NO. II STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM — PARSON 41 



of these examples may not have much significance. In many cases 

 (as with nitrites, bromates, iodates) such changes have not been 

 observed, but when it is remembered that the electric strain is invari- 

 ably greater in the saturated than in the unsaturated molecule, it 

 seems that the evidence here collected is enough to establish the 

 principle of the interfering action of free magnetons. 



A difficulty in interpreting the chemical data arises from the fact 

 that, although a reaction will not take place at all unless it causes a 

 diminution in free energy, the velocity of the reaction is very little 

 dependent upon the amount of that diminution. It seems, on consid- 

 eration, that the loosening effect of the presence of free magnetons 

 ought to have a more definite effect in accelerating a change (as in 

 the decomposition of the oxyacids of Chlorine) than in conditioning 

 it, thus resembling a catalyst : for it is impossible to predict whether 

 the magnetic energy due to the presence of free magnetons in the 

 molecule would or would not be greater than the increase in electric 

 energy which accompanies saturation. In the case of a reaction like 



4KCIO3— >-3KC10 4 + KCl, however, it should be noticed that while 

 the magnetic energy of all four molecules is diminished, the electric 

 energy increases in only three of them, being greatly diminished in 

 the fourth. 



The rule (with numerous exceptions) that the positive valence of 

 an atom, when it has not its maximum value, has a value that is less 

 than that by two units, is in accordance with the present conceptions ; 



because a group of two magnetons ( ^""T*^ « — , -> ) not only has 



V s " J 



considerably less than twice the magnetic energy of a single mag- 

 neton, but on account of its nature will interfere less with the stability 

 of a group of eight, for the latter is made up of four such pairs. 

 A group of three, whatever its configuration, must have as great a 

 disturbing effect as a single magneton. Again, four free magnetons 

 probably could not maintain a compact symmetrical configuration, 

 because they lie in an outer layer of the atom (§§7, 14), and would 

 probably be distributed so as to act like two groups of two, thus 

 causing about twice the amount of disturbance that one of these 

 can cause: in accordance with this, we find that molecules like 



(CH-S-fCn and H+Ot C1= t°y are °l uite rare ' and very unstable - 



