12 THE ATOMIC WEIGHTS. 



In the second series the oxygen was passed through a 

 weighed tube containing moist cotton, and another filled 

 with pumice stone and sulphuric acid. Particles were thus 

 collected which in the earlier series escaped. From these 

 experiments we get — 



60.947 

 60.947 

 60.952 



Mean, 60.9487, rfc .001 1 



These last results were afterwards sharply criticized by 

 Marignac,* and their value seriously questioned. 



The next series, in order of time, is due to Maumene.f 

 This chemist supposed that particles of chlorate, mechani- 

 cally carried away, might continue to exist as chlorate, un- 

 decomposed ; and hence that all previous series of experi- 

 ments might give too high a value to the residual chloride. 

 In his determinations, therefore, the ignition tube, after 

 expulsion of the oxygen, was uniformly heated in all its 

 parts. Here are his percentages of residue : 



60.788 

 60.790 

 60.793 

 60.791 

 60.785 

 60.795 

 60.795 



Mean, 60.791, ^b .0009 



The question which most naturally arises in connection 

 with these results is, whether portions of chloride may not 

 have been volatilized, and so lost. 



Closely following INIaumene's paper there is a short note 

 by Faget,! giving certain mean results. According to this 

 chemist, when potassium chlorate is ignited slowly, we get 



* Supp. Bibl. Univ. de Geneve, Vol. I. 



t Ann. d. Chim. et d. Phys., (3,) 18, 71. 1S46. 



X Ann. d. Chim. et d. Phys., (3,) 18, 80. 1846. 



