RECORDS OF MEETINGS 373 



have been thawed out and the heart action had resumed even after the 

 body had been cooled to — 7° Cent, below the body temperature. 

 The Section then adjourned. 



William K. Gregory, 



Secretary. 



SECTION OF ASTRONOMY, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. 



20 May, 1912. 



Section met at 8 :15 p. m., in the Doremus Lecture Room of the 

 Chemistry Building of the College of the City of New York, Professor 

 Poor presiding. 



The minutes of the last meeting of the Section were read and 

 approved. 



The following programme was then offered : 



Charles Baskerville, Tungsten. 



Summary of Paper. 



Professor Baskerville pointed out that tungsten at one time was 

 hardly mentioned in text books, but that now it is a substance of con- 

 siderable importance. It was discovered in tin-ore by Carl W. Scheele 

 in the year 1781. In 1848, tungsten salts were used for fixing colors in 

 cotton, and, in 1857, the firep roofing of draperies by tungsten was pro- 

 posed. Tungsten is used in making bronze and steel. Tungsten steel 

 retains its temper even when red hot and is better than the best carbon 

 steel known. The rims of car wheels are made of tungsten steel. 



The speaker then gave an interesting account of the invention and 

 development of tungsten lamps. He spoke at some length of the very 

 great practical difficulties that had to be overcome owing to the fact 

 that the tungsten filaments were brittle. Finally, however, this was 

 overcome so that now the tungsten incandescent lamp is the best one 

 on the market. 



The Section then adjourned. 



F. M. Pedersejst, 



Secretary. 



BUSINESS MEETING. 



7 October, 1912. 



The Academy met at 8 :25 p. m. at the American Museum of Natural 

 History, President McMillin presiding. 



