, 1869-01-08
Another triumph ACntust Nature In
ACIEncE.

At HfcflnE "a lHe i.fceHn ~ 'o'u'ah
History, u few evenings since, pro[essor Joy,
ot o'urnbIa College, a1n,'snretl the rroG1,e
dtstuycry IF metallic hydrogen By Mr.. I. Il.
t;.at,a1n, Of tlr' Royal Snricty NJ Lnntapn.
l1i.uertn hydrogen has l,ct II known only as II
eue. III Il known III that form only for about Il
bundled ycars, anil thu knowledge Of it's Inn;
ros,ancc us MI elementary hody Is extended
much beyond The circles uf merely %cirulI!lc
mcn. lie people know Of II in
thc most c,ntrldlctory rclntIons-on
the nnc hand US highly inilamn,ablc
ln'1y IN our common Eat. md In
hui t,rrirly fierce tit Of IRE the oxy hydrn-
gc'' 'nw pf1r. md agnn, ns the loe Of nil
tl1c, when united wtlf"xygcn f.E,ftna water.
Strange iaat water anil tho llercrst fire
know, should bc different combinations ri
llr fn,t.r eItmcilts. AL The world, Ierhaps,
knuws that this gar WIS formerly always
nl,.cl, lighter tlran The mir; nnd tho p"nple
who hive wurn II ut lrss'',l wull 'nt0 Their
brain. will nnw, doubt, be ratlwr puzzled
by iht scitMc which tells them that this
b. d}. tighter thnn The mir. hns been f'4lpwod
through Ill its disgufse-. shifts md rrIng'a,
lnttA,. itr "y ttls nntnc they will rnmpRro II
with isnn"f cVptrr, though they ought Ia
rla.e II viii quicksilver. 1hn tniete'l Of
''y,lft Gc, IN a,trry c,la,Grd ntf rh'l''s"f,lh.
'rl Fslt' yht rl.cnsi.lry fsnt onrr srrn In tl.r
totl.;t raift'n 1T In wnnssrtIni dhll on IN
" W. ~ wv VI
st,at 'Hlh". Il NJ ila l"ptenttua et!Asuttvr
III MI ihrr" tnihttnhr.
AttI,s,uEn ohty knaWu ia \ gas, cl,rtnl.t4
hayr | tE srrll lint t}.' rrtatlnn. uf ttita
tt"t, trn,tr! te ,lar'it a'I!u,.g tbs n,rtals,
III o1 der l" I'rolerly understand llln. prnn.u
htHllt tllbrh4slly Eet tnt OF their tirat!a tho
~ 'ntluh l:1ca NJ nictala fiaiCt On the knhwl
r'.r ri irnn u,al irad, unless they will loik
particularly Ut .','o l..iat tn regard t" these
mststs. 1t Ia II familiar fart, fur 1n>ta &C,
that l. Oh und leAd arc n'rlted ly very .lilitr-
| IN: t,..rr ol heat. Any common conl or
The tame WY, other me ais are fluids at very
GislvTcnt temperatures One metal Is solld
afh Lard ut the temperature o! tho mir, bu.
/ il fluid al very high heat, and b comes va
por at still higher heat. Another metal,
snIid At the temperature Of the air, hut not
va}usizes also; while u third metal Is Ct
such q nature that II Ii nnly solid nj II
temperature much lower than thut Of
| the air, and tic temperature OF the
air may be regarded US its melting
point, d slight additional heat heIng
suilci. ut to make the fluid yapor Now
| the metallic BY drogcn, or hydrgen1uH1, must
| be regarded Us holding position on the same
| liue somewhat beyond this third mctal-as a
metal whose character is such that at the
| Temperature or uudcr conditions where some
otner metals arc sofid and brittle, some
to an Intt,,se decree. 1N' - ''f'S' -
Mf. tirahanl was led to his discovery OF
| hydrep, njum bv some observation, nf what
is called thc s:occluzion' of hydrogen yas.
ut,d i,i> tlrst paper wus rcad, we believe, be.
| lore The Eu,a] Society III Nav, 1857, and sub.
seuurutly printed in the Philosophical .May.
p-t,.e. Much earlier experiments made by
Mr. Grove ard By Professor Nugnus,
oil I. Rim fand quoted by Tynial}'
lad shown what was called
the "coo]iur rropcrty of hydrogen" With
,,Ia,j,: nm Wjrc heated 10 White heat. thc
ceptatt Of mir oply reduced the tempcratrrr
/ -. -. -. --4-s r 1tss.