July 7, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



27 



a change in the shape of the silicon atom and in 

 the relative positions of the two oxygen atoms 

 attached to it. , 



A general conception of acids, iases and salts: 

 Hamilton P. Cadt and Howard M. Elset. 

 General definitions are suggested for acids, bases 

 and salts which it is believed will include all sys- 

 tems whether containing hydrogen as one of the 

 constituents of the solvent or not. According to 

 this view, an acid is defined as a substance which 

 ionizes to yield the same cation as is given by the 

 direct ionization of the solvent. A base is a sub- 

 stance which, by its direct ionization, yields the 

 same anion as the solvent. General definitions 

 may be easily derived for salts, neutralization, 

 hydrolysis and other terms. These definitions are 

 applied to solutions in sulfur dioxide. 



Crystallography and atomic structure: Edgae 

 T. Whebry. Instead of treating crystal struc- 

 ture from the viewpoint of point-systems, it is 

 desirable for some purposes to consider the atomic 

 domains, or spaces, with which each atom acts. 

 The most important domains which are geomet- 

 rically possible are figured, and summaries given 

 of the elements known to possess each. It is held 

 that in any atom in the crystalline state the elec- 

 tron arrangement possesses the same symmetry 

 as the domain ivithin which that atom lies. The 

 structures on the basis of Langmuir's synthesis 

 of earlier theories and of Bury's modification of it 

 are compared with the simplest possible structures 

 reconcilable with the geometrical requirements. It 

 is thought that in some atoms the two electrons of 

 the helium nucleus are not stationary, but revolve 

 so as to produce a spherical external field of 

 force. From lithium up to calcium the arrange- 

 ments are simply related to those accepted by 

 both Langmuir and Bury, but in the elements of 

 higher number the arrangements suggested by 

 Langmuir are not capable of passing into those 

 fulfilling the geometrical requirements as readily 

 as are those of Bury. The conclusions as to the 

 simplest structures reconcilable with the domain 

 symmetry in the cases of most of the elements of 

 which the domains are known are shown in a 

 final tabulation. 



Equilibrium in the reduction of iron oxides and 

 im, the oxidation of iron hy steam: A. S. Eichard- 

 SON, E. C. Vibrans and W. P. Bell. Equilibrium 

 in the systems H^-H^O-Pe-EeO, H,-H O-EeO- 

 Fe^O^, CO-CO^-Ee-PeO, and CO-CO,-EeO-Fe O , 

 have been commonly supposed to apply to the 

 reducing and steaming phases of the steam-iron 

 process of hydrogen manufacture. The literature 

 on these equilibria is itself conflicting, but in still 



worse agreement with the authors ' observations 

 on the first stages of both reducing and steaming 

 the iron contact mass used in hydrogen manufac- 

 ture. Higher conversion of steam to hydrogen 

 and higher conversion of reducing gases to ox- 

 idized gases have been obtained than the equilib- 

 rium data indicate to be possible. 



Solubility measurements on sulfur dioxide: 

 Stewart J. Lloyd. The solubility of sulfur 

 dioxide was determined in naphthalene, acetone, 

 ether, ethylene bromide, butyric acid, ethyl ace- 

 tate, trichloracetic acid, carbon tetrachloride and 

 chloroform. Distinct irregularities were observed 

 with trichloracetic acid, chloroform and carbon 

 tetrachloride, and a further study of them is 

 under way. 



Esterification equilibria in the gaseous phase: 

 Graham Edgab and Wm. H. Schuyler. The 

 equilibrium in the gaseous phase between acetic 

 acid, alcohol, ethyl acetate and water has been 

 measured by distilling a small amount of vapor 

 from the liquid equilibrium mixture, chilling and 

 analyzing. The composition of the distillate dif- 

 fers widely from that of the liquid. Calculations 

 of the equilibrium constant in the gaseous phase 

 are complicated by the partial association of the 

 acetic acid, but indicate a much more complete 

 esterification than in the liquid phase. The re- 

 sults are in accord with qualitative results of 

 Berthelot and Pean de Saint Gilles, and have an 

 important bearing upon the high yields of ester 

 obtained by Eeid when passing alcohol and acetic 

 vapor over silica gel. 



Partition ratios and solubility numbers: N. E. 

 Gordon and E. Emmet Eeid. Eormic acid has 

 been partitioned between water and a number of 

 organic solvents in which the solubility of formic 

 acid has been determined. Erom the partition 

 ratios and the solubilities an attempt has been 

 made to estimate the tendency of formic acid to 

 dissolve in water. 



The amphoteric ionization of hypochlorous 

 acid: William A. NoYES and Thomas A. Wilson. 

 The ionization constant of hypochlorous acid as 

 an acid was determined by measuring its conduc- 

 tivity in 0.001 normal solution and also the con- 

 ductivity of solutions 0.001 normal for sodium 

 hypochlorite and for calcium hypochlorite, pre- 

 pared by mixing a solution of pure hypochlorous 

 acid with solutions of the respective bases. The 

 solution of hypochlorous acid was prepared by 

 distilling, under diminished pressure, chlorine 

 water in contact vpith yellow mercuric oxide. The 

 ionization constant found was between 6.60 and 

 6.79 X 10— '", a value somewhat smaller than that 



