Evening star., 1941-10-21
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

England still expects the "schreck-
lichkeit"
The Nazis still have some nasty tricks
with new poison gases, the medical corps
of the British Army warns in a new
manual of chemical warfare issued to
prepare the civilian population as well
as soldiers, for what may be anticipated
Early in the war gas masks were issued
to everybody in English cities. For a
time it was minor offense to appear in
the open without one strapped around
the neck and theoretically, at least, one
was liable to a fine If caught by a
policeman.
But as two years have gone by with
out gas attack, the majority have come
| to minimize the danger. No new gasses
are described in the chemical warfare
manual, but it stresses new techniques in
the distribution of the terrible mustard
gas and lewisite. The latter, an Ameri-
can development at the close of the last
war. never has been used in actual
combat.
All ordinary clothing, the manual
warns, is pervious to mustard in its liquid
form and even the most effective reSpira-
tors will save the face and throat only
if donned in ample time. The garlic
like odor of the gas unfortunately is faint
in low concentrations.
The action of this gas in the last war,
the manual explains, was confined, in
the great majority of casualties, to that
of the vapor given off by ground con-
taminated by shells. But if used at all
now, it is likely that it will be extensively
used from aircraft directly on personnel
exposed in the open or by bombs on areas
which it is desired to deny the enemy.
Gross liquid contamination may be used
on dumps of ammunition, aerodromes
and dockyards, with a view to rendering
material dangerous to handle"
Lewisite, the manual warns. may be
used at any time. An area shelled with
this gas lacks the insidious dangers of
one similarly contaminated with mus
tard, since in concentrations which are
so low as to be harmless its vapor has a
powerful smell and irritates the respira-
tory tract.
The populace is warned that no wear
ing material yet discovered is completely
impervious to mustard. Penetration by
the liquid or by the vapor evolved from
it is only question of time. protective
clothing" only means wearing apparel
more resistant to penetration than ordi-
nary garments.
1T is important to remember says
the manual. that the phenomenal de-
velopment of aircraft since the last war
has been the means Of introducing new
methods of gas dispersion. Not only has
the limited range of artillery been sur
passed by the use of air gas bombs, but
a more widespread and almost instanta-
neous dissemination of liquid agents has
been assured by the adoption of aircraft
gas spray
Discovery of iron in the dust and gas
clouds of interstellar space has just been
announced by astronomers of the Mount
Wilson Observatory of the Carnegie In
stitution of Washington.
This follows shortly an announcement
from the University of Alberta that these
clouds also contain ionized molecules of
carbon-hydrogen and carbon nitrogen.
Existence of the space clouds-ex-
tremely thin but of enormous size-in
the depths of space between the stars
long had been known to astronomers
because of the slight reddening of star
light which passes through them.
Identification of the elements of which
they are composed is possible Que to the
fact that under certain conditions atoms
of an element will absorb from light
which falls upon them those wave
lengths which they themselves would
emit If they were rendered luminous.
This results in dark lines in the spectra
OF stars where these wave lengths ordi-
narily would be represented.
Up to the present there have been
identified lines of calcium, sodium, potas-
sium and titanium among the elements,
and gasses composed of simple combina-
tions of carbon and hydrogen and carbon
and nitrogen. Several absorption lines
have remained unidentified
Iron is an abundant element through
out the universe, but the light given out
by iron atoms is distributed among a
great number OF spectral lines and none
so of such predominant intensity as are
some of the lines of sodium and calcium
Hence it would be expected that ante
stellar iron lines would be extremely
faint Such has proved to be the case.
The search at Mount Wilson was concen-
trated on two ultraviolet lines and after
repeated attempts these have been pho
tographed successfully.
Within the past few months three
hitherto unidentified absorption lines in
the interstellar clouds have been identi-
fed at the University of Alberta as due
to ionized molecules of carbon-hydrogen
and carbon-n nitrogen. This makes pos
sible a calculation of the number OF
molecules of each kind present in the
gas and thus of the excitation to which
they are subject from starlight falling
upon them. This quantity might be
termed the Temperature" of space in
their neighborhood.