Societies and Academies

Abstract

PARIS. Academy of Sciences, May 17.—M. Armand Gautier in the chair.—The president announced the death of Stanislas Canizzaro, correspondant of the academy, and gave a short account of his work.—Gaston Darboux: The use of new methods of recurrence in the theory of orthogonal systems.—M. Bigourdan presented photographs of the Halley comet by M. Iñignez, taken at the Observatory of Madrid.—A. Lacroix: The mineralogical constitution of the French phosphorites. The optical and physical properties are described in detail, and complete chemical analyses are given.—Paul Sabatier and A. Mailhe: A general method of direct preparation of the thiols by catalysis, starting with the alcohols. The general method proposed consists in passing a mixture of the vapour of the alcohol with sulphuretted hydrogen over thoria at a temperature between 300° C. and 360° C. The mercaptans from the first five primary alcohols were prepared with excellent yields. The substitution of sulphur for oxygen was also successful with allyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, and various secondary alcohols, but the yields in these cases were not so good as with the primary alcohols. Thiophenols can also be prepared in the same way.—M. Blaserna was elected a correspondant for the section of physics in the place of Lord Rayleigh, elected a foreign associate.—E. Esclangon: Observations of Halley's comet. These results were obtained at the Observatory of Bordeaux, and diagrams are given showing the appearance of the comet on various dates.—J. Comas Sola: The flattening of 10, first satellite of Jupiter. Observations with the 38-cm. equatorial at the Fabra Observatory, continued since 1905, have confirmed the view that 10 is flattened, in proportion, greater than any other body known in the solar system. The maximum flattening has been determined at one-fourth.—M. Borrelly: Observations of Halley's comet made at the Observatory of Marseilles with the comet finder. Data are given for observations for fifteen nights between April 21 and May 10, together with the positions of the comparison stars.—M. Tzitzéica: A new class of surfaces.—E. Ouivet: The differential equation of the motion of a heavy spherical projectile in air.—Maurice Fréchet: Continued functional.—M. Herrgott: The electric thermophile. An account of a woven material containing fine nickel wire, which is supple and can be heated electrically.—A. de Gramont and M. Drecq: Certain conditions of appearance of the band spectrum attributed to cyanogen. The band spectrum usually considered to be characteristic of cyanogen appears to be due to the simultaneous presence of carbon (in sodium carbonate) and nitrogen. The bearing of this on comet spectra is mentioned.—M. Houllevigue: The dimensions of the material elements projected by the kathodes in vacuum tubes. The metal projected (silver) is deposited on a glass plate, and the minimum thickness determined at which the layer conducts electricity. The conductivity appears suddenly, and is only established starting from a certain thickness of the metallic layer. The diameter of the particles calculated from the results of these experiments is of the order of 22 to 26 μμ.—A. Besson and L. Fournier: The action of the silent discharge upon acetaldehyde in the presence of hydrogen. The product of the reaction was a very complicated mixture containing acetic acid and its homologues and several ketones.—F. Bodroux and F. Taboury: Synthesis of aromatic nitriles. Benzyl cyanide is treated with sodium amide and alkyl iodide or bromide. One or both of the hydrogen atoms of the methylene group can thus be replaced by alkyl groups, and several applications of this general reaction are cited.—Georges Darzens: The action of the hydracids upon the glycidic esters.—A. Arnaud and S. Posternak: Two new isomers of stearolic acid.—Marcel Godchot and Jules Frezouls: Hexahydrophenylglycollic acid.—C. Beys: The estimation of tartaric acid in crude natural materials.—J. Bertheaume: A new method of estimating the three methylamines in admixture with ammonia. The hydrochlorides are dried and extracted with pure chloroform, in which the hydrochlorides of dimethylamine and trimethylamine are soluble. These are further separated by means of their periodides, and the ammonia and methylamine separated by François's method with yellow oxide of mercury.—G. Boyer: Studies on the biology of the truffle (Tuber melanosporum).—Paul Dop: The Strychnos of eastern Asia.—J. Strohl: The relative weight of the heart and the effect of high altitudes.—Maurice Nicloux: The decomposition of chloroform in the organism. A method is described permitting the estimation of small quantities of chloroform mixed with large quantities of air. The author applies this to determine the amount of chloroform destroyed in the blood, and concludes that about one-half the total amount of chloroform fixed at the moment of anesthesia is decomposed in the organism.—H. Coutière: Cray-fish of the genus Saron with male dimorphs.—L. Nègre and J. Bridré: The nature of the parasite of epizootic lymphangitis.—G. Seliber: The determination of the volatile acids in the products of fermentation of some micro-organisms according to the method of Duclaux.—L. De Launay: The mean atomic weight of the silicated earth's crust.—Jean Boussac: The distribution of the levels and facies in the so-called autochtone (Nummulitic) of eastern Switzerland.—Maurice Filliozat: The chalk of Blois.—Louis Gentil: The ancient orogenic movements in the Haut-Atlas of Morocco.