摘要:

ONE of the most useful discussions at the 0J Congress of the Universities of the Empire held at Cambridge last year, the official Report' of which has been published, was on "Co-operation in Research throughout the Empire." The subject is so attractive and appropriate to the times in which we are living that one may be pardoned for overlooking how modern is the idea of co-operation in the field of scientific research. Diogenes living in his tub, and asking nothing of the kings and satraps of the world except to get out of the sunlight, represents the traditional conception of a philosopher. Newman, in the preface to his " Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education," insists on the necessary solitude of the scientific investigator. " The common sense of mankind," he says, " has associated the search after truth with seclusion and quiet." The greatest thinkers are men of absent minds and idiosyncratic habits. Pythagoras lived for a time in a cave; Thales refused the invitation of princes. Friar Bacon lived in his tower upon the Isis; Newton in an intense severity of meditation which almost shook his reason. Who among his contemporaries, we may well ask, could claim to share the labours "Of Newton, with his prism and silent face, The marble index of a mind for ever Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone " ?In Newman's opinion, to discover and to teach are distinct gifts, not commonly found in the same person. This idea may explain the tentative way in which the teaching universities of Great Britain took up the work of scientific research. In Victorian Oxford, the Rev. C. L. Dodgson-better known as Lewis Carroll, the author of " Alice in Wonderland "-ridiculed the claims of science to a place in university curricula. Science, he says, sat weeping at the gates. Oxford admitted her and housed her royally, adorning her palace with retorts and reagents and making it a charnelhouse of bones. When the students sniffed at the sulphuretted hydrogen and turned away, science said: "Give me no more youths to teach; and pay me handsomely and let me think." Making allowance for the whimsicality of the author of "Alice in Wonderland," we may acknowledge a modicum of truth in this description of the originof scientific research at Oxford. The sister university organised its research work more deliberately; but only in recent years has scientific research received full recognition in our ancient universities. As to the Government, nothing less than the greatest war in history was necessary to bring about active participation in this work. The bombs from enemy airships were actually dropping on London when the organisation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was in progress. The Dominions-Australia, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand-and India followed the example of the mother country. Not yet, however, as is shown by the discussion at the Universities Congress, have all the problems of co-operation in the field of scientific research found their solutions.Sir Thomas Holland in his opening address to the Congress gave a resum6 of the scientific activities within the Empire stimulated or organised during the War. Established streams of international exchange were altered by the War. For example, the output of wolfram in south Burma, the principal source of that mineral, was before the War sent to Germany, and the tungsten extracted therefrom, an important constituent of tool-steel, was rationed to English firms. Some precious months of intensive research under the compelling impetus of war were necessary to elucidate a satisfactory process of manufacture; but that, Sir Thomas Holland said, was only " one of the many shocks which followed the winter operations of 1914-15." In the light of such an experience, the need for " official organizations for correlation and control " could scarcely be disputed. Their relations to British universities and industries are still in process of adjustment. Sir Thomas Holland was not disposed to accept Newman's dictum regarding the independence of teaching and research. The highest teaching, he said, loses its vitality if unconnected with research. Conversely, the question arises: To what extent and in what directions does research suffer if divorced from teaching ? Sir Thomas did not suggest that there was any lack of co-operation between the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the universities, for the Department had shown a willingness to hand over problems to research workers in university laboratories and also to assist new researches proposed by university professors. But the establishment, at home and in the Dominions, of special research institutes, wholly divorced from teaching, was a new development. Certain forms of research must be conducted on a scale beyond the capacity of the ordinary university or college. Research workers always have more ideas than they can readily develop and complete in practice, and there is a greater tendency to reserve a ' claim ' in a general institute, the governing body of which may not be composed of critical specialists. This danger, however, is not apparent in Great Britain so far. Sir John Farmer addressed himself to a problem of great Imperial interest-the work of the scientific officers attached to the agricultural departments in the Colonies and of the officers of the commercial agricultural enterprises which are growing up, especially in the tropics. These officers do their work in a solitude due to physical reasons, and Sir John Farmer's appeal to the home universities to assist them by offering a welcome to the university laboratories during their visits to the mother country should meet with an enthusiastic response. For, as he said, no one has a better right to this hospitality than the man who has been coping with problems under conditions of difficulty which would astonish those who have been accustomed to the luxurious resources of some of the modern temples of science.A good example of the importance of agricultural problems of the tropics was given by Sir Arthur Shipley. Last year we imported 60,000,000 bunches of bananas, each containing about 80 bananas, and thus the inhabitants of the British Isles consume about 100 bananas per head a year. But many of the plantations are derelict owing to the banana disease, and any one who could find a cure for the fungus which destroys the banana would make a fortune. It is to be hoped that the prognostication will be confirmed, though there are instances, e.g. the discoveries relating to the transmission of malaria, which would discourage over-confidence of financial reward. However, the colonial scientific research service has many attractions for the enthusiastic worker, as Sir John Farmer insists, and his appeal for " the fertilising effects of intercourse with others who are pursuing similar or analogous paths of scientific work " refers to a psychological aspect of the question of co-operation in research the importance of which it would be difficult to overstress. As a good example of co-operative research, he instanced the work of the Food Investigation Board, underthe able direction of Sir William Hardy. Scientifically, the work is mainly rooted in Cambridge, with a smaller root system in London. The essence of itssuccess was to be found, he suggested, in the completeness of the chain of co-operation. Dr. Andrew Balfour, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also discussed the Imperial aspects of the question, emphasising the waste of time, money, and energy, " owing to the fact that in the great and important domain of tropical medicine men are, to a large extent, working in watertight compartments." Thanks to the Colonial Office, things are improving, and he commended also the work accomplished in India by the Scientific Advisory Board. The important part which India is destined to play in the promotion of scientific research was well brought out by several Indian speakers. As Sir Jagadis Bose said, there has never been in India any real conflict between religion and knowledge. Those who pursued knowledge regarded themselves as dedicated to a sort of religious life. " In India," he said, " we combine all these qualities-inner vision, power of invention, control of our hands." India is determined to be the brightest jewel in the Imperial crown by reason of its contribution to the spiritual wealth of the British Empire. If the spirit of co-operation in research can be developed, the Empire will become, as Prof. Radhakrishnan said, " a spiritual whole" and thus serve the interests of humanity.I Third Congress of the Universities of the Empire, 1926: Report of Proceedings. Edited by Alex Hill. Royal 8vo. Pp. xxviii+270. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1926.) 21s. net.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119661a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

