PART ILEIGHT PAGES. aWCtö-iOtU .ritmm MISCELLANY

AND ART.

NEW-YORK. SUNDAY. »FEBRUARY 23, 1913.

mñ oïSlN.OTIllinium

V *a»s***nng »

[§tree GreatChemistsS^BgjfHavePiockcedNeon «and ïïeliiim ËobiSubstances mWhickThey üladlot PeenEiiowiiTo Be T?resc_rt

ONE of the mo.-t rosnanU« drehistory promises soon totrue The» elusive hop«

«nnents. the dis'overy of the *

price's stone, that "great magistcIs beim; reduced tu terms of adchemistry. Tut oottatunlng desirenudlacval alchemist was to comet

tn-tal itit«» t-old, in quantities thatmake th«*m -rasters of the world,snd many other wonders srsrs toas t-oon as th« y had a.»..»¦»mplish«ttansmutation «>f the element»».».rttdually their drc.im came toI'd It whs «lassod with WrltchC!,

lusions and the throrv that the carl

flat. For a hundred and fifty yearson the shelf. Then came the dis«

by Madame Cruie of the n< w a]tadiiim, and the subsequent discovc

by Sir William Hamsav, of En

«Aorklng in »-oiijuiu-tioi» with Fre^rddy, that this radium cave off ¡

t in gaseous emanation, which

captured an«! confined mil f..und t

«Wire a change, without artificiallût.» the very rare element helium.This transformation amounted to 1

mutation of element*, and scientiststherefore mote or less prepared fo

epoch-making ;»».ni>unr»em«»nt, made i

ays OttO by Sir William Kamsay.. Norman ColHo, of the Untvi

College, London, and Professor H. I\

BOH, of Leeds I"iii*. crslty, that thei« cnt experiments had apparently a«

l'lishc»! the transmutation of ciernen

still another way, inasmuch as theyI'ioduccil nr».n and helium from

tances In Which tiny were previous!;known t" hs I'lc-cnt Thes« MtODIItcveiations were rnsdc at a ncsuath.» rii«iinral S.iciety, of Hncl.ind. »

a specially prepared paper was reai

Sii- William, and a joint paper by l'i

».' I « ..!'¦. ai¡.i Patterson.

PROF. RAMSAY'S EXPERIMENl'i off-sor Ramasy hat previouslyted experiment* T,itli half a grai

ot radium hromide. and l.y its ai'l tho

he had BUCCOOdiWl in ttansmdtii.g CO

into lithium, silicon, titanium and

opium, and tho«-|um into carbon.". obtained neon from water. TMs

ihkiH transmutation led him to seek

CSttSO, tut suspecting that the same

la might he achieved by the us«

»¦orno other form of energy he USrt

gated the Contents Of used X-tay hi:

At the sam>* time Professors «'ollle

*J.-itU non w«re rnaktllg similar investI » hut ail ihtie entirely ladepon»1» I 000 another.

In a'l these experiments the gas hell»t.i- found in the hulbs and its prese

could riot he explain«-d. Bonn 'times.< ment nr».n was first oh-¦¦« rv»d to

;. ant from an unknown sonreí,

.;if il tU-A ; p. .1. .| and it:- phi- ( «

tai.«-n by helium. As Interpreted by\r*iiin«-nters, th«*»-e results lndi»at«d t

the cathode ray In the bulb had convet

the elements already contained in the

patatús Into neon and helium, or that

electricity Itself, in the form of electtohad built up the neon and helium.I'rofeBsor ColUo was very enthuslai-

as to the possible results of the dlscove

k.'.d declared his btli» f that the dreams;the ancient alchemists rnitiht soon

flWlllslT)i© announcement of the three Bngll

»h«-mlsts aroused a keen inter, st evei

where, «'»tid Tho Tribune man called on

number of distinguished scientists In Nifort to learn their opinions of the i

por'«d ai-hiev« ment. He found a wi«l«- «

rlety of attitude, extending from cxtr«i

¡-k-ptPJsm to a ready belief.

