Section III, 1921 [7] Trans. R.S.C. 



On the Absorption Spectrum of Ligiiid and Gaseous Oxygen 



By W. W. Shaver, M.A. 



(Presented by Professor J. C. McLennan, F.R.S.) 



(Read May Meeting, 1921) 



I. Introduction 



An investigation was recently undertaken by the author to 

 determine the effect of radiation of various wave lengths on gases, 

 with special reference to hydrogen and nitrogen. During the course 

 of this investigation it was thought some useful information on 

 experimental conditions might be gained by a study of the analogous 

 problem with oxygen, as the effect of radiation on this gas, particularly 

 that in the ultraviolet region, is well-known, having been studied by 

 a number of experimenters. 



Accordingly some experiments were performed to obtain the 

 absorption spectrum of ox^'gen, both in liquid and gaseous form, and 

 in the photographs taken some bands were observed which apparently 

 have not been previously recorded. The absorption spectrum of 

 oxygen has been studied by Liveing and Dewar\ Olszewski,- and 

 others, who found that with a pressure of 85 atmospheres there were 

 a number of bands in the visible region and a general absorption 

 in the ultraviolet beginning about the wave-length X = 2745 A.U., with 

 complete absorption below the wave-length X = 2665 A.U. When 

 the pressure was increased to 140 atmospheres the bands in the visible 

 were intensified while the ultraviolet absorption was complete below 

 the wave length X = 2704 A.U. In the experiments described in this 

 paper seven bands have been observed in the visible region with the 

 addition of four broad bands in the ultraviolet adjacent to the region 

 of complete absorption. In the case of liquid oxygen eight bands 

 were detected in the visible and the same broad ultraviolet absorptions, 

 but the latter were not so sharply defined as with the gaseous oxygen. 

 When these broad absorption bands were closely examined it was 

 found that each one consisted of a set of finer triplet absortpion 

 bands. A brief description of the method of obtaining the photo- 

 graphs and also some further experiments which go to show that 

 these bands were not due either to ozone or to impurity in the gas is 

 given in the following. 



1 Liveing and Dewar, Phil. Mag. 26, p. 387, 1888; Phil. Mag. (5), 34, p. 205, 1892. 



2 Olszewski, Wiedem. Ann., 42, p. 663, 1891. 