OANE of the important functions of the Meteoro0J logical Office is the maintenance and administration of the observatories at Lerwick, Aberdeen, Eskdalemuir, Valencia, Benson, and Kew, at which a considerable variety of geophysical work is done. The volume under review is the record of that work for 1923 and forms the second of a series which replaces certain sections of the well-known " British Meteorological and Magnetic Year Book." The evident purpose of the new series is the collection in compact form of all the work done at each observatory. The six institutions named differ in their aims and, apparently, in the power of their equipment to deal with the wide range now covered by geophysical investigations. Lerwick Observatory, opened in 1921, is as yet confined to terrestrial magnetism, and even for this subject the staff and equipment have been so restricted that the enormously important work waiting to be done there cannot be undertaken. Aberdeen is concerned solely with meteorology and has earned a high reputation in the study of cloud forms. Eskdalemuir is primarily a magnetic observatory, but includes atmospheric electricity, seismology (since removed to Kew), and meteorology. Kew, after a long and honoured record of research in terrestrial magnetism, is changing in character and its present functions appear to be somewhat indefinite. Benson has been occupied with work on the upper air, but has been closed on this work being transferred to Kew. Valencia is a 'first order 'meteorological station and includes in its programme a weekly observation of the magnetic elements.Such diversity of aim is explained by the historical development of each observatory, and chiefly by the circumstance that, in their origins, they are not all creations of the Meteorological Office. From one point of view it may be regarded as an element of strength rather than of weakness. The important matters are, first, that where their aims are common their results should be comparable; and, secondly, that in each subject of inquiry or record, its distribution among the observatories should provide an adequate representation of the area with which they are supposed to deal. With regard to the first of these, the volume now under review gives ample evidence of the care taken by the Meteorological Office to bring its records to a common measure. Take, for example, the hourly readings of atmospheric pressure at Aberdeen, Eskdalemuir, Valencia, and Kew. In all respects, except that of height above sea-level, they are entirely comparable, and the inquirer is not maddened by doubts as to the exact position of the recording instrument, the times and methods of observation, the units employed, and the corrections applied. Nor is he referred for information on such matters to some former publication to which he may not have immediate access. The same may be said of records of temperature, humidity, sunshine, and rainfall at these four stations. Although it would be absurd to become dithyrambic over the thousands of columns of figures in these tables, they recall Gibbon's praise of the learned Lutheran'sencyclopedic treatise, for they are " full, rational, and correct." Closer scrutiny, it is true, will reveal minute differences in observatory practice in compiling some of the other tables, but, except in one, they are not serious. Aberdeen seems to enjoy a monopoly in atmospheric optical phenomena. Further, the occurrence of such phenomenais entered sometimes under the appropriate hour, sometimes in the " Remarks " column, and sometimes in both. Unusual visibility is frequently recorded by the Beaufort letter, occasionally by the Beaufort symbol, and may appear indifferently under the hour or in the " Remarks." The exception referred to is that of wind measurement, for there is still a distressing variety in the instrumental means employed for the purpose at the different observatories. But taking them as a whole, there can be nothing but praise for the laborious care which has been bestowed on the preparation of these fundamental tables.The second point referred to above may be fitly exemplified by considering the arrangements for continuous registration of wind over the British area. For a comprehensive study of this subject the materials are, as yet, far from complete. In addition to the observatories there are about thirty other anemometric stations within the area. But their distribution cannot be regarded as satisfactory. About half of them are to be found along or close to the English Channel coast, and it is abundantly evident that their increase in recent years has been rather in the interests of the applications of meteorology to aviation, than in those of the pure science itself. Here, as elsewhere, it must be insisted upon that in the last analysis these latter interests must be predominant. Again, considering the importance to the study of British weather of the frequent depressions in the Icelandic region, one would expect that the north-west coast of Scotland might be represented in the distribution. But until the establishment last year of a new anemometric station on the island of Tiree, this area was a blank. Information is still required from such places as St. Kilda, North Uist, and from Lerwick Observatory, where wind blows with an intensity unknown to the Sassenach. The wind data from the observatories published in this volume are as complete as can be reasonably expected and are admirably arranged. The annual distribution of frequency might be supplemented by the figures for previous years, for these are not in all cases readily accessible. Prof. Becker has published results which would indicate a very marked decrease in the frequency of high winds over the Glasgow district during the last halfcentury, and it is more than a merely superficial impression which inclines one to the belief that there has been a parallel decrease in the frequency of gales in the North Sea. It would be of interest to have these conclusions examined. It is not the object of the " Year Book " to give any discussion of general results deducible from the meteorological data. A partial exception to this general rule is to be found in the harmonic analysis of diurnal variations of atmospheric pressure at Eskdalemuir, Valencia, and Kew, and of temperature at the two latter stations. Those for Aberdeen are not given, for some reason