442 Scientific Intelligence. 



energy due to light. The waves employed in wireless telegraphy 

 in passing from water to land and in the reverse direction must 

 suffer partial deflection. The amplitude, therefore, of the wave 

 depends not only upon the distance the waves have traversed 

 over land and sea but also upon the shore form, or barrier between 

 land and sea. On this partial reflection depends the fact that 

 less distorted waves are received at a distance from the sender 

 than at a station near the sender. — Ann. der Physik, No. 10, pp. 

 846-866. j. t. 



9. Influence of Magnetic Fields on the Resistances of .Electro- 

 lytes. — G Bekndt shows that the change of resistance of metals 

 in magnetic fields depends greatly upon temperature conditions 

 and he gives a method for controlling temperature. He found 

 that electrolytes in fields up to 3000 Gauss units, submitted to 

 perpendicular lines of magnetic force and to parallel lines up to 

 1000 Gauss units, did not change in resistance more than -g-^ per 

 cent. Mercury showed with lines perpendicular to the layer no 

 change greater than 8 g \ ¥ per cent, and with lines parallel none 

 greater than -s-q^-q per cent. A very small change in bismuth 

 was attributed to an electro-dynamic effect. In general fluid 

 bodies suffer no change in magnetic fields. — Ann. der Physik., 

 No. 10, pp. 932-950. j. t. 



10. Change of .Resistance in Metal Wires with Occlusion of 

 Oxygen. — Guido Sziyessy reviews the subject of occlusion of 

 hydrogen by palladium and gives a formula which directs his 

 work upon the occlusion of oxygen. He finds marked changes 

 due to this cause in silver wires, and in platinum. Gold wires 

 showed no increase in resistance. The results with palladium 

 were doubtful. — Ann. der Physik, No. 10, pp. 963-974. j. t. 



11. Atlas of Absorption Spectra; by H. S. Uhler and K. W. 

 Wood. Pp. 59, with 26 plates. Washington, 1907 (published by 

 the Carnegie Institution). — This is a collection of more than one 

 hundred photographic maps of the absorption spectra of solutions 

 of various aniline dyes and also of some inorganic salts. The 

 maps are so arranged as to show the variation of the width of 

 the absorption bands with the thickness and concentration of the 

 solution. The spectra comprise the visible and ultra-violet 

 regions from about 0*6 I/a to nearly - 20/a. The photographs are 

 beautiful and accurate and reflect much credit upon the experi- 

 mental skill of Dr. Uhler, who has devised novel and ingenious 

 methods of experiment that cannot fail to be of service in future 

 work on absorption spectra. h. a. b. 



12. Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards ; S. W. Stratton, 

 Director. — The third number of Volume III of the Bulletin of 

 the Bureau of Standards has recently appeared. One of the 

 papers by G. K. Burgess gives the following as the approximate 

 melting points of metals of the iron group ; the specimens exam- 

 ined ranged in purity from 98 per cent to 9995 per cent : 



Iron 1505° C. Nickel _. 1435° 



Chromium..'.. 1489° Manganese 1207° 



Cobalt 1464° 



