50 THE THEORY OF IONIZATION OF GASES 



equal to *1 X N in each case, a similar result is obtained 

 a being 70 /3 for both gases. 



Again in nitrogen the range of values of /3 does not 

 admit of comparisons being made at the point a='16N, 

 but for a=r*lxN the corresponding value of /3 gives 

 a=26/3. 



The relative ionizing powers of negative and positive 

 ions in different gases thus obtained are for hydrogen 

 15 : 1, air 57 : 1, argon 86 : 1, carbon dioxide 1070 : 1, and 

 helium 52 : 1. The first four numbers may be said to 

 support the assumption that the positive ions are of the 

 same dimensions as the molecules, since the positive 

 ions differ most from the negative for the gases with 

 large molecular weights. 



