198 REPORT—1890. 
arise the phenomena that one conducts freely with chemical decomposi- 
tion while another is nearly a perfect insulator, still remains to be classified 
and, if possible, explained. The following is a list of some liquids which 
are practically insulators of electricity ':— 
TABLE IIT. 
Stannic chloride, SnCl, 5 5 : 
Fused zinc iodide, ZnI, . : . (Faraday) 
Pure water (probably) . . - (Kohlrausch) 
Fused anhydrous chromic peroxide, CrO, . (Hittorf, Wied.‘ Ann.’ 4, p.374,1878) 
Sulphurous anhydride, SO, : ' c 
Sulphuric anhydride, SO, . : 
Carbonic anhydride, CO, . A 
Boracic anhydride, BO, 
Arsenic anhydride, AsO, 
Faraday 
Confirmed by Hittorf (1.c.) 
Nitrogen peroxide, N.O, . 5 : n = 
20smic peroxide, OsO, ; e : . = 
?Vanadic anhydride . 3 : . Hittorf lc. 
Bromic iodide, BrI . a " F A Rs 
Metallo-organic compounds A ; . Bleekrode, Wied. ‘Ann.’ vol. 3, p.178, 
Table 5. 
C.N, ® 
Cs, . 
C,Cl, : . 
CCl, . Bleekrode, l.c., Tables 6 and 7 
CCl, . 
Hydrocarbons : i 2 4 ; 
Haloid compounds of the alcohol radicles . 
fe : ; - c ; 5 : : Gore 
fathis es > ‘ : * ) Bleekrode, 1.c., Table 1 
awe to By yee a Ug ec teeaicy lsc. 
EeClea. : A ; : 2 — 
AnhydrousHF . ; ‘ A ‘ . Moissan, ‘Beibl.’x., p. 715. 
SCI". c f é “ 4 : — 
SbCl, . : : 5 c , - Fi =o 
SnI, . ¢ 2 5 : . ° . = 
Sb,0, fused. ‘ c : : = 
Antimony oxychloride 7 : 5 é = 
On the other hand the following are electrolytic conductors :— 
Fused MoO, : : . : : . Hittorf (1.c.) 
Liquid NH, ; E : : . Bleekrode (Wied. ‘Ann.’ 3,p.161,1878) 
(probably impure, Hittorf, l.c.) 
3” HCN . . . . ” 
Fused urea. 5 c . Dewar 
Sulphides of alcohol radicles, chlorides, 
bromides, iodides of the organic acid 
radicles and their chlorine and bromine 
substitution derivatives . 5 : . Bartoli, ‘ Beibl.’ 11, p. 160 
The effect of physical state upon the insulators does not seem to affect 
their conductivity. SnCl, does not conduct at its boiling-point at ordinary 
pressure. According to Bartoli, benzene insulates up to the critical 
temperature ; methyl alcohol conducts better and better up to the same 
and from thenceforward the gas insulates. 
A cursory survey of Table I. will show that the temperature co- 
' See also Bartoli (Betb/. vol. 11, p. 159) on the conductivity of solutions of the 
alcohols in benzene, &c. 
