May 5, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



491 



possible to tell what the weather is going to be 

 by watching the sun. The Weather Bureau of 

 Argentina sent out forecasts a week in advance 

 based upon the solar observations telegraphed in 

 daily from the Smithsonian Institution at Monte- 

 zuma, Chile. From compilation of about 2,000 ob- 

 servations, it has been found that the heat radi- 

 ated by the sun amounts to 1.94 calories per 

 square centimeter per minute. This would be 

 sufficient to melt a layer of ice 424 feet thick all 

 around the sun. A large number of by-products 

 relating to the temperature of the sun, transpar- 

 ency of the atmosphere, the number of molecules 

 per cubic centimeter in the atmosphere, the bright- 

 ness of the sky, the cooling of the earth by long- 

 wave rays, the distribution of brightness over 

 the sun's disk, and the general theory of the 

 nature of the sun have come out of the investiga- 

 tions. 



Problems of modern physics: Dr. H. A. 

 LoRENTZ, University of Leyden. The lecture 

 passed in review some problems of prominent 

 interest. Foremost among them are the quantum 

 theory, the problems of atomic structure and of 

 gravitation. AU these are awaiting their solution 

 and much remains also to be done before it will 

 be possible to explain the properties of magnetic 

 substances, to account for terrestrial and solar 

 magnetism and to understand the more compli- 

 cated forms of the Zeeman effect. The motion of 

 electricity in metals and effects connected with it 

 likewise require laborious investigation. Here 

 much may be expected of low temperature re- 

 search. 



Researches on thiasoles: Dr. Marston Taylor 

 BoGERT, Columbia University. In the benzothia- 

 zole group, various new derivatives have been pre- 

 pared and studied, several of which are interesting 

 because of therapeutic or tinctorial possibilities. 



Sesearohes on selenium organic compounds: 

 Dr. Marston Taylor Bogert. New selenium or- 

 ganic compounds have been synthesized and 

 studied in the quinazolone and benzelenasole 

 groups, the azo dyes from the latter being much 

 deeper in shade than the corresponding sulfur 

 compounds. 



Eeaction Itetween silver perchlorate and the 

 halogens: Professor M. Gomberq, University of 

 Michigan. A study of the reaction indicated in 

 the title has been undertaken in order to prepare, 

 if possible, the compound radical (CIO ) : 

 2AgC10^ + I^ = 2AgI -f 2(C10^). 

 If found to exist as monomolecular it should, it 

 was thought, be either identical or isomeric with 



the ion of the same composition; if dimolecular, 

 (CIO )„, it should prove a higher oxide of chlo- 

 rine than any hitherto known. Numerous experi- 

 ments were carried out during the last year, with 

 the halogens chlorine, bromine and iodine, and 

 with solvents chosen from a wide range of com- 

 pounds. Iodine and ether were finally adopted as 

 best suited for this reaction, because of the forma- 

 tion of less by-products. At this stage of the 

 investigation it may be considered as having been 

 fairlj- well established that (CIO ) actually does 

 exist, but its molecular state has not yet been 

 determined. The compound has been prepared 

 only in solutions of one per cent, to five per cent., 

 and has been found to be practically non-volatile 

 with vapors of ether at 30° C. and 100 mm. pres- 

 sure. It is a powerfully reactive substance. It 

 reacts with the oxides of various metals ; it attacks 

 zinc, magnesium, copper, silver, iron, tin, and 

 other metals with the formation of the correspond- 

 ing perchlorates ; with water it gives perchloric 

 acid, and it liberates iodine from hydriodie acid. 

 The investigation is to be continued. 



The thermal decomposition of tungsten: Dr. 

 Gerald L. Wendt. 



A confirmation of Saha's theory of the ioniza- 

 tion of the elements at high temperature: Drs. 

 Arthur A. Noyes and H. A. Wilson, California 

 Institute of Technology. By employing the usual 

 thermodynamic expression for the change of chem- 

 ical equilibrium with the temperature, and sup- 

 plementing this by an evaluation, based on fairly 

 well established theoretical considerations, of the 

 specific constants occurring in that expression, 

 Saha (Phil. Mag., 40: 479, 1920) has shown that 

 one can compute from the ionization-potential of 

 an element the extent to which its neutral atoms 

 are converted into ions at any temperature or 

 pressure; for example, the extent to which sodium 

 undergoes the reaction Na = Na+ -|- e, where e 

 denotes the electron. This computation has 

 proved of great astronomical interest because of 

 the new possibilities it affords of interpreting the 

 presence, absence, or relative intensities of the 

 spectra of certain elements under different stellar 

 conditions. The fact, however, that Saha's com- 

 putations involve certain hypotheses makes the 

 experimental confirmation of his conclusions highly 

 desirable; and it is the purpose of the authors' 

 paper to show that the experiments of one of 

 them (H. A. Wilson) on the electrical conductivity 

 of flames furnish such a confirmation. 



Tlic general system of isotopes as related to the 

 formation and disintegration of atom nuclei: 



