The San Francisco call., 1896-03-01
Scientific Notes.

that although much has been written
about argon, no one has seen his way to
suggest a use for it now that it has been
discovered. An ingenious suggestion in
this direction has been made by w. r.
Quinan in the journal OF the American
Chemical Society. The suggestion is that
in argon we have an ideal therm ometrical
substance for the measurement OF high
Temperatures. An objection which can be
raised to the use of the ordinary gases in
air thermometers for high temperature
measurements is that being datomic they
may at these tenn peratures become dissoci-
ated. whereas argon, on the other hand,
being monatomic, or presumably so, is In
capable of dissertation at high tempera-
ture. By the use of argon in this manner,
it is possible we may be able to detect and
measure at high temperatures the dissoci-
alton OF permanent gases, and thus attack
a problem at present beyond our reach.
The weak spot about this suggestion OF
course is that it is not yet certain that ar
gon is monatomic gas. II, however, this
point should be absolutely proved, 1t IS
probable that some valuable and interest
ing work may be accomplished somewhat
on the lines Indicated.
In a recent communication to a German
medical paper Messrs. Reute and Enoch
give the results of series of experiments
on the air of schoolrooms, for the purpose
of ascertaining the average number OF
germs present. and whether any of them
were pathogenic. The windows were
closed an hour before the samples OF air
were taken. and measured quantities were
then passed through gelatine. The maxi
mum number of germs amounted to over
3,000,O 600 per cubic meter and minimum to
1900 per cubic meter, the average being
about 26S, 900 per cubic meter OF air. The
experiments were conducted from Sep
tenn Der to March and the results were very
variable. The authors describe eighteen
different species of bacteria, but of these
they found only one to be pathogenic to
mice, rabbits, or the guinea-pig.
Some interesting work bearing on the
! origin of our atmosphere has recently been
published by MIR. T. l.. Phipson. Assum
| ing that the chief constituent of the primi-
| tive atmosphere was nitrogen gas, the
| author believes that the oxygen now pres
ent has been added chiefly by the aid Of
vegetable life. Experiments which have
| been made upon plants show that they can
| exist without free oxygen. Thus convol-
vulus arvensis, growing for three months
in an atmosphere of damp nitrogen, in
which certain amount OF carbonic acid
gas was present, eventually converted this
| highly nitrogenous atmosphere into air,
| such as we know it now. Continuing the
experiment further, the amount of oxy gen
was still more increased. An important
point discovered was that inferior plants,
! such as protococcus and conferva, gave out
about fifty times as much oxygen, weight
for weight, as those of more recent geo.
| logical periods.
Any theory which, with any degree of
probability, will account for those mys-
terious tails attached to comets, stretching
| in some cases for many hundred thousand
/ miles across the heavens, is sure to excite
| interest. Professor Fessenden has sug-
gested in a recent number of the Astro-
physical Journal a possible explanation,
which, although somewhat hypothetical
| is yet a possible explanation OF many or
the observed facts. 1t has been shown by
several Investigators that when ultraviolet
/ light is allowed to fall upon an unelectrfied
BODY the surface Of the body d sintegrates,
the particles which fly off being charged
negatively, while the body itself becomes
positively charged. Starting with this OBJ
! served fact, Professor Fessenden suggests
that negatively charged particles are emit
teu from that side of a comet which is
turned toward the sun, whilst the nucleus
of the comet becomes positively charged.
| From evidence derived from. the solar
spectrum, ]. J. Thomson has shown the
! probability that the chromosphere OF the
| sun is negatively electrified, which is one
OF the forces, acting with others, tending
to repel and drive tie comet particles
away from the sun.
We are told by scientists that in four
teen days at the most after decease the
dead are beyond recognition, and that in
three months sll trace OF the human face
divine has disappeared.
Potash deposits are commonly found
associated with deposits of rock salt. OF
the latter vast beds exist in New York,
Kansas, Michigan and other parts of the
United States, and stores of valuable fer
tilizers may yet be discovered on this con-
tinent, according to biologists.
1t has hitherto been the custom OF the
children attending the public schools of
Austria and Hungary to kiss the hands of
the teacher on arliva! and departure. This
has now been forbidden by all order from
the Imperial Board of Education, which
bases its action on the fact that sanitary
investigation has shown that kissing is
unhealthy, and should not De practiced
when absolutely unnecessary.
The practice Of twining creeping plants
over masonry is increasing. Beyond the
fact that the growths retain dampness,
which is injurious to framework, there is
another danger. AN IVY plant with
/ three-inch stem once raised wall pier
from it's setting and pushed it out bodily,
while another one grew between two ver-
| teal stones and split into pieces three
stones above it.
One of the most curious of the many ma
| tural barometers consists of half-pint
glass half full of water, a piece of muslin
and a Ieech. The leecn must be put in the
water and the muslin tied over the top of
the glass that the creature cannot get out
again. When fine weather is to be the or
der of the day the leech will re main at the
bottom of the water, coiied up in spiral
| shape, perfectly motionless. If rain is to
| be expected 1T will creep to the top of the
glass and remain there until there is
| likelihood of more settled weather. If
| there is to be storm of wind it squirms
about in the water with violence. For
some days before thunder it occasionally
moves its body in convulsive fashion. In
frosty weather it behaves in the same man
ner as in fine weather, and it foretells snow
! in the same manner.
Sir Robert Ball, Astronomer Royal Of
Ireland, in his recent lecture to children on
'.The Wonders of Astronomy" made some
astounding and interesting statements. a
great many of which are new to old as
| well as the young. Among other things he
| said that there are stars SO remote that they
| would not have vet received telegraphic
| message announcing the birth of Christ
| mad it been started from Nazareth on that
| first Christmas morning almost 1900 years