OPEN TO CONVICTION.Professor SimsnSsr Smith, head of ti

<»heni'»try department at Columbia l-'r

verslty, -\as Billing!*1 inclined to cred

the r«snlt as announcd In the cabled r

Ports from Jymdon."In view of the fact that Profess»

Ramsay ha« already discovered that r;

dnim emanation fhaBft*1 irito helium

»¦aid Professor Smith, "the announcemeithat h« and bis co-laborers have achievethe transmutation of elements in sorr

oth«r way would not bo startliiiK. If Pl*ji'ss'.r Itamsav p«-rformed this experimerhlms« If aii'l announced the result as ind

at« «J m cabled repot ts I would a»»cept hi

"n.liisions without «inestion. Ilis skill i

experimenting Is marvellous; In fact, h

la probably far more skilful In comlm-tin,exp. rim. nts In the chemhal laboratorthan any one els«. Me would automat

»ally take precautions against failure o

"or that others would entirely overlook"The transmutation of radium emana

«ion Into the element helium Is what mai

he «ailed an automatic transfutatlon, bu

In these later experiments transmutatloi»» apparently produced by mechantca».Ida, and aince ebotrlcity can be pro

duced cheaply It is reasonable to sup¬

pose that If transmutation of other ele

menta Is achieved by the some procès«»he expenso involved will ii»»t i»r».hil.lt its

.ommerclal application. The imagination«an run riot In this field, and the ultimateconversion of th" «nergy t»f Niagara FallsInto gold Is conceivable, though, of

«ourse, removed an inlinite distance from

the reality ol achievement."f'r'ofeHbor Ramsay's announcement fits

'»i with the new theory that electricityitself may be composed of atoms, whichhave been called electrons, and that the

atoms of all the elements may be com¬

posed of electrons packed tog» t her In

different proportions out tUterenOy ni*

»aiiK».| Thus the electrons, in th. »¦«,urs>

.f laboratory experim«*4jt3. may undergo

the ruurrangemeiil necessary t.» produodifferent el« m« m

Dr. M i I'upin. profeaeor of electronsorhsnlri at Columbia, t<«..k s trery .iif

firfllt VleW »if til«- .lllll'.llIK-. lll.lll. 11.

was sstrctnely skeptlou] snd cited tb«

experiments made along th«« «-an)«» line hySir Joseph J. Thomson, professor "f

chemistry In Cumbrtdff« l iiivemlty, Bue-land. He bsM«USd« h« Mid, with Proteo*BOr Thomson, that tb«« ri suits of the «_.

surtmont« msdc by Ramsay, Collie and

Putterson Indicated thul the souros of theiii-oii i.ikI helium dlecovered vv.is to i><-

f<iiin«i in ih«- glass of tin« apptumtus or in

the electrodes, and that nothing compara-

ble vvitii the synthesis of stemenU waitaknif plues,Dr, »'barb- K « bainllei. profil.Of

emeritus of chemistry at Columbio, de*bu il thai he bj n«> menus doubted tte

ponsthUlty of trunsmutlng elements Inview of the previous <iSpOltaMUtS « at i.-.l

»m by Sir William RaoSSUy with r.-oliuiii

In talking to the writer le» sunim«'«! UPIn very cl«»ar fashhm tte bwig SUtntilslWrtatomie theory an«! Its relation t«i th«» tleW

theory of slectron« sad to pouethle truno-niütatiiiii of elements"laet us suppose." begun Dr. Chandler.,

"that tte ¡intioun.eiiiciit that bas ap¬

peared In the papers here that Sir Will-

lam llaman) und I la «collaborera baisucceeded In ci atlng im "ii and bellitin-r «mi ni .un. ni her element oí oi

..f tin- .ti,» r »s mi' M h.n. then, willHi«« effect <.r this a« hiovemenl on tlatomic theory thai luis bold sway f.

