SIS B. C. BRODIE ON THE ACTION OF ELECTRICITY ON GASES. 
477 
In none of the previous experiments have I rejected any experiment as untrustworthy ; 
but in the case of these experiments, made with the slightly alkaline solution of hypo- 
sulphite of soda, I have rejected seven experiments which were made successively at the 
same period, and which from some cause, of which I am not aware, but possibly some 
slight derangement of the measuring-apparatus, gave a mean result considerably above 
the average of the preceding experiments. I do not believe that these seven experiments 
are to be relied on ; but as it is an important question whether any definite contraction 
greater than that found in the preceding experiments can actually occur, and as the 
discrepancy between these seven experiments and the preceding may possibly be other- 
wise accounted for, it appears to be desirable to notice the circumstance, and I have 
given in the following Table the record of the observations. 
Temperature. 
Strength of the 
solution. ' 
T. 
V. 
Y- 
V-V r 
v-v, 
T 
16°C. 
1-75 
8-37 
270-29 
250-99 
19-30 
2-30 
16° 
5-82 
272-18 
259-66 
12-52 
2-15 
16° 
5-82 
271-89 
259-03 
12-86 
2*21 
17° 
13-44 
274-01 
245-89 
28-12 
2-09 
17° 
9-44 
275-84 
253-23 
22-61 
2-39 
18° 
5-42 
271-04 
259 00 
12-04 
2-20 
17° 
4-92 
273-13 
262-17 
10-96 
2*22 
Mean ... 2*22 
It is to be observed, that not only is the mean value in these experiments, 2 ‘22, con- 
siderably greater than the mean value in the preceding experiments, 2‘02, but that every 
one of these experiments gives a result greater than that mean value. As no intentional 
difference was made in the mode of conducting the two sets of experiments, and as the 
previous set are in entire accordance with the experiments made with neutral hyposul- 
phite of soda, the obvious conclusion is that the discrepancy in the latter set arises from 
the operation of some constant and accidental cause of error peculiar to those experiments. 
I now repeated the experiment of Soeet *, and passed the electrized gas through a bulb 
of oil of turpentine, measuring the volume before and after the experiment in the usual 
manner; the tension of the vapour of oil of turpentine was taken into account in the 
calculation of the volume of the gas in the aspirator after the experiment, care being 
taken to saturate the gas with it. Although I speak of this experiment as a repetition 
of the experiment of Soret, it really differs from that experiment, not only in the 
method employed for measuring the gas, but also in the gas operated on, the gas used by 
Soeet being the ozone procured by electrolysis, and his experiments, moreover, being 
always made with a moist gas. 
It was desirable to ascertain whether any change in volume was caused in pure oxygen 
by passing a pipette of that gas through a bulb of oil of turpentine. The results of three 
experiments made with this view were as follows : the several pipettes of oxygen were 
passed successively through the same oil ot turpentine at a temperature of 9° C. 
* Annales de Chimie, 4 e serie, vol. vii. p. 113. 
3 t 2 
