A HISTORY OF SCIENCE By Henry Smith Williams Assisted By Edward H. Williams In Five Volumes VOLUME V. Aspects Of Recent Science New York And London Harper And Brothers Copyright, 1904, by Harper & Brothers. Published November, 1904. CONTENTS BOOK V CHAPTER I--THE BRITISH MUSEUM The founding of the British Museum, p. 4--Purchase of Sir Hans Sloane's collection of curios by the English government, p. 4--Collection of curios and library located in Montague Mansion, p. 5--Acquisition of the collection of Sir William Hamilton, p. 5--Capture of Egyptian antiquities by the English, p. 5--Construction of the present museum building, p. 6--The Mesopotamian department, p. 8--The Museum of Natural History in South Kensington, p. 8--Novel features in the structure of the building, p. 9--Arrangement of specimens to illustrate evolution, protective coloring, etc., p.-- --Exhibits of stuffed specimens amid their natural surroundings, p. 10--Interest taken by visitors in the institution, p. 12. CHAPTER II--THE ROYAL SOCIETY OP LONDON FOR IMPROVING NATURAL KNOWLEDGE The Royal Society, p. 14--Weekly meetings of the society, p. 15--The tea before the opening of the lecture, p. 15--Announcement of the beginning of the lecture by bringing in the great mace, p. 16--The lecture-room itself, p. 17--Comparison of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, p. 18--The library and reading-room, p. 19--The busts of distinguished members, p. 20--Newton's telescope and Boyle's air-pump, p. 21. CHAPTER III--THE ROYAL INSTITUTION AND LOW-TEMPERATURE RESEARCHES The founding of the Royal Institution, p. 29--Count Rumford, p. 30--His plans for founding the Royal Institution, p. 32--Change in the spirit of the enterprise after Rumford's death, p. 33--Attitude of the earlier workers towards the question of heat as a form of motion, p. 34--Experiments upon gases by Davy and Faraday, p. 35--Faraday's experiments with low temperatures, p. 39--Other experiments to produce lower temperature, p. 39--Professor De-war begins low-temperature research, p. 39--His liquefaction of hydrogen, p. 43--Hampson's method of producing low temperatures, p. 44--Dewar's invention of the vacuum vessel, p. 53--Its use in retaining liquefied gases, p. 54--Changes in physical properties of substances at excessively low temperatures, p. 56--Magnetic phenomena at low temperatures, p. 56--Changes in the color of substances at low temperatures, p. 57--Substances made luminous by low temperatures, p. 58--Effect of low temperatures upon the strength of materials, p. 59--Decrease of chemical activity at low temperatures, p. 60--Olzewski's experiments with burning substances in liquid oxygen, p. 61--Approach to the absolute zero made by liquefying hydrogen, p. 69--Probable form of all matter at the absolute zero, p. 70--Uncertain factors that enter into this determination, p. 71.