230 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 580. 



marked decrease in the negative ionization of 

 the air during totality. The observations of 

 conductivity taken v^ith this new instrument 

 by Mr. Bowen, a member of the Carnegie 

 Institution party at Battle Harbor, Labrador, 

 seventy-five miles south of totality belt, show 

 also a marked decrease in the negative con- 

 ductivity during the eclipse. The observa- 

 tions at Cheltenham, Md., with a similar con- 

 ductivity instrument showed a fair agreement 

 with the others, but in much less degree. 



Mr. G. K. Burgess then spoke on the ' Mono- 

 chromatic Eadiation of Metals.' The object 

 of the paper was to interpret the observations 

 of Dr. Waidner and the author on the depart- 

 ure of platinum from black-body radiation for 

 red, green and blue light in terms of the now 

 better known values of the higher tempera- 

 tures involved and as expressed by Wien's law 

 in a form first suggested by Lucas. Discus- 

 sion of the formulse leads to the conclusion 

 that the reciprocals of the temperatures of a 

 black body and any substance having the same 

 photometric brightness are directly propor- 

 tional. For platinum the ratio is about 1.03; 

 so the temperatures obtained from a platinum 

 optical pyrometer, without correction, would 

 be from 6 to 9 per cent, too low. But 50 

 observations between 996° and 1,988° absolute, 

 using red light, furnish constants for the 

 formulas, by the aid of which the nominal 

 temperatures are corrected, the maximum dif- 

 ference being only 3.5° ; thus 1,814° observed 

 is raised to 1,989.1° — a difference of only 1.1° 

 from that given by the standard Holborn- 

 Kurlbaum optical pyrometer. The important 

 result follows that for many purposes a simple 

 platinum strip may replace the elaborate ex- 

 perimental black-body. 



- Similar results were obtained with pal- 

 ladium. The speaker also gave a comparison 

 of the electrical and thermal constants of 

 several metals having high melting-points. 

 (See Bulletin, Bureau of Standards.) 



The 609th meeting was held on December 

 16, 1905. 



The retiring ■ president, Mr. George W. 

 LittlehaPes, of the Hydrographic Oifice, deliv- 

 ered an address on ' The Progress of Science 



as Exemplified in Terrestrial Magnetism.' 

 He gave a very clear sketch of the history of 

 this branch of science, pointing out the phases 

 that the problem had assumed and the specific 

 contributions to the modern theory made by 

 the leading magneticians. 



Charles K. Wead, 



Secretary. 



THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 163d regular and the 22d annual meet- 

 ing of the society was held on January 11, 

 1906. 



Mr. Maximilian Toch, of New York, gave 

 an illustrated lecture on ' The Trip of the 

 Society of Chemical Lidustry through Eng- 

 land.' It was thoroughly enjoyed by a large 

 audience. 



Following this the reports of the secretary 

 and treasurer were read. The finances of the 

 society are in good condition, and there has 

 been a net increase of 27 in the number of 

 members, the total now being 189, with four 

 local associates. During 1905 there were 

 ten scientific meetings held, besides three 

 ' smokers.' Twenty-one papers were present- 

 ed, three of them being by investigators in- 

 vited to address the society. 



The officers for 1906 were then voted for, 

 with the following result: 



President — L. M. Tolman. 



First Vice-president — A. W. Dow. 



Second Vice-president — Jos. S. Chamberlain. 



Secretary — C. E. Waters. 



Treasurer — F. P. Dewey. 



Additional Members of the Executive Com- 

 mittee— E. A. Hill, E. T. Allen, G. H. Failyer and 

 A. Seidell. 



The congratulations of the society were ex- 

 tended to Dr. W. F. Hillebrand on account 

 of his election as president of the American 

 Chemical Society. C. E. Waters, 



Secretary.. 



THE OREGON STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Papers have been presented before the Ore- 

 gon State Academy of Sciences, meeting in 

 Portland, as follows: 



May 20 — ' The Precipitation of Barium Bromide 

 by Hydrobromic Acid,' Professor N. C. Thome, 