unexplained. This extension of the tabulated data is most welcome. But it is hoped that it will not be taken as an indication of ingratitude if a request be made for still more; that is, that the hitherto unpublished series 1913-21 be similarly analysed and issued. The subject of the diurnal variation of pressureto which the present Director of the Meteorological Office has already made a notable contributionis by no means exhausted, but its advance in some directions is largely impeded by the lack of trustworthy data. It may also be suggested that the value of the " Year Book " would be considerably enhanced if similar records were obtainable from Lerwick Observatory, almost the only station in the northern hemisphere providing an exposure free from the influence of large land areas, which have such marked effects on the different terms of the harmonic expansion. As Sir Napier Shaw once remarked on a parallel case, it is " somewhat depressing that the world should be content to go on without the knowledge which is needed for calculations such as this, and which is within the reach of effort." It is well known that the solar part of the diurnal pressure inequality is affected by some of the various factors which make up the meteorological character of the day, and among these, principally, the occurrence of deep depressions, with the consequent uncertainty as to the distribution of non-cyclic change. For the investigation of such effects the new arrangement of the " Year Book " is especially well adapted, since nearly all the information required for any classification of days is given in the volume. The magnetic data published in the " Year Book" are chiefly those from Eskdalemuir, and they are given with a completeness which leaves little scope for criticism. Full details of the bi-weekly absolute determinations of D, H, and I are given, together with the base line values, both deduced and adopted, of the N, W, and V magnetographs. But there is, as yet, no indication of the use of modern electromagnetic methods for these fundamental determinations. The tabular matter includes hourly values of the three geographical components; hourly means for each month, and daily means for each day; maximum and minimum for each day, with the time of occurrence; absolute daily range, and the magnetic 'character' of each day. The diurnal inequalities are given very fully for 'all' days, quiet days, and disturbed days, and they are further expressed in terms of their harmonic components. The series of notes on the magnetograins of the year are of interest, for they provide abundant matter for speculation and study. What makes these notes of value is that there appears to be a better prospect of elucidating terrestrial magnetic disturbance by the study of the same disturbance in the records of several stations, than by lumping together a]l disturbances at one station. For example, there is sound reason for the full investigation of the diurnal variation on the same magnetically quiet days at all stations. But similar inquiry on highly disturbed days introduces elements of great uncertainty, chiefly dependent on the selection of days regarded as disturbed, on the hour of day at which a disturbance begins, and on the fact that disturbances are not all of one type. This is borne out by the vector diagrams shown in the " Year Books " of 1922 and 1923. For quiet days there is practical constancy in type for the respective seasons, while for disturbed days there is marked variation in type. But the more intensive study of the details of each world-wide magnetic storm involves a degree of international co-operation which is, as yet, far from realisation. The magnetic results from the new observatory at Lerwick appear for the first time in this issue of the " Year Book." Until the instruments have settled down-there was heavy ' drift ' on the H magnetograms-the published data are confined to diurnal inequalities of the horizontal components, daily range in declination, and to general annual results. These show that magnetic disturbance at Lerwick is on a much larger scale than at Eskdalemuir, itself a fairly disturbed station. For example, the daily range in declination at Lerwick on Sept. 27, 1923, exceeded 2-°-very much greater than-it would have been at Eskdalemuir. Dr. Chree contributes an interesting discussion of the chief results. The volume also includes a summary of the auroral log of the observatory, but this is practically confined to a list of the fifteen dates on which auror~a were visible. The powers that are swayed by the " interests of brevity," to which apologetic reference is made, have evidently been at work. Nothing is said as to any extension of the auroral work, one of the chief objects for which this observatory was established.Eskdalemuir Observatory contributes its earthquake and microseismic records, and these are given in full. In connexion with the latter, there are interesting notes intended as comment on the theory that microseismic amplitude and the travel of cyclonic depressions over the European area are correlative. The agreement with the Strasbourg microseismic record is at times very striking. Among minor, but not the less important and interesting, subjects there may be noticed the atmospheric potential gradient measurements at Eskdalemuir and Kew; the record of atmospheric pollution at Kew; and the soundings by registering balloons sent up from Benson. The " Year Book " is the record of an immense amount of laborious work in measurement, tabulation, and computation. Much of it, necessarily, is of the nature of that routine which tends to diminish zeal, but the work has been carried through on a level, in respect of quality, which commands nothing but praise. The Meteorological Office has many functions to fulfil. Some of these -forecasting weather, for example-are of general importance; others-among which may be classed the provision of information for aviators-are significant of administrative accident rather than of importance in themselves. But it has also the paramount obligation of providing the material for the advancement of that science upon which its own activities are based. The present substantial addition to the published data of geophysics is a welcome evidence that this responsibility is being discharged, and on its issue the Meteorological Office must be congratulated

