Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xliv. (1900), No. 10, 



XVI. Some Criticisms on the Modern Theory of 

 Solutions. 



By Edgar F. Morris, M.A. 



/\eccive(i and read Felnuary 20th, igoo. 

 Received in the present form September loth, igoo. 



The consideration of an osmotic cell depressed below 

 the surface of the pure solvent gives rise to results difficult 

 to reconcile with the theory of solutions. Imagine an 

 osmotic cell of the usual pattern and of unit area filled 

 with a solution and depressed a distance x below the 

 surface of the pure solvent. The osmotic height above 

 the pure solvent must be constant, independent of the 

 depression x of the membrane ; otherwise it would be 

 possible by the aid of two such cells to obtain a machine 

 to work in contravention to the second law of thermo- 

 dynamics. 



On the usual hypotheses, the only new forces intro- 

 duced by the depression x which can alter the equilibrium 

 are the weight of pure solvent in the column of height x 

 and of unit area, and the weight of solvent in the same 

 volume of solution, since the solvent alone can pass and 

 repass freely through the membrane. Since these forces 

 are in equilibrium the weight of solvent in any vokune of 

 solution should be the same as that in an equal volume 

 of solvent. 



If the solvent be also considered to be in a kinetic 

 state comparable with that of a gas, a relation is obtained 



October gth, igoo. 



