,transcriber's ,note3      ,underscores 
before and after a word or phrase       
indicate italics      in the original   
text4    ,equal signs  before and after 
a word or phrase indicate bold      in  
the original text4    ,small capitals   
have been converted to ,,solid capitals4
    ,illustrations have been moved so   
they do not break up paragraphs4        
,typographical errors have been silently
 corrected but other variations      in 
spelling and punctuation remain         
unaltered4    ,footnotes are all journal
 references1 so they have been moved to 
the      end of the text4    ,in the    
original text1 the volume number for the
 journals was double      underlined for
 emphasis4 ,in this book this has been  
replaced with      the use of italics4  
,on the ,existence of ,active ,oxygen4  
,thesis                      presented  
for the attainment of                   
the degree of ,doctor of ,philosophy    
at the ,johns ,hopkins ,university4     
by                             ,edward  

,h4 ,keiser4                            
,baltimore1                             
#ahhd          ,on the ,existence of    
,active ,oxygen4      ,that a gaseous   
element can exist in an allotropic      
condition was first  clearly shown by a 
careful study of the properties of      
ozone4 ,although  discovered by         
,schnbein in #ahdj1 chemists were for a 
long time unable  to determine its true 
nature1 and it was not until seven years
 later  that ,marignac#a succeeded in   
proving that it was oxygen in an        
allotropic condition4 ,marignac's work  
was confirmed by ,de la ,rive1 and      
subsequently the elaborate researches of
 ,andrews and ,tait1 and ,soret1  as    
well as those of von ,bato and ,claus   
have established beyond all  question   
that ozone is an allotropic modification
 of oxygen1 and that  its density is one
 and a half times that of ordinary      
oxygen4    ,the possibility of the      
existence of allotropic modifications of
 oxygen  having been thus established it

 is not surprising that attempts should 
have been made to find other forms in   
which this element might occur4  ,as    
early as #ahee ,houzeau#b stated that   
when barium superoxide was  decomposed  
with concentrated sulphuric acid1 at low
 temperatures1 a  colorless gas was     
evolved which oxidized metals and       
ammonia4 ,it had a  penetrating odor and
 possessed the power of bleaching litmus
 paper1  and liberated iodine from      
potassium iodide4 ,by heating the gas to
 a  temperature of #ge;,c it was        
completely converted into ordinary      
oxygen4  ,he calls the gas nascent      
oxygen and further states that it is    
probable that whenever oxygen is set    
free from any of its compounds at  low  
temperatures it is in the nascent or    
active state4    ,clausius#c at one time
 supposed that free atoms of oxygen     
might exist  in an uncombined state1 and
 his hypothesis on the nature of ozone  
was that this substance consisted of a  
mixture of molecules and free  atoms of 

oxygen4 ,in a later paper#d1 however1 he
 abandoned this view  and regarded ozone
 as consisting of one or more atoms of  
oxygen feebly  united1 7lose verbunden7 
with molecules of ordinary oxygen4      
,the idea that a third form of oxygen   
existed also obtained support from  the 
fact that certain organic substances    
when exposed to the light in  the       
presence of oxygen or air1 acquire      
oxidizing properties4 ,in #ahej         
,schnbein#e stated that ether           
turpentine1 and oil of lemons if allowed
  to stand in diffused light in contact 
with the air acquires the  power of     
decomposing potassium iodide1 and       
decolorizing indigo4 ,in a  subsequent  
paper#f he shows that methyl and ethyl  
alcohols1 tartaric  and citric acids and
 even sulphuretted and arsenuretted     
hydrogen  in the presence of sun light  
can decolorize indigo4 ,these studies   
led ,schnbein to publish a theory on the
 different modifications of  oxygen4 ,in
 this paper#g he states that besides    

ordinary oxygen there  are two other    
conditions in which it may exist one of 
these is ozone1  or positively          
electrified oxygen1 the other antozone  
or negatively  electrified oxygen4 ,the 
union of ozone and antozone gives       
ordinary  oxygen4 ,he also stated that  
antozone was formed by the action of    
light  on turpentine and air1 and       
subsequently in #ahfbh he claimed that  
antozone was identical with the gas     
obtained when barium superoxide  is     
treated with acids4 ,meissner#i also    
supported the views of  ,schnbein and   
claimed that antozone was formed in two 
ways3--#ast1 ,by  treating barium       
dioxide with concentrated sulphuric     
acid1 #bnd1 ,by the  electrification of 
oxygen2 being produced simultaneously   
with the ozone4    ,these statements    
remained unquestioned for a number of   
years and are  found in the text books  
of the period1 7for example             
,graham-,otto1 and  ,gorup-,besauez7 but
 in #ahgj ,engler and ,nasse#aj         

