Section III, 1922 [315] Trans. R.S.C. 



The Spreading of Mineral Oils on Water 



By R. S. Jane, B.Sc. 



Presented by E. H. Archibald, F. R.S.C. 



(Read May Meeting, 1922) 



In view of the fact that pure saturated hydrocarbon oils do not 

 spread on a clean surface of water, as shown by W. B. Hardy, ^ and 

 that the spreading of some oils, as shown by Langmuir,^ is due to the 

 presence of an active group in the molecule, such as the double bond, 

 it was thought that some relation might exist between the rate of 

 spreading and the degree of unsaturation. However, the table given 

 on the next page shows that, at least in a number of cases, the 

 presence of the active group does not cause the oil to form a film 

 on the surface of the water, but that it acts as one would expect 

 a pure saturated hydrocarbon to act. 



Chemical Laboratory, 



University of British Columbia, 

 Vancouver, B.C. 



iProc. Roy. Soc. A, Vol. 86, 1912, p. 610. 



2J. of Am. Chem. Soc, Vol. 39, 1917, p. 1881. 



