Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Ixii. (191 7) 13 



F.R.S. He was 'born ajt Bank Top, Manchester 1 $. 9th April, 181 5; 

 died at Southport, 7th October, 1887, aged 72. 



The Right Hon Sir Henry K Rosooe, P.C., B.A., LL.D., 

 F.R.S,., etc., Professor of Chemistry at the Owens College, elected 

 1858, became President 1882-3. He wfais born in 1833 at Lon- 

 don; died 1 8th December, 191 5, aged 82. He did much 

 valuable chemical work, amongst which may be mentioned 

 Spectroscopic Analysis, which be studied under Bunsen. He 

 discovered the true atomic weight of Vanadium. 



Osborne Reynolds, LL.D., M.A., F.R.S,, M.Inst.C.E., Pro- 

 fessor of Engineering at the Owens College, Manchester, 

 elected 1869, President 1888-9, was one tot the Hon. Secre- 

 taries for many years. Born at Belfast, 23rd August, 1842; died 

 at Watchet, Somerset, 21st February, 191 2, aged 70. 



He contributed sixty-three Memoirs to the Spciety, chiefly 

 on physical phenomena, such as " Various forms of Vortex 

 Motion," " The Shattering of a, post struck by lightning," etc. 

 He showed an interesting experiment suggested by the sand 

 on the sea shore becoming excessively wet when standing on 

 it. He filled an indiarubbcr bag iwith wet sand, to which was 

 attached a tube, and showed thiat when thfe bag was squeezed 

 the water rushed into it through the tube ifrom a glass vessel, 

 and when the pressure wasi removed the water rushed out. 



Dr. Henry Wjlde, F.R.S(., t was elected 1859. He has made 

 important discoveries and invenitilonsi in thiei region of elec- 

 tricity, and has propounded a theory: in which he compares (the 

 infinitely minute ions, of which the atoms of elements are com- 

 posed, to the sun arid planets. The relative figures which he 

 has calculated between the motions and weights of the infinitely 

 large, as compared with thoste which constitute the infinitely 

 small, are very remarkable, and have cerfcihly opened a great 

 field for future thought and speculation, which may in the future 

 result in the discovery of another great law(, like those with 

 which we associate the names of Dalto'n and Joule. 



Dir. Angus Smith has published a very important paper, 

 which, takem with' that of Dr. Wilde's, may lead to im- 

 portant results i;n connection with' the atomic theory. It refers 

 to the relative absorbing power of charcoal for various elemen- 

 tary and compound gases. Thus he found that charcoal 

 absorbs eight times the volume of oxygen which it does of 

 hydrogen, and as the specific gravity of oxygen is sixteen times 

 greater than hydrogen, it absorbs 16x8, or 128 'times the weight 

 of hydrogen. With carbon-dioxide it absorbs 2'2-o5 volumes, or 

 half the molecular weight number in volumes. Here we have 



