April i, 1909 J 



NATURE 



149 



side whore the friction is a minimum. — The magneto- 

 liathode rays : M. Gouy. Tlie resistance of rarefied gas 

 under the action of the magneto-liathodc rays has been 

 measured, and found to be much smaller than in the 

 absence of the rays. — Remarlis by M. B. Baillaud on the 

 twentieth Bulletin de VObservatoire dc Besanfon. — Com- 

 parison of the Hnes of the spectrum of the electric arc 

 and of the sun. Pressure of the reversing layer in the 

 solar atmosphere : Ch. Fabry and H. Buisson. The 

 comparison has been made by the interference methods 

 previously described by the authors, and only the finest 

 lines in the spectrum were utilised. The numerical results 

 accord with those of Jewell, and are not completely ex- 

 plained by the theory of displacement by pressure. Assum- 

 ing the average displacement to be a pressure effect, it 

 results that in the region of the solar atmosphere where 

 the iron lines are absorbed the pressure is between 5 and 

 I) atmospheres. — Certain triple orthogonal systems : J. 

 Haag:- — I he singularities of analytical functions beyond 

 ihe circle of convergence : Paul Dienes. — The fundamental 

 equations for the experimental, study of aeroplanes : D. 

 Drzewiecki. — Measurements of the coefficient of resist- 

 ance of air carried out by means of experiments made on 

 an aeroplane : A. Eteve. There is a large discrepancy 

 between the coefficient /; of the resistance of the air as 

 determined by physicists and by experiinents with aero- 

 planes, the latter number being about ten times the former. 

 It is shown that this discrepancy is largely due to an un- 

 justifiable assumption made in calculating 7.- from the 

 aeroplane results. — The decomposition of water by radium 

 salts : .'\. Debierne. The author's experiments do not 

 confirm the loss of the power to produce hvdrogen and 

 oxygen by a radium salt, recently announced by Sir 

 William Ramsay. The amounts of hydrogen and oxygen 

 evolved by a gram of radium have been found 10 be regular 

 and of the order of 13 c.c. per day. Some of this is 

 shown to be due to the action of the 3 and y rays. — The 

 chemical action of the penetrating rays of radium on 

 water : Miroslaw Kernbatim. By the action of the $ 

 and 7 rays on distilled water for one month, 200 cubic mm. 

 of gas was obtained, which on analysis proved to be 

 hydrogen. The residual w^ater responded to the potassium 

 iodide and starch test, from which the conclusion is drawn 

 that hydrogen peroxide is formed simultaneously with 

 hydrogen. — The question of the emission and absorption 

 of incompletely polarised light in a magnetic field and on 

 the Zeeman phenomenon in fluted spectra : Jean 

 Becquerel. — The utility of the graphical method in the 

 study of ancient musical instruments : M. Maragre. — The 

 electromotive forces of magnetisation : V. Posejpal. The 

 electromotive force of a metallic thermocouple changes 

 when the neighbourhood of the junction becomes the seat 

 of an intense magnetic field. This change is not related 

 to the presence of a ferromagnetic metal, and is inde- 

 pendent of the direction of the field. The electromotive 

 forie thus produced increases with the strength of the 

 field, but not proportionally. — The cryoscopv of colloids : 

 Jacques Duclaux. The measurements of the osmotic 

 pressure (P) and lowering of the freezing point (A) of 

 colloidal solutions of the hydrates of iron and thorium 

 satisfied the theoretical relation P=i2-2.A. — .\ new 

 isomeride of indigo : A. Wahl and P. Bayard. Oxindol 

 (the lactam of o-amidophenylacetic acid) reacts with 

 aromatic aldehydes, forming compounds of the type 



^-C-^ CH.R 



C„Hj.( \CO 



for which the name iso-indogenides is proposed. — The con- 

 densation of the mesoxalic esters with phenol ethers : A. 

 Guyot and G. Esteva. — The action of caustic potash on* 

 borneol, camphor, and isoborneol : racemic campholic 

 acid : Marcel Guerbet. The production of campholic acid 

 by the interaction of borneol and anhydrous caustic potash 

 has been described in an earlier paper. The only other 

 substance obtained from the reaction product was thought 

 to be unaltered borneol, but this has since been found to 

 contain a considerable quantity of camphor. — The genesis 

 and optical properties of the neogenic felspar of the sedi- 

 ments of the Paris basin : F. Grandjean. — The nitrifica- 

 tion of soils : MM. Pougret and Guiraud. — The influence 



NO. 2057, "^'OL. 80] 



of mineral manures on some Cyperacea; : J. B. Geze. — 



The manoslatic centres and the physiological treatment of 

 arteriosclerosis : P. Bonnier. — Contribution to the study 

 of hypo-anaesthetics: A. Brissemoret and J. Chevalier. 

