504 



NATURE 



[September 17, 190b 



for next session day and evening courses in mechanical 

 and electrical engineering, technical optics, horology, and 

 artistic crafts, in addition to numerous other classes in 

 a varied selection of subjects. The recent provision of 

 increased accommodation obtained by the occupation of the 

 British Horological Institute not having been found 

 sufficient for the requirements of this institute, an addi- 

 tional building is being erected in the courtyard, and it 

 is hoped that the greater part of it will be available 

 immediately after Christmas. It is interesting to observe 

 that in the technical optics department there will be classes 

 for kinematograph operators in continuation of the_ pioneer 

 classes last session. In these classes an attempt is to be 

 made to safeguard the holding of kinematograph exhibi- 

 tions by giving a practical training to the operators in 

 charge of the apparatus. At the Sir John Cass Institute 

 the instruction is devoted especially to technical training 

 in experimental science and in the artistic crafts. Graded 

 curricula of study, extending over several years, are pro- 

 vided in pure and applied chemistry, metallurgy, art metal 

 work, jewellery, enamelling, bronze casting, and chasing. 

 Full courses of study are also provided in drawing, design, 

 and modelling in connection with these crafts, drawing 

 and modelling from living animals being a special feature. 

 In addition to the evening classes at the East Ham College, 

 conducted in eight departments and intended to supply the 

 particular educational needs of the district, there is a well- 

 staffed secondary school for boys and girls. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Royal Society, June 25. — "The Spectrum of Scandium 

 and its Relation to Solar Spectra." By Prof. A. Fowler. 

 Communicated by Sir William Crookes, F.R.S. 



(i) The arc spectrum of scandium consists of two distinct 

 sets of lines, which behave very differently in solar spectra. 

 Each set includes both strong and faint lines. 



(2) Lines belonging to one set correspond with the 

 enhanced lines of other elements, notwithstanding that they 

 appear strongly in the ordinary arc spectrum : — (a) these 

 lines are very feeble or missing from the arc-flame spec- 

 trum, and are strengthened in passing to the arc, the arc 

 in hydrogen, or the spark ; (b) they occur as relatively 

 strong lines in the Fraunhofer spectrum ; (c) they are 

 weakened in the sun-spot spectrum ; (d) they occur as 

 high-level lines in the chromosphere. 



(3) The remaining lines show a great contrast when 

 compared with the first group : — (a) they are relatively 

 strong lines in the arc-flame ; (b) they are very feebly re- 

 presented in the Fraunhofer spectrum; (c) the stronger 

 lines are prominent in the sun-spot spectrum ; (d) they have 

 not been recorded in the spectrum of the chromosphere. 



(4) The special development of the enhanced lines in the 

 Fraunhofer spectrum, together with their presence in the 

 upper chromosphere, indicates that the greater part of the 

 scandium absorption in the solar spectrum originates at a 

 higher level than that at which the greater part of the 

 iron absorption is produced. 



(5) The discussion of scandium lines indicates that while 

 in the case of some elements solar identifications are to 

 be based chiefly on arc lines, in others it is the enhanced 

 lines which may be expected to show the most important 

 coincidences. 



(6) The flutings which occur in the arc and arc-flame do 

 not appear when the arc is passed in an atmosphere of 

 hvdroCen. .^s suggested by Thal^n, they are probably due 

 to oxide of scandium. 



Tables are given which show the lines of the arc spec- 

 trum from ■xqT,o to 65S0, the positions of the oxide flutings. 

 and comparisons of the principal lines of the two classes 

 with the sun, sun-spots, and chromosphere. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, September 7. — M. Bouchard in 



the chair. — Vortices in the solar atmosphere : H. 



Deslandres. The filaments (the long flocculi of Hale) 



are considered to be vortices with horizontal axes, parallel 



NO. 2029, VOL. 78] 



to the surface, and traces of the effects of these are to 

 be found right across the face of the sun. Six di igrams 

 showing the alignment of these on the sun's surlace at 

 different dates are given. Similar effects may be expected 

 on the earth, and the application of the theory here 

 developed to the problems of terrestrial meteorology may 

 give interesting results. — The new Marehouse comet : M. 

 Giacobini. Observations were made on Septem.ber 3, 4, 

 and 5. The apparent positions of the comet are given 

 on these dates, together with the mean positions of the 

 comparison stars. The comet shows as a rounded 

 nebulosity of about 15" to 20", with a badly defined 

 nucleus. A small tail, with a position-angle of 250°, can 

 be distinguished. — The law of Stokes and the Brownian 

 motion: Jean Perrin. The force opposing the motion of 

 a sphere in a viscous liquid has been calculated by Stokes 

 as a function of the viscosity of the fluid, the radius of 

 the sphere, and its velocity. From experiments with 

 emulsions of gutta, the author shows that this law is 

 verified for spheres having a radius of about a tenth of 

 a micron. The assumption of the applicability of thjs 

 law, made by the author in his previous work on this 

 subject and criticised by J. Duclaux, is thus shown to 

 be well founded. — The fixation of acetophenone on benzoyl- 

 acrylic acid : J. Bougrault. Von Pechmann has shown 

 that boiling solutions of alkalies decompose benzoylacrylic 

 acid into glyoxylic acid and acetophenone. In the cold 

 the reaction is different, some diphenacylacetic acid being 

 produced. The yield of the latter acid is increased if some 

 acetophenone is added to the alkaline solution, and the 

 author gives reason to suppose that a direct condensation 

 between the acid and the ketone takes place under these 

 conditions. — The ages of the basalts in the neighbour- 

 hood of Massiac, Cantal : P. Marty. — The existence of 

 transported strata in the north-east of Algeria : L. 

 Jolaaud. 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE 



Sewage Works 



Mathematical Instruction. By G. B. M 



The Origin of the Solar System 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Rivers : " The Influence of Alcohol and other Drugs 



on Fatigue " 



Wedgwood : "The Moral Ideal ; a Historic Study" 



Verschoyle : "Electricity: What is it?" 



Woodward : " The Fossil Fishes of the Hawkesbury 



Series at St. Peter's" 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Lamarck's " Systcme des Animaux sans Vertebres." — 



Dr. F. A. Bather 



The Hong Kong Typhoon of July 27-28. — L. Gibbs 

 The German Museum of Science and Technology. 



(Illustrated ) By Bennett H. Brough 



The North- West Passage. {IllustrateJ.) 



The Report of the Royal Commission on the Care 



and Control of the Feeble-minded 



Notes 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet iqoSi. (With Chart. ) 



Observations of Jupiter . . 



The Franklin-Adams Photographic Chart 



Anomalous Forms of the Calcium Line, K, in Promin- 

 ences 



The Hypothetical Parallaxes of Double Stars . . . 

 Meteorology of the Indian Ocean. (With Diagram.) 



By E. G 



The Evolution of Decorative Design. (Ilhistrated.) . 



The British Association 



Section D. — Zoology. — Opening Address by Sidney 

 F. Harmer, Sc.D., F.R.S., President of the 



Section .... 



Section F. — Geography. — Opening Address byMaior 

 E. H. Hills, G.M.G., R.E., President of the 



Section 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Societies and Academies 



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