Paper, 'On the composition of water by volume' by Alexander Scott

Description

Scott writes: 'In 1805 Gay-Lussac and Humboldt published their classical researches on the composition of the atmosphere, and to them we are indebted for our knowledge of the proportion by volume in which hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water. Without this knowledge the determination of the relative densities of the two gases would be of no use in fixing or checking their atomic weights. This is often overlooked, and Avogadro’s law taken as absolutely true for these gases at ordinary temperatures and pressures. That this cannot safely be assumed is conclusively proved by the researches of Regnault, Amagat, and others on the effects of change of temperature and pressure upon them.'

Annotations in pencil and ink. Includes one diagram of experimental apparatus.

Subject: Physics

Received 23 May 1887. Read 16 June 1887. Communicated by Lord Rayleigh [John William Strutt].

A version of this paper was published in volume 42 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the composition of water by volume'.

Reference number

PP/10/49

Earliest possible date

1887

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

5 pages

Format

Manuscript
Diagram