XX Ppoceedings. {March Jth, i8gg. 



General Meeting, March 7th, 1899. 



James Cosmo Melvill, M.A,, RL.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Charles Henry Crombie, B.A., Science Master, Hulme 

 Grammar School; and Mr. Edgar Morris, B.A., 69, Shrewsbury 

 Street, Old Trafford, were elected ordinary members of the 

 Society. 



Ordinary Meeting, March 7th, 1899. 

 James Cosmo Melvill, M.A., F.L.S., President, in the Chair. 



The thanks of the members were voted to the donors of the 

 books upon the table. 



Professor Horace Lamb, F.R.S., read a paper, entitled 

 " A new version of Argand's Proof that every Algebraic 

 Equation has a Root." 



This paper will be printed in full in the Memoirs. 



Professor Schuster exhibited some lantern slides, illustrating 

 some researches made by himself and Mr. G. Hemsalech on the 

 velocity of metallic molecules in the electric spark. 



The results of these researches have been published in the 

 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 



When the spectrum of a spark between metallic poles is 

 photographed on a film attached to a rapidly revolving wheel, 

 the air-lines remain straight, though slightly broadened, while 

 the metallic lines are seen to be inclined and curved. The 

 velocity of the metallic molecules may be calculated from the 

 measurement of the inclinations of the lines. In the case of zinc 

 molecules the velocity was found to be about 500 m. per second. 

 The metals of low atomic weight, e.g., aluminium and magnesium, 

 give higher velocities, while in the case of bismuth the different 

 lines have different inclinations. 