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119663a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

SOUTH Africa is characterised geologically by S its unity in plan and its variety in structure and composition. It is of special interest to European geologists, as its Karroo formation is an important supplement to their records, as it claims to be the original home of reptiles, mammals, and man, and as it contains the most prolific of the world's goldfields and diamond mines, and the largest known supply of primary platinum ores.Its present unity and isolation are due to Mesozoic movements that severed it from South America and Australia, which have many features in common; for the three areas shared the same early geological history, presenting, however, the differences that might be expected from such far-distant sections of the same continent. The geology of South Africa is well adapted to individual treatment, and it has been described in an excellent series of text-books, of which that by Dr. Du Toit is the latest and most complete; it will be exceptionally useful from its concise statement of the evidence, its references to the literature, its beautiful map, clear plates and diagrams, and the author's sound and cautious judgment. His caution is shown in dealing with the oldest South African rocks. He is confident that they are preDevonian, but how far they are Palaeozoic or prePalaeozoic he leaves open. The Waterberg Sandstone he treats as early Palooozoic, though no fossils have been found in it; the reviewer in 1915, when describing its north-western extension in Angola, adopted its pre-Palaeozoic age somewhat tentatively, but the later evidence and drift of opinion are in favour of that conclusion.The view that the Waterberg Sandstone is the inland equivalent of the Devonian Table Mountain Sandstone, and that the underlying dolomites are Ordovician, has had a strong appeal to South African geologists; and it was strengthened by the claim that Orthoceras had been found in the Otavi Dolomite; but as there is no mention of that fossil, it may be assumed that the author dismisses it as a concretion. The most important formation amongst the earlier rocks is the Banket of the Transvaal goldfield. The author discusses whether its gold was alluvial or due to infiltration, and says that the criteria are indecisive (p. 69); but he adds that " the placer theory appears by far the most likely," and in his final chapter he gives a graphic summary of the geological history of the field, which follows exactly the views urged by the reviewer in 1907, including the formation of the pyrites from black iron sand, the shaping of the typical Banket pebbles by beach action, the alluvial origin of the gold, and its recrystallisation, and the existence of gold in washouts through the Banket and of pebbles of that rock in the Ventersdorp conglomerates. The facts show that the gold is earlier than the Ventersdorp igneous activity to which it is attributed by the advocates of infiltration. The main difference is that Dr. Du Toit describes the pebbles as muffin-shaped instead of bun-shaped. Dr. Du Toit rejects the view of Dr. Mellor that the Banket was formed by a sudden deltaic flood, and adopts the earlier view that it was formed by long-continued surf action on a sinking shore. The Banket of Southern Rhodesia, which was formerly claimed by most South African geologists as a crush conglomerate, the author accepts as sedimentary. One especially valuable section of the work is the up-to-date account of the Karroo System, and of its reptiles and correlation. It includes an admirable description of the Upper Carboniferous glacial deposits and glaciated surfaces. The author represents the glaciation as radiating from four centres, of which one lay to the east of the present coast. He accepts the age as Upper Carboniferous, and deplores the use in Australia of " that unfortunately misleading term Permo-Carboniferous " . ., I an illogical practice that has immensely obscured the true issue." Fortunately the Australian Permo-Carboniferous is now restricted within comparatively narrow limits. The famous Dwyka glaciation was not the first in South Africa, as the author describes the evidence for that in the Transvaal Period from Griqualand and Namaqualand. The coal of the Karroo does not rest on underclay, and the roots of the fossil forest described spread over the top of the coal as if the trees had spread over an accumulation of vegetable matter on the emergence of the land. There is a valuable synopsis of the Cretaceous fossils of South Africa and description of the recent efflorescent rocks, calcareous, lateritic, and siliceous. Dr. Du Toit has given special attention to water supply, and his valuable chapter on that subject describes the interesting tidal wells at Cradock in the eastcentral part of Cape Colony.The economic geology of South Africa is especially instructive. The diamonds are widely scattered, and in considering their formation the author is not unduly influenced by the Kimberley pipe. He points out that nine-tenths of the kimberlite occurrences are barren of diamonds, and it appears that at least most of those that yield diamonds contain tourmaline in addition to the mineral species proper in an ultra-basic rock. He accepts Dr. Wagner's conclusion as to the diamonds of south-west Africa, as Kaiser's monograph on that field appeared too late for consideration of its evidence for a different explanation. The most important recent contribution of South Africa to the mineral wealth of the world is that of platinum; the author gives an account of the information available as to its distribution up to the date of the completion of his manuscript. He accepts the view that some of the platinum is a direct segregation in ultra-basic rock; but he recognises the bulk of the ore of commercial importance as a metasomatic formation, while the platinum in the quartz veins is also due to some hydrothermal agency. The Transvaal has not yet had any important output of platinum; but the prospecting work encourages the hope that the South African yield will materially reduce the price of that useful metal.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119665a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

