218 IT. G. Mixter— Elect rosy nthesis. 



hydroxide was used to absorb water in the eudiometer contain- 

 ing hydrogen and oxygen, and a saturated solution was used 

 in the other eudiometer unless a different reagent is mentioned. 

 The same empirical measure was employed as before, which is 

 the amount of hydrogen and oxygen combining in one eudi- 

 ometer while the gases in the other eudiometer also combined, 

 the same current passing through both eudiometers. The 

 numerous details common to all of the experiments are omitted, 

 while any modification is fully described. Many experiments 

 were made while the work was in progress with electrolytic 

 hydrogen and oxygen in both eudiometers in order to find if 

 the apparatus was working well, to test the method more fully 

 and to study the conditions affecting the rate of change pro- 

 duced by a given current through the apparatus. 



The view expressed in the first paper, that heat resulting 

 from the combination effected by the feeble glow discharge 

 does not cause further combination, is supported by the follow- 

 ing results. The jacket tube C shown in the figure was 

 replaced by a wire wound twice around B, opposite the lower 

 end of A and connected with the wire D. With this arrange- 

 ment the discharge is concentrated but without sparks, and the 

 glow is more intense than in the jacketed tube. The eudi- 

 ometers in the following tests contained hydrogen and oxygen : 





Diffused discharge. 



Concentrated discharge. 



]xp. 1 



l-88 cc combined. 



]-89 cc combined. 



" 2 



2-55 " 



2-67 " 



The heat of combustion was the same in the two tubes as 

 equal quantities of gases united, but it was distributed through 

 several times the volume of gas in one case than in the other. 

 If the heat resulting from the action in the feeble glow dis- 

 charge causes chemical union, we should expect in the other 

 case where the temperature is obviously higher, since the same 

 amount of heat is generated in a smaller volume, that the 

 resultant combination would be greater. As it was not found 

 to be so, we conclude that the heat of combination does not 

 cause further union of the gases. If, however, the discharge is 

 sufficiently powerful we should expect a different result. This 

 was found to be so, for with a stronger current through the 

 apparatus the concentrated discharge caused three times as 

 much combination as the diffused discharge. 



When a solution, instead of solid potassium hydroxide, is 

 used in a eudiometer through which a current is passing, a 

 feeble spark is perceptible if the finger is held near the mer- 

 cury in the trough, but none is felt when a eudiometer does 

 not contain a solution. For the following experiments the 

 sides of one eudiometer were coated with a saturated solution 

 of potassium hydroxide from the top of the mercury column 

 nearly to the inner tube A : 