«¦.¦iiiiii i«-s an.| «'hemiata'.' Will t prott.. have been a fallac) foundad on ¡« lac«>i knowledge, and shall w- have to abaidon ii. "i will n «continue to be accep«ted'In un- opinion, it will «'«»ntiiiiii' In ii

accepted, but ii .¦.¡m b« furthor develop«.ni'i extended, nuil the «doflnltion o( thatom will be aomowhal modified. To un

deratand 11« w tlu changea can ora

about there ¡hum be clear conception a

the atomic tl eorj us it la now held. Whai M.« atomic ii.«. and bo« «li'i II origl¡nit.-""When ebemiata bogan to us- the bal

an« in connection artth tinir experimento¦tii.i Investigations they weighed the ma«terlala the) employed and thoy woigbsiin«- producía thai w«sra yielded bj thah\(n'i Intenta ii wasn't long, therefore

before they modo this very rontarkablidlacov«**ry, namoly, that when tii«-\

f «brought different aubotancea Into contnetthere wen- two «llff«-rent kiti.ls <»l i.In« i

whi«h reunited."First, wh -n they mixed, for example,

sulphur and eoppor, no matter how Bodythey piiivci iz.'.i tiiinii I'viMi though the ml«n met ip«. iiaiiii> showed the aeparata par«

tliies of sulphur and «COp«per, th. \ ii.iilil

nevertholeaa «dlaoolve oui the sulphur andleave th<- copper behind, Just ;is thej. -«.ill«! with ;i mixture of SUgar :nnl san I.

But-"fiat «ond. when Ihei heated the mlxttjre

<»f .sulphur and OOpper i» i ...iiiirkaiil"

ehan-gu oouuirod. au«i aft«*waid it was

hnpOOalhlO to dissolv«- out the sulphuraway from the copper, an«l the prodiu-twas entirely different from «'ither. Theycalled ihis product «sulphide at copper it

be«gan by being .» mixture <>f sulphur and« «>pp« i. hut it «ended lrj beoonring a chem«

[leal compound »>i sulphur and copper."The next step in the lina of investiga-

lion nu th«- disco ei y thai wheneiubetnnces enter« d Into li «mli al ««mlnation th« resulUng comí ound had s delnite chemical .iposltlon, Thus, wheiv.-i i.vii i,^..|i burned In chlorine gas, u

product which was culled bydrochlora. i.i contained purl of hydrogen si

Xi'2 ports of chlorine."Subsequent investigation« showed thi

every chemical compound slwnya eontplithe sum« bodiea In tte same proportionsnd this is known as the law of Coistam v of « Composition.

n was subeequenUy found thslsometí.s happened thai an elemerini«lit unit.» with anothei elemenl in set

eral different proportions, and that wh«this occurred it was invariably the cus

thai these proportions bore t.« each ottea very simple multiple ratio ,.f wtelnumbers

"V..11 ask. 'What li n, element? it i

a chemical substance which bus neve

b.-Mi resolved into two «h mor« componessubstances Then an- eighty-four o

them at present recognised. Ton ask mv. bat significance attaches t.« the faet tha

tin» elements combine in dednlta propocBons all.I that wh.'ti those proportion« an

atudled tin» ratios with which one unites

with another an« simple multiples. M*.

answhr is that thee« are the facts Uponwhich Dr, Dnlton bused th.« atomic theoryThese number.- represent the compara¬tive weights of tb«' atoms.

"This is the Ides "f the stum It is a

certain minute purtids «»f an elementwhich lias a certain doteits «retght whichw<» exprsss in number«, t-rfenUin th*-

v.-i-ij-ht of som«» on.- atom as th« startin«lioint. In the old tables, which are the

simplest, tte starting point i-* hydroffsu.Which is «-ailed 'one.' These atoms <*tui

ui.ite with each other to form chemicalcompounds only in multiples of at-nns. in

other w««r«is, in ordtnury chemlcul reac¬

tions we have no SUCh things as fTUCUOOSoi atoms. When tb>» element« unite on««

os moro whole atoms of one clement unite

JhxP#tâè*&wf%fI

with one «>i more whole stoma of snoleli ment, snd these groups of stoms, Ilogel hei i v . hi un ..i ..linn' v. are

molecules Thus u molecul« of wateitains tvv., stoma ..i ii; drogen snd.it'.in of oxygen a molecul of augaitnins twelve stoms of carbon, twenty-atom« of bvdrogi n snd eleven stom«

OX! «-. '. et«"Th a wsi oui »i. » of stomi |.i lot

Mue .'¡ni. 'b of i .I'liiim «andfer« «v. ai n. :.- of the w

derful iiiv. tlgal Ion lhal ha\ «in«-«» b

mad» It has i»-« n di ovi n 'l that rudili an cl» ni'iit >>r v.-i v high stomi« wel

namely, I2S.I. li lias been further <

-over..i thai radium gradually dulff«¿rates; In other words, the stomaradium .¦«. to pieces snd the fragme

i a- stomi of new elements u

-i, all. atomic W' Ights, imtll llnshelium li reached, vvitii sn stomfc welluf onlj I. This it .¦ "¦ -- of the «'

Integration of stoma and was di o* et

h\ Mr William Rami aj In onjunclw Ith le.l. Hi k .-'...¡.h ¡li 903.

