The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-11
s OIENO n.

august next, nave already done useful work.
With spectroscope furnished by the Royal
Society six nebule have been examined. The
great nebula in Argo presents a spectrum of
bright lines, like those exhibited by the great
nebula of Orion, and is thus proved to be in
the gaseous state.
THE APPROACH OF SIR1Us.-Mr. Higgins has
made a subtle application of spectroscopic
analysis, by which he determines whether
celestial body is approaching or receding in
consequence of q change in the refrangibities
of light produced by modification of the
ethereal waves. He announces as one of the
remarkable results of his Investigations that
the bright fixed star Sirius is approaching the
solar system at the rate of 29i miles per
second.
MEASURING TBLEsCOPB.-T Ordnance Sc
leot Committee of the War Department Of
Great Britain have approved OF the telescope
patented by Messrs. Elliott Brothers, London,
which enables the distance of either infantry
or cavalry to he computed instantaneously.
The distance is obtained by means of two
wires moved by a disc, on which are divisions
showing the remOteness of the object, which
is in ratio to the proximity of the two wires
between which it is seen. The motion Of the
wires is produced by a double eccentric moving
round the smaller tube of the telescope.
BBoBsEN's CoMET.-This comet, discovered
in the year 1916, was missed at the perihe-
lion passage in 1851. 1t was seen in 1857,
again missed in 1862, and re-discovered in
April 1858. II must not be confounded with
another bearing the same name and revolving
in a more extended orbit The comet lust
discovered has been subjected to spectrosoopic
analysis by Mr.. Huggins of London. The
spectrum consists Of three bright bands, re-
sembling those seen in the spectrum of Do
nats comet. Their length proves that they
are not due to the nucleus of the comet alone
but are partly the result of the light of the
coma 1t appears that the nucleus and nearly
the whole of the coma of this comet are self
luminous.
New PROCESS FOR MAKING STEE1.-An in
vention explained at recent ConverSazione of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, London,
consists in grinding pig iron to powder, by a
very rapidly y-revolving cutter The great
heat generated sets the particles Of metal on
fire, and after scintillatng they fall down in
reddish brown dust, which is gathered, placed
in a crucible, and melted. When cooled this
melted dust is found to be ingots of very good
steel. 1t is claimed that the carbon is all
burned out, which is, probably, true; but the
act of burning has produced an oxide of iron,
in other words, reduced the iron again to ore.
If the process is modified so as to produce
good STEEL still it must be far more expensive
than that of Bessemer, or the ordinary mode
Of making steel from wrought iron.
TRANSFORMATION OF ORGANIC BODIES INTO
HYDRO. o.CARBoNs.-Professor Berthelot of the
cess by which hydrogen may be substituted
for all other elements found in combination
with carbon in organic bodies. The reagent
used by him is an aqueous solution of hydri-
odic acid of density 2. The quantity of acid
employed, always in excess, is greater in pro-
portion as the organic substance to be decom-
posed is deficient in hydrogen. Both are
heated in sealed tube to SGT degrees Fair.
for ten hours. series of changes take place
which result in transferring the hydrogen in
the acid to the carbon and forming compounds
generally homologous with marsh gas, or
hydride of ethyl. Alcohols, ethers, aldehydes,
acids, aromatic carburets, alkalOids, complex
nitrogenzed bodies, when heated are broken
up by the superior saturating power of hydro
gen, which, under these conditions, displaoes
the strongest electro negative elements.
CHEMICAL CHANGBs.-Mr. A. Vernon Har-
court, of London, closes paper "On the rate
at which Chemical actions take place., with
the following propositions which embOdy the
principal conclusions to which an examination
of the cited cases of gradual chemical change
has led:-l. The rate at which chemical
change proceeds is constant under constant
conditions, and is independent of the time that
has elapsed since the change commenced. 2.
When any substance is undergoing chemical
change, of which no condition varies, except
ing the diminution of the changing substance,
the amount of change occurring at any mo-
ment is directly proportional to the quantity
Of the substance. 3. When two or more sub
stances act one upon another, the amount OF
action at that moment is directly prOportioned
to the quantity of each of the substances. A..
When the rate of any chemical change is
affected by the presence OF substance, which
itself takes no part in the change, the accele-
ration or retardation produced is directly pro-
portional to the quantity of the substance.
5. The relation between the rate of chemical
change occurring in solution, and the tenn
perature of the solution is such that for every
additional degree the number expressing the
rate is to be multiplied by constant quantity.
NEW DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING SULPHURIc
ACD.-The apparatus, invented by M. Lar
dani consists OF furnace for burning sui phuT
and forming sulphurous acid; a washer OF
scrubber; refrigerator; a reacting vessel; and
q regenerator for nitric acid. The warm sui
phurous acid gas, made by burning sulphur
and forced out of the furnace by current o.
air, which furnishes oxygen, enters the scrub
ber and is freed from volatilized sulphur and
especially arseniOus acid when arsencal py
rites is used, as the source of sulphur. After
passing through the refrigerator it enters the
reacting vessel, composed of two pans, the
lower containing nitric acid and the upper
pumice-s stone, resting on plates of lead or alu
minium, pierced with holes. The gas passes
through the nitric acid, and, after receiving
another equivalent of oxygen, it sinks, in the
form of sulphuric acid, to the bottom, while
the hyponitric escapes through the pumce
stone, and, traversing the upper part of th'
apparatus, enters the regeneration, where
meeting with an excess of oxygen, it ID trans
formed into nitric acid, and ready to be useC
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