
some small fragments have a fused skin all over their 
surfaces while others are only partially covered, thus 
indicating a succession of explosions. A portion of 
; the stone was submitted to Sir Norman Lockyer for * 
spectroscopic analysis, and his report places the 
spectroscopic prominence of the various elements in 
the order Cr, Na, Ca, Al, Mg, Si, Mn, Fe, V, 
Ti, and K; the last is very weak. A chemical 
analysis by Mr. W. B. Pollard gives SiO,, 50; FeO, 
20; CaO; 15; MgO, 312; and Al,O,, 165 per cent. ; 
Cr,O, appears as 0°23 per cent., and traces of the 
other elements were found. Although this is the first 
“find”? in Egypt, Dr. Ball believes that a large 
meteorite fell in a direction 32° W. of true N. from 
Phila on April 5, 1902; such phenomena as attend 
these falls were then observed, but no stone was 
found. 
A Dayiicut Meteor.—The director of the Meteoro- 
logical Office informs us that at Brocklesby, Lincs, on 
March 28, Mr. F. J. Gibbons observed a vivid meteor 
at 2.50 p.m. in broad daylight on a bright afternoon. 
The meteor appeared to move from south to east in 
a downward course. It would be interesting to know 
if the meteor was observed elsewhere. Observations 
of meteors in daylight appear to be uncommon, 
although particulars of a certain number are given in 
the annual reports of the British Association Com- 
mittee on luminous meteors. 
THE StonyHursr OssERVATORY.—Father  Sid- 
greaves’s report of the meteorological and magnetical 
observations made at Stonyhurst during 1911 contains 
the usual tabular summaries with a few notes on the 
more important points. The observations of sun-spots 
and of magnetic declination point to 1911 being a 
minimum epoch for each, but later observations must 
be awaited to fix this point with certainty. 
PuoroGraPHs oF Hattey’s Comer.—The first fasci- 
cule of vol. v. of the Annales de l’Observatoire astro- 
nomique de Tokyo is devoted to Halley’s comet as 
observed at Dairen, Manchuria, during the months 
April-June, 1910, by MM. Sotome and Hoasi; photo- 
graphs taken at Tokyo by M. Toda are also included. 
The form, changes, and length of the tail and the 
acceleration of its particles are discussed at length, 
and there are nineteen plates of excellent reproduc- 
tions of photographs, 131 in all, at the end of the 
work. 
CYCLES OF THE SUN AND WEATHER. 
~INCE Sir William Herschel suggested that varia- 
tions in the visible changes of the sun’s surface 
might be sensibly reflected in the meteorology of our 
planet, many investigators of high authority have 
endeavoured to determine the precise nature of the 
relationship between solar and terrestrial phenomena. 
In the seventies of last century it was decisively 
shown that: the variation of certain meteorological 
elements coincided with that of photospheric activity 
as revealed by observations of sun-spots. The con- 
clusions arrived at were expressed very definitely by 
Prof. A. Schuster in a paper presented to the meeting 
of the British Association in 1884. ‘‘There can,’’ he 
said, ‘“‘be no longer any doubt that during about four 
sun-spot periods (1810 to 1860) a most remarkable 
similarity existed between the curves representing 
sun-spot frequency and the curves of nearly every 
meteorological element which is related to tempera- 
ture. This is not, in my opinion, a matter open to 
discussion : it is a fact.” 
But though a connection was established, further 
studies of its character seemed to lead to contradic- 
tory conclusions. High air temperatures were 
