Abstract
PARIS.
Academy of Sciences, October 16.—M. Lœwy in the chair.—On the stability of equilibrium of the axis of the gyroscopic top, by M. H. Resal.—On the partial differential equation presented in the theory of the vibrations of a membrane, by Énile Picard—On the crystallisation of water by decompression below zero, by M. E. H. Amagat. The experiments were performed with the apparatus provided with glass sights used for studying the solidification of liquids under pressure. But the conical sights mounted in ivory were apt to split into plates, and lose their transparency under high pressures. Cylindrical pieces mounted with marine glue were substituted, some of which resisted pressures up to 1800 atmospheres. The water enclosed in the steel cylinder was first solidified and maintained at a temperature below zero. By gradually raising the pressure, the ice was fused and made to disappear completely. On diminishing the pressure, crystals were deposited on the inner surface of the glass, just as in the case of bodies denser in the solid state when the pressure was raised. The phenomenon is, however, rather more difficult to produce. The solidification was especially retarded when care was taken to fuse all the crystals by pressure, but even when a few fragments
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Societies and Academies. Nature 48, 631–632 (1893). https://doi.org/10.1038/048631c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/048631c0