Abstract
DR. H. MELVILLE, of the Laboratory of Colloid Science, Cambridge, who has been appointed to succeed Prof. Findlay, is well known for his work on the mechanism of gaseous reactions. His first important series of papers dealt with the oxidation of phosphorus at low pressures, in which it was shown that the diffusion of active molecules or radicals to the walls of the reaction vessel is a dominant process in regulating the velocity of oxidation. Theoretical advance was also made by the discovery of a method for measuring the branching of reaction chains in the oxidation of phosphine, one of the essential processes in controlling explosions in gases. This was the first estimate of this coefficient. He has also contributed to our knowledge on the photo-decomposition of the hydrides, the low quantum yield being traced and proved to be due to the occurrence of the recombination of the primary products of decomposition; this investigation led naturally to a supplementary one on the kinetics of exchange reactions of deuterium with the simple hydrides.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dr. H. Melville. Nature 145, 654 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145654c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145654c0