New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-15

Recent editions u standard textbooks give 40
degrees below zero. CentIgrade as the greatest
artltra cold which man has been able to pro-
duce When Professor James Dewar made iccles
OF air last winter he attained a temperature OF
20 Now however. he believes that ne mas
llqueneI hydrogen. and. 81 80 doing has lowered
the record to about 30 & 900 FahrD. Such
efforts strongly resemble the invasion II a hth-
erto unknown country: and in making an adj
vance ~ 100 degrees upon the beet work Of his
pl elecessnrs the distinguished Engish chemist
has won lasting renown. such an achievement
must command great admiration not alone
among scientists. but among al Intelligent peo-
pie. Rut when narrower Il Is remembered that
the utmost possible cold which physicists est-
mate can ever he reached on this earth - only
-273 or "a c. # Is natural 10 experience thrill
~ excitement such "a one feels on reading that
his country's flag has been carried 80 many
miles further into some strange country than
eyer before The ultimate goal il now. seemingly.
but short distance away. or the interval re-
naming few years ago. Dewar has certainly
trav,rs,I fully hair. and perhaps three-quarters:
and though his difficulties increase at every step.
his strategy and persistence may soon bring him
to the very end.
The essential principle employed all along in
the successive stages ~ this enterprise is sus-
ceptible Of at least one. possibly only one. more
APPLICATION. By the evaporation Of one volatile
fluid first subjected To- enormous pressure. ana
then librrae ID In vacuum. Professor Dewar
cools another 10 a lower temperature than That
Of the first. Nltroua oxide enables him 10 lqucfy
ethylcnc. cthylcue does the same for oxygen. ana
nitrogen dn the form Of liquid air. gives him his
last victory. Now suppose that the product OF
that experiment be- what he believes 1t 10 be.
namely liquid hydrogen. Starting with n suili-
cient quantity Of this. at "A temperature OF 40
G., or Whereabouts. let him resort ID the same
tsctics which have hitherto yielded I'm his hands
such splendid results. In his other attempts he
has gone down the scale hfty-tive and slXty-hve
degrees at a jump. Where. then, would this
final test land him? Hydrogen. being the light
est and most volatile substance known. apparent
Is offers him his last resource. his last chance.
How the possibilities OF that final attempt capti-
vate the Imagination,
But II will not do To regard the costly and
fascinating work in which Professor Dewar Is
engaged as mere intellectual diversion or utterly
devoid Of practical value. While trying TO reach
the North Pole. various exploring expeditions
have picked up a large amount of Information
regarding the fora. fauna terrestrial magnetism
and other features Of the Arctic regions which
has made that which formerly possessed
more useful than before SO. too. In connection
with these temperature experiments many facts
worth knowing have been discovered relative
to the influence OF extreme cold on the strength.
electrical conducuvity. color and other properties
of matter And there's no telling what more Is
vet to be learned. The uttarian. therefore. may
join the devotee Of pure science In anticipating
eagerly the results OF Professor Dewars further
labDrS.