The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-02-27
THE GREAT AMERICAN PHENOMENON.

1hE IhEAT AMERICAN PHENOMENON.
Edison's phonograph belongs to the
past year, so far at least as its an
nouncement is concerned. 1t has not
yet realized the expectations formed as
to its practical value, though it has been
OF great service in connection with re-
searches on sound, and especially ON
the human voice. In this resoect the
experiments of Fleming Jenkin and
Ewing, Ellis and Barrett on the wave.
forms of articulate sounds are note
worthy. The telephone itself has an
dergone various Improvements during
TIE year, adding much to its practical
utility; the most marked advance be-
ing the int 'Oduction in America of Edi-
sons carDon telephone. But perhaps
OF most popular interest in this direc.
ton is Hughes's micropnone. As SEN
sltive to heat as the microphone is to
sound is Edison's microtasimeter, which
was brought into play at the eclipse of
July. We need do no more than refer
to the subject of electric lighting, the
great popular scientific sensation of the
year-of more practical than purely
scientific interest. In this connection
we should mention Tyndall's expert
ments in fog signals, which, besides
their great practical importance, have a
distinct scientific value. Early in
the year Joule announced the re-
suits of new determination of
the mechanical equivalent of
heat, the value now given being 772 IS
foot pounds. Out of much other valua-
BILE work during the year in various de-
partments of physics we can only men,
ton De La Rue and Muller's elaborate
researches on the phenomena accompa-
nying electric discharge in gases, which
have their complement in the researches
on similar phenomena by Dr. Macfar-
lane, described in the " Transactions of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh; - Sed-
ley Taylor's curious experiments on the
color-fgures produced on thin films by
varying sounds. Cores researches on
the thermo-electric properties of liquids;
Capt. Evans's important contribution
to knowledge of the earth's magnet
ism and its remarkable changes, in his
Geographical Society lecture; G. II.
Darwin's 8 various papers on the viscosity
of the earth, which have both a physical
and geological bearing. The invaluable
paper of Thomson, at the United Serv-
ice Institution, on compass adjustment
in iron ships; the duplexing of long SUBJ
marine cables. Among works of i'm
portance published during the year we
can only mention Draper's "Scientifc
Papers," Rayleigh's "Theory of
Sound, +" and the first part of valuable
History of Physics" by the late Prof.
Poggendorff, just issued.
LIQUEFACTIoN OF THE GASES.
Of course the mathematicians have
been busy, but their work has little in
terest for the public generally; but we
must mention Prof. Sylvester's ingeni-
Gus discovery of the wonderful analogies
that exist between the atoms as COM
bined in modern chemistry and certain
expressions in the most modern ge-
ometry. In the borderland between
physics and chemistry, the work of
Cailletet and Pictet in the iquefaction
of the s'permanent" gases belongs strict
ly to 1877, though much has been done
during the past year in continuing the
experiments. In the department of
mineral chemistry we find that during
the last year M. Lecocq de Boisbaudran
has continued his researches on the new
metallic element gallium, discovered
two years ago, but which has only now
been thoroughly investigated; he had
also perfected his methods for the sepa-
ration of that body from other substances
M. Boisbaudran has now determined the
specific gravity of gallium as nearly six
times that of water. The equivalent of
galIium has also been determined by it's
discoverer, who assigns to it the number
1856. During the past year also
Sergius Kern has continued his investi-
cations on the metal davyum. The de-
termination of the equivalent of davyum
is now being actually performed, but
preliminary experiments have shown
that it is most probably 154. Intelli-
gence has also been given during the
year of the isolation of certain new
metals and metallic oxides from the
minerals gadolinite and samarskite,
found in America.
DISCOVERY OF A NEW EARTH.
To one of these, discovered by M.
Marc Delafontaine, he has given the
name philippium, and has shown that,
although closely allied to the already
known metals yttrium and terbium, it
still possesses characteristic properties
separating it from these two bodies.
From the mineral gadolinite M. Marig-
mac reports that he has extracted an
earth which at first he considered as er-
bia, but which in reality is mixture of
two oxides. For this new earth he pro-
poses the name of ytterbia, not only on
account of its resemblance to yttria by
being colorless, but also to erbia by its
high equivalent, as well as its resem-
blance to those earths in most of its
properties. The latest addition to the
metals belonging to this group Of earths
is the extraction of one by the chemist
already mentioned M Delafnntaine To