503 .§ CIENCE A T THE BRl TISH A SS CIA Tl ON. 



SCIENCE AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



The papers read at the recent session of the British Association at Ply- 

 mouth, England, are quite rich in new scientific ideas. Their lengths 

 precludes our touching on more than their salient points — but these will 

 suffice to exhibit the wide and interesting range of the subjects discussed : 



LIFE FROM OTHER WORLDS. 



Sir William Thomson revived that curious paradox of the possibility of 

 life coming upon our earth directly from other worlds — the vehicle being a 

 meteorite. Biologists at present are not in accord as to what temperature is 

 fatal to germ life ; and it is believed that some germs come safely through 

 extremes of temperature that are fatal to the species in a more advanced 

 stage. On this rather doubtful foundation, Sir William bases his idea that 

 a germ might hide away in a crevice of a meteorite, so that the intense heat 

 of the interior might not reach it, and hence it might remain alive after the 

 wandering mass had come to rest on the earth. One objection at least to 

 this theory will suggest itself to the readers of Mrs. Ingram's interesting 

 essay— read before the American Association, at Nashville, Tenn.— and that 

 is, if that fair scientist is right about concussion being fatal to germ exist- 

 ence, then the shock of the meteorite striking the earth, if not due to its 

 contact with the atmosphere, would be quite sufficient to destroy the travel- 

 ing organisms. 



THE INDUSTRIAL VALUE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. 



Professor Abel made a capital review of the operation of purely scientific 

 research in developing important branches of industr}^ He instanced 

 Perkins' researches in the coal tar colors, and more especially referred to 

 the recent improvements in the steel manufacture. He pointed out that the 

 success which has attended the addition of silicon in combination with iron 

 and manganese to the steel before casting in the preventing the formation 

 of blow-holes, and in contributing at the same time to the production of the 

 l^articular character of steel required, bids fair to be of special importance 

 in connection with the application of steel to the production of projectiles 

 for use against armor plates and of castings which will compete successfully 

 with carefully forged metal, or even Avith the Whitworth compressed steel. 

 He also alluded to the advantages of steel armor over iron, and stated that 

 promising results have recently been obtained at Shoeburyness with a new 

 system of applying steel in conjunction with malleable iron, by which a 

 perfect union of the two materials at one of their surfaces is obtained by the 

 aid of heat. Eeference was also made to the late investigations into the 

 physical nature of gunpowder, which among other things have demonstrated 

 that modifications in composition, not unimportant from an economical point 

 of view in dealing with the very large charges now employed, may materi- 

 ally contribute to render the storing of the maximum of work in theprojec- 