 — A parasitic microsporidian of Frenzelina conformis ; 

 L. Legrer and O. Duboscq. — The Mosquero spider : Leon 

 Dig^iiet. — The Mosquero spider : Eugene Simon. — 

 Extension of the Coal-measures under the Trias and 

 Jurassic strata in the basin of Alais (Card) : G. Fabre. 

 — The earthquakes of December 28, 1908, and January 23, 

 iqog : D. Eginitis. — A luminous phenomenon observed at 

 Brest on the night of February 22 : Thierry d'Argrenlieu. 



March 22. — M. Bouchard in the chair. — Systems of 

 homogeneous differential equations : Gaston Darboux. — 

 Contribution to the search for planets beyond Neptune : 

 A. Gaillot. — M. Termier was elected a member of the 

 section of mineralogy in the place of the late M. A. Gaudry. 

 — The spectrum of the comet 19081: (Morehouse) : A. de la 

 Baume-Piuvinel and F. Baldet. A continuation of work 

 already published. In the later photographs a greater dis- 

 persion was obtained (10-9 mm. between F and H), and 

 special arrangements were made to secure the yellow and 

 ultra-violet ends of the spectrum. The greater part of the 

 lines in the spectrum of this comet is furnished by a single 

 gas, presenting a system of bands the heads of which follow 

 the law of Deslandres. These bands cannot be identified 

 with ajiy known spectrum. — -Another method of dealing 

 with the problem of the integration of partial differential 

 equations of the second order : E. Goursat. — .\n applica- 

 tion of the functional calculus to the study of linear partial 

 differential equations of the third order and hyperbolic 

 type : R. d'Adhemar. — The stability and displacement of 

 equilibrium : C. Raveau. — Particular solutions of the 



equation 5r-„-^^ = 0: Henri Larose. — Resonator sparks. 



ox- vt 

 Their spectroscopic analysis : G. A. Hemsalech and .A. 

 Zimmern. From the point of view of spectroscopic 

 analysis, there is a great difference of constitution between 

 the best long resonance spark and the short spark. The 

 former is the capacity spark ; the air lines predominating 

 in the latter, there is a predominance of bands, the air 

 lines being absent. — The normal and abnormal Zeeman 

 phenomenon in vapour spectra. Reply to the note of 

 M. J. Becquerel : .\. Dufour. — The magnetic properties of 

 some iron compounds : M. Wologrdine. Results of the 

 determination of the temperatures of magnetic transforma- 

 tions of magnetite, pyrrhotine, iron carbide, carbide of 

 iron and tungsten, franklinite and phosphide of iron. — • 

 The approximation of black bodies used as receivers : C. 

 Fery. .A comparison of the behaviour of platinum black 

 and lampblack as absorbents. The difl'erences are shown 

 graphically, and the conclusion is drawn that a re-deter- 

 mination of the coefficient in Stefan's law is necessary. — 

 Contribution to the study of radiation : G. Millochau. 

 The researches of the author, in collaboration with M. 

 F^rv, have led to a value of 9-5 for Stefan's coefficient, 

 whilst Kurlbaum found in 1898 5-25 for the same 

 coefficient and Scheiner (1908) 478. The causes of _ this 

 divergence are discussed in the present paper, and it is 

 shown that the actinometers in current use, in which the 

 receiver is a thermometer covered with black, do not 

 measure the absolute value of the radiation which they 

 receive, but only a part of it. To obtain an absolute 

 actinometer it rnust be furnished with a receiver really 

 possessing the properties of an integral radiator. — The 

 phosphorescence and combustion flames of sulphur : _L. 

 Bloch. The phosphorescence of sulphur is accompanied 

 bv the formation of ozone, and this in larger quantity 

 than with phosphorus. This production is the more re- 

 markable in that it takes place at a temperature (200°- 

 250°) generally indicated as causing the destruction of 

 ozone. At about 360° C. the blue flame of sulphur appears, 

 and this flame is entirely deprived of electrical conductivity. 

 — The experimental study of the coefficient of distribution 

 and its application to the estimation of the volatile acids 

 in wines : Philippe Malvezin.— .-\ new method of prepara- 

 tion of the /3-halogen derivatives of naphthalene : G. 

 Darzens and E. Berger. The sodium derivative of 

 ;3-naphthol is treated in boiling toluene solution with the 

 phosphorus halide, the corresponding chlorine or bromine 



