Adeney and Becker — Solution of Nitrogen and Oxygen. 147 



The phenomenon has been shown to take place in accordance with the 

 general equation 



dw „ , ^A 

 di 



= SAp - fy}A>, 



where vj = total quantity of gas in solution at any moment, 

 S = initial rate of solution per unit area, . 

 A = area of surface, p = pressure of the gas, 

 / = coefficient of escape of the gas from the liquid per unit area and 



volume, 

 V = volume of liquid. 



. This can be written 



~ = a - bvj, where a = SAp and b =f^, 



that is, the values of the constants under the conditions of the experiment. 

 The values of the b constant have been calculated for each experiment, and 

 are given in the last column of Tables I and II. It will be seen that the 

 experimental values obtained approximate to a constant; the deviations 

 apparently indicate the magnitude of the experimental errors. 

 The values of b for the curves shown in figs. 1 and 2 are : — 



For tap- water b = '0186. 

 For sea-water b = '0250. 



These values may be taken as the mean values of the h constant for the 



conditions of area and volume obtaining in the experiments. In order to 



compare the results of these experiments with those to be described it was 



necessary to reduce the constant to unit area and volume, and in order to 



do this, it was assumed that in this case, as in the case of the experiments 



described in previous communications, the rate of solution varied with the 



area exposed and inversely as the volume. 



bV 

 Since /= —^, the value of/ was calculated in each case. 



In the case of tap-water A was = 12'62 sq. cm. and V = 258 cc. ; 

 hence / = -388. 



In the case of sea-water A = 12'67 sq. cm. and. V = 262 cc. ; hence 

 /=-509. 



These values are an index of the rate of solution when a small body of 

 partially de-aerated water is exposed to the air, in a quiescent condition, and 

 kept at as uniform a temperature as possible. 



There was reason to think that the irregularity which was noticed in 

 these experiments might have been due to changing atmospheric conditions, 



