143 
Now all kinds of phenomena point to the fact that hydrogen ions 
very considerably accelerate the setting in of the internal equilibrium 
in the metal surface moistened with an electrolyte, and this makes 
it clear on one side why the polarisation assumes large amounts 
when we succeed in removing the hydrogen from the metal surface, 
and why on the other hand the potential of the unary metal (for- 
merly called potentials of equilibrium) sets in most easily when the 
metal contains many hydrogen ions. 
If after anodic polarisation the current is broken off, the disturb- 
ance is comparatively quickly cancelled, when the polarisation has 
not lasted long, and no or little generation of O, has taken place, 
so that the metal was still comparatively rich in hydrogen. If, 
however, the polarisation has taken place a long time during gene- 
ration of oxygen, the metal surface has become very poor in 
hydrogen, and the disturbance continues to exist a relatively long 
time also after interruption of the current. 
This shows the strongly positive catalytic influence of the hydrogen 
or the negative influence of the oxygen. 
The fact that metal poor in hydrogen or rich in oxygen slowly 
assumes internal equilibrium after interruption of the polarizing 
current even when in contact with the electrolyte, is astonishing 
on superficial consideration, when we consider that a rapid setting 
in of the equilibrium in the liquid, which is, indeed, to be expected, 
can bring about an internal equilibrium in the metal, even if the 
velocity of the internal transformations in the metal is practically zero. 
For this it is only necessary that the reaction: 
M,— Mr + v,Ór 
takes place in the electrolyte, and further that uncharged metal 
atoms go into solution, the metal ions M* and electrons from the 
electrolyte passing into the metal. This astonishment, however, imme- 
diately vanishes, when we consider that the saturation concentration 
of the uncharged metal atoms is so exceedingly small that even if 
the reaction constant of the reaction (87) were very great, the quantity 
of metal ions and electrons formed per unity of time, would be 
exceedingly small. In a separate chapter we shall treat the influence 
of the small value of the concentration of one of the components 
of a chemical system on the course of a process. It is, therefore, 
clear that the transformations in the liquid can practically have any 
part in the establishment of the internal equilibrium in the metal 
only when a process is concerned that requires a very long time. 
Generally, however, the internal equilibrium has been established 
