Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/918

BERYL. aquamarine. They are found in various colors, and of a quality suitable for gems, in Brazil and Siberia, at Royalston, Mass., and at Stony Point, N. C. Large, coarse specimens of crystallized beryl, mostly hexagonal prisms, have been found at Acworth and Grafton, N. H. One specimen from Grafton weighed 2900 pounds. BERYX, ber'iks. A genus of deep-sea fishes of tropical oceans, typical of a group Berycoidei and family Berycidæ. (See .) One species, the 'Alphousine a costa cumprida' (Beryx splendeus), is regarded as the most beautiful of Cuban fishes. It is deep red with bright streaks. See Plate of. BERZE'LIUS, (Sw. pron. ber-tsa'li-us, Jöns Jakok, Baron (1779-1848). A Swedish chemist. He was born at Westerlösa, in Ostergötland. When a mere boy he developed a liking for the experimental sciences, and after receiving his general education at the Gymnasium of Linköping and his professional training in medicine and chemistry at the University of Upsala, he devoted himself specially to investigations in chemistry. In 1802 he went to Stockholm, teaching medicine and chemistry until 1806, when he was appointed lecturer on chemistry in the military academy. In 1807 he became professor of medicine and pharmacy in Stockholm. Shortly after, he was chosen member of the Stockholm Academy of Sciences, and from 1818 till his death held the office of perpetual secretary of the Academy. The King raised him to the rank of baron; other honors from learned societies were conferred on him; and the directors of the Swedish iron-works, in consideration of the value of his researches in their particular branch of industry, bestowed on him a pension for life. In 1838 he was made a member of the Upper Chamber of the Diet, after having served in the Lower: but he took little part in politics. The field of his activity lay in his laboratory, where he acquired a name of which his country is justly proud. The science of inorganic chemistry rests in a great measure upon the discoveries and views of Berzelius. His multiplied and accurate analyses established the laws of combination on an incontrovertible basis; and to him we owe the system of chemical symbols. He discovered the elements selenium, cerium, and thorium, and first exhibited several elements, including columbium, tantalum, and silicon in the isolated state. The blowpipe in the hands of Berzelius became a powerful instrument for the analysis of inorganic substances. By methods of his own invention he analyzed large classes of compounds and accurately determined the equivalent weights of their chemical elements. His celebrated electrochemical theory was for many years universally considered as explaining the true cause of chemical combination. It had been known since 1803 that, when an electric current is passed through the solution of a salt, the latter is decomposed and two substances are produced—a base and an acid; the former separating at the negative, the latter at the positive pole. This suggested the idea that chemical combination might be due to electrical attraction. In 1812 Berzelius consequently advanced a general theory of chemical combination based on the assumption that the atoms of the several elements, as well as certain groups of atoms, are charged with electricity, some being electro-positive, others electro-negative. To hydrogen was assigned a central position among the elements, since by combining with other elements it was capable of yielding both electro-negative and electro-positive substances; further, the extreme electro-positive position was assigned to the metal potassium, the extreme electro-negative position to the 'non-metal' oxygen. Different compounds formed by the combination of chemical elements were, according to this theory, capable of exercising further electrical attraction upon one another and therefore of combining into relatively complex substances. Thus, the electro-negative SO3 (then called sulphuric acid) could combine with the electropositive group K20 (potassium oxide), to form the salt known as potassium sulphate. Similarly, the group SO3 combined with the group MgO (magnesium oxide) to form magnesium sulphate. Again, potassium sulphate is more electro-positive than magnesium sulphate, since the metal potassium is more electro-positive than the metal magnesium; the two sulphates could, therefore, combine to form potassium-magnesium sulphate. This dualistic electrochemical theory was abandoned in the thirties. However, the theory of electrolytic dissociation, developed within recent years, may lead to a revival of Berzelius's views, though probably in a considerably modified form. (See .) Berzelius's published works include: Nova Analysis Aquarum Medeviensium ( Upsala, 1800): Föreläsningar i djurkemien (2 vols., Stockholm, 1806-08); Ofversigt af djurkemiens framsteg (Stockholm, 1812); Afhandlingar i fysik, kemi och mineralogien (6 vols.. Stockholm. 1806-18); Om bläsrörets anvündande i kemien och mineralogien (Stockholm, 1820). His celebrated Lärobok i kemien was originally published at Stockholm in three volumes (1808-18): a second edition, in six volumes, was published between 1817 and 1830; the work has been translated into most of the European languages. The multitude and accuracy of Berzelius's researches in every branch of chemical inquiry make it difficult to conceive how one man could have accomplished so much. Consult: his 'Obituary,' in American Journal of Science, November, 1848: Louyet, Notice sur la vie et les travaux de J. J. Berzelius (Brussels, 1849); and Söderbaum, Berzelius, Werden und Wachsen (Leipzig, 1899). BERZSÉNYI, ber-zha'nyi, Daniel (1776-1836). A Hungarian poet, born at Hetye, County of Eisenburg. His Versei appeared in 1813, without his consent, under the editorship of Helmeczi. These poems, an authorized edition of which was published under the direction of the author in 1816, were cordially greeted, especially by the younger patriots, and have become classic in the literature of Hungary. The most recent edition is that by Toldy (2 vols., Pest, 1864). BES. An Egyptian divinity, presiding over art, music, the dance, and childbirth. represented as a grotesque, deformed dwarf, and formerly identified with Typhon. He is of foreign origin, appearing chiefly after the Twentieth Dynasty, and is known to the Phœnicians. BESANÇON, bc-zan'sox' (Low Lat. Besantio, Lat. Yesontio). The capital of the French Department of Doubs, and formerly of Franche-Comté, a fortress of the first class and seat of an archbishopric, situated on the river Doubs, .57 miles east of Dijon (Map: France, N 4). Besancon has many remarkable buildings and