undertook a thorough  investigation to  
determine whether antozone existed4 ,by 
treating  barium dioxide with strong    
sulphuric acid they find a gas to be    
given  off which is a mixture of ozone  
and hydrogen dioxide1 and they also     
show that the stronger the acid the     
greater the quantity of ozone  produced4
 ,secondly1 ,meissner had stated that by
 the electrification of  oxygen ozone   
and antozone were formed4 ,the evidence 
of the existence  of antozone being     
this2 when the ozonized oxygen was      
passed through a  solution of potassium 
iodide to destroy the ozone1 the        
residual gas  gave white fumes when     
brought into contact with water1 and    
after a time  hydrogen dioxide could be 
detected in the water4 ,schnbein and    
,meissner  held that the ozone having   
been destroyed by the potassium iodide  
the antozone passed on and oxidized the 
water to hydrogen dioxide4  ,now ,engler
 and ,nasse show that when ozone is     
decomposed by easily  oxidisable        

substances in the presence of water     
hydrogen dioxide also is  formed1 and it
 was the vapor of this compound which   
had been regarded  as antozone4 ,it is  
known that ozone cannot oxidize water1  
but that it  is to a slight extent      
oxidized when other oxidisable          
substances are  present is not          
surprising1 as other phenomena of a     
similar kind are  known4 ,thus when     
nitric acid acts on an alloy of silver  
with gold or  platinum1 containing a    
certain proportion of silver1 some of   
the gold  or platinum are dissolved     
although by themselves they are         
insoluble4  ,when ammonia burns some of 
the nitrogen as well as the hydrogen is 
oxidized4 ,engler and ,nasse therefore  
conclude that there is no basis  for the
 assumption of a third form of oxygen   
having the properties  attributed to    
antozone4    ,berthelot#aa and          
,houzeau#ab conclude from their         
investigations that  the oxidizing      
properties which turpentine and other   

organic compounds  acquire under certain
 conditions is due to the formation of  
unstable  oxygenated compounds which    
readily decompose giving up oxygen4     
,fudakowski#ac has described experiments
 showing that benzene can become        
active1 i4e4 acquire oxidizing          
properties1 but states that he is unable
  to explain the phenomenon4 ,loew#ad1  
however1 believes active turpentine  to 
contain atomic oxygen or antozone in    
solution4    ,after ,engler and ,nasse  
had demonstrated the nonexistence of    
antozone  all discussion on the subject 
ceased for a number of years1 and it    
was not until #ahgh that                
,hoppe-,seyler#ae again opened the      
question4 ,in  studying the processes of
 putrefaction he observed that free     
hydrogen  is given off in those cases in
 which oxygen is not present1 and that  
whenever oxygen has access to decaying  
liquids1 not only is all the  hydrogen  
oxidized but energetic oxidation        
processes are observed as  well4 ,the   

simplest explanation of this seemed to  
be that the nascent  hydrogen has the   
power of splitting up the oxygen        
molecule1 uniting  with one atom and    
setting the other free1 and these free  
atoms he  imagined brought about the    
strong oxidations which take place in   
decaying bodies4    ,to test this       
hypothesis he made experiments with     
palladium hydrogen4  ,graham has        
described the energetic reducing power  
of this compound but  that it can also  
cause oxidations ,hoppe-,seyler showed  
by bringing some  strips of palladium   
charged with hydrogen into a solution of
 indigo  in the presence of air4 ,the   
solution soon became yellow and after a 
time the indigo was completely          
destroyed4 ,if palladium hydrogen be    
brought into a neutral solution of      
potassium iodide and starch1 the  liquid
 becomes blue in a few minutes1 after   
which the starch is slowly  destroyed4  
,in a similar way benzene was oxidized  
to phenol4 8,these  experiments and     

others of a similar nature10 he asserts1
 8admit of no  explanation other than   
that the active hydrogen renders the    
oxygen  active1 and since the former    
unites with oxygen we cannot well       
conceive  of the process without        
supposing that the hydrogen in uniting  
with one  atom of the molecule ,o#b sets
 the remaining atom free1 thus making it
  active40 8,just as the hydrogen atom  
cannot exist in a free state so the     
active oxygen1 if no oxidizable material
 is present1 unites with water  to form 
hydrogen dioxide1 or with inactive      
oxygen to form ozone40    ,this theory  
has been taken up and developed by      
,baumann1 who in #ahha  published a     
paper#af entitled 8,contribution to the 
knowledge of ,active  ,oxygen40 ,the    
paper begins with the statement that    
besides ordinary  inactive oxygen and   
ozone there is a third modification     
known as  active or nascent oxygen4 ,he 
states that this active oxygen cannot   
be isolated1 and its formation can only 

