Abstract
IN a recent investigation of the thickness of black soap films, Corkill et al.1 determined the water content of the films by measuring the absorption of radiation at 2.93µ by placing a number of black films in an infra-red beam. In order to calculate the amount of water from the infrared absorption, it is necessary to know the molar extinction coefficient at 2.93µ. Since the absorption is so strong, Corkill et al. measured the extinction coefficient with very thin cells (using a gold leaf spacer) and claim that the value of 133 obtained by this method was identical with the extinction coefficient obtained by measuring the optical density of water in deuterium oxide. There is no reason to suppose that the extinction coefficient should be identical for pure water and dilute water in deuterium oxide, and a re-determination was considered desirable, particularly as the value of 133 quoted by Corkill et al. is very different from the earlier value of 55 obtained by Fox and Martin2.
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References
Corkill, J. M., Goodman, J. F., Ogden, C. P., and Tate, J. R., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 273, 84 (1963).
Fox, J. J., and Martin, A. E., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 174, 235 (1940).
Thompson, W. K., (to be published).
Schultz, J. W., and Hornig, D. F., J. Phys. Chem., 65, 2131 (1961).
Clifford, J., Senior, W. A., and Pethica, B. A., Conf. Forms of Water in Biologic Systems (N.Y. Acad. Sci., New York, October 1964).
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THOMPSON, W., PETHICA, B. Water Content of Black Soap Films. Nature 204, 1085 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2041085a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2041085a0
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