295 



It has been stated in a few cases l ) that the chemical affinity 

 of both enantiomorphous molecules of the same compound is the 

 same, even towards an optically active compound. Fischer 2 ) 

 had observed that there is no difference in the in version- velocity 

 of cane-sugar by dextro- or laevogyratory camphoric acid. But as 

 the inversion- velocity is directly proportional to the concentration 

 of the //-ions, this result cannot astonish us. The same appeared 

 to be the case if saccharose were hydrolyzed by d-, and l-camphor- 

 (B-sitlphonic acids. 3 ) 



The two antipodes of an active acid will also divide an opti- 

 cally active base equally between them: in the end there will 

 be 50% of the one salt and 50% of the other, if only the quantity 

 of the added base be sufficient to neutralize the acid, and the 

 reaction have time to reach its final equilibrium. 



6. A question of importance is: will there be a difference 

 in the reaction-velocity of two antipodes when the reaction takes 

 place in an optically active solvent? For if there be an active 

 compound in any solvent, we always have to deal with such an 

 active medium. Such an effect might be expected e. g., if both 

 antipodes had a different solubility in the active solvent, or a different 

 diffusion- velocity. As to the solubility, we have indeed some 

 experimental data which seem to indicate that the influence of 

 such a medium, if present at all, can only be very slight. 



Tolloczo 4 ) investigated the question whether racemic acid and 

 racemic mandelic acid, if partitioning between an inactive and an 

 optically active solvent, would show a partial separation into 

 their antipodes. If water and laevogyratory amyl-alcohol were used 

 as solvents, no effect could be detected in the case of racemic 

 acid, nor in that of the mandelic acid. 



He concludes that the process of solution is in this case not 

 accompanied by the formation of any stronger or weaker com- 

 pounds between solute and solvents. 



Goldschmidt and Cooper 5 ) determined the solubility of the 



.!) W. Marckwald and A. Chwolles, Ber. d. d. Chem. Ges., 31, 783, (1898). 



2 ) E. Fischer, Ber. d. d. Chem. Ges., 32, 3617, (1899). Cf. also: W. Marck- 

 wald and A. MacKenzie, ibid., 33, 208, (1900). 



3 ) R. Caldwell, Proceed. Roy. Soc. London, 74, 184, (1904). 



4 ) St. Tolloczo, Zeits. f. phys. Chemie, 20, 412, (1896). 



3 ) H. Goldschmidt and H. C. Cooper, Zeits. f. phys. Chemie, 26, 714, (1898) ; 

 H. C. Cooper Amer. Chem. Journ., 23, 255, (1900). 