be recognized by its action  on other   
bodies4 8,active oxygen 7,o7 is the most
 powerful oxidizing  substance known and
 can unite with inactive oxygen 7,o#b7  
to form  ozone 7,o#c74 ,the production  
of ozone is always preceded by the      
formation of active oxygen10 but he     
states 8active oxygen can be formed     
under conditions when no ozone can be   
formed1 this is the case when  easily   
oxidized substances are in contact with 
the active oxygen in  such a way that   
the latter is completely consumed in    
oxidizing those  substances40 8,thus1   
for instance1 ozone is formed when      
oxygen is  rendered active by the slow  
combustion of moist phosphorus in air1  
but no ozone is formed if the atmosphere
 surrounding the phosphorus  contains   
the vapor of alcohol1 ether and similar 
substances40 ,the  fallacy of this      
reasoning becomes apparent on referring 
to the work of  ,mller#ag on the        
luminosity of phosphorus who shows that 
substances  which prevent the luminosity

 also prevent its oxidation and if the  
phosphorus is not oxidized we have no   
reason for assuming the formation  of   
active oxygen4    ,he then compares     
active oxygen with the antozone of      
,schnbein and says  that several of the 
properties of antozone can be ascribed  
to active  oxygen above all that        
property of antozone of oxidizing water 
to  hydrogen dioxide4 ,the only         
difference between the two being that   
active  oxygen has but a momentary      
existence while antozone was supposed to
 be  capable of isolation4    ,baumann  
then describes results obtained by      
himself which enable us to  clearly     
distinguish between active oxygen and   
ozone4 ,starting from  the observation  
of ,remsen#ah and ,southworth that      
carbon monoxide1 at  ordinary           
temperatures1 is not oxidized by ozone1 
he suspected that  active oxygen would  
readily effect its oxidation4 ,palladium
 hydrogen  was therefore sealed up in a 
capacious glass tube with a few cubic   

centimeters of clear lime water and a   
mixture of carbon monoxide and  oxygen  
free from carbon dioxide4 ,at first the 
lime water remained  clear1 but after   
several hours a cloudiness in the lime  
water became  visible and after several 
days a precipitate of calcium carbonate 
settled to the bottom of the tube4 ,he  
then repeated the experiment in a       
modified form4 ,from a gasometer1       
containing a mixture of three volumes   
of oxygen and one of carbon monoxide    
free from carbon dioxide a slow  current
 of gas was passed1 first into a wash   
bottle containing a clear  solution of  
baryta water1 then into a tube          
containing palladium  hydrogen4 ,then   
the gases were again passed through a   
wash bottle  containing baryta water4   
,after the current had been passing for 
four  hours1 the first baryta water was 
still perfectly clear1 but the  second  
showed a distinct cloudiness of barium  
carbonate1 which slowly  increased in   
the course of twelve hours4 ,the baryta 

water in the first  wash bottle remained
 clear even to the end of the           
experiment4    ,the different behavior  
of ozone and active oxygen was then     
shown by the  following experiment3--8,a
 slow current of air free from carbon   
dioxide  was passed into a flask        
containing moist phosphorus1 from there 
into a  second flask where the ozonized 
air came in contact with a somewhat     
slower current1 consisting of a mixture 
of three volumes of oxygen to  one of   
carbon monoxide1 carefully purified from
 carbon dioxide4 ,from  the second flask
 the gases were passed through a clear  
solution of  baryta water40 8,after all 
carbon dioxide had been removed from the
  apparatus the baryta water remained   
perfectly clear 7vllig klar7 after  the 
gases had passed through for six hours40
 8,but1 on the other hand1  if the      
mixture of carbon monoxide and oxygen   
was passed into the first  flask1       
containing the moist phosphorus and in  
which according to our  theory active   

oxygen must occur1 then the result is   
quite different1  the baryta water      
becomes cloudy in a short time and in   
the course  of an hour there is formed  
an abundant precipitate 7#8reichlicher  
,niederschlag'7 of barium carbonate40   
,from these results he concludes that   
active oxygen may be detected  by its   
power of oxidizing carbon monoxide1 and 
states that this fact  enables us to    
decide whether in oxidations effected by
 ozone there  occur free atoms of       
oxygen4    ,closely related to these    
experiments of ,baumann are those of    
,professor  ,remsen#ai on the           
transformation of ozone into oxygen by  
heat4 ,now if  atoms of oxygen can exist
 in the free state1 it is difficult to  
see why  transformation some of the     
oxygen atoms should not be in the free  
condition1 and the statements of        
,baumann being true1 if carbon  monoxide
 is also present this should be         
oxidized4 ,to test the question  a      
gasometer was filled with carbon        

