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XXVI.—On the Nature of Solution. Part I—On the Solubility of Chlorine 
in Water, and in Aqueous Solutions of Soluble Chlorides. By WiLu1am 
Lawton Goopwin, B.Sc. (London and Edinburgh), Demonstrator of 
Chemistry in University College, Bristol. Communicated by Dr Crum 
Brown. (Plate XXXVI.) 
Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Science in the University of Edinburgh. 
(Read July 17, 1882.) 
This research was undertaken with a view to ascertaining if metallic chlo- 
rides have any tendency to combine with a further quantity of chlorine. The 
well-known fact that potassium iodide unites with iodine to form a tri-iodide 
suggested that potassium chloride might, under suitable conditions, form a 
similar compound with chlorine. The method of investigation which first pre- 
sented itself was to expose crystals of various chlorides to the action of dry 
chlorine gas at low temperatures, when any chemical action taking place would 
be expected to show itself in changes in the appearance of the crystals. A few 
experiments were made with no apparent result, and the method finally adopted 
was to determine the quantity of chlorine absorbed by solutions of the salts. 
It was thought that in this way quantitative results could be obtained which 
would reveal any tendency towards the formation of perchlorides. If a body 
having the formula KCl, could be shown to exist, it would strengthen the 
position of those chemists who contend that the generally accepted ideas 
regarding atomicity need modifying. The discovery of a compound having the 
formula KCl, would be a still stronger argument. At an early stage, however, 
the research resolved itself into an investigation of the solubility of chlorine 
gas in solutions of metallic chlorides in water, the question of the existence of 
perchlorides becoming a side issue. The influence of salts in solution on the 
solubility of gases in water is a subject of considerable interest, as throwing 
light on the nature of solution in general. Of late, certain chemists are inclin- 
ing to adopt the old view that solution should be included under the general 
head of Chemical Action. ‘This view was generally held by chemists about the 
beginning of this century, and in Thomson’s System. of Chemistry (1817) 
we read at p. 92 :— 
“The second species of combination into which water enters with solid bodies has been 
usually termed the solution of these bodies in that liquid.” 
VOL. XXX. PART III. 5B 
