May 26, 1905.] SCIENCE. 821 



Theories of Meiaholism: Graham Lusk. 



A mass of living matter composing an in- 

 dividual produces in metabolism exactly the 

 same quantity of energy (which may be meas- 

 ured as heat) as any other similar individual 

 mass of the same size and shape in the same 

 environment. The cause of the metabolism 

 is not due to oxygen and oxidizing enzymes 

 for these are present in excess. The cause 

 is not due to the satisfaction of chemical 

 equivalents (as in Ehrlich's side-chain theory 

 of immunity) for the metabolism proceeds in 

 accordance with the utilization of energy 

 equivalents (isodynamic values). The swing- 

 ing motions of the cell particles apparently 

 act after the manner of catalysis, breaking 

 up proteid, fat and the carbohydrates into 

 simpler molecules, which may then unite with 

 oxygen. The energy liberated through these 

 chemical processes is in turn exactly sufficient 

 to maintain those swinging motions of the 

 cell particles whose aggregate we call life. 

 After all is said, it is only possible to define 

 metabolism as being due to unknown causes 

 in the cells. F. H. Pough, 



8ec7-etary. 



THE CORNELL SECTION OF THE AMERICAN 

 CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



At the March meeting of the Cornell Sec- 

 tion of the American Chemical Society Mr. 

 William W. Coblentz, Carnegie fellow, depart- 

 ment of physics, Cornell University, read a 

 paper on ' The Infra-red Emission and Ab- 

 sorption Spectra.' The speaker introduced 

 his subject by showing several substances 

 which emitted light, when heated slightly, 

 while the iron plate containing the substance 

 gave out no light. This shows the necessity 

 of distinguishing between luminescence and 

 a pure thermal radiation. After reviewing 

 the ionic theory of emission and absorption 

 spectra the speaker illustrated his researches 

 on this subject by means of two series of lan- 

 tern slides. The slides of emission spectra 

 dealt with luminescent and pure thermal ra- 

 diators, and comprised such radiators as the 

 Nernst lamp, the acetylene and amylacetate 

 flames, metals in the carbon arc, the spark 

 discharge, the mercury arc and the vacuum 



tube radiation for different gases. The slides 

 of absorption spectra dealt with compounds 

 showing the following facts: isomeric com- 

 pounds show that structure has a great influ- 

 ence upon the resulting absorption spectrum; 

 that the maxima of absorption do not shift 

 with increase in molecular weight; that the 

 substitution of certain groups of atoms has a 

 great influence upon the absorption spectrum; 

 that the spectra of groups of compounds are 

 similar and are characteristic of the grouping 

 adopted by chemists; that carbohydrates have 

 a characteristic spectrum ; that several marked 

 absorption bands are closely harmonic; that 

 in compounds having water of crystallization 

 certain absorption bands are coincident with 

 those of ordinary water; that the CH3 group 

 has characteristic bands at 3.43 and 6.86, ^11^ 

 at 2.96, OH at 3, NCS at 4.78, CJI, at 3.25 

 and 6.75; and finally that in benzene deriva- 

 tions the original bands of benzene, CgHg, are 

 found beside the new ones, e. g., those of CH3, 

 or NCS, showing that the vibration of 

 the benzene nucleus has not been destroyed. 



At the meeting on April 18, 1905, Dr. A. W. 

 Browne read a paper on ' A New Synthesis of 

 Hydronitric Acid.' 



Previous methods for the formation of 

 hydronitric acid (or its inorganic salts) from 

 hydrazine or its inorganic derivatives have in- 

 volved, respectively, the action of nitrous acid, 

 potassium nitrite, silver nitrite, nitric acid or 

 nitrogen trichloride; or of oxidizing agents 

 (such as chromic acid or hydrogen peroxide) 

 in presence of hydroxylamine chloride. In no 

 case has the compound been formed by the 

 action upon hydrazine alone of a substance 

 containing no nitrogen. 



The method now to be described consists in 

 the action of hydrogen peroxide upon hydra- 

 zine sulphate in presence of strong sulphuric 

 acid. In eleven experiments performed under 

 varying conditions yields of from 11.4 to 28.4 

 per cent, of hydronitric acid were obtained. 

 The reaction may be considered to proceed in 

 accordance with the following equation : 



SNoHi + 5HA — 2HN3 + lomo. 

 The identity of the hydronitric acid was 