monoxide made from potassium            
ferrocyanide and sulphuric acid4 ,before
 entering the gasometer the  gas was    
purified by passing through four wash   
bottles containing  concentrated sodium 
hydroxide4 ,another gasometer was filled
 with pure  oxygen4 ,the ozone was      
produced by the silent electric         
discharge in a  ,wright's tube connected
 with a ,stoltz electrical machine4 ,in 
detail the  experiments were conducted  
as follows3--    ,a slow current of     
oxygen from the gasometer was passed    
through three  woulfe bottles containing
 a concentrated solution of caustic soda
 and  then into the ozonizer1 the       
ozonized oxygen was then passed into a  
,u  tube1 rubber joints between the     
ozonizer and ,u tube were found to be   
rapidly perforated and were replaced by 
a device of this kind3--                
,illustration    ,a1 the tube from the  
ozonizer was introduced several inches  
into ,b1  the tube leading to the ,u    
tube1 and the joint ,c was closed by a  

cement  composed of beeswax and         
paraffin4 ,the carbon monoxide was      
passed  through wash bottles containing 
caustic soda and finally through baryta 
water4 ,the two gases were then brought 
together in a ,u tube placed  in an air 
bath4 ,after leaving the ,u tube the    
gases passed through  perfectly clear   
lime water4 ,under these conditions the 
current of the  gases was continued for 
an hour1 and no precipitate was formed  
in the  lime water4    8,separate       
experiments were made for the purpose of
 determining how  readily the ozone was 
destroyed1 and it was found that1 even  
when the  thermometer in the ,u tube    
indicated a temperature considerably    
below  that stated as the decomposition 
temperature of ozone1 and when highly   
ozonized oxygen was certainly entering  
the ,u tube1 no ozone passed out1       
whether carbon monoxide was present or  
not in the tube at the same  time40 ,the
 experiment as thus described was       
repeated several times1  but always with

 the same result4 8,one modification of 
the experiment  should also be mentioned
 in this connection4 ,in order to get as
 good  ozone as possible the ionizer was
 filled with oxygen and the current  of 
gas stopper1 the silent discharge was   
allowed to continue for a  few minutes1 
then the gas was slowly passed into the 
heated ,u tube  containing carbon       
monoxide4 ,this interrupted current of  
oxygen was  continued for about an hour 
but no oxidation of carbon monoxide to  
dioxide could be detected40 ,the        
conclusion that must necessarily be     
drawn from the result is that if carbon 
monoxide is a test for active  oxygen1  
then when ozone is decomposed by heat   
there is no nascent or  active oxygen   
formed4    ,the negative result obtained
 in the preceding investigation1        
naturally  called in question the       
accuracy of ,baumann's statements in    
regard to  the formation of active      
oxygen by the slow oxidation of         
phosphorus1  and of palladium hydrogen  

in the presence of oxygen and water4    
,the two  experiments upon which he had 
based his conclusion have been described
  on pages #af and #ah4 ,the first of   
these was that palladium hydrogen  in   
the presence of oxygen and water        
effected the oxidation of carbon        
monoxide1 the second1 that when carbon  
monoxide was brought in contact  with   
moist phosphorus and air oxidation was  
observed4    ,in regard to the first of 
these experiments ,traube#bj has        
carefully  investigated what takes place
 when palladium hydrogen is allowed to  
remain in contact with water and oxygen4
 ,hoppe-,seyler had noticed  that under 
these conditions small quantities of    
hydrogen dioxide were  formed1 but he   
attributed this to the union of the     
active oxygen  with the water4 ,traube1 
on the other hand1 finds that in the    
formation  of hydrogen dioxide under    
these circumstances there is nothing    
formed  which has oxidizing properties1 
not even indigo sulphuric acid is       

oxidized4 ,he shows by direct           
experiments that nascent hydrogen can   
not  by its action on oxygen produce    
active oxygen or ozone4 ,he finds the   
action of palladium hydrogen to be      
analogous to that of zinc and other     
metals1 which when allowed to oxidize   
slowly in contact with air and  water   
give rise to the formation of hydrogen  
dioxide4 ,the process is to  be regarded
 rather as a reduction of molecules of  
oxygen than as an  oxidation of water4  
,traube represents the action by the    
following  equations3--                 
----------------------------      ,,oh  
,,oh,h      ,o     _/       ,zn         
,zn     ,h#b,o#b       ,zn              
,,oh,h     ,o                           
----------------------------      ,,oh  
------------------------------          
,pd#b;,h         ,,oh,h                 
,o#b   #d ,pd  #b ,h#b,o  ,h#b,o#b      
,pd#b;,h         ,,oh,h                 
------------------------------    ,he   
proves by direct experiments that no    

active oxygen is formed  during this    
process1 and points out that the        
oxidations observed by  ,hoppe-,seyler  
and ,baumann must have been brought     
about by the hydrogen  dioxide4 ,but    
this would not account for the oxidation
 of carbon  monoxide1 for it has been   
previously shown by ,remsen#ba that     
hydrogen  dioxide cannot oxidize carbon 
monoxide1 not even when it is heated  to
 its point of decomposition4 ,traube#bb 
therefore repeats ,baumann's            
experiment1 he finds that palladium     
hydrogen in the presence of water  and  
oxygen does oxidize carbon monoxide2 but
 as he had shown that  no active oxygen 
was formed during the process1 and as   
the hydrogen  dioxide could not cause   
the oxidation1 he concluded that the    
palladium  itself must play an important
 role in the reaction4 ,by further      
experiments he soon became convinced    
that there are two stages in the        
process4 #ast the palladium hydrogen    
acting on water and oxygen forms        

