138 Scientific Intelligence. 



for example, the existence of Agfi and HC1(CH 3 ) 3 0, he proposes 

 the formula H'O j OH. The author calls attention to the advan- 

 tage of tetravalent oxygen in explaining the constitution of carbon 

 monoxide, CjO, but he recognizes the fact that this involves the 

 assumption of unsaturated oxygen in all other organic compounds 

 containing this element. He believes, however, that this view 

 presents no greater difficulty than exists at present in regard to 

 trivalent nitrogen and phosphorus and bivalent sulphur. 



h. l. w. 



2. On the constitution of water and the cause of its power of 

 dissociation. — As mentioned in the preceding notice, Bruhl has 

 advocated the existence of tetravalent oxygen in hydrogen per- 

 oxide. He believes that this view throws new light upon the 

 constitution and the behavior of water, to which he gives the 

 HO'H, considering it an unsaturated compound. He points out 

 that water shows the criteria of an unsaturated compound in a 

 marked degree, since nearly all bodies combine with it, innumer- 

 able hydrates and compounds with water of crystallization exist, 

 and finally it is the most general solvent. He believes, more- 

 over, that the supplementary valences of tetravalent oxygen are 

 the cause of ionization, and of the power of water to dissociate 

 molecular aggregations. — Berichte deutsch. Chem. Gesell., 1895, 

 2868. h. l. w. 



3. On the action of prolonged, moderate heating upon detona- 

 ting gas. — Victor Meter and Wilhelm Raum have investigated 

 the slow combination of oxygen and hydrogen. The theoretical 

 question involved was the view advanced by the representatives 

 of physical chemistry, that a substance having a catalytic action 

 cannot produce a reaction which is not already existent, and 

 that it merely increases the rapidity of such a reaction. On 

 this assumption hydrogen and oxygen, which combine rather 

 rapidly at 500°, must combine to some extent at ordinary tem- 

 peratures, even though this action may be so slow that it would 

 require hundreds or thousands of years for the production of an 

 amount of water that could be detected, and it is this slow action 

 that is increased to great rapidity by the presence of a catalytic 

 agent, such as finely divided platinum. The authors have 

 attacked the problem by finding the temperature just low enough 

 so that the gases do not react appreciably when heated for several 

 days, then greatly prolonging the time of action at that tempera- 

 ture. It was found that at 300° no water could be detected 

 after ten days' heating, but after heating uninterruptedly for 65 

 days, water was found to have been formed. The authors con- 

 clude from their results that the reaction under consideration is 

 retarded but not stopped by lowering the temperature and that 

 the assumption of action at ordinary temperatures is justified. 

 — Berichte deutscji. Chem. GeselL, xxviii, 2804. h. l. w. 



4. The absorption of nitrogeyi by metallic lithium in the cold. — 

 It has been found by H. Deslandres that the combination of 

 nitrogen and lithium takes place more readily than has been sup- 



