746 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 726 



weight of cadmium in 100 parts of amalgam. 



The depolarizer, which is placed in contact 

 with the positive electrode, is a paste made by 

 mixing mercurous sulphate with powdered 

 crystals of cadmium sulphate and a saturated 

 aqueous solution of cadmium sulphate. 



The different methods of preparing the mer- 

 curous sulphate paste are described in the 

 notes.' One of the methods there specified 

 must be carried out. 



For setting up the cell, the H form is the 

 most suitable. The leads passing through the 

 glass to the electrodes must be of platinum 

 wire, which must not be allowed to come into 

 contact with the electrolyte. The amalgam is 

 placed in one limb, the mercury in the other. 



The depolarizer is placed above the mercury 

 and a layer of cadmium sulphate crystals is 

 introduced into each limb. The entire cell is 

 filled with a saturated solution of cadmium 

 sulphate and then hermetically sealed. 



The following formula is recommended for 

 the e.m.f. of the cell in terms of the tempera- 

 ture between the limits 0° C. and 40° C. 



Et=E^ — 0.0000406 ( i — 20° ) 



— 0.00000095 (t — 20°) = 



+ 0.00000001 (* — 20)«. 



SCHEDULE D 



1. The conference recommends that the 

 various governments interested establish a 

 permanent international commission for 

 electrical standards. 



2. Pending the appointment of the perma- 

 nent international commission, the conference 

 recommends' that the president. Lord Eay- 

 leigh, nominate for appointment by the con- 



' Notes on methods pursued at various standard- 

 izing laboratories will be issued by the scientific 

 committee or the permanent commission, as an 

 appendix to this report. 



'In accordance with the above, Lord Rayleigh 

 has nominated the following committee, which has 

 been approved by the conference, viz: Dr. Osuke 

 Asano, M. R. Benolt, Dr. M. N. EgoroflF, Professor 

 Eric Gerard, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, Dr. H. Haga, 

 Dr. L. Kuaminsky, Professor G. Lippmann, Pro- 

 fessor A. ROiti, Dr. E. B. Rosa, Dr. S. W. Strat- 

 ton, Mr. A. P. Trotter, Professor E. Warburg, 

 Professor Fr. Weber. 



ference a scientific committee of 15 to advise 

 as to the organization of the permanent com- 

 mission, to formulate a plan for and to direct 

 such work as may be necessary in connection 

 with the maintenance of standards, fixing of 

 values,* intercomparison of standards and to 

 complete the work of the conference." Vacan- 

 cies on the committee to be filled by coopta- 

 tion. 



3. That laboratories equipped with facilities 

 for precise electrical measurements and in- 

 vestigations should be asked to cooperate with 

 this committee and to carry out, if possible, 

 such work as it may desire. 



4. The committee should take the proper 

 steps forthwith for establishing the permanent 

 commission, and are empowered to arrange for 

 the meeting of the next conference on elec- 

 trical units and standards, and the time and 

 place of such meeting should this action ap- 

 pear to them to be desirable. 



5. The committee or the permanent inter- 

 national commission shall consider the ques- 

 tion of enlarging the functions of the inter- 

 national conference on weights and measures, 

 with a view to determining if it is possible or 

 desirable to combine future conferences on 

 electrical units and standards with the inter- 

 national conference on weights and measures, 

 in place of holding in the future conferences 

 on electrical units and standards. At the 

 same time it is the opinion of the conference 

 that the permanent commission should he re- 

 tained as a distinct body, which should meet 

 at different places in succession. 



OTIS TUFTON MASON 

 On November 5, 1908, death claimed Pro- 

 fessor Otis T. Mason, for the past six years 

 head curator of the Department of Anthro- 



' This will include the reconsideration, from 

 time to time, of the E.M.F. of the Weston normal 

 cell. 



' With this object the committee are authorized 

 to issue as an appendix to the report of the con- 

 ference notes detailing the methods which have 

 been adopted in the standardizing laboratories of 

 the various countries to realize the international 

 ohm and the international ampere, and to set up 

 the Weston normal cell. 