ELECTRONS.This, of course, compels us !" adopta conception of atoms, snd cois

quently ü bas i.n ne-cessarj t«> conclutb.it. althouffta under ordinär) circustance« stoms appear as ni.iivi.iiiai p.-

tides «>r units In forming cherntcul co

pounds, they ore, nevertheless, mudeof a Isrfe number of smaller parti.:lwiii«-ii we muy cull electrons¦'Thus it appears that tinder certain u

Usual coiiilitiolis an alma inav go. end it« el-**ctrons ma) par! oi

pany, snd thai some ol them maj theiUpon unite I«« form aloius of B -mallv..i_ht iban th« original atoan, as in«iistnt«gratloo .»i raiiiiim «Juvsn to heliui"Tte novelty of Sir WUhum Bumse)

announcement, mude a few duys sg.M.-ts in tb«» «ppurent butldliig up of cot

pies atoms from q|mpM one«. Profese«Rummy believes thsl he has succeed«m converting hydrogen atoms, bavin-; i

ato-pie weight of i. Into helium atom

having an atomic wetghl of «, and in

neon atom-, bavins an atomic weight «

_». thus ereuUng complex atoms out »

simple one«,.in' coins.-, we have transmutation

'elements In either cuse, whether w.« splill« complex atoms into simpler ones <

combine the electron« of simple atom

Into larger and mon- complex atoms. Than «tents claim««! to transmute some shmenta im >> otters, SUCfa as base metal

¡into gold, inn they never presented snevidence sufficiently conclusive t«> es

i.i'iiisii heir contention

ACTUAL TRANSMUTATION."Sir William Ramsey's conversion 0

radium into !i«»liuni. and what appear

(from lis iceetit announcement and thus

of frofosoors ColUe and Puttereon) to b

the conversion <>t hydrogen Into hoBusai;«! noon, is literally transmutai ion.

subsequent Investlgutlons show that h»is jtistllied In his aiifiounceinent, there i:

M theoretical reason why the transmu

tation of the ancients may not be verllh«.or why some process may not bo diseov.red by Which the base metals may b«transmuted into silver and «gold "

The analogy thus drawn between th«

gchlevementi of rhcimlsis now snd th«vain search of the alchemists of old re¬

calls the renjarkable careers that 99099led by some of those ancients who suc-

oeeded In convincing their wsullhi androyal patrons that they had found thegreat secret of transmutation. The ideaIs very old and the first account of al¬

leged transmutation of elements is foundIn Suidas, a Byzantin«; author of thetenth «eatery. In the fifth century, how¬ever, the (Jreeka who were then living in.g> pt w««r«) Industrious seekers in theHeld of alchemy. The theory that ttiebaser metals could be transmuted into

gold or silver had many followers. Therewere many who telleved in the theory,and many who even claimed that theyhad accomplished such a thing.

In those tipies, when little was knownof practical chemistry, compounds were

undoubtedly made which resembled goldand silver. As the knowledge of practicalcheml«try was limited, these newly form¬ed compounds could not he resolved Intotheir component parts: hence they were

