IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



ON THE ASSUMPTION OF A SPECIAL "NASCENT STATE. 



BY LAUNCELOT ANDREWS, PII. D. 



The assumption frequently appears in chemical literature that elements 

 at the moment of being set free from their compounds exhibit properties 

 which the same elements do not ordinarily possess. This alleged specific 

 condition is designated as the "nascent state" or status nascendi. The 

 hypothesis of such a condition dates back to the time when the dualistic 

 theory held sway and, so far as I am aware, has not been subjected to crit- 

 icism in the light of modern views. 



It is my purpose in the present paper to consider the following pertinent 

 questions concerning this hypothesis: 



First. Is it necessary to our understanding of any known facts? 



Second. Does it otfer a simpler explanation of any facts than can be 

 given without its aid? 



Third. Is it inconsistent with known facts? 



Fourth. Can it be consistently applied to any class of phenomena with- 

 out the aid of additional auxiliary assumptions? 



One of the classes of chemical reactions which is most often explained 

 by the assumption of a nascent state is that in which reduction is eflected by 

 metallic zinc in acid solutions or by sodium amalgam in aqueous neutral 

 alkaline or acid solution or by other oxydizable metals. Here the metal is 

 said to act upon the water or the acid, setting free hydrogen which in turn, 

 by virtue of the peculiar properties it is supposed to possess in the nascent 

 state, effects the i-eduction. 



Thus the reducing of ferric chloride to ferrous chloride by zinc in acid 

 solutions would be represented by the following two equations: 



Zn+2H Cl=Zn CU+H^ [I 



2H+2FeCl3=2FeCl2+2HCl [2 



The reduction of a copper sulphate solution would be represented thus: 

 HjSO.+Cu^Cu S0,+2H [3 



2H+CU SO,=Cu+H, SO, [4 



And in the same way the reduction of metallic Cu at the negative electrode 

 during the electrolysis of a Cu SO,, solution would be represented as sec- 

 ondary and due to the nascent hydrogen appearing there. In the familiar 

 process of preparing sulphurous anhydride by the action of copper on con- 

 centrated hot sulphuric acid we find it assumed that hydrogen is first pro- 

 duced as in equation 3 and then in statu nascendi immediately reacts on the 

 sulphuric acid, 



