244 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



ON CAPILLAEY ANALYSIS : A METHOD OF SEPAKATING AND 

 RECOGNIZING INDIVIDUAL COLOURING-MATTERS IN THEIR 

 MIXTURES. BY F. GOPPELSRODER. 



The properties and reactions of the pure colouring-matters are 

 accurately studied, and therefore the nature of a particular colour- 

 ing-matter may be pretty readily ascertained. But the separation 

 of the constituents of colouring-matters is in general a very diffi- 

 cult problem. The new method of capillary analysis renders it 

 possible in many cases to form in a short time a judgment as to 

 the composition of even very complicated substances. The basis 

 of the method is very simple, and is already contained in the re- 

 searches of Schonbein. If a strip of white unglazed paper is placed 

 in any given solution, the solvent rises more or less rapidly than the 

 dissolved body. Different dissolved substances have different rates 

 of travelling. 



If the bottom-end of a strip of pure filtering paper is dipped in 

 a not too concentrated solution of the mixture to be investigated, 

 according to circumstances in from 15 minutes to 12 hours, a series 

 of zones of different colours are obtained, which contain the indi- 

 vidual colouring-matters. The separate zones are noted as to their 

 colour and breadth, and are then treated with suitable solvents. 

 With the extracts thus produced fresh capillary experiments are 

 made, and the entire operation is repeated until zones of the indi- 

 vidual pure colouring-matters are obtained, which can be examined 

 according to the ordinary reaction-methods. 



The new method has done the author good service in examining 

 food, and various other articles as to the addition of colours ; for 

 instance, of picric acid in beer, fuchsine in wine &c. — Beiblatter 

 cler Physik, vol. xi. p. 754 (from Eomen's Journal, No. 1, 1887). 



ON THE CONVECTION OF ELECTRICITY BY EVAPORATION. 

 BY DR. ERNST LECHER. 



The author first of all shows, by therm ometric means, that an 

 electrified liquid evaporates more rapidly than an unelectrified one 

 under the same circumstances. It cannot, however, be concluded 

 that this is a consequence of the electrification of vapour ; it is 

 primarily and almost exclusively a consequence of the electrical 

 aura, which also renders impossible any decision as to the far more 

 subtle question of the magnitude of the heat of evaporation of an 

 electrified liquid. 



It is moreover proved by a simple arrangement of the experiment 

 that, by strong electrification of a liquid surface, an electrified 

 cloud (or a cloud of electrified drops) may be formed ; that is, its 

 inductive action can be demonstrated. — Sitzungsberichte der l-aiser- 

 UcJien AJcademic in Wien, June 1887. 



