Dr. E. J. Mills on the First Principles of Chemistry, 7 



Similar results were arrived at by Guldberg & Waage*. 

 They found that the force which produces the formation of A! 

 and B / increases proportionally to the coefficient of affinity (k) 

 for the reaction A + B = A / + B 7 , and is proportional to the pro- 

 duct of the active masses {p,q) of the two substances A and 

 B : they equate the force to kpq, and, on this basis, find them- 

 selves able to represent the results of a long and detailed expe- 

 rimental investigation into the measurement of chemical attrac- 

 tion. They have also shown that the results of the researches 

 of Berthelot, Scheerer and Debus are capable of representa- 

 tion on their principles. But their examination of Debus's 

 research on the fractional precipitation of mixed baric and 

 calcic chlorides by sodic carbonate deserves especial notice, 

 because the numbers obtained by that chemist had long been 

 supposed to support the ordinary view that chemical action is 

 characterized by discontinuity. No real break, however, 

 occurs. Of his three investigations, they take that f in which, 

 according to its author, the experimental data are least open to 

 objection. Here the only variable is calcic chloride (p), and 

 the precipitate is baric carbonate (oc) (here represented as sul- 

 phate) ; and the weight of the latter is given in terms of the 

 former by the equation 



_ 0-389 -0-035^ 

 X ~~ 1 -0-080^' 



an expression in which no discontinuity is involved. It is, in- 

 deed, remarked by Debus himself, that what he regarded as 

 sudden changes are very similar to the gradually increased 

 distention and ultimate fracture of a string stretched by a 

 weight. 



Bunsen's well-known experiments on the explosion of mix- 

 tures of certain gases also need consideration here, for the 

 reason just referred to. The following Table \ is a specimen 

 of the results obtained : — 



Comp. mixture. Consumed by detonation. Ratio 



CO H O CO H 

 72-57 18-29 9-14 12-18 6-10 



CO 

 H' 



59-93 26-71 13-36 

 36-70 42-17 21-13 

 40-12 47-15 12-73 



13-06 13-66 



10-79 31-47 



4-97 20-49 



2 : 1 



1 . 1 



1 :3 



1 :4 



Now, suppose that, instead of causing the above four mix- 

 tures to explode, Bunsen had been able to contrive some means 



* Etudes sur Us Affinites Chimiques, Christiania, 1867. 



t Ann. CJiem. Pharm. vol. lxxxviii. p. 238. 



X Watts's ' Dictionary of Chemistry/ vol. i. p. 860. 