T UNDER the auspices of the Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Dr. Handel-Mazzetti, the well-known Austrian botanist, made extensive explorations in south-west China during the years 1914-1918; and this handsome volume is a popular account of the scientific results of these travels. The book is remarkable for the wealth and beauty of the illustrations, which are reproductions of photographs, a considerable proportion being autochromes, that depict the scenery and vegetation in their natural colours. It is the first time that we have had an opportunity of seeing pictures of the wild habitats of many beautiful plants that have been recently introduced into our gardens from China. The book makes, accordingly, a strong appeal to horticulturists; and we hope that a translation into English will soon be published. Compelled by the outbreak of the War to remain in China for nearly five years, Dr. Handel-Mazzetti explored with great zeal one of the richest floral regions in the world. During the first three years, 1914-1916, he travelled to and fro across the high plateau of western Yunnan, and made numerous ascents of the lofty peaks and ranges on the boundary adjoining Tibet. He crossed and recrossed the deep gorges of the Yangtze, Mekong, Salwen, and Irrawaddy, where these four great rivers, flowing parallel in a narrow space (lat. 27°-28°), form perhaps the wildest and most romantic scenery on the face of the globe. Overcoming incredible difficulties with limited resources, he amassed a vast collection of botanical specimens, and took numerous photographs and observations illustrating the topography, geology, and ethnology of the region.During 1914, Dr. Handel-Mazzetti went northward into the province of Szechwan, and penetrated into Ta Liang Shan, the secluded kingdom of the Independent or Black Lolos, an interesting aboriginal race, to whom he devotes a chapter of description and several pictures. Scattered through the book are notes and illustrations of many other peculiar peoples-Moso, Nahsi, Lissu, Miao, and various Tibetan tribes. An attractive autochrome (PI. 36) represents the Moso village of Kua-pi, the seat of an hereditary chief. Special attention is paid to plant ecology, all the different formations being described and illustrated. We may quote as an example P1. 39, which represents in colour a mountain meadow at 11,000 feet altitude, gay with flowers of Primula, Pedicularis, Trollius, and Anemone. The most characteristic genus of woody plants is Rhododendron, of which more than 300 species have been distinguished in China. Twenty of these are shown in their natural surroundings.Of herbaceous plants, Primula is perhaps the genus richest in species; and PI. 110 shows one of the most beautiful of these, P. calliantha, growing at 14,000 feet elevation. Of the orchids, Cypripedilum ebracteatum, depicted in colour in PI. 76, is most remarkable. Other showy flowering plants, figured in their native habitat, are the giant gentian, G. stylophora, shown in PI. 50, and Lilium giganteum, P1. 104, which are common in open glades of the mountain forests. Conifers constitute the mass of the forests at high altitudes in western China, and are rich in indigenous species. Dr. Handel-Mazzetti's discovery of the rare Formosan genus, Taiwania, in the gorges of the Salwen River, is a notable achievement. He also found the so-called 'arbor-vit.T,' Thuya orientalis, forming woods in the valley of the Mekong. This tree, commonly planted around temples and in cemeteries throughout China, has been supposed until now to be a native of the Peking mountains; but its occurrence in the wild state in southern China suggests that it has been carried from there northwards and distributed by Buddhist priests.In 1917, Dr. Handel-Mazzetti left Yunnan and travelled eastward across the province of Kweichou into southern Hunan, ultimately reaching Changsha, the capital of the latter province. Here he remained for some time exploring the mountains to the westward, but under great difficulties, as the Chinese were at the moment in a state of civil war.The account of his explorations in Kweichou and Hunan, where he broke new ground, are of great interest; and the illustrations show wonderful scenery and rich vegetation. He left Changsha for Shanghai on Feb. 26, 1918, and this date marks the end of a succession of perilous journeys in the cause of scienc

