October 18, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



525 



The time, therefore, seems to be ripe for a 

 combination of forces, so that workers in these 

 important lines may become known to one an- 

 other, and the enthusiasm of students excited 

 and sustained. 



Led by these considerations we venture to 

 suggest the organization of what we provision- 

 ally call ' the International Association for pro- 

 moting the Study of Quaternions and allied sys- 

 tems of Mathematics.' By such an organization 

 Ai^ector analysis would receive a great impetus. 

 A journal published from time to time would 

 keep the members of the Association in touch 

 with the various aspects of the subject, both 

 pure and applied, and would facilitate in- 

 terchange of opinions on the introduction and 

 adoption of new notations. 



In these few lines we have tried to point out 

 the important task of the Association, but shall 

 be obliged for any suggestion or improvement. 

 It is almost needless to say that we are only pre- 

 paring the way ; and once the Association has 

 been started we shall be ready to place it in the 

 hands of persons much more competent than 

 ourselves to further its best interests. 



We earnestly hope that all friends will ap- 

 preciate our endeavors and show us at once 

 some token of apx^roval. 



We remain. Dear Sirs, 



Very respectfully yours, 

 P. MoLENBROBK, the Hague, Holland. 

 S. KiMURA, Yale University, IT. S. A. 



October, 1895. 



N.B. — ^We would ask those who are in Europe 

 to communicate with the first of the above 

 names, and those in America with the second. 



SCIENTIFIC LITEEATUBE. 

 Proceedings of the International Electrical Con- 

 gress, Chicago, 1893. American Institute of 

 Electrical Engineers. Edited by Max Oster- 

 berg. 



The publication of this volume of nearly 500 

 pages insures a permanent record of the Chicago 

 Electrical Congress and gives evidence of the 

 value and importance of its work. The Congress 

 was unique in its composition, since it consisted 

 of both an official and an unofficial body. The 

 ^ Chamber of Delegates ' was a small body rep- 



resenting ten governments and composed only 

 of those presenting duly authenticated official 

 credentials. 



It may be said in this connection that while 

 the expenses of the official representatives of 

 foreign governments were paid, as far as known 

 to the Avriter, our own government went only 

 so far as to appoint representatives through its 

 Secretary of State, but neither paid expenses 

 nor, what is of much more importance, pro- 

 vided in any way for the meeting of this body 

 of officially delegated scientific men fi-om abroad, 

 and took no official notice of them. This neglect 

 was a source of great chagrin to the representa- 

 tives of the United States. It would be impos- 

 sible in Europe, with the sentiment prevailing 

 there respecting the official etiquette befitting 

 such an occasion. 



The papers printed in this volume constitute 

 a valuable collection of great variety, and 

 no one interested in the higher phases of 

 electrical theory and practice can aftbrd to be 

 without them. It is gratifying to know that 

 the sales of the ' Proceedings ' have already 

 nearly or quite met the cost of publication, 

 while a goodly number of volumes remain in 

 the possession of the Institute. 



An omission of some importance, in view of 

 subsequent controversies, occurs in the report 

 of the ' Proceedings of the Chamber of Dele- 

 gates.' I refer to the appointment of the com- 

 mittee on notation and nomenclature. The 

 presentation of the committee's report is noted, 

 but one looks in vain for the names of the 

 gentlemen composing it. 



Inasmuch as a committee was appointed to 

 draw up specifications for the Clark cell, con- 

 sisting of Messrs. Helmholtz, Ayrton and Car- 

 hart, it may not be amiss to explain here why 

 this committee never reported.* The chairman, 

 Professor von Helmholtz, it will be remembered, 

 was seriously injured on his return trip to Eu- 

 rope, and this unfortunate accident delayed ac- 

 tion. The writer, however, received finally a 

 long official communication from him in rela- 

 tion to the Clark cell and the legalization of the 

 units adopted by the Congress. The proposals 

 of von Helmholtz were accepted by myself with 

 some slight modifications. Some correspond- 



* Proceedings, p. 20. 



