220 IF". G. Minuter — Electrosynthesis. 



this suggests that the hydrogen continually passing into -the 

 atmosphere but not accumulating may be at least to a con- 

 siderable extent oxidized by the electricity of the aurora As 

 stated in the first paper, vapor of water is decomposed by the 

 glow discharge. To find the amount of decomposition and to 

 iind how completely hydrogen and oxygen combine in the 

 presence of water, vapor of water in one eudiometer and moist 

 hydrogen and oxygen in the other were submitted to the glow 

 discharge produced by a current of one ampere in the primary 

 of the coil. In four hours the pressure was the same in both 

 tubes and 0"8 mm greater than the pressure of water vapor at the 

 temperature, which was 17*8°. With a current of 1*8 amperes 

 the pressure increased 0*9 mni . The results show that the elec- 

 trolytic hydrogen and oxygen used almost completely combined 

 to form water, also that with a given current through the 

 apparatus as described a state of equilibrium in the gases 

 results. 



Ammonia and Oxygen. 



A mixture of 23*6 CC of oxygen and 28"8 CC of ammonia con- 

 tracted 23'9 CC , while one of hydrogen and oxygen contracted 

 18*6 CC . The nitrogen gas remaining after the electric discharge 

 ceased to cause further contraction in the gaseous mixture 

 was only -J of the nitrogen supplied by the ammonia, the 

 remainder having entered into a non-gaseous compound. This 

 was ammonium nitrite, which formed a white coating on the 

 sides of the eudiometer, and which reacted for nitrous acid with 

 the usual tests. Nitrate was probably also formed. The rela- 

 tive proportions of the two reactions may be represented by 

 the equations 



10NH 3 + 7*0,= 5N 2 + 15H 2 

 2NH, + liO,= NH 4 NO a + H 9 



24 vols. 18 vols. 10 vols. 



In the experiment 100 volumes of oxygen and hydrogen to 

 128 volumes of ammonia and oxygen disappeared ; as 10 volumes 

 of nitrogen remain for every 42 volumes of ammonia and 

 oxygen reacting, we have 128 X if = 168 for the total number 

 of volumes of the two gases combined. Of these 88 are 

 ammonia oxidized, 72 oxygen, and 8 are ammonia combined in 

 the nitrite. 



In the second experiment there was more of a deposit of 

 ammonium nitrite than in the first and the residual nitrogen 

 was J- of that supplied by the ammonia taken, and for 100 vol- 

 umes of oxygen and hydrogen 111 volumes of the mixture of 

 ammonia and oxygen disappeared ; or allowing for the nitrogen 

 gas 179, consisting of 89 volumes of ammonia oxidized, 13 

 combined in nitrite and 77 of oxygen. 



