﻿424 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  quantity 
  of 
  the 
  products 
  was 
  too 
  small 
  to 
  permit 
  of 
  any 
  extended 
  

   examination. 
  They 
  resemble 
  those 
  produced 
  by 
  the 
  similar 
  action 
  

   of 
  the 
  silent 
  discharge 
  on 
  nitrogen 
  mixed 
  with 
  benzene 
  vapor 
  and 
  

   consist 
  of 
  a 
  yellow 
  resinous 
  odorous 
  substance 
  condensed 
  on 
  the 
  

   surface 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  glass 
  tubes 
  between 
  which 
  the 
  electric 
  action 
  

   is 
  exerted. 
  Submitted 
  to 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  heat 
  this 
  substance 
  decom- 
  

   poses, 
  yielding 
  volatile 
  products 
  and 
  leaving 
  a 
  bulky 
  carbonaceous 
  

   residue. 
  The 
  volatile 
  products 
  turn 
  red 
  litmus 
  paper 
  blue. 
  Evi- 
  

   dently 
  therefore 
  the 
  conditions 
  under 
  which 
  argon 
  is 
  condensed 
  

   by 
  hydrocarbons 
  tend 
  to 
  affiliate 
  it 
  still 
  closer 
  to 
  nitrogen. 
  

   Indeed 
  if 
  it 
  be 
  permissible 
  to 
  increase 
  its 
  molecular 
  mass 
  from 
  

   40 
  to 
  42 
  — 
  which 
  seems 
  not 
  unreasonable 
  — 
  this 
  mass 
  would 
  repre- 
  

   sent 
  one 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  times 
  that 
  of 
  nitrogen; 
  so 
  that 
  argon 
  would 
  

   bear 
  to 
  nitrogen 
  the 
  same 
  reaction 
  that 
  ozone 
  does 
  to 
  oxygen. 
  

   Thus 
  far, 
  however, 
  argon 
  and 
  nitrogen 
  are 
  not 
  transformable 
  the 
  

   one 
  into 
  the 
  other. 
  Under 
  the 
  conditions 
  now 
  described 
  it 
  is 
  

   evident 
  that 
  the 
  supposed 
  inactivity 
  of 
  argon 
  ceases 
  to 
  exist.— 
  

   C. 
  E., 
  cxx, 
  581, 
  March, 
  1895; 
  Chem. 
  News, 
  lxxi, 
  151, 
  March, 
  

  

  1895. 
  G. 
  F. 
  B. 
  

  

  3. 
  On 
  the 
  Presence 
  of 
  Argon 
  lines 
  in 
  the 
  Spectrum 
  of 
  Atmo- 
  

   spheric 
  Air. 
  — 
  In 
  a 
  communication 
  to 
  the 
  Royal 
  Society 
  on 
  Febru- 
  

   ary 
  21st, 
  Newall 
  has 
  called 
  attention 
  to 
  a 
  line 
  spectrum 
  which 
  

   appeared 
  frequently 
  upon 
  the 
  photographs 
  of 
  the 
  air 
  spectrum 
  

   taken 
  by 
  him 
  a 
  year 
  ago, 
  and 
  which 
  he 
  called 
  " 
  the 
  low 
  pressure 
  

   spectrum." 
  The 
  lines 
  of 
  this 
  spectrum 
  were 
  then 
  unknown, 
  but 
  

   it 
  now 
  appears 
  that 
  they 
  belong 
  to 
  argon, 
  constituting 
  seventeen 
  

   out 
  of 
  the 
  sixty-one 
  lines 
  of 
  the 
  air 
  spectrum. 
  To 
  obtain 
  this 
  

   argon 
  spectrum, 
  a 
  glass 
  bulb 
  was 
  sealed 
  hermetically 
  to 
  a 
  Hagen- 
  

   Topler 
  mercury 
  pump, 
  having 
  a 
  layer 
  of 
  strong 
  sulphuric 
  acid 
  

   above 
  the 
  mercury. 
  On 
  reducing 
  the 
  pressure 
  to 
  0'14 
  mm 
  (about 
  

   180 
  millionths 
  of 
  an 
  atmosphere) 
  a 
  bright 
  alternating 
  discharge 
  

   could 
  be 
  passed 
  through 
  the 
  residual 
  gas 
  simply 
  by 
  surrounding 
  

   the 
  bulb 
  with 
  a 
  coil 
  of 
  wire 
  carrying 
  the 
  current 
  from 
  a 
  condenser. 
  

   After 
  30 
  minutes 
  the 
  pressure 
  fell 
  from 
  0*1 
  3 
  mm 
  to 
  0'085 
  mm 
  (from 
  

   174 
  M 
  to 
  112 
  M) 
  and 
  the 
  photograph 
  then 
  taken 
  showed 
  the 
  

   bands 
  of 
  nitrogen 
  strong, 
  mercury 
  and 
  nitrocarbon 
  lines 
  strong, 
  

   hydrogen 
  weak 
  and 
  no 
  oxygen 
  or 
  argon 
  lines. 
  After 
  thirty 
  min- 
  

   utes 
  more, 
  the 
  pressure 
  has 
  fallen 
  from 
  0'76 
  mm 
  to 
  0*015 
  mm 
  (from 
  

   100 
  M 
  to 
  20 
  M) 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  photograph 
  the 
  nitrogen 
  spectrum 
  

   had 
  faded 
  considerably 
  and 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  fine 
  new 
  lines 
  appeared, 
  

   constituting 
  this 
  " 
  low 
  pressure 
  spectrum." 
  Recent 
  measure- 
  

   ments 
  show 
  the 
  practical 
  coincidence 
  of 
  seventy-two 
  lines 
  belong- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  this 
  spectrum 
  with 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  argon 
  as 
  measured 
  by 
  

   Crookes. 
  A 
  table 
  of 
  the 
  wave-lengths 
  of 
  these 
  lines 
  is 
  given, 
  

   with 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  red 
  and 
  blue 
  spectrum 
  of 
  argon 
  in 
  parallel 
  

   columns 
  as 
  given 
  by 
  Crookes. 
  " 
  It 
  is 
  interesting," 
  says 
  the 
  author, 
  

   " 
  to 
  find 
  argon 
  asserting 
  itself 
  unsolicited 
  in 
  quite 
  new 
  circum- 
  

   stances, 
  and 
  under 
  conditions 
  which 
  practically 
  constitute 
  one 
  

   more 
  mode 
  of 
  separating 
  argon 
  from 
  nitrogen 
  — 
  namely 
  the 
  get- 
  

   ting 
  rid 
  of 
  nitrogen 
  by 
  passing 
  electric 
  discharges 
  through 
  it 
  in 
  

  

  