885 
the pseudo-component «@P will probably lie below 422°. The 
melting-point of the pseudo-component 3P lies certainly above the 
melting-point of the red modification, hence above 610°, so that 
we arrive at the conclusion that the melting-point of the second 
pseudo-component is probably situated more than 200° above the 
critical point of the first pseudo-component. 
In the second place the liquid white phosphorus, which must be 
considered as a supersaturate solution, contains no appreciable quantity 
of the phosphorus insoluble in carbon disulphide even at higher 
temperatures from which it may be inferred that the solubility of BP, 
or of mixed crystals containing B/,.in liquid «Pis exceedingly slight. 
In these considerations we arrive accordingly at the conclusion 
that in the system phosphorus exactly those conditions are satisfied 
which a system must satisfy if there is to be a chance for the 
appearance of critical phenomena by the side of the solid substance. 
Experiment has really taught us that the pseudo system of the 
phosphorus belongs to the type ether-anthraquinone. 
It is true that in a pretty extensive investigation in which pure 
white phosphorus in capillaries of infusible glass was suddenly 
immersed in a bath of high temperature, a critical phenomenon 
could not be observed, because the observation is very much hampered 
by the deposition of a red solid phase, which always precedes, but 
yet phenomena appeared which pointed to the existence of a critical 
point below the melting-point temperature of the red phosphorus. 
Though the observed phenomena will be more fully discussed in 
a following communication, we may already mention here that 
among others it was found that on sudden immersion of a capillary 
with white phosphorus in a bath of 450°, at first solid red phosphorus 
deposited, and that then the liquid suddenly totally disappeared, in 
which a shock was felt in the hand in which the iron bar was 
held, on which the capillary was suspended by means of a copper 
wire. At the moment of the shock the whole capillary filled with 
solid red substance, which, however did not consist of the well-known 
red phosphorus, for if the capillary was removed from the bath of 
450°, and suddenly immersed in a bath of 510°, it appeared that 
already at this temperature melting took place, so 100° below the 
unary melting-point of the red phosphorus. The perfectly colourless 
liquid, however, which originated at 510°, was strongly metastable, 
and the velocity of crystallisation being rather great at this tem- 
perature, the formed liquid became soon solid again. 
It now appeared that this phenomenon must be- explained as 
follows. At high temperature, i. e. at about 300°, the velocity of 
