April’89.] history society of Wisconsin. 
197 
trical horse power a voltage of (746 divided by 178) 4.2 
would be necessary. 
F. Exner (Wiedemann’s Annalen Band, 6. Seite 353) 
gives the potential difference of Na and Cl at 2.06 to 2.08 
Daniels, which would indicate, if correct under our given 
conditions, a deposit of nearly twice 8 pounds in 24 hours. 
In a similar manner I computed what should be the theo¬ 
retical value for the amount of deposit of other difficulty 
reducible metals in the electrolysis of their fused salts. It 
seems probable that the electrolysis of NaCl and allied salts 
can never be carried on successfully in any aqueous or other 
ordinary solutions, on account of the secondary products 
that are formed by the action of the liberated ions. So it 
would seem that the salt must be rendered liquid by fusion. 
The temperature of fusion may be lowered considerably in 
many salts by the presence of other salts, e. g. NaCl 
melts at 200 degrees below its ordinary melting tempera¬ 
ture (776 degrees C, according to Carnelly) in the pres¬ 
ence of a small amount of CaCl 2 and its temperature is 
considerably lowered by the presence of a small propor¬ 
tion of KC1. In my experimental work various kinds 
and forms of crucibles and electrodes were used without 
my being able to obtain very much pure metal. But my 
intent was mainly to get some quantitative results as to 
the amount of deposition of metal at the cathode. For 
measuring strength of current, water, silver and copper 
voltameters of my own construction weie used as a ^° a 
tangent galvanometer whose reduction factor had een 
carefully determined. The following results among many 
others were obtained at the time using a Grov e batte 
for electrical power, a Battersea crucible for contain i ^ 
the NaCl, a carbon anode and an iron cathode term 
mg in a tube of lime placed in the melted salt. As soot 
metallic Na was seen to escape and burn at the sur ' 
the liquid, the current was stopped, liquid coo e , cru 
broken and the amount of Na determined by a st 
