The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-01-21
THINGS in THE AIR
Some Hitherto Unknown yet
Wonderful Elements Which
HUMAN BEINGS BREATHE.
remarkable Discoveries That Have
: Recently Been Madc--Ethcrion just
Found by Charles F.sBrusll...Old
Text Books all Wrong-Nrorc Learn.
cd About the air Than Ever Before
inthc History Of Science.


Cleveland Leader: More has been
found out about the real nature OF air
during 1898 than In all previous years
put togethe. We are breathing every
day dozen or more marvellous sub
stances Of which the writer's OF the old
textbooks never dreamed.
The discovery Of nrgon and hellum by
Lord Raylelgh and Prof. Ramsey In
1895 and 1896 opened up IN entirely new
field for chemists and physicists. The
result has been the recent discovery Of
krypton, neon, metargon. monium. ter
restrial coronium. Xcnon, THEREON. and
the new substance for which NJ. Curle
Is looklng-polonium Nearly all of
these substances were found within
period Of three months. One other con-
stituent of the air has been greatly de-
Veloped during the past twelve months.
Thatis ozone, which has been brought
out commercially. 1t was liquehed by
Hnuttef..l;,, and Chdppuis as far back
ms 1857 2h'r one OF the above mem
toned gni!i was discovered in the
United States. 1t was etherlon. re-
Gently announced before the American
Association for the Advano -Ilent OF
Science by Charles r. Brush, of arc
light fame.
The discovery OF argon opened the
door Of the domain IN which all the
other new clemens werc found.
Hence 1t may see'-. strange 10 the UNI
scientific mind that so maay elements
could have rcma.a:d hidden during
centuries OF reese. without reveal
Ing themselves even b. accident. The
conccalment OF argon was du, to
curious property. All other elements Of
the more than sixty kinds that are
known, exhibit the property called
chemical affinity. and unite w:ili other
elements under suitable conditions. But
the argon molecules which NIX every
where with the molecules of oxygen
and nitrogen In the air are composed
each Of solitary atom which, as lust
stated.wlll under no circumstances take
10 Itself companion. II II because OF
this hermit-fike tendency of the argon
atom that the discovery of this gas
was so long delayed Thousands OF
chemists have made careful analyses of
the atmosphere without suspecting that
more than X per cent of the total bulk
OF the air was an unknown gas. to dis
covtr which would have made any one
Of them famous.
The case Of helium, which was found
by Prof. Ramsey, Is somewhat differ
ent. 1t does not exist in the air. It Is
found only among the particles Of GER
tain rather rare minerals. The reason
given for Its abseEce from our atmos-
nhcre Is very curious one. 1t seems
that the atom of helium is very light.
lighter than that OF any other known
element except hydrogen. 1t is calcua-
ted that its Gfavitat ton is not sufficient
TO hold IL OH SO small body as the
earth: and that, therefore. IL liberated
In our atmosphere. the helium atom
must presently make It's way higher
and higher, In the course of those In
cessant activities that mark the MOLE
cslc of every gas. and finally fy
straight off Into space. until 1t comes
In contact with some body much lar
ger than our earth-such body. for
example. as the sun. This explains the
well known fact that helium Is very
abundant in the atmosphere Of tho sun
where. indeed. the spectroscope re-
Ncaled 1t long before Its presence on the
earth was suspected. The fact that por-
lions OF helium are found. rs just men,
TONED, confined In the interStices OF
rocks on the earth proves that this
gas existed in our atmosphere in that
carly geological era when these rocks
were forming.
Argon has also been found In the in
terror crevices OF n meteorite-a frag-
inent OF come other world. hurled to us
through space. Argon sometimes eX-
lists. too. IN the water of mineral
~ h,
Inc water of an artesan well from a
great depth. This is because water
dissolres It. but 1t enters into no chem
ichl relation In the water: Its atoms are
az Tree from chemical atinities as IL
they were floating In the atmosphere.
lAat other gases VIII be presently
discovered seems certain when we con-
Fider the curious condition of helium.
astronomers know of several gaseous
substances which they can trace on the
spectroscone. and which therefore must
eF!st among the astral bodies. There is
every reason to suppose that these
gases also exist bound up among the
IockF OF the earth where they have
remained since our world was in Its
infancy. The recently reported diScOv-
cry OF the gas coronium would seem 10
prove this. Heretofore, II has been
hhoWn to exist. not on the sun itself,
put away OFF In the solar atmosphere,
$4,000 miles from the suns surface.
rms seemed to prove II much lighter
IMAM hydrogen, which Is the most buoy
ant or the gases But Prof. Naslni and
ms colleagues. Auderini and Salvador,
VINO have been studying the eases emit
ted u" Fesuvius. announce that coron-
ium Is to be found in that most remark
able volcano. Really very little has
been known OF this substance. which
ms produced the coronal line l4T4 X In
me spectroscope. but It is hoped that
IN scientific circles Prof. Nasini's as
sumption Is correct. because II enough
Of the gas can be procured To allow /,
to be, liquehed II may be possible to as
certain II absolute zero Is really minus
2i3 degrees Gas 1t Is now calculated 10
he). ana to IND out something tanSI-
bic concern!ng the temperature OF inter-
stellar space.
A short time ago Prof. Ramsey nr-
nonnc"d that IN collaboration with Nor
RS W. Travrrs he had procured from
DR.. iiampson 40 cubic ccntlmcters of
liquid air. which was allowed 10 evan
crate until but 10 cubic certlneters we're
left. From this residue all pns wos coI-