222 W. G. Mixter—Electrosynthesis. 



rate of change in hydrogen and oxygen, but the observations 

 made indicate that cyanogen is oxidized faster than hydrogen. 

 The products are carbon monoxide and dioxide, free nitrogen 

 and a small proportion of condensation products and oxides of 

 nitrogen. It was found that pure cyanogen gas condenses 

 very slowly with formation of a brown product when subjected 

 to the glow discharge. 



Nitrous Oxide. 1st Experiment. 

 Nitrous oxide. Change. Hydrogen and oxygen. Change. 





]8'46 cc 





30- cc 





1st hour 



18-77 



+ 0-31 cc 



25-5 cc 



-4-5 



2d " _.,. 



19-56 



+ 0-79 



21-5 



—4- 



3d " 20-17 +0-61 17-6 -3'9 



The saturated solution of potassium hydroxide on the sides of 

 the eudiometer containing the nitrous oxide became dry with 

 the formation of nitrite and probably nitrate. 



2d Experiment. — A solution of pyrogallic acid in potassium 

 hydroxide was used to absorb the oxygen set free from the 

 nitrous oxide. 12*85 cc of the latter gas were changed by the 

 discharge to 11 9 CC , while 5'6 CC of hydrogen and oxygen com- 

 bined. 



3d Experiment. — Nitrous oxide increased 1'7 CC in half an 

 hour while hydrogen and oxygen contracted 2 - 8 cc . During the 

 next half hour the volume of the gas in tube originally con- 

 taining nitrous oxide remained unchanged, while 3'3 CC of 

 hydrogen and oxygen united. 



The results show that the glow discharge causes complicated 

 changes in nitrous oxide. The increase in volume of 1*7 CC cor- 

 responds to 34 cc according to the equation N 2 = N 2 4-0 ; that 

 is, 100 volumes of hydrogen and oxygen combined and 121 

 volumes of nitrous oxide decomposed. The other experiments 

 show a much lower result for the oxide, but the volume change 

 was not observed until the action of the current had continued 

 an hour or longer. The contraction in the second experiment 

 shows that some of the nitrous oxide is changed according to 

 one or the other of the equations 



3N a O = N 3 8 + 2N 9 

 4I>T 2 = 2NG 2 + 3N 2 



Nitrous Oxide and Hydrogen. 



Two experiments were made with a mixture containing a 

 little more hydrogen than nitrous oxide. For 100 volumes of 

 hydrogen and oxygen combined the mixture of nitrous oxide 

 and hydrogen contracted respectively 51 and 58, or an average 

 of 56 volumes. The potassium hydroxide in the eudiometer 



