448 
Lincoln—Electrical Conductivity. 
It will be observed that those solvents on the list down to 
and including benzaldehyde, are not polymerized liquids, ac¬ 
cording to their coefficients of association; and they all produce 
solutions that conduct electricity. Among these are benzalde¬ 
hyde and paraldehyde, both of which yield solutions that conduct 
well. Benzonitrile, the coefficient of which, even according to 
Traube, shows virtually no polymerization, yields solutions that 
conduct very well; and according to Werner gives normal molec¬ 
ular weights by the boiling point method. Further, ethyl 
acetoacetate yields solutions that conduct very well; yet its 
molecules are not polymerized. It will also be noted that all of 
these solvents have relatively high dielectric constants. Solu¬ 
tions in nitrobenzene conduct; but according to Ramsay and 
Shields its molecules are not polymerized. Traube, however, 
gives a value of 1.47 for the coefficient of association of this sub¬ 
stance. Of the organic bases quinoline yields solutions that 
conduct and shows the lowest degree of association of any of the 
solvents. Pyridine dissolves a large number of salts, and yields 
solutions that conduct; yet its molecules are not polymerized. 
It will be seen that the group of solvents whose coefficients of 
association are between 1 and 1.08 inclusive, thus indicating a 
slight degree of polymerization, yield solutions that conduct 
slightly, and Ramsay and Shields regard most of these as non- 
polymerized liquids. Aniline yields solutions that conduct, par¬ 
ticularly solutions of AgN0 3 . Acetophenone solutions do not 
conduct very well; and those in piperidine conduct poorly; while 
phosphorus trichloride and carbon disulphide, whose molecules 
are slightly polymerized, do not yield solutions that conduct. 
The molecular conductivity of solutions of different solvents is 
not commensurate with the degree of polymerization of their 
molecules. This has already been pointed out in the case of 
methyl alcohol and water as well as propyl and methyl alcohols. 
The value of ^ depends, however, to a great extent upon the 
salts chosen:—for example, the molecular conductivity of Cdl 3 
is virtually constant (11.7) in acetone, and in propionitrile it 
is 19.2, at dilution 512; while the conductivity of AgN0 3 is 30 
in ethyl alcohol at dilution 41,000 liters, and 159 in acetonitrile 
at 1,141 liters. 