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119667a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

THE preceding volumes of this series have been reviewed in these columns and are well known to most chemists. The present volume is in every respect similar. Some of the syntheses described are likely to be of use to research workers in the preparation of their starting materials, such as the syntheses of acrolein, benzil, octanol, and hexanol, but others are more of the nature of students' preparation.The reviewr himself has tested the synthesis of acrolein given, and found that the notes simplify the process considerably and that the yields quoted can easily be reproduced. The volume also contains the recent references in the current literature relating to synthess published in the previous volume, and the policy is adhered to of repeating syntheses wheen improved methods have been afterwards described e.g.benzil. While these volumes serve a very good purpose,it is a great pity that the price charged should be so large.As it would ultimately be best to have the volumes bound together, it would be a good plan if a cheaper edition were publiushed with less elaborate bindings.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119668b0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

IN continuation of my note on the hardness of metals in NATURE of Feb. 19, I now subjoin diagrams showing the variation of hardness which occur in certain alloys of copper with the percentage of the alloying metal (Fig. 1).The alloys were prepared by melting, in a quartz test-tube and in an atmosphere of hydrogen or coal gas, the proper proportions of the constituent. When melted these were stirred by shaking the tube, which was then allowed to cool. This left the alloy in the form of a 'button,' from which the test-pieces were cut. No hammering or any kind of work other than that required to file or grind them to a conical shape was used in their preparation; all the hardnesses indicated in the diagrams therefore refer to cast metal. In these diagrams the ordinates give the hardness in tons per square inch, the abscissee being the volume percentage of the alloying metal, that is, so much per cent. of the volume consists of the alloying metal and the rest of copper.In every case, except that of bismuth, there is a certain amount of hardening as the percentage of alloying metal increases to something like 30 per cent., and in general the alloy becomes brittle near the point of maximum hardness. To determine the ordinates of the 'hardness' curves, eight alloys were prepared for each of the metals used (or ten if pure metal at each end of the percentage scale is included), and though the brittle specimens were difficult to deal with, I believe that the result gives a fair representation of the facts.Some of the alloys, notably those containing tin and antimony, though not hard, could not be cut with a saw, the saw refusing to bite when the pressure was increased. It seemed worth while, therefore, to measure the coefficient of friction of the alloys under such high pressures as exist at the cutting adges of the saw teeth and at the point of the conical test-pieces.The measures were made by the apparatus sketched in Fig.2. Aplatform mounted on rollers carries a polished plate of some hard materal, on which the loaded test-piece presses. Alateral force is apploed to the platform by a spring balance,and the reading of this balance when the force is just sufficient to cause the hard surface to slip under the point is noted, the Table above gives samples of the result obtained. When the plates were well polished the balance readings were were very consistent, and the force required to cause 'slip' was closely proportional to the load on the test-piece. It appears that with these high pressures, lubrication has no practical effect, the lubricant, i suppose, being completely squeezed out.It appears also that for poressurees of the order employed, the pressures itself is a matter of indifference, the important factors being the nature of the materials and the product of the area of contacr and the pressure, i.e. the load. It would occupy too much space to give the details of these experiments, which I hope to repeat with a more convenient from of apparatus.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119669a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