hydrogen dioxide1 #bnd the hydrogen     
dioxide in the presence of palladium    
oxidizes the carbon monoxide4 ,traube#bc
 introduced into a glass flask          
containing carbon monoxide a dilute     
solution of hydrogen dioxide and  a     
small piece of palladium foil1          
previously ignited1 the action was      
allowed to continue for #bb hours after 
which the ,,co was replaced by  air free
 from carbon dioxide4 ,after leaving the
 flask the gas passed  through a        
solution of barium hydroxide2 an        
abundant precipitate was  formed1       
showing that in this case the quantity  
of carbon dioxide formed  was greater   
than in the first experiment1 in which  
he used palladium  hydrogen1 water1     
oxygen and carbon monoxide4    ,traube's
 conclusion is as follows3--    8,the   
carbon dioxide obtained in ,baumann's   
experiments is not formed  during the   
oxidation of the hydrogen of the        
palladium hydrogen1 7there  being formed
 by this action merely hydrogen dioxide 

and palladium free  from hydrogen7 but  
by the combined action of these last two
 substances  on carbon monoxide40       
8,therefore1 the proof is given that the
 act of  slow combustion 7,autoxidation7
 has not in itself the power of making  
oxygen active40    ,the conclusion      
reached by ,traube was tested by        
,professor ,remsen and  myself in the   
following way3 ,a current of carbon     
monoxide was passed  through several    
wash bottles containing solutions of    
caustic soda1  then through a wash      
bottle containing clear baryta water1   
then into a  flask containing a solution
 of hydrogen dioxide1 containing a      
slight  excess of hydrochloric acid4    
,the flask also contained a small piece 
of palladium foil free from hydrogen4   
,after leaving the flask the gas  passed
 through a solution of baryta water1    
which was protected from the  air by a  
,u tube containing solid ,,koh4 ,it was 
only necessary to pass the  carbon      
monoxide through for a very short time  

to obtain an abundant  precipitate of   
barium carbonate4 ,we also noticed that 
under these  conditions the palladium   
foil was dissolved4    ,from these      
experiments it is clear that the        
oxidation phenomena which               
,hoppe-,seyler and ,baumann attributed  
to active oxygen are really due to  the 
combined action of palladium and        
hydrogen dioxide1 and to suppose  that  
atomic oxygen exists in the free state  
at any time during the  process is      
entirely gratuitous4    ,it remained to 
test the second of ,baumann's           
statements2 namely that  carbon monoxide
 in the presence of moist phosphorus and
 air is oxidized  to carbon dioxide by  
the active oxygen formed by the slow    
combustion  of the phosphorus4 ,leeds#bd
 also has on record an experiment on    
this  subject1 in which he claims that  
under these conditions oxidation takes  
place4 ,in taking up the subject1       
therefore1 ,prof4 ,remsen#be and myself 
have taken the greatest care to avoid   

all sources of error4 ,we tried  the    
effects of passing air alone freed from 
carbon dioxide over moist  phosphorus   
and then into clear baryta water1       
,baumann#bf states that  this can be    
done1 and the baryta water remains      
perfectly clear1 even if  the current of
 air is passed for six hours4 ,we       
obtained a precipitate  immediately4    
,thinking this might be caused by the   
white vapors which  are formed during   
the process1 we passed the gas after its
 exit from  the vessel containing the   
phosphorus through a layer of previously
  ignited asbestos4 ,the layer of       
asbestos was between two and three feet 
in length and the air after having      
traversed it no longer contained  any   
white fumes4 ,from the asbestos tube the
 air passed into a solution  of clear   
baryta water4 ,a precipitate was formed 
at once and increased  in quantity the  
longer the current continued4 8,it was  
tested for  phosphoric acid and         
phosphorus in general but not a trace   

could  be detected4 ,the current of air 
over the phosphorus was continued  for  
several days in order to obtain enough  
of the precipitate for  examination and 
analysis4 ,it proved to be nothing but  
barium carbonate40    8,the carbon      
dioxide must have come from one of two  
sources1 either  from some carbonaceous 
substance contained in our phosphorus1  
or as  the result of the action of ozone
 on the cork stoppers used to make      
connections4 ,the use of rubber was     
avoided as far as possible1 and  every  
precaution was taken as in the earlier  
experiments on the carbon  monoxide and 
ozone4 ,it did not appear improbable    
therefore that the  difficulty arose    
from the use of impure phosphorus4      
,phosphorus was1  therefore1 obtained   
from as many different sources as       
possible1 and  with each of these the   
above described experiment was repeated1
 using  the same apparatus4 ,in every   
case the precipitate of barium carbonate
  was obtained and as far as could be   

