887 
crystallisation of the red phosphorus is so great that it begins to be 
deposited. This velocity of conversion, however, is not so great as 
is generally thought, for even at 330° the vapour tension of the 
rapidly heated white phosphorus, which contained pretty much red 
solid substance, appeared to be still the same as that of the liquid, 
because the liquid still present was sufficient to control the vapour 
tension. How long this will continue of ecurse depends on the 
relative volumes occupied by the solid and the liquid phosphorus 
and by the vapour. 
In the experiment with the capillary the velocity of heating is so 
great that even at considerably higher temperatures liquid white 
phosphorus still continues to exist by the side of the solid red mass. 
If, however, the temperature rises above the temperature of the first 
eritical endpoint p of the pseudo-binary system, the liquid becomes 
so strongly metastable that it suddenly disappears, and then the red 
solid substance deposits from the fluid phase formed, through the 
whole of the capillary. 
If the capillary is immersed in a bath of 620°, a colourless liquid 
is obtained, which exhibits something particular when cooled exposed 
to the air, which was already observed by Srock and GOMOLKA °), 
They say namely: “Kühlt man die Schmelze recht langsam ab, so 
fängt sie bei etwa 580° an feste, rote Teilehen auszuscheiden: 
der Vorgang macht den Hindruck einer Kristallisation. Bei etwa 570° 
überziehen sich dann plötzlich®) die Wände des Glasrohres auf ihrer 
ganzen Lange (auch oberhalb der Flüssigkeit) mit rotem Phosphor, 
welcher in der Hitze sehr dunkel, bei Zimmertemperatur leuchtend 
purpurrot aussieht. Beim Offnen des abgekühlten Rohres merkt man, 
dass es auch farblosen Phosphor enthält’”. 
Stock and Gomo.ka cooled down slowly, but we found that the 
phenomenon became more distinct, when the capillary is cooled by 
exposure to the air. It is then seen that red solid substance depo- 
sits in the liquid, the vapour space and also the glass wall remaining 
perfectly colourless there on account of the fact that the liquid which 
deposits from the vapour, is perfectly colourless. At a given moment 
a violent phenomenon is observed in the capillary, while at the 
same moment very clearly a shock is felt. The liquid has disap- 
peared, and the inner wall of the capillary is covered everywhere, 
also at the place where before the vapour was found, with a solid, 
red substance, containing rather great quantities of aP. 
This phenomenon is explained by means of the following consi- 
1) Ber. 42, 4510 (1909). 
2) The italics are ours. 
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