February 17, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



255 



The Liberation of Hydrogen during the 

 Action of Sodium on Mercury: L. 

 Kahlenberg and H. Schlundt. (Read 

 by title.) 



The results of the annual election were 

 then announced, the following officers hav- 

 ing been chosen for 1905. 



President — F. P. Venable. 

 Secretary and Editor — Wm. A. Noyes. 

 Treasurer — Albert P. Hallock. 

 Councilors — W. F. Hillebrand, C. F. McKenna, 

 H. P. Talbot, J. M. Stillman and E. H. Miller. 



The reports of the treasurer, secretary, 

 librarian and the different committees were 

 then read. 



At present the total number of members 

 is 2,075, exclusive of 124 who have been 

 elected but have not yet qualified. The 

 net gain for the year is 247. The balance 

 of current funds is $1,187.90. The com- 

 mittee on publications received 209 papers, 

 of which all but 39 were accepted. The 

 increase of about 300 pages in the Journal 

 represents original work mainly. 



The committee on duty-free importations 

 stated that new and very favorable rulings 

 had been obtained in regard to imports. 

 The report of the committee on patent legis- 

 lation has already been mentioned. 



On Thursday and Friday the different 

 sections of the society held meetings, at 

 which the following papers were read: 



PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. 



Arthur A. Noyes, chairman. 

 Freezing-point Depressions of Aqueous 

 Solutions of Some Benzene Derivatives : 

 E. H. LooMis. 



The Behavior of the Bronzes: W. D. Ban- 

 croft. 



Copper-tin bronzes containing more than 

 92 per cent, copper show no inversion tem- 

 perature. Bronzes containing 75-92 per 

 cent, copper show an inversion temperature 

 at about 500°. The tensile strength and 

 ductility of the first group of bronzes is 



affected but little by heat treatment, while 

 heat treatment has a very great effect for 

 the second group. The strongest bronze 

 has a composition of about 80 per cent, 

 copper and a tensile strength of about 

 72,000 pounds per square inch. It is com- 

 posed of /3 crystals with just a small 

 amount of a crystals. The most ductile 

 bronze has a composition of about 90 per 

 cent, copper and gives a 40 per cent, elonga- 

 tion for a rod one centimeter in diameter. 

 It consists of a crystals with just a small 

 amount of f3 crystals. This work is being 

 carried on under a grant from the Carnegie 

 Institution. 



Hydrochloric Acid Concentration Cells: 

 W. D. Bancroft. 



Sodium amalgam concenitration cells 

 have abnormally high electromotive forces 

 but this has been shown to be due to the 

 heat of dilution and not to a dissociation of 

 sodium in sodium amalgam. Hydrochloric 

 acid and sodium chloride concentration 

 cells with calomel electrodes have abnor- 

 mally high electromotive forces ; but only a 

 relatively small portion of this discrepancy 

 can be attributed to the heat of dilution. 

 The balance must, therefore, be due to 

 electrolytic dissociation. 



Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous Solu- 

 tions at High Temperatures: A. A. 

 Noyes and H. C. Cooper. 



Electrolysis of Chromic Chloride Solutions: 

 H. R. Carveth. 



The writer has studied the electrode- 

 position of the metal from chloride and sul- 

 phate solutions and finds that the current 

 efficiency depends upon the amount of the 

 chromous salt present. The nature of the 

 anode solution has a very marked influence 

 on the efficiency ; this is partly explained 

 by the reaction between the diffusing ano- 

 lyte and the chromous salt in the cathode 

 chamber. Attention is also directed to a 

 number of important factors which have 



