5^2 



NA TURE 



[October 3, 1907 



The results obtained in practice during the hardening 

 of steel depend upon the conditions under which the trans- 

 formations of the metal take place, and particularly on 

 liie duration and the temperature of the heating, the 

 inergy of the quenching bath, and the size of the pic<es 

 cjuenched. The part played by each of these factors was 

 discussed in a lengthy paper contributed by Mr. L. 

 Demozay (Paris). The last paper on hardened steels, 

 contributed by Mr. Percy Longmuir (.Shefileld), was some- 

 what controversial in character. He stated that no 

 metallographical investigation yet published has been of 

 the least service as a guide to the thermal treatment of 

 high-speed steels, and that comparatively little inform- 

 ation has been given on the hardening or tempering of 

 carbon steels. The diversity of structure in normal and 

 abnormal products quenched under unsuitable conditions 

 ■.xplains to some extent the attitude of practical men 

 towards the microscope, but instead of leading to con- 

 demnation it should rather lead to recognition of the value 

 of microscopical examination. Diversity indicates wasters, 

 whilst uniformity denotes correct hardening conditions. 

 The ideal structure, or lack of structure, of commerciallv 

 hardened carbon steels is produced only in a certain range 

 of quenching temperature, which varies according to the 

 composition of the steel and the contour of the piece to 

 be hardened. Temperatures outside this range result in 

 more or less crystalline patterns, which in the smallest 

 of sections vary from field to field. Although certain of 

 these patterns may give the appearance of special con- 

 stituents, they are in reality the product of an abnormal 

 quenching temperature, and steels containing them, 

 although hard, are useless for cutting or resisting 

 abrasion. 



A paper was then submitted by Mr. B. H. Thwaite 

 (London) on the economic distribution of electric power 

 from blast furnaces. The scheme he proposed is to pool 

 the waste gases from all the furnaces of an iron-making 

 district and to transmit the electrically transformed energv 

 to a central distributing station. 



The last paper submitted was by Mr. F. J. R. Carulla 

 (Derby), who described a new blue-black paint as a pro- 

 tective covering for iron. In the preparation of iron and 

 steel rods for wire drawing and galvanising, as also in 

 the preparation of plates for tinning, the iron is kept for 

 a time in a bath of acid to remove the scale. When 

 hydrochloric acid is used, a solution of chloride of iron is 

 obtained, and many methods have been devised to utilise 

 these solutions. It is now suggested that ammonia might 

 be employed for the precipitation of the oxide of iron, 

 seeing that the value of the ammonium chloride is greater 

 than that of the ammonia employed. The blue-black 

 precipitate is a valuable addition to' the list of pigments 

 that can be employed with advantage for the protection 

 of structural ironwork. 



During and after the meeting the institute was received 

 with lavish hospitality. The members and the ladies 

 accompanying them were entertained at banquets bv the 

 Austrian iron trade and by the Municipalitv of Vienna ; 

 they were taken to luncheon on the top of the Schnee- 

 berg, to afternoon tea at the Imperial Palace of Schon- 

 brunn, and to a special performance at the Imperial Opera 

 House. They were honoured with a reception at Court, 

 and the council lunched with the Archduke in his palace! 

 On September 26 and 27 the members were divided into 

 three grouos, to visit the iron mines and works in 

 Bohemia, .Styria and Moravia, and Silesia respectivelv. 

 Altogether the meeting was without doubt the most enjoy- 

 able and the most instructive recorded in the institute's 

 annals. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 Mr. Andrew Carnegie has given a donation of 10,000;. 

 towards the establishment of a technical college at 

 Aberdeen. 



Mr. Arthur Aclani) is to distribute the medals and 

 prizes of the Royal College of Science in the lecture theatre 

 of the Victoria and Albert Museum this afternoon 

 (October 3) at four o'clock. 



NO. 1979, VOL. 76] 



.\t Oxford on Monday the honorary degree of Doctor of 

 .Science was conferred upon Dr. Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., 

 who was nominated for the degree at the last Encaenia, 

 but was prevented by ill-hialth from attending then to 

 receive it. 



A COURSE of free lectures to teachers, entitled " The 

 Native Races of the Empire," will be given by Dr. A. C. 

 lladdon, F.R..S., at the Horniman Museum, on Saturday 

 mornings from October, 1907, to May, 1908, beginning on 

 October 12. Admission will be by ticket only, to bo 

 obtained from the C'U rk of the London County Council, 

 County Hall, Spring (i.irdens, S.W. 



The mayor of the- borough of Bethnal Green appeals 

 for assistance for the Bethnal Green Free Library, which 

 is supported entirely by voluntary subscriptions. The 

 great want of the present time is a new and enlarged 

 building in a more prominent position, to accommodate 

 the increasing number of readers and provide reading- 

 rooms for boys and girls. Mr. G. F. Hilcken, the 

 librarian, will be glad to receive donations or subscrip 

 tions. 



.AxxouxcKMEXTS of the following scholarship award.s 

 have reached us : — University of London : University 

 College — Bucknill scholarship of 135 guineas, T. C. 

 Graves ; entrance exhibitions of 55 guineas each, P. V. 

 Early and B. Woodhouse. Guy's Hospital Medical 

 School — -Senior science scholarships for university students, 

 50/., J. G. Saner; junior science scholarships, isof., J. F. 

 Mackenzie; bol., R. D. Passev. Entrance scholarships, 

 tool.. C. S. L. Roberts; 25!., G. D. Eccles ; 25/., G. F. 

 Romer. 



The programme of university extension lectures for the 

 coming session has just been issued by the University 

 Extension Board of the University of London. A three 

 years' course on the evolution of mankind as seen in the 

 development of industries and institutions will be carried 

 on at L^niversily College, the first term's work being 

 taken by Prof. Lyde on geographic control of human 

 evolution, while Dr. Slaughter will lecture in the Lent 

 term on forms of primitive society, and Dr. Haddon in 

 the summer term on the distribution of races. The course 

 of work on human evolution as seen in the child and 

 the race, brought to a successful conclusion last session, 

 will be repeated at the Goldsmiths' College, New Cross, 

 Dr. Chalmers Mitchell giving the earlier lectures and Dr. 

 Slaughter and Dr. McDougall taking the later lectures. 



.Vmong recent developments connected with the North- 

 ampton (Polytechnic) Institute, London, B.C., referred to 

 in the calendar for the session 1907-8, particular mention 

 should be made of those in the department of technical 

 optics. The most noteworthy of these developments is a 

 course on the production and measurement of light, which 

 is being given to both day and evening students by the 

 electrical engineering and applied physics department and 

 by the department of technical chemistry jointly. The 

 lectures and laboratory work in the electrical engineering 

 department deal with all the various kinds of electric 

 lamps, glow, arc, and luminescent; with the problems of 

 the production of light, and photometrv, and general ques- 

 tions of radiation. In the technical chemistry department 

 the subject is taken up from the chemical side, and the 

 whole subject of incandescent lighting dealt with. The 

 properties of rare metals and rare earths, their production, 

 extraction, and use for all kinds of incandescent lighting, 

 both gas and electric, are fully dealt with, and the pro- 

 duction of metallic filaments for electric glow" lamps is 

 thoroughly studied. In the technical optics department 

 four new- classes especially suitable for artisan students 

 have been started. There are also special classes for the 

 instruction of kinematograph operators, which it is hoped 

 will place this kind of work upon a sound scientific basis. 



The calendar of University College, London, for the 

 session IQ07-8, which has just been issued, contains many 

 new features. There is a sketch of the history of L^ni- 

 versity College by Dr. Carey Foster, together with a full 