THE two important paramagnetic gases are oxygen and nitric oxide, and to account numerically for their susceptibilities has long been a puzzle. The new quantum mechanics, together with recent spectroscopic data for nitric oxide, seem at last to solve the difficulties.Sommerfeld (" Atombau," p. 641) has shown that the susceptibility of oxygen can be explained by assuming that, despite the presence of two nuclei, the magnetic behaviour of the 02 molecule is like that of an atom in a 3S state. This apparently involves the unreasonable hypothesis that the angular momentum responsible for the magnetic moment is directly quantised relative to the magnetic field rather than relative to the rest of the molecule. In S states the angular momentum, to be sure, arises entirely from internal spins, and spin axes are more loosely coupled than the orbits themselves. Even so, however, the internal forces doubtless ordinarily (except in highly excited states) predominate over the external field; for the latter can, in fact, be made as small as we please. The solution of this dilemma is, I believe, found in a very general derivation I am publishing elsewhere (Phys. Rev., May 1927) of the Langevin formula Np2/3klT for the susceptibility x. This proof uses the new quantum mechanics and supposes only that the molecule have a 'permanent' moment 1A, and that the separation between component energy levels of the normal state be small compared to klT. This condition is doubtless fulfilled in 02, for frequencies of nuclear rotation are ordinarily small compared to klT/h, and the superposed precession of the spin axis is much slower in S than in P or D states because of the vanishing orbital angular momentum. If it arises entirely from spin moment, then by the new mechanics we get U2 = 4s(s + 1)M2, where M is the Bohr magneton he/47rmc and a = 1/2 for doublet terms, s = 1 for triplets, etc., thus giving agreement with Sommerfeld's susceptibility formula for atomic S terms. There is now, however, nothing in the proof to prevent the spin axis being quantised either (a) relative to the axis of figure or (b) relative to the axis of temperature rotation (Hund's classification), or even from being coupled in a manner intermediate between (a) and (b).The case of nitric oxide is particularly interesting. The spectroscopic data of Jenkins, Barton, and Mulliken (NATURE, 129, 118; 1927) and others, show that the normal state of nitric oxide is a 2p doublet. The upper and lower components have respectively a=3/2, 1/2, andare separated by 122cm-'. Here a is the angular momentum about the axis of figure, measured in multiples of the quantum unit h/27r, and equals Sk + a, where Sk = 1 is the component of orbital angular momentum along this axis, and Sk = ± 1l is the corresponding component for the spin angular momentum. Because the spins have twice the normal ratio of magnetic moment to angular momentum, the upper and lower components therefore have respectively magnetic moments 2M and 0 along the axis of figure. Calculations of the susceptibility for a mixture of molecules with two and zero Bohr magnetons, with relative abundance determined by the Boltzmann temperature factor, do not, however, agree with experiment. This failure is due to neglect of the component of spin magnetic moment perpendicular to the axis of figure. We may, on the other hand, disregard the perpendicular component of orbital moment, as this doubtless precesses very rapidly. If the precession frequency AP of the spin axis about the axis of figure were small compared to kT/h, we could simply take U2//M = 72k + 4s(s + 1) =4 in the derivation of the Langevin formula cited above. Actually Av is 122c, and so special calculations with the new mechanics are necessary, which yield where x = hAv*kT. This gives a susceptibility at room temperatures corresponding to 9412 Weiss magnetons, which agrees excellently with Bauer and Piccard's experimental value 9 20. The hope of Jenkins, Barton, and Mulliken that their spectroscopic data would permit the quantitative calculation of susceptibility is thus fulfilled. Details of the computations will be published elsewhere

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119670a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

I SHOULD like to reply briefly to the points raised in Mr. Wyndham Hulme's letter. In my book I have laid considerable stress on the growth of commerce and its important reaction upon agriculture and consequently upon population. My reviewer has also mentioned this, though naturally stressing other points of more immediate interest to readers of NATURE.In regard to Newcomen's engine; its use was never widespread, and, after experiment, was frequently abandoned owing to the wasteful consumption of fuel. Water-power was always preferred when available. The growth df the coal trade before 1800 was mainly due to the increasing use of coal for domestic purposes and for brewing, brick-making, forging, smelting, etc., rather than to the demands of the steam-engine. This increasing use of coal was partly due to the growing shortage of timber and partly to the development of canals. In regard to the statement that " Unless there is more to divide, population cannot increase," from one aspect this is a truism, but Mr. Hulme seems to imply by it that production cannot be adjusted to needs. This implication is open to question. Given a sufficiently elastic social system, a growing population will stimulate production, and it undoubtedly did so in the period in question.Neither can I agree that a high rate of infant mortality does not affect the size of a population, because the birth-rate adjusts itself to this rate. Obviously, this argument cannot hold if the birthrate is at the maximum which natural fertility allows. The nearer the actual birth-rate is to this maximum the smaller is the possible movement of the birth-rate in an upward direction. Personally, I believe that until recent times, when the use of contraceptives introduces a new factor, the death-rate rather than the birth-rate was the prime regulator of population. In regard to the period under review, there is no evidence of any appreciable alteration of the birth-rate, but there is overwhelming evidence of a great fall in the death-rate, mainly among infants, and this fall was concomitant with a great growth of population. The fall of the death-rate was due to a variety of causes, of which inoculation was probably one. For the grounds upon which I base my conclusions I can only refer Mr. Hulme to my book, in which they are stated in some detail.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119671b0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

