Chemistry and Physics. 411 



5. Presence of Tellurium in American Silver. — An account is 

 given by Vincent of the detection of tellurium in some ingots of 

 silver, which came to France from America. The silver was of 

 high fineness, but it was very brittle, and it cracked when it was 

 rolled. It was, therefore, fused with five per cent of potassium 

 nitrate, and after two such treatments it presented the usual 

 degree of malleability. The slag produced by the fusions just 

 referred to, upon examination, was found to contain tellurium, 

 but no selenium. The result shows that a small quantity of tel- 

 lurium has a profound effect upon the physical properties of 

 silver. — Bulletin, xxvii, 23. h. l. w. 



6. Dissipation of Electrical Charges by Vapor. — In a paper 

 published in 1886, Exner attributed atmospheric electricity to 

 the carrying of electricity by rarified water vapor from the 

 earth's surface into the upper regions of the atmosphere. In 

 support of this hypothesis, Mascart claimed to have shown that 

 the vaporization from an electrified layer of water is greater 

 than from an unelectrified one. L. J. Blake, however, had been 

 led to an opposite conclusion. Pellat confirmed Mascart's 

 result, and showed a source of error in Blake's investigation. 

 Hans Beggeeow has now examined the question with all possible 

 modern refinements, and concludes that electrification has no 

 influence on the vaporization of layers of water, solution of car- 

 bonate of soda, alcohol, ether, solution of acetic acid, acetic acid, 

 saltpeter acid, and quicksilver ; both positive and negative charges 

 were used. — Ann. der PhysiJc, No. 3, 1902, pp. 494-515. j. t. 



7. Hertzian Waves in Storms. — M. Firmin Laeeoqtie dis- 

 covers that with very distant thunder storms the suppression of 

 the horizontal plate of his receiving apparatus rendered the sys- 

 tem inert, and the vertical portion of the apparatus had no effect 

 upon the sensibility of the apparatus. He concludes that in this 

 case the electrical oscillations are horizontal. If the storm was 

 not more distant than 300 kilometers the inverse effect was 

 observed. This experiment seems to show that the electrostatic 

 surgings over the surface of the earth play an important part in 

 wireless telegraphy. — Comptes Rendus, March 24, 1902. j. t. 



8. Electric Waves in Coils. — Emil Lijdin connects a coherer 

 to one end of a coil of wire, and, after the making or breaking of 

 a battery current through the coil, measures the resistance of the 

 coil. In another experiment he extends a wire from the end of 

 the coil, and stretches another independent wire parallel to this 

 end wire ; the independent wire contains a coherer. He finds 

 maxima and minima along this latter wire and measures the 

 wave lengths. He points out the bearing of his results on dis- 

 turbances in the Marconi receiving circuit, caused by the coils of 

 the relays. — Ann. der Physik, No. 3, 1902, pp. 584-588. j. t. 



9. Measurements of Wave Lengths in the Surfs Spectrum. — 

 A. Perot and Ch. Fabey have compared 33 lines in the sun's 

 spectrum, directly with the green cadmium lines wave length, 

 508'58240/u,//, according to Michelson. Their first results differ 



Am. Jour. Scl— Fourth Series, Yol. XIII, No. 77.— May, 1902. 

 28 



