388 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 427. 



was cited, however, to show that this larger 

 gorge was also the product of stream erosion 

 at a time when the Columbia canon was occu- 

 pied by the Okanogan glacier with a thickness 

 of ice esceeding 2,500 feet. 



W. C. Mendenhall, 

 Secreiary. 



THE RESEARCH CLUB OF THE UNIVERSITY OP 

 MICHIGAN. 



The club met on the evening of January 

 21, and listened to a paper by Dr. 0. L. 

 Meader on ' The Acquired Meanings of the 

 Latin Pronoun Idem,' and a paper by Pro- 

 fessor H. S. Carhart on ' The Role of 

 Thermoeleetromotive Forces in a Voltaic 

 Cell.' 



The latter contained in brief the thermo- 

 dynamic theory of a voltaic cell, so far as 

 relates to ilg properties dependent on tempera- 

 ture. It was shown that all these could be 

 completely explained by means of electrolytic 

 thermoeleetromotive forces between a metal 

 and the liquid in contact with it. Thermo- 

 eleetromotive forces exist without temperature 

 difference at the junctions, for a current will 

 either absorb or generate heat at a junction ac- 

 cording to its direction in relation to that of 

 the thermo-electromotive force there. 



Data were given showing that the tempera- 

 ture coefficients of a Daniell cell, a Carhart- 

 Clark cell, and a calomel cell are all accounted 

 for numerically by the thermoeleetromotive 

 forces at the metal-liquid junctions. 



It was also shovsoi that the heat represented 

 by the second term of the Gibbs-Helmholtz 

 equation is the difference between the heat 

 generated at the negative electrode, where the 

 current flows against the thermoeleetromotive 

 force, and that absorbed at the positive, where 

 both current and electromotive force are in 

 the same direction. The effects are thus local- 

 ized in the cell. 



It was also demonstrated by curves and 

 numerical data that the electromotive force 

 of a concentration cell is explained for dilute 

 solutions by the thermo-electromotive forces 

 at the two electrodes, because this electro- 

 motive force increases with the density of the 

 solution. For this last reason also thermo- 



electromotive forces explain the change in the 

 electromotive force of a Daniell cell when the 

 density of either solution is changed. All 

 these conclusions have been confirmed by 

 numerous measurements. 



Frederick C. Newcombe, 



Secretary. 



ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



The 146th meeting was held in the Chem- 

 ical Lecture Room, University of North Caro- 

 lina, February 10, at 7:30 p.m. 



In a paper on ' The Biological Blood Test,' 

 Dr. R. H. Whitehead gave an account of the 

 recent work of Uhlenhuth in the serum- 

 diagnosis of blood in various species of ani- 

 mals, and called attention to its great im- 

 portance in certain medico-legal cases. 



Under the title ' Recent Work on Corals,' 

 Dr. J. E. Duerden gave an account of his 

 work upon the septal development in recent 

 and fossil corals. In recent corals the septa 

 beyond the primary septa — ^metasepta — are 

 found to appear bilaterally, in a dorso-ventral 

 sequence, within each of the six primary sys- 

 tems, the adult radial symmetry being sec- 

 ondary. In certain Palaeozoic corals the meta- 

 septa arise in a regular dorso-ventral succes- 

 sion within only four of the six primary 

 systems. 



' The Peter Cooper Hewitt Static Trans- 

 former ' was described by Professor J. W. 

 Gore. 



Chas. Baskerville, 



Secretary. 



COLORADO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



The 31st, 32d and 33d meetings of the Col- 

 orado Academy of Science were held in the 

 rooms of the State Historical and Natural 

 History Society of Colorado, in the Capitol 

 building, Denver, Colorado, October 21, No- 

 vember 18 and December 16, 1902. The 

 membership of the academy is restricted to 

 those members of the State Historical and 

 Natural History Society of Colorado en- 

 gaged in scientific work and investigation. 

 These sessions of the academy have had an 

 attendance ranging from about 100 to 300, 

 and the outlook for the winter meetings is 

 most encouraging. 



