The Royal Society Conversazione

Abstract

THE gentlemen's conversazione of the Royal Society was held in the society's rooms at Burlington House on Wednesday, May 10. The fellows and guests were received by Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., president of the society, and many objects and experiments of scientific interest were exhibited. During the evening the Hon. R. J. Strutt gave a lecture on the afterglow of the electric discharge and on an active modification of nitrogen, and Mr. Joseph Bareroft lectured on adaptation to high altitudes in relation to mountain sickness. Experiments were shown by Prof. Strutt to prove that the well-known “afterglow” of Geissler tubes containing air is a phos phorescent flame, produced by the reaction of nitric oxide and ozone formed in the discharge. It was shown that nitrogen gives rise to a different kind of afterglow. The latter is regarded as resulting from the formation of an active modification of nitrogen, which slowly reverts to the ordinary form with luminosity. It was also shown that acetylene is spontaneously inflammable in this active nitrogen, and burns to cyanogen, the flame showing the characteristic spectrum of that gas.