SCIENCE NOTES.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 53

SCIENCE NOTES.

— The discovery of a new gas, as a constituent of the atmosphere, was announced recently by Lord Rayleigh to the Chemical Seotioa ©£ the Britiau Association at Oxford. Had some astronomer detected the existence of a hitherto unknown planet in the solar system the excitement produced could icarcely have been greater. The members of the Mathematical and Physical Science Section adjourned in order to join their chemical brethren in listening to the marvellous tale which Lord Rayleigh had to reoite. " Formal notification " was given that Bomething had been found in the air, of which the presence had hitherto been ■wholly unsuspected. That this particular substance— if such we may call it—should remain thus concealed, ia perhaps, the lesa remarkable seeing that it is characterised by ••extreme inertness." How to make anything of it is the difficulty. It has given no distinct chemical reaction, and, for all we can s«« at present, it might very easily be dispensed with, unless it is useful as a mere diluent to moderate the burning energy of the oxygen, for which purpose the abundance of nitrogen was thought to be sufficient. Perhaps this strange production may prove to be an elementary body ; but Lord Rayleigh, who has been aotir-g in conjunction with Professor Ramsay, heritates to say as much. That it has a real existence is proved by the fact that the two experimentalists have bottled off as much as a sixth of a pint, or thereabouts, of this mysterious ingredient. Men of science are naturally Interested in the matter, and the discovery is declared to be of a very important nature. At present there Is not much to be discussed beyond the bare fact that the air we breathe iB rather more complicated in its constitution than ifc was thought to be. The essential elements of the atmosphere have hitherto been understood to consist of nitrogen and oxygen, with a slight admixture of carbonic acid. Mingled with these are sundry vagrant gases, comparatively minute in their bulk and sufficiently well known, while almost all are of a compound natare. Many such things may be found in the air, but none of them form a real constituent of the atmosphere, such as la olaimed in the case of this new discovery. That a real achievement has beeu effeoted is recognised by excellent" authorities, among whom is Sir Henry Roscoe, who warmly complimented Lord Rayleigh on the result of his researches. The British Association may also be congratulated on the eclat which ia thus conferred on its present meeting. A new gas ia something for the scientific world to rejoice over, and perhaps by-and-bye we Bhall find some use for it. — Everybody knows that the earth m^kes one complete revolution on its axis once every 24 houra. Bat few, however, have any idea of the high rate of speed necessary to accomplish that feat. The highest velocity ever altaiord by a cannon ball has been estimated at 162Gft per second, which is equal to a mile in 32seo. The earth, in making one revolution in 24 hours, must turn with a velocity nearly equal to that of a cannon ball. In short, the rate of speed at the equator has been estimated at nearly 1500 ft per second, or a mile every 3 6sec, or 17 miles a minute. — Lord Salisbury (ray« a Home paper) took quite the right lino in his presidential addreßS to the British Association at Oxford. It is ta* last place in the world whew the assumptions of physical science will be allowed to pass without scrutiny," though there Is no lack of encouragement, pecuniary and Intellectual, for the training of accurate inveßtigatora. The turniDg of the young philosophers towardi the museum for the solution of some of the psychological problems that used to be studied merely a priori has filled many of the older dons with dismay and contempt. One of them, not long ago, deßoribed one of the recently ©leoted fellows as up frogs with a carving knife to find If they had a eoul." — Metal may ba broken up In pieces and melted together, and thus be as solid as ever. At first it does not seem as if wood could be treated in a similar manner with similar results ; but such material, being ground as if for making paper, may be worked up into tubes which, when treated with asphaltum and other chemicals, are harder than the original spruce and poplar nsed in making them. The pulp it first wound around a m xTd, which is removed wh< n enough of the water has drained off; and the tube is then laid on other supports nntil thoroughly dry. After undergoing the other processes already referred to, it is trimmed and shaved at the ends, for fitting. Such pipes, with a diameter anywhere from lsin to 12in, may be made proof not only against water, but also acids and alkalies. They also offer high resistance to electricity, and therefore make admirable conduits for telephone and light wires. The bursting Strength i 9 from 1501b to 2501b to the square Inch. Of course they are combustible, but they can etand a temperature of 150deg without injury. — Carbonado is the name given to a form of crystallised carbon which is too black and opaque to be reckoned 89 a diamond. It is, however, a most useful substance, for its extreme hardness enables it to cut into any other substance known, and it is largely •osed for tool points. Set in the " crown "of a drill, these black diamonds are employed for pieroiDg holes through recks, often to Immense depths. A rival subßtance of artificial preparation has been prodnced by Mr B. O. Acheaon, of Philadelphia. He calls it Carborundum, and it represents a compound hitherto unknown to chemistry, a mixture of one atom of carbon with one atom of silicon. These elements are combined in the electric furnace, and the resulting new compound, It is believed, will rank with the most valuable abrasives known. — The science of surgery continues to develop new wonders. Its latest success is •upplying artificial bones to replace deficient portions of the skeleton. A Frenchman has for a year or more enjoyed more than ordinary health with such a substitute bone In his upper arm. Th« artificial bone Is made of vulcanite, and attached in place with platinum wire. — Dr Den, of lurfeff (Dorpat), has published a graduation dissertation in German <m the comparative sensitiveness of the skin and taste in. men And women In different!

classes of life, in which he shows that Lombroso's view that all binds ot sensation except that of pain are better developed in men than in women is incorrect. Hi himself has employed more delicate methods of investigation, and finds that the sensitiveness to temperature and to electrical currents, and of taste, is greater in women than in mcD, both amongst educated and uneducated people ; tbat the sense of locality, as determined by Weber's compasses, is better developed amongst uneducated women than amongst uneducated men ; but that amongst educated people it is the same for both sexes. The sensation of pressure is also the same for both sexes. Amorgst educated men all forma of eensation are better developed thaa in the uneducated ; in the case of women, however, education seems to make but little difference in the sensation, though pain is felt from tbe induced electrical current sooner by uneducated than by educated women.— Lancet. — The following is a description of the Bernardos process of electric welding :— Tho article to be operated upon is connected to one terminal of the dynamo, while the other terminal is a carbon rod, the movements of whioh are controlled by the workman. By this an arc is forneed between the metal and the carbon pencil, and this latter becomes the equivalent of an electric blowpipe, fusiDg tbe metal, melting together geam*, and even cutting out sheet metal into patterns.

— It Is a fact well known to the builders of tho tall buildings called " sky scrapers " in Chicago that there ia a constant and uneven motion going on throughout the whole structure, called by some moleoalar vibration, to an extent which can be measured with the naked eye. Girders will move an inch or more, and then cooae back into place. The causes of this movement are as yet entirely unknown, as are their extent and duration. Another peril which menaces this olass of building is oxidation. The steel frames are enclosed in fire -proofing, and beyond the retch of examination or the application of. preservatives. The disintegration may be slow, but the day must come, co Bay good authorities, when tbe great buildings must succumb to rust and ruin.