IT may be of interest to record the fact that the electrical apparatus formerly owned by Herbert Spencer, consisting of a cylinder machine, three Leyden jars, an insulated stand and plates, with other accessories, which include an electrical pistol, is still in existence. One of the smaller pieces of apparatus bears the name G. Adams, London, who was presumably the maker, and the whole is contained in a wooden box.The apparatus belonged originally to Herbert Spencer's father, William George Spencer, usually known as George Spencer, who kept a school in Derby and was for many years secretary of the Derby Philosophical Society founded by Erasmus Darwin. It was his practice to show electrical experiments to his pupils and at the meetings of the Society. Herbert Spencer in his autobiography says: "My father had an electrical machine and an air-pump, and from time to time classes of his pupils came to see pneumatic and electrical phenomena. I had frequently to make preparation for the experiments and aid in the performance of them. The result was that being on many occasions witness to the facts, and hearing the explanations given, I early gained some knowledge of physics. Incidentally I was led into Chemistry. One of my duties in preparing for these lectures was that of making hydrogen to fill the electrical pistol." The history of the apparatus is well authenticated. Herbert Spencer's mother died in 1867, and shortly afterwards he gave up the Derby house and distributed most of the contents. In the autobiography he says: " Soon after my mother's death I therefore arranged to give up the house. Reserving valued relics and such few pieces of furniture as promised to be useful in London, and distributing the rest among my relations, I surrendered the key to the landlord." It was at this time, or shortly afterwards, that Herbert Spencer gave the electrical apparatus to George Holme, who as a youth of sixteen or seventeen had saved him from drowning and had been his friend ever since. George Holme afterwards became a well-to-do manufacturer and was Mayor of Derby in 1875. An edition of Spencer's works was inscribed: " From Herbert Spencer to his old friend George Hohue, without whose courageous aid rendered in boyhood neither this work nor any of the accompanying works would ever have existed." On the death of George Holme the apparatus was left to his grandson, George Hyde. At his death his widow gave it to their nephew, Mr. Colin Hyde Bennett, the present owner, whose parents still live in Derby. It is to their courtesy that the present writer owes the opportunity of inspecting the apparatus, as well as the supreme satisfaction of firing the electrical pistol, which shot its cork vigorously across the room.

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119672a0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature

摘要:

IT is generally believed that the surface of aluminium is normally covered with a thin layer of aluminium oxide or hydroxide, and that the metal possesses the property of forming this film on freshly cleaned surfaces. Bengough and Hudson (Jour. Inst. Metals,21, P. 143) state, “the metal is normally covered with a layer of oxide,” and Seligman and Williams(Jour. Inst. Metals, 23, P. 169), “It is generally assumed that aluminium exposed to air is covered by a film of oxide or hydroxide which preventsthe complete oxidation of the metal. The film is invisible and, so far as the writers are aware, no direct evidence of its existence on aluminium ordinarily treated has been adduced.”Until very recently we were in agreement with Seligman and Williams regarding the absence of direct evidence. During the course of experiments made with the object of studying the properties of films produced on aluminium by the Bengough anodic process, we found it was possible to isolate the films by the following method: The aluminium, preferably in the form of thin sheet, is cut into narrow strips, and one or more of these strips is heated in a tube in an atmosphere of dry hydrogen to a temperature of 3000 C. Dry hydrogen chloride is then passed through the tube. The metallic ahlminium exposed at the cut edges of the strips reacts with the hydrogen chloride to form aluminium chloride, which sublimes and deposits in the cooler parts of the tube. Ultimately all the metallic aluminium is so removed and the surface films remain, together with some of the impurities in the aluminium.By the above method it was found possible to obtain a film from normal commercial aluminium sheet. The natural film liberated in this way was extremely delicate, tended to curl, and was small in amount, but appeared to be con

ISSN:0028-0836    

DOI:10.1038/119673c0

出版商:Nature Publishing Group    

年代:1927

数据来源: Nature