4 1 1) Scientific Intelligence. 



has repeated Geigel's results and finds that they are explained by 

 thermal disturbances in the process of weighing. — Ann. der 

 Physik, No. 4, 1003, pp. 894-896. j. t. 



4. Emanations of Phosphorus. — G. C. Schmidt shows that 

 the electron theory does not explain these emanations and con- 

 cludes that there is no evidence of the production of ions or elec- 

 trons by the slow oxidization of phosphorus. The conductivity 

 for electricity arising from the emanations is only an apparent 

 one arising from convection by means of the cloudy oxidization 

 products. The conductivity arises from the phosphoric acids. — 

 Ann. der Physik, No. 4, 1903, pp. 704-729. j. t. 



5. The Position of Radium in the Periodic System. — R. 

 Runge and J. Pjreoht have obtained, by means of the bromide 

 prepared by Herr Giesel, a more perfect spectrum than has 

 hitherto been obtained. It was found that the strongest lines of 

 radium are exactly analogous to the strongest lines of barium 

 and the corresponding lines of the related elements Mg,Ca,Sr. 

 From the behavior of radium vapor in a magnetic field radium 

 is also to be classed with the above elements. The authors call 

 attention to the following conclusions : "In each group of chem- 

 ically related elements the atomic weight varies as some power 

 of the distance apart of the two lines of a pair"; secondly, "The 

 logarithms of the atomic weights and those of the distances when 

 plotted as coordinates lie on a straight line for a chemically 

 related group of elements." The atomic weight of radium is 

 given as 257*8. — Physikalische Zeitschrift, 4 Jahrgang, No. 10, 

 pp. 285-287. J. t. 



6. Charge on- the Ion, produced in air by Roentgen Rays. — 

 Harold A. Wilson made a fresh determination of this quantity, 

 after Professor J. J. Thomson's first determinations, and arrived 

 at a result which was half as large as Professor Thomson's. The 

 latter lately has revised his earlier determination and has obtained 

 the same result as Mr. Wilson. — Phil. Mag., April, 1903, pp. 

 429-441. j. t. 



7. Reversed Lines of Metallic Vapor produced in Narrow 

 Capillaries of Glass or Quartz. — When terminals of different 

 metals are enclosed in narrow capillaries of quartz or glass one 

 centimeter apart, an interesting series of reactions are obtained 

 with powerful condenser discharges. The easily vaporized 

 metals like cadmium, lead, tin, give both bright and reversed 

 lines. The lines of these metals, which are linear and narrow 

 in the spark spectra in air, broaden out in rarified hydrogen 

 or rarified oxygen to a great extent, depending on the exhaus- 

 tion and the energy of the discharge. In some cases this 

 broadening is greater toward the red end of the spectrum. 

 No spectrum of iron lines could be obtained in such capillaries : 

 even when the terminals were only three millimeters apart, and 

 the bore of the capillary was one millimeter and a half. Aluminum, 

 however, gave its peculiar spectrum with certain lines reversed. 

 — Jefferson Physical Laboratory. j. t. 