Ver) naturally considered as single ele-tiii-iits, rtiiii as they resembled («Id andno meaos of differentiating them chemin

call) from gold w;>v known II was ootpnatural ihal the discoverers betieved that

gold had been mad« T artldea at faithIn which the ancienta behoved are very1u ous iii"i .1 <' ii.'i«¦ pieaented:"i. Tl exia i preparation, solid

n form and red In color, called the phi-sopher s «atone, the grand elixir (malar

magisterium), tl" red tin«tun. arhtehwhen it is i'l:n»«l in v» i> small .los.-. gginiitiii liquid silver, mercury, lend or

aome other common metal, cniiaei t

transmutaUon ..f the same Into goM. I'I'll«- linn, pi'«p.irati'm. U«sed in VOry small

doses as :i m««licin«>, cures all dll« I

rejuvenati the old and prolongs ht,-,wharefoTe it is ; a 11., i the panacea of Ufe,and, since Ii contains the «essence o( gold,auiiini potsblle, There la anotherpreparation "f a white color, called thesum. «.i th" second d«**gree, the llttJaelixir (minoi magiateriumi, ihe whitetincture, win-h is equal to the Irai Inball n degree of perfection and changes

irnon m> ti»!s nit.» sliver."

THE CHARLATAN.Among the m in) seehi rs aftei II

two ellxers wa ol rottrae, t«. be oa«

|,., ti d th <t tliei would spring up manycharlatans who would proj upon the ere«

duliti ««I theli fellow men. The threegreatest awindUng alchemists «>f ihst««i-ywere thi Count of St. U«ermain, Cagllon«ti«, muí ¡i man whom II seems strange t»»

muí «playing such ;i role, the amiable sn'lamorous CasanovaThe Count of 81 Qermnla is rutón

i\- describe I ¦» .. l*ortugu»«*ae Jew, .. Span-i.-h .1 smi. an M itian and the son oí a.

¦Savoyard las lli lo le a aa boraaboul th« year 1Ï* Aft« it.'»» h« Is «foundmoving m high aoctet) In different capi¬tal und« varioua names« and with theUtl« ol «count, «hevah' m prtace. InParia he siK*ceed«*d In gaining the favorof Mme de Pompndovr n«« wa-« very

aucceeaful la Ht. Potersbarg. ami laterin Berlin, and ended his days in irso inthe palace of the Landgrave of ii««s3--CaseelSt. (ji>riiia,ii claimed to he able to niak*

K.'l.i and j.uels ;is well as it wonderfulelixir which wnuld give t" «age the l>>autyand strength «>f youth, transforming a

wrinkled old wonaaa Into ;> Mooerdngmaiden <>f seventeen yeora. Me asserted

thai tin- «elixir had protongod his own

life for many thOttOaada of sears, that h*

ha«i personnUy known Chriot ;«n«i th«»

Apoetlea, and bad enjoyed th«> intimât»friendship of St. PetjOT. All of these amaz-

inn atatementg m«>t with ready hellef.

COUNT OF ST. GERMAIN.An amusiii-aT «dialogue, overheard and

naively narrate«! hy a chronicler of th*

Count >.f Hies. 1.mi. is Worth r. pi atlng as

an illustration Of the credulity at even

th«« educated «lasses <»f that period. St.Oernmln's eonehaaan, being asked if hismaeti* smre really four hundred yearsold, replied that ho could not «ay «if hisown knowledge, but that, la the noyears of his service with the count, hismisters appearance had not changed a

particle.st. fiai main, however, wa.« untjuestion-

alily a man of profound and extensivoknowledge, brilliant hitelhwtnal gifts amiastonishing dexterity, fount Lasaberg; au

apparently trustworthy historian, says

that St. ("ertnaln wrote, from his dlcta-t...n. twenty lines of a well known poemwith the right and left hands simulta¬neously mi two sheets of paper, andthat the two manuscripts wer«» so nearlyidentical thai one could not he distin¬guished from the other. Questions andexpressions ut admiration evoked oracularutterances, which Increased the charla¬tan's fame. He probably owed the lucra¬tive friendship of Mme. de Pompadour,the all powerful favorite of I.ouis XV. tohis ability to compound lotions, powders,ointments and oth«-r preservatives of herwaning beauty. The high favor in whichhe stood with the marchioness and herroyal lover Is evidenced hy the grant ofthe magnificent palace of »hambord as a

residence and an annual stipend of 100,0<ttfrancs. The Kln-< even made St. Germaina secret diplomatic agent, and in 1 V.'>9 senthim to The Hague to negotiate a loan of100,000.000 francs.in which mission, how¬ever, he was unsuccessful.The so-called Count I'agliostro, who.»*

real name was Oluseppe Balsamo, was

horn at Palermo In 17*. The memory of

,*m Continued en seventh paga,