How can the public gain accurate information about scientific matters when the press persists in getting things twisted? During the course of the war some means for rendering the gas used to inflate balloons non-inflammable was greatly desired, and admixture with the usual hydrogen of a small amount of the inert gas helium, or argon, as it was called for camouflage, was found to be of great value in this connection. The helium has been obtained from natural gas from the wells at Petrolia, Texas. In an account of this discovery which has recently been published in the daily papers two remarkable statements are made. One is that the gas used for balloons is nitrogen. The other is in connection with the inert gas; in order to explain what helium is, the writer of the notice says: “Helium is indicated to be a plentiful part of the sun’s minerals by spectrum analysis … ” We are indeed glad to learn that there may be famous mineral localities in the sun.

This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

First Page Preview

First page PDF preview
You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.