estimated in about the same  quantity4  
,attempts were then made to purify the  
phosphorus4 ,one  specimen was placed in
 hot water under the receiver of an air 
pump and  the air exhausted1 for the    
purpose of recovering any gases which   
might  be contained in the phosphorus4  
,other specimens were distilled in an   
atmosphere of pure hydrogen and the     
vapor condensed in cold water4 ,no      
matter what process of purification had 
been adopted the phosphorus  acted in   
the same way afterwards as before40     
8,we then constructed an apparatus in   
which the gases could at no point  come 
in contact with cork stoppers or rubber 
joints4 ,this consisted of  a flask of  
from three to four litres capacity1     
provided with a doubly  perforated cork 
stopper4 ,through this there passed one 
glass tube  reaching to the bottom of   
the flask1 and another reaching only    
half  way4 ,outside the flask the       
shorter tube was connected with the wash
  bottles used to purify the air from   

carbon dioxide1 while the longer  tube  
was bent twice at right angles1 and     
passed through the stopper of  a ,u tube
 about #h in4 high4 ,in the flask there 
were placed two or three  sticks of     
phosphorus1 each three or four inches   
long1 and enough  distilled water to    
somewhat more than fill the neck when   
the flask was  inverted4 ,the ,u tubes  
were filled with moistened asbestos     
which had  been previously ignited4     
,there was then added some mercury1 so  
that  when the tubes were inverted in   
which position the entire apparatus  was
 placed when in use the mercury covered 
the corks with a layer from  three      
quarters to an inch in thickness4       
,the last ,u tube was connected with the
 vessel containing the baryta  water by 
means of a mercury joint4 ,the baryta   
water was protected from  the action of 
the air by placing before it a small ,u 
tube containing  solid potassium        
hydroxide1 this was in connection with  
an aspirator4  ,before connecting the   

bulbs containing the baryta water1 air  
free from  carbon dioxide was drawn     
through the apparatus4 ,on now          
connecting the  baryta water bulbs no   
precipitate was formed4 ,about one third
 of the  air in the flask was replaced  
by pure carbon monoxide1 the mixture was
  allowed to remain several hours in    
contact with the moist phosphorus  and  
then drawn through the baryta water     
bulbs4 ,no precipitate was  formed4     
,this experiment was frequently repeated
 with the same result40    8,in some    
cases the air  carbon monoxide were     
drawn together slowly for  several hours
 over the phosphorus1 but this made no  
difference in the  result40    ,having  
found1 therefore1 no evidence of the    
oxidation of carbon  monoxide1 we have  
no right to assume that when phosphorus 
oxidizes  slowly in the presence of     
water and air that there is formed an   
active  condition of oxygen distinct    
from ozone4    ,to this paper both      
,baumann#bg and ,leeds#bh replied4 ,the 

former  recognizing the necessity of    
avoiding all connections of rubber or   
organic matter1 describes a new form of 
apparatus1 in which the joints  are all 
made of ground glass4 ,with this new    
apparatus he finds that  he can pass air
 over phosphorus at the rate of from two
 to three  bubbles per second1 then     
through #aj cubic centimetres of water1 
and  finally into baryta water1 and     
claims that only a slight turbidity of  
phosphate and phosphite of barium is    
formed in the course of several  days6  
,this statement to us is                
incomprehensible and as will be evident 
from what follow1 unless ,baumann had   
phosphorus absolutely free from  carbon 
7of which he makes no mention and which 
as far as we know it is  impossible to  
obtain7 he has described an             
impossibility4 ,on introducing  #ajj    
cubic centimetres of carbon monoxide    
into the air every two hours  he soon   
obtained a distinct cloudiness which    
constantly increased1  until in #aj     

hours the inlet tube in the baryta water
 became stopped up  and the experiment  
was discontinued4 ,he then determined   
the percentage  of oxidation2 his       
results are as follows--    #gjj cubic  
centimetres of carbon monoxide mixed    
with enough air to  require #ae hours to
 pass through the apparatus gave #cff   
milligrams  ,,co#b or #b4f of oxidation4
 ,in another experiment a mixture       
consisting  of thirty litre of air and  
#b4de litres of carbon monoxide1        
requiring #ab  hours in passing the     
phosphorus1 gave #dff milligrams of     
,,co#b1 or #a4c  of the original        
quantity of monoxide was oxidized4      
,baumann1 in the arrangement of his     
apparatus1 has taken no precautions  to 
prevent the air from coming in contact  
with organic connections  before it is  
introduced into the flask containing the
 phosphorus4 ,now  ,karsten#bi has shown
 that air alone when it comes in contact
 with the  organic matter of corks and  
connectors forms carbon dioxide2 it is1 

