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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 766 



elements are not permanent, but disintegrate 

 spontaneously, forming other elements. On the 

 other hand, many organic radicles behave like 

 elements, passing unchanged through many trans- 

 formations. The ammonium radicle, in the form 

 of ammonium amalgam, has marked metallic 

 properties. We have made other amalgams of 

 compound radicles, one of which, that of tetra- 

 methyl ammonium, has properties more typically 

 metallic than has ammonium amalgam. 



Tetramethyl ammonium amalgam is readily ob- 

 tained by the electrolysis of an absolute alcohol 

 solution of tetra-methyl ammonium chloride at 

 0°. Unlike ammonium amalgam, the new organic 

 metal does not have any tendency to puff up; at 

 0° to 20°, it is a crystalline solid of characteristic 

 metallic luster. If dry, it is stable at — 80° ; 

 but decomposes at the rate of about five per cent, 

 a minute at 20°. It reacts violently with liquid 

 water, giving a variety of products and in addi- 

 tion colloidal mercury. When exposed to air at 

 room temperature, it reacts with the moisture 

 and becomes covered with a white coating of 

 tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide — a reaction 

 completely analogous to that shown by sodium 

 amalgam. It precipitates metallic copper from 

 an alcoholic solution of cuprio nitrate and metallic 

 zinc from an alcoholic solution of anhydrous zinc 

 chloride. 



The single, potential difference between the 

 amalgam and a semi-normal solution of the chlo- 

 ride at 0° is nearly two volts. This remains 

 nearly constant for many minutes; thus, in one 

 case, the potential dropped gradually from 1.92 

 volts to 1.87 volts in thirty-eight minutes. Other 

 complex amalgams have been studied, but none is 

 as stable as tetramethyl ammonium amalgam. 

 We suggest that metallic properties depend on 

 the ability of the atom or radicle to lose one or 

 more electrons. Metals may be compounds. 

 The Zinc Antimony Alloys: B. E. Cdbey. 



The equilibrium diagram is presented showing 

 the phases to be pure zinc, pure antimony, the 

 compound ZnSb, and three series of solid solu- 

 tions, o, j3 and 7. 



Corrosion of Cadmium in Nitrate Solutionis: G. 



R. White. 



When cadmium is made anode in 75 per cent, 

 sodium nitrate solution and a current of .4 am- 

 pere is passed through the corrosion is greater 

 than theoretical. This difference is affected by 

 current density and temperature. 



The corrosion produced appeared as a white or 



grayish precipitate and did not contain metallic 

 cadmium. The solution contained nitrites in large 

 quantities after corrosion began. Analysis indi- 

 cates the formation of cadmium hydroxid. The 

 formation of nitrites may produce the high cor- 

 rosion efficiency by the formation of cadmous 

 compounds. 



Some Organic Compounds of Beryllium: Chas. L. 

 Paksons and Geo. J. Sargent. 

 During the last two years Glassman, publishing 

 in the Berichte, and Tanatar, publishing in the 

 Journal of the Russian Physical and Chemical 

 Society, have claimed to prepare several beryllium 

 salts of organic acids, for which they have claimed 

 definiteness of composition. Glassman announces 

 the dichloracetate, cyanacetate, monoehloracetate, 

 monobromacetate, monobrompropionate, lactate, 

 glycolate, trichloraeetate, ethylglycolate, phenyl- 

 glycolate, chloropropionate and salicylate, to 

 which he gives the typical formulas of either 

 Be40(A)j or B^20(A)2. Tanatar claims to have 

 prepared the crotonate, isocrotonate, Isevulinate 

 and succinate, to which he gives the typical for- 

 mulas Be40(A), and the tricarballylate, citrate, 

 salicylate, phthalate, lactate and benzoate, to 

 which he gives somewhat more complex formulas. 

 These salts were all produced by saturating the 

 aqueous solution of the acid with basic beryllium 

 carbonate and evaporating to dryness, and the 

 formulas were for the main part derived from the 

 simple calculation on the beryllium oxide found, 

 adding water of crystallization when necessary. 

 In one or two instances the lowering of the freez- 

 ing point in organic solvents was obtained as 

 additional evidence of constitution. For the main 

 part the residues were glassy, gummy masses, 

 although in one or two instances they were 

 thought to be crystalline. 



These results were so at variance with previous 

 researches on beryllium compounds where it had 

 been shown that it was next to impossible to 

 obtain definite compounds of such weak acids 

 from aqueous solution that we undertook a care- 

 ful research in regard to the definiteness of com- 

 position of some of these salts and examined more 

 especially the succinate, lactate, glycolate, sali- 

 cylate, citrate, phthalate, benzoate, picrate and 

 monoehloracetate. As a result it was proved 

 without any question that the residues obtained 

 were all of a glassy, glutinous nature and that 

 their composition varied tnrough wide limits ac- 

 cording to the extent of the saturation. As one 

 of us has already shown that the salts of beryl- 



