1895.] on Argon. 533 



before the Royal Society, argon has been submitted to the action of 

 titanium at a red heat, titanium being a metal haviug a great affinity 

 for nitrogen, and that argon has resisted the temptation to which 

 nitrogen succumbs. We never have asserted, and we do not now 

 assert, that argon can under no circumstances be got to combine. 

 That would, indeed, be a rash assertion for any one to venture upon ; 

 and only within the last few weeks there has been a most interesting 

 announcement by M. Berthelot, of Paris, that, under the action of the 

 silent electric discharge, argon can be absorbed when treated in 

 contact with the vapour of benzine. Such a statement, coming from 

 so great an authority, commands our attention ; and if we accept the 

 conclusion, as I suppose we must do, it will follow that argon has, 

 under those circumstances, combined. 



Argon is rather freely soluble in water. That is a thing that 

 troubled us at first in trying to isolate the gas ; because, when one 

 was dealing with very small quantities, it seemed to be always dis- 

 appearing. In trying to accumulate it we made no progress. After 

 a sufficient quantity had been prepared, special experiments were 

 made on the solubility of argon in water. It has been found that 

 argon, prepared both by the magnesium method and by the oxygen 

 method, has about the same solubility in water as oxygen — some two- 

 and-a-half times the solubility of nitrogen. This suggests, what has 

 been verified by experiment, that the dissolved gases of water should 

 contain a larger proportion of argon than does atmospheric nitrogen. 

 I have here an apparatus of a somewhat rough description, which I 

 have employed in experiments of this kind. The boiler employed 

 consists of an old oil-can. The water is supplied to it and drawn 

 from it by coaxial tubes of metal. The incoming cold water flows 

 through the outer annulus between the two tubes. The outgoing hot 

 water passes through the inner tube, which ends in the interior of the 

 vessel at a higher level. By means of this arrangement the heat of 

 the water which has done its work is passed on to the incoming 

 water not yet in operation, and in that way a limited amount of heat 

 is made to bring up to the boil a very much larger quantity of water 

 than would otherwise be possible, the greater part of the dissolved 

 gases being liberated at the same time. These are collected in the 

 ordinary way. What you see in this flask is dissolved air collected 

 out of water in the course of the last three or four hours. Such gas, 

 when treated as if it were atmospheric nitrogen, that is to say after 

 removal of the oxygen and minor impurities, is found to be decidedly 

 heavier than atmospheric nitrogen to such an extent as to indicate 

 that the proportion of argon contained is about double. It is obvious, 

 therefore, that the dissolved gases of water form a convenient source 

 of argon, by which some of the labour of separation from air is 

 obviated. During the last few weeks I have been supplied from 

 Manchester by Mr. Macdougall, who has interested himself in this 

 matter, with a quantity of dissolved gases obtained from the con- 

 densing water of his steam engine. 



Vol. XLV. (No. 89.) 2 o 



