432 Mr. C. Tomlinson on some Phenomena 



entire heat in the flame, that it is far within the actual fluctu- 

 ations in its temperature; and even if the flame were constant 

 in temperature, this small increase could not be detected by 

 any known thermometric method. We cannot, therefore, de- 

 termine the amount of absorptive power of a flame or of a 

 sheet of heated air for sonorous vibrations by experiments on 

 their increased temperatures when sonorous vibrations impinge 

 on these bodies. 



Hoboken, April 10th, 1874. 



LI. On some Phenomena connected ivith the Boiling of Liquids. 

 By Charles Tomlinson, F.R.S* 



THE Annates de Chimie et de Physique for March 1875 con- 

 tain a memoir by Professor Gernez, entitled " Recherches 

 sur PEbullition." This memoir, which occupies sixty-six pages, 

 has for its main object the support of De Luc's theory of ebul- 

 lition, which " attributes the production of bubbles of vapour to 

 the formation of bubbles of air." Upwards of one third of the 

 memoir is devoted to historical notices, in which the author goes 

 over nearly the same ground as that previously trodden by my- 

 selff. Several pages of the history are occupied with an account 

 of my researches J ; and they are referred to again and again in 

 other parts of the memoir. Of course I have no right to com- 

 plain if M. Gernez, in the pursuit of a definite object, should 

 refer to such of my experiments as suit his purpose, and pass 

 over others which he either cannot or does not choose to assimi- 

 late with the theory he is advocating. He attaches great im- 

 portance to the authorities that he quotes, and insinuates some 

 surprise that I should venture to differ from them. That I did 

 not ignore them is evident from the time and care bestowed by 

 me in the compilation of my " Historical Notes/' in which the 

 results, as obtained by a large number of distinguished obser- 

 vers, were brought into juxtaposition for the first time. I did 

 and do desire to treat those results with all the respect that is 

 due to established facts ; but I claim the right to form an inde- 

 pendent judgment as to the inferences to be drawn from them. 

 I gather from the memoir thatM. Gernez does not quarrel with 

 my facts, but only with their interpretation, although he seems 

 to regard it as a fault in me that I do not consider the theory 



* Communicated by the Author. 



t " Historical Notes on some Phenomena connected with the Boiling 

 of Liquids," Phil. Mag. for March 1869. 



X " On the Action of Solid Nuclei in liberating Vapour from Boiling 

 Liquids," Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1869, vol. xvii. p. 240. An 

 abstract of this paper appeared in Les Mondes of the 12th of October and 

 2nd of November, 1871. 