therefore1 highly probable that in the  
course of from #ab to #ae hours a       
portion of his precipitate was due to   
this cause4 ,the reminder came1 as  will
 appear presently1 from carbon contained
 in the phosphorus4    ,leeds conducted 
his experiment as follows3--,a ten litre
 flask provided  with a glass stopper1  
was filled with a mixture of equal parts
 of  carbon monoxide and air1 and       
allowed to stand in contact with moist  
phosphorus for six days4 ,the glass     
stopper was then removed and  replaced  
by a cork2 and the mouth of the vessel  
being placed under  mercury1 the gases  
were displaced and passed through baryta
 water4 ,a  precipitate containing #ae4e
 mg of carbon dioxide was obtained4 ,it 
is  evident that in the course of six   
days1 in a tightly closed vessel1 the   
oxygen of the air must have been        
completely used up so that the mixed    
gases were necessarily under diminished 
pressure4 ,then in taking  out the glass
 stopper for the purpose of introducing 

the cork1 no  precautions were taken to 
prevent the access of ordinary air1 and 
a  considerable volume of the air of the
 laboratory must have entered2  enough1 
certainly1 to account for some of the   
precipitate he obtained4  ,the rest of  
the carbon dioxide must have come as in 
,baumann's  experiment from the         
oxidation of carbon contained in the    
phosphorus4    ,that ordinary commercial
 sticks of phosphorus contain carbon was
 shown  by us in the following          
way#cj3--;,air was passed from a        
gasometer into a  hard glass tube       
containing copper oxide heated to       
redness1 represented  by ,k in the      
drawing4 ,then through a series of wash 
bottles ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 so  constructed that
 the connecting tubes were fitted into  
each other by  means of ground glass    
joints4 ,a and ,b contained a           
concentrated solution  of caustic soda1 
,c a solution of baryta water4 ,the air 
then passed into  an ordinary bell jar1 
having a capacity of about a litre and a

 quarter4  ,this was held in position on
 mercury contained in a crystallizing   
dish4  ,the inlet tube was bent downward
 into a small dish containing the       
phosphorus1 represented by ,h in the    
figure4 ,the gas after leaving the  bell
 jar passed through two wash bottles ,d 
and ,e1 similar to ,a1 ,b1 ,c4 ,d       
contained #cj-dj c4c4 of ordinary       
distilled water4 ,e contained a clear   
solution of baryta water1 and was       
connected with a tube containing  solid 
caustic potash to protect it from the   
air4 ,the outlet tube from  the wash    
bottle ,c is bent so as to pass beneath 
the edge of the bell  jar1 then up into 
the closed space above the mercury1 and 
then down  towards the phosphorus4 ,a   
long funnel tube ,j served to introduce 
or  remove water from the dish          
containing the phosphorus4 ,the air     
therefore  after having entered the tube
 ,k came at no point in contact with    
organic matter1 and yet we found that   
after all ordinary air had been         

displaced by purified air1 and clear    
baryta water introduced into  the wash  
bottle ,e1 a precipitate was found4 ,ten
 litres of air were  sufficient to cause
 a distinct turbidity1 while #bj to #cj 
gave a  precipitate4 ,as there is no    
possible source of error it follows     
that the carbon dioxide must have come  
from the oxidation of carbon  contained 
in the phosphorus4    ,illustration     
,that carbon should be present in       
phosphorus is not surprising            
considering its method of manufacture4  
,whether the carbon existing in  the    
phosphorus is in chemical combination or
 not we are unable to say4  ,the        
specimens of phosphorus used by us were 
perfectly homogenous4 ,there  was no    
evidence of the presence of particles in
 them1 and the solution  in carbon      
bisulphide was perfectly clear1 and on  
standing nothing  whatever was          
deposited4 ,even distilled phosphorus   
acted in the same  way1 showing that    
this also contained carbon4    ,a simple

 way to show the presence of carbon in  
any sample of phosphorus  is to burn a  
small piece of the latter in a small    
porcelain dish1  floating in water under
 a bell jar fitted with a glass stop    
cock4 ,after  the combustion is over the
 vessel is allowed to stand some time   
until  the white fumes have entirely    
disappeared4 ,the gas is then passed    
through water and finally into baryta   
water where a precipitate is  invariably
 formed4 ,the air in the bell jar must  
of course be free from  carbon dioxide4 
,as the bell jar is only lifted far     
enough to permit the  introduction of   
the dish with the phosphorus1 and this  
operation is  performed instantaneously1
 the amount of carbon dioxide thus      
introduced  can only be infinitesimal4  
,we now made some experiments with the  
object of determining whether  changes  
in the amount of phosphorus exposed in  
the bell jar ,f of our  ozonizing       
apparatus had any effect upon the amount
 of barium carbonate  formed in the wash

