SCIENCE 





FRroAY, September 28, 1917 



CONTENTS 

 The Static Atom: PEorESSOR Gilbert N. 

 Lewis 297 



Zoological Sesearch: Professor C. H. Eigen- 



MANN 302 



Scientific Events: — 

 Reconstruction Bospitals and Orthopedic 

 Surgery; Forest Battalions for Service in 

 France; Occupational Census of the Army; 

 Opportunity for Physiologists and Bioclwm- 

 ists; Physiological Examination of Becruits; 

 Section of Zoology of the American Associa- 

 tion 306 



Scientific Notes and News 308 



University and Educational News 311 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



The Colors of Letters: Dr. David Starr Jor- 

 dan. A Simple Demonstration for Euler's 

 Dynamical Equations : Arthur Taber Jones. 

 A Unique Hornet's Nest: H. A. Allasd. 

 Synchronism in the Flashing of Fireflies: 

 Frank C. Gates. Uredinia of Chronartium 

 ribicola on Eibes Stems: G. B. Poset, G. F. 

 Gravatt, E. H. Collet 311 



Scientific Books: — 

 Aiistralian Aboriginal Crania: Dr. Ales 

 Hrdlicka. Taubenhaus on the Culture and 

 Diseases of the Sweet Pea : F. A. Wolf .... 315 



Field Conference of Cereal Pathologists : C. W. 



HUNGEEPOED 316 



Special Articles: — 



The Possible Origin of the Toxicity of Ultra- 

 violet Light: Des. F. I. Harris and H. S. 

 HoTT 318 



USS. Imt«m4*d for pablicttlon and books, etc.. latended for 

 nTl«w thtnU h» sent to Profeiior J. McKten C»tt«ll, GarrUon- 

 Sm-BadsOD, N. Y 



THE STATIC ATOMi 



I HAVE been asked to present in this sym- 

 posium the relation between atomic struc- 

 ture and the "valence bonds" by which the 

 atoms are regarded as tied together, to form 

 the more complicated structure of the mole- 

 cule. Now the whole theory of molecular 

 constitution which I have developed rests 

 upon the fundamental postulate that the 

 atom is internally at rest or nearly so. On 

 the other hand, Bohr, who has given spe- 

 cial attention to the phenomena of spectral 

 series, has been led to the view that the 

 electrons in the atom are revolving rapidly 

 about a central positive nucleus. Because 

 of the wide acceptance by physicists of 

 Bohr's theory of the atom and its orbital 

 electrons, and especially in view of the 

 very lucid arguments in favor of this 

 theory which Professor Millikan has just 

 presented to us, I am going to ask your 

 permission to modify the subject of my 

 paper, and to discuss not the specific meth- 

 ods of combination among the atoms, but 

 rather the question as to whether the elec- 

 trons in the atom and the molecule are in 

 rapid motion or are essentially at rest ; for 

 upon our answer to this question any theory 

 of molecular structure must depend. 



Now assuming that the electron plays 

 some kind of essential role in the linking 

 together of the atoms within the molecule, 

 and, as far as I am aware, no one conver- 

 sant with the main facts of chemistry 



1 Presented at the symposium on ' ' The Struc- 

 ture of Matter" at a joint meeting of the Sections 

 of Physics and Chemistry of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, The Amer- 

 ican Physical Society and the American Chemical 

 Society, New York, December 27, 1916. 



