DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 217 



shown to be an additional proof of the hypothesis of Jones and Lindsay to 

 account for the minima in conductivity. 



(6) A maximum in conductivity has been observed similar to, and in the 

 same solvents as the maxima in conductivity found by Jones and Bingham. 

 The explanation offered by them to account for these maxima has been dis- 

 cussed, and it has been shown that their explanation only partly accounts 

 for the facts. We have offered an additional explanation which is as follows : 

 We have seen that at these maximum points of conductivity, the fluidity 

 of the mixed solvent is also a maximum. We have shown that this maximum 

 fluidity is due primarily to an increase in the size of the molecules of the sol- 

 vents. We have shown further that this enlarging of the molecular spheres 

 can not be due to increased association of either of the pure solvents, and must 

 be due to a molecular aggregation of the solvents with one another. The 

 conditions for such a molecular aggregation are probably most favorable in 

 the particular mixtures in which the maximum fluidities occur. Since the 



fluidity of the solvent is increased, the velocity of the ions is increased; and, 

 consequently, we conclude that the maxima in conductivity are dependent 

 upon two factors the change in the size of the ionic spheres, and the 

 change in the fluidity of the solvent. 



(7) We have shown that the dissociating action of any given solvent 

 towards electrolytes is not dependent solely upon the physical properties of 

 the solvent, but is also dependent upon the nature of the dissolved salt. 

 That this is true is seen from the fact that although ternary electrolytes, in 

 general, have a higher molecular conductivity when dissolved in water than 

 binary electrolytes, yet when dissolved in methyl alcohol, or ethyl alcohol, 

 or acetone, the conditions are exactly reversed; and the binary electrolytes 

 show the greater molecular conductivities in these solvents. This is probably 

 due to the breaking down of ternary electrolytes into their simplest ions in 

 some solvents, while in other solvents they yield only two ions; whereas the 

 binary electrolytes are dissociated in the same manner in all solvents. 



(8) We have observed that the temperature coefficients of conductivity in 

 the 25 per cent mixtures of the organic solvents with water are a maximum. 

 This is probably due to the formation of more complex solvates between the 

 dissolved substance and solvents in these particular mixtures than in any 

 other mixtures of these solvents. These are the mixtures in which we have the 

 simplest solvent molecules present, and, consequently, the most favorable 

 conditions for the formation of solvates. 



(9) We have observed a much greater molecular conductivity of potassium 

 sulphocyanate in solutions in acetone than in aqueous solutions. We have 

 shown that this might be due to either of two causes: (1) A greater degree of 

 dissociation in acetone than in water. This view is untenable on account of 

 the small association and dielectric constant of acetone as compared with that 



