THE NEW ELEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 89, 14 April 1923, Page 7

THE NEW ELEMENT

TABANAKI IRON SANDS.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 27th February. Messrs. Coster and Hevesy, of Copenhagen, writing to "Nature, state that the supposed new element to which they gave the name hafnium probably exists in the earth's crust in the proportion of more than one part in one hundred thousand. They base their estimate on its abundant .presence in zirconium minerals, which are very widespread. They report, moreover, that Professor V. Goldschmidt has found a mineral of which hafnium is the main metallic constituent, and that they have confirmed this by X-ray investigation of samples sent to them—a process which failed to give the desired result in the case of Professor Alexander Scott's samples. Sir Edward Thorpe, on the other hand, also writing to "Nature," suggests that' the black New Zealand sands from which Professor Scott isolated his substance are similar in character to Cornish sands, in which the Rev. William Gregov in 1789 first detected the existence of the element now known as titanium. He recalls that tho atomic weight of titanium was long: uncertain, and suggests that the different results obtained may be due to the presence of varying quantities of an element of higher atomic weight— possibly hafnium.

Meantime, hafnium remains ur.isolated if the negative results of Coster and Hcvesy on Dr. Scott's substance are confirmed by other workers. MM. XJrbain and Dattviilier still maintain that number 72 in the atomic table is filled by the ■element which they named celtium.'Costor and Hevesy advance important theoretical objections to celtium, and the question will not be settled until the element luia been" isolated und aubiectsd to chemical investigation, .