Abstract
IN former communications (“Roy. Soc. Proc.,” February, 1888; February, 1892) I have described the arrangements by which I determined the ratio of densities of oxygen and hydrogen (15˙882). For the purpose of that work it was not necessary to know with precision the actual volume of gas weighed, nor even the pressure at which the containing vessel was filled. But I was desirous before leaving the subject of ascertaining not merely the relative, but also the absolate, densities of the more important gases—that is, of comparting g their weights with that of an equal volume of water: To effect this it was necessary to weigh the globe used to contain the gases when charged with wa er, arm operation not quite so simple as at first sight it appears. And, further, in the corresponding work upon the gases, a precise absolute specification is required of the temperature and pressure at which a filling takes place. To render the former weighings available for this purpose, it would be necessary to determine the errors of the barometers then employed. There would, perhaps, be no great difficulty in doing this, but 1 was of opinion that it would l)e an improvement to use a manometer in direct connection with the globe, without the intervention of the atmosphere. With respect to temperature, also, it was thought better to avoid all further questions by surrounding the globe with ice, as in Regnault's original determinations.
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The Densities of the Principal Gases. Nature 47, 567–570 (1893). https://doi.org/10.1038/047567a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/047567a0