C 608 ) 



uf {]\c first order: il was llicrefore obvious to jissume liero aii acce- 

 lerating' aiilocatalysis, a i-eactioii tor wliicli Ostwald^j liad Nvoi'ked 

 out a foniiula. Hknri has now followed this course indicated by 

 ( )sTWALD and deduccMl an empirical f'oi'imda an hicli, wlieii applied to 

 his experiments led to coefficients wlii(di mav be taken as practi- 

 cally constant for jS' 100 to N sobitions. Hkahi accepted a theory 

 of the mechanism (»f the action of in\ertase according- to Avhich the 

 ferment shonld enter into combination with saccharose as well as with 

 fructose (accoi-diug to an (Mjuilibi-ium-reactioii). Wy now trying diJï'e- 

 rent values for the e(|uilibrium c()nstauls of these two i'(\U"tious, he 

 ai'riN'es at two figures, tlic introduction of whicli into the formula 

 leads to tlie said constants. 1 believe to ha\'e sui-cecded in j)i-oving 

 that IlKNin's views ai-e not correct Judging from his own experi- 

 mental data and from my own observations. 



Recently UvAV/Am '), for the resolution of salicin l)y emulsin, (where 

 on applying the formula foi' reactions of the fii'st ordei' flic coefii- 

 cients regnhii'ly (hn-rease) has applied ( )st\vai,I)'s formula for reactions 

 with negative autocatalysis ■') to IIf.mu's and Ta.mmanx's experiments 

 on the said reaction; he has found that this formula leads to 

 reaction coefficients Avlii(di may be considei'ed as constants. These 

 constants change with the iidtial concentration of the salicin solutions. 



Hkkzoct however obserxes that Ostwald's differential e(iuation for 

 negative autocatalytic transformations is incomplete "and that it 

 would be better to give it the form of a reaction of a higher 

 order". This was already done by me some time ago. 



3. Given the tact (now tolerably well substantiated) that enzym- 

 actions are equilibrium reactions, I have taken a A'iew of the theory 

 of these decompositions different from that hitherto accepted and first 

 deduced formulae giving the relation between velocity of reaction 

 and (diemical eipiilibrium. These formulae differ from those at present 

 ai)plicated to this case '') ; I have deduced them for mono-, bi- and 

 trimolecular equilil)rium reactions "), first tested them in well-kwown 

 cases (ester formation ; the transformation studied l>y Küstkk ''} etc) 

 also by Schookl's observations on the action of sugars on urea ") 

 Aviiich 1 have myself extended and subsequently applied them to the 

 observations of lIiWRi as well as to my ow^n series of determinations 

 rclatiiiL'' to the saccharose and salicin resolutions. The results of this 



1) Lehrbuch, II, 2, 2m. 



^) Tliese Froc. VI November 28 1903, p. :«2. 



«) Lelifbuch il, 2. 270. 



-'') Ustwald's Lelifhuch 11, 2, !2öl, cv. 



") Z. phvs. (;li. 18, 1(11 (iSi),")). 



6) Rec. 22. 31, Disseilalion, 1902. 



