2 CA.PILLA.RT ATTRAC TION" IN" RELATION* TO CHEtftCAL COMPOSITION* Ac. 243 



should be of these particular forms. The formula? may be written 



thus : 



, r _ ma-\-nbA-pc+ , 



or KV*=ma + nb+pc+ (I„) 



and JÔ V lVi = ma' + nb' +pc' + {II). 



Here K stands for the capillary rise of a liquid multiplied by its specific 

 gravity, both being taken at the boiling point. Fis the molecular 

 volume, or the molecular weight divided by the specific gravity ; </, 

 b, <*, tire and a', //, <■'. &c are quantities having particular values for 

 A, D, C, etc., and may he called atomic capillary constants. 



If we assume the principle of molecular volumes to be rigorously 



true, then V may be expanded into ma+rib+pc+ , and. K can 



be found out by mere: calculation, provided the molecular constitution 

 of the substance as well as a, h. c, &c or a, b\ c', &c and a, b, c, &c 

 are known. 



The data for the establishment of the above formula? have, 

 with only one exception been drawn from Schiff's publications. 

 That exception is heptane for which the calculations have been made 

 from Thorpe's determination. Schiff's investigations cover about 

 one hundred and fifty compounds belonging to various types, and 

 have been communicated to the scientific world in two papers, the 

 first in Liebig's Annalen (223, '47-10G), and the second in the 

 Gazetta (14« 368-147). As the second periodical is not accessible 

 to me, the information about his second communication is chiefly 

 derived from the abstract published in the Journal of the Chemical 

 Society, London (X LVIII, 717-721).* * On this account, the data 



•There seems to bi several misprints in this abstract, for instance nitrites are all spelt 

 nitrites, the critical te uperature T for the list seven compounds aie all transplanted into the 

 column for molecular volume, while the molecular volume of allylthiocarbimide is made equal 

 to that of the phenyl compound. Tnese c msiderations make me very unwilling to draw the 

 data from this abstract for a mispri it of a figare miy vitiate the results of several calculations. 



