256 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1341 



W. Elder and is covered by U. S. Patents. It is 

 decidedly active and the activity increases in pro- 

 portion to the fineness of the abrasive used and the 

 length of time the mill is operated. The activity 

 curve of hydrogenation rises at first with this 

 catalyzer and reaches a maximum before declin- 

 ing. The catalyst prepared by this process is cer- 

 tainly metallic in nature and not a sub-oxide, 

 therefore proving that a sub-oxide nickel catalyzer 

 is not essential for hydrogenation. Since the 

 nickel shot has been subjected to a temperature 

 above the melting point of nickel (1470° C), it is 

 obvious that the previous theory that high tem- 

 peratures are inimical to catalytic material must 

 be revised, although the facts in connection with 

 the preparation of chemical catalyzer by the re- 

 duction of nickel oxide are well known., low tem- 

 peratures producing active, high temperatures in- 

 active catalysts. The Elder process is of great 

 importance in a practical way and for the theory 

 of catalytic action. 



Sulfites as standards for oxidizing reagents: S. 

 Lantz Shenepield, Frank C. Vilbrandt and 

 James R. Withrow. The use of sulfur dioxide 

 gas as a standard for iodine or permanganate ti- 

 tration is beset with the host of troubles which are 

 always possible when attejnpting to predestinate the 

 content of a gas mixture in which one component 

 is water soluble. This paper endeavors to point 

 out the possibOities of using a weighable sulfite, 

 preferably the heptahydrate of sodium sulfite 

 which is mentioned in the literature for standardi- 

 zation purposes. A systematic correlation of the 

 literature from this point of view is given. 



Crystalline structure of paraffine wax: V). B. 

 Mapes. a method is described for determining 

 the structure of the wax for the purpose of ascer- 

 taining the quality in advance of the actual sweat- 

 ing and pressing. Parafiine distillate from pe- 

 troleum is dissolved in chloroform, the solution 

 chilled and centrifuged. The wax layer obtained 

 is examined microscopically, while a low tempera- 

 ture is maintained by means of a constant tem- 

 perature slide. 



Mid-continent gasoline: C. K. Francis. The 

 characteristics and methods of determining these 

 properties were described, applying particularly to 

 gasoline made from petroleum and natural gas of 

 the mid-continent district. The deposit in auto- 

 mobile cylinders, commonly called "carbon" is, in 

 reality, sulphur, this substance being found in 

 crude gasoUue only in very minute quantities. But 

 gasoline is often placed on the market with large 



quantities of sulphur introduced during the proc- 

 ess of refining. 



The relation of chemistry (analytical and ther- 

 mal) to tlie fabrication of steel : 3. Culver Hart- 



ZELL. 



The relation of the electric furnace to the fab- 

 rication of carbon and alloy steels with special ref- 

 erence to the chemical and physical changes pro- 

 duced: J. Culver Hartzell. 



Industrial v,ses of activated charcoal: O. L. 

 Barnebey. 



Inclusions and ferrite crystallization in steel: II. 

 Solubility of inclusions: E. G. Mahin. It was 

 shown in an earlier paper that non-metallic inclu- 

 sions undoubtedly cause separation of ferrite 

 around them, from slowly cooling steel of hypo- 

 eutectoid composition. There was advanced to ac- 

 count for this action the hypothesis that the in- 

 clusion dissolves slightly in the austenite of hot 

 steel and this lowers the solubility of ferrite and 

 causes supersaturation of the latter first in the 

 zone immediately surrounding the inclusion. In 

 the present paper this hypothesis is tested by in- 

 serting metallic cylinders of various alloys and of 

 special steels carrying abnormal per cents, of spe- 

 cial elements, into normal steels. In nearly all 

 cases heating to above the transformation range 

 and slow cooling causes the appearance of a well 

 defined ring of ferrite about the insert. This is 

 presumed to be due to the migration of the ele- 

 ments of the inserts into the surrounding steel, 

 this having an effect upon ferrite solubility similar 

 to that of non-metallic inclusions. Lantern slides, 

 made from actual photomicrographs, were shown to 

 illustrate the experiments. 



Charles L. Parsons, 

 Secretary 

 (To be continued) 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of 



Science, publishing the official notices and pro- 



ceedin^gs of the American AssociadoQ for 



the Advancement of Science 



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Enteied in the poat-o£ce at Lancuter, Pa., u lecoiK] clasi matter 



