4 t'RING & FairLIE, Hydrocarbons and tlieir Siability. 



or the ratio of methane to hydrogen is directly proportional 

 to the pressure of the latter. 



It was found that the reaction between carbon and 

 hydrogen is greatly accelerated by increase of pressure 

 and the time necessary for obtaining equilibrium thereby 

 shortened. The complication produced through the 

 formation of ethylene will therefore be very much lessened. 

 The apparatus emplo}'ed served, moreover, almost com- 

 pletely as a " hot-cold " tube, so that between the range 

 of temperature from iioo' to 1600 quantities of methane 

 were obtained which satisfied the above three requirements 

 of a true equilibrium. 



Apparatus for reactions at high pressures.^' 



The reaction vessel consisted of a cylinder of nickel- 

 steel of high tensile strength. This was cooled on the 

 outside with water. An inlet valve for the gas was fitted 

 through the walls in the centre, together with a projecting 

 tube provided with a thick glass conical window for 

 sighting through and taking temperature readings with 

 a Wanner optical pyrometer. 



The electrodes, consisting of steel tubes cooled by 

 water circulation, were introduced through the two end 

 plates of the cylinder, and passed through stuffing boxes, 

 where insulation from the furnace walls was effected. 



The electrodes terminated in nickel clamps, which 

 enabled a firm attachment to be made to the carbon rod. 



The windows could usually be used at 200 atmospheres 

 pressure for a few experiments, but numerous cracks 

 gradually developed, which finally led to complete fracture. 



The carbon rods used were about 14 cms. long and 

 lomms. diameter. In some cases, the carbon was used in 



* cf. Tians. Chem, Soc. (1912), lOl, 91- 



