"KRYPTON."

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 11287, 4 August 1898, Page 1

"KRYPTON."

THE NEWEST WONDER OF SCIENCE.

When argon was discovered in air, and given a Greek name (says the London Daily Chronicle), the world stood abashed and silent at its former ignorance of the elements which it breathed, but was lulled to contentment by the supposition that,j as its name implies, "argon" wasmseless. .A similar attitude o£ mind solaced those who had not conceived the possibility of liquefying the air until Professor Dewar had accomplished the feat. Others, of larger vision, however, foresaw in these discoveries, a host of still more attractive possibilities as the reward of further research. To the Fellows of the Royal Society on June 9 Professor Ramsay disclosed the interesting fact that the " new constituent of atmospheric air," which he and* Mr Morris W. Travers have just " pumped " out of hidden nature, is almost directly due to the increase of knowledge and larger equipment for study provided by argon and liquid air. "Krypton" is the name assigned to the new gas. The word means " bidden " or " concealed/ and its scientific symbol will be " Kr." But to the meeting of the Royal Society Professor Ramsay wag able to demonstrate the source and describe the history of an atmospheric constituent which is no longer hidden or concealed from human knowledge. Having been furnished by Dr Hampton with about 750 cubic centimetres of liquid air, Professor Ramsay and Mr Travets proceeded to their experiments, allowing all but 10 centimetres to evaporate away, and collecting the gas from that small residue in a gasholder, they obtained — after removing the oxygen with metallic copper and nitrogen with a mixture of pure lime aud magnesium dust, followea j by exposure to electric sparks in presence®f oxygen and caustic soda — 26*2 cubic centimetres of a gas, showing the argon spectrum feebly ; and, in addition, a spectrum never seen before. Though not yet completely disentangled from the argon spectrum, it is characterised by

two very brilliant lines, one nlmosfc identical in position with "D 3" — tbe argon line — and almost rivalling it in brilliancy. All the ' measurements, including approximate density, the ratio of its specific heats and wave-lengch of sound, gave a caiculated formula which shows that, like argon and helium, the new gas is monatomic and, therefore, an element. This hitherto undiscovered gas, with its characteristic spectrum, seems to be heavier than argon, and less volatile than nitrogeD and oxygen, leading to the inference that it is a distinct monatomic element. Hazarding a conjecture, Professor Ramsay and Mr Travers say that Krypton — the name is already incorporated into tho language of science — will have as its density 40, with "a minimum density of 22*51. It is their intention to secure a larger supply of the gas and endeavour to separate it more completely from argon by fractional distillation. Opinions are now strongly expressed that English scientists are on the track of still greater secrets of the air we breathe.