makingscience.royalsociety.org (Royal Society "Science in the Making" archive) — 2026-10-04
Query (Google): makingscience.royalsociety.org "constitution of the electric spark" Hemsalech referee
Findings: the referee reports on the full paper survive and are online (digitised images, 2 pages each)
- RR/14/229 — Referee's report by William Crookes on 'On the constitution of the electric spark' by Arthur Schuster and Gustav Hemsalech. Listing only seen; not opened. [web] https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_14_229
- RR/14/230 — Detailed referee's report by William Crookes, dated 13 February 1899, typescript, 2 pp. Catalogue description [web] https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_14_230/detailed-referees-report-by-william-crookes-on-a-paper-on-the-constitution-of-the-electric-spark-by-arthur-schuster-and-gustav-hemsalech : "Recommended for publication in the 'Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'. The paper marks an important step in understanding the electric spark. The reference numbers on the figures and in the text do not always align. Suggests further clarifying annotations to the spectra. Suggests further discussion be given of the methods of metallic substance purification."
- RR/14/231 — Referee's report by William de Wiveleslie Abney, March 1899 (endorsed received 9 March 1899), manuscript standard form, 2 pp. Description [web] https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_14_231 : "Recommended for publication in the 'Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'. The photographs should be reproduced by the phototypographical process."
- Both link the published paper as "VI. On the constitution of the electric spark", 1 Jan 1900, DOI 10.1098/rsta.1900.0006.
Bearing on claims: contemporary peer review (two FRS referees) accepted the method and called it "an important step"; Crookes' request about metal purity bears on claim 5 (line-dependent velocities; Royds later found calcium impurity lines behaving differently). The catalogue descriptions are the archivist's summaries, not the referees' full words; the page images (IIIF / "Download PDF") were not transcribed this run. The site shows a cookie banner (not interacted with).
Result: positive. Recheck: yes (transcribe the two-page images of RR/14/229-231).