 bottle ,e4 ,we found that the amount of
 precipitate is  plainly influenced by  
the rate of passage of the gases1 the   
temperature  and the amount of          
phosphorus exposed1 but that if the     
temperature is  between #bj and #be;,c1 
the rate of passage of the air about two
 or three  bubbles per second1 and the  
amount of phosphorus exposed from #bj to
 #cj  grams a slight precipitate is     
always formed by #aj litres of air1 and 
that #be to #cj litres give a decided   
precipitate4    ,having therefore       
demonstrated the presence of carbon in  
all the  specimens of phosphorus at our 
disposal1 and knowing that purified air 
alone when passed over phosphorus would 
give a precipitate when  passed into    
baryta water1 we next determined whether
 if carbon  monoxide being present in   
the air passing over the phosphorus1    
and all other conditions the same1 the  
amount of precipitate is  increased4    
,for this purpose parallel experiments  
under as nearly  the same conditions as 

possible were made one with air alone1  
the  other with air and carbon monoxide4
 ,in the first experiment about  #be    
litres of air were passed through the   
apparatus1 the conditions  being        
carefully noted4 ,the wash bottle       
containing the precipitate  was removed 
at the end of the operation1 instantly  
stoppered and set  aside for comparison4
    ,the water was then removed from the
 wash bottle ,d and replaced by fresh   
distilled water1 a new bottle attached  
in the place of ,e and after  passing   
about a litre of pure air through the   
apparatus1 the necessary  quantity of   
baryta water filtered rapidly through a 
plaited filter into  the wash bottle4   
,now the experiment was repeated1 with  
the difference that during the  passage 
of twenty-five litres of air1 a very    
slow current of carefully  purified     
carbon monoxide 7made from pure         
sulphuric and formic acids7  was passed 
through three wash bottles1 like those  
used for the air1 and  containing the   

same substances1 and then into the bell 
jar containing  phosphorus and air4 ,the
 rate of the current was so regulated   
that  during the time of the experiment1
 which varied in different cases  from  
three to eight hours1 three litres of   
carbon monoxide were used4  ,the same   
slow formation of a precipitate was     
noticed when the carbon  monoxide was   
used as in the case of air alone4 ,at   
the end of the  operation we were unable
 to distinguish any difference between  
the  amounts of the small precipitates  
formed4 ,they did not appear to be  as  
great as that found by ,baumann1 they   
were too small to permit of  accurate   
filtering and weighing1 if we consider  
the nature of the  liquid in which they 
were present4    ,the only conclusion   
which we can draw is1 as is stated in   
the first  paper on this subject1 that  
carbon monoxide is not oxidized by air  
in  the presence of moist phosphorus4   
,that in our first experiments we did   
not obtain evidence of the  presence of 

carbonic of phosphorus is due to the    
fact that we worked  with small volumes 
of the gases4 ,in those cases in which  
relatively  large volumes were used the 
slight cloudiness produced was          
disregarded  as the same result was     
obtained with air alone4    ,having1    
therefore1 been unable to obtain any    
evidence of the  oxidation of carbon    
monoxide when phosphorus undergoes slow 
combustion in the presence of air and   
water1 the second and last  of          
,baumann's arguments for the existence  
of active oxygen becomes  untenable4    
,whether oxygen ever does occur in the  
so called active  condition still       
remains to be shown4    ,that the       
nascent state of an element should be   
due to the momentary  existence of free 
atoms is entirely hypothetical4         
,tommasi#ca has  shown that the         
properties of nascent hydrogen vary     
according to the  method by which it is 
formed4 ,he regards nascent hydrogen as 
ordinary  molecular hydrogen plus       

varying quantities of heat1 and he shows
 that  as the heat of the reaction      
varies so the activity of the hydrogen  
varies4 ,the same is undoubtedly true of
 oxygen1 for it is known that  oxygen   
evolved by some reactions is more       
powerful than by others4  ,that we shall
 ever be able to show that this heat in 
some cases is  sufficient to dissociate 
the molecules of oxygen seems           
improbable4    ,baumann#cb has recently 
published another paper1 but has failed 
to  contribute either new facts or ideas
 on the subject4      ,estimation of    
,carbon in ,phosphorus4    ,having found
 carbon present in all varieties that we
 examined1  we naturally attempted its  
quantitative determination4 ,our first  
experiments did not prove successful4   
,chromic acid was tried1  but this gave 
unsatisfactory results for the reason   
that it was  impossible to control the  
action and at the same time secure      
complete  oxidation of the phosphorus4  
,with concentrated solutions the action 

is liable to become violent unless the  
temperature is kept low4    ,we also    
arranged an apparatus similar to that   
used in making  phosphorus pentoxide on 
the small scale4 ,the combustion took   
place  in a bell jar filled with pure   
air1 and after being thoroughly  washed 
the gases were passed through baryta    
water4 ,the operation was  imperfect    
owing to the formation of red           
phosphorus1 and to incomplete           
oxidation4    ,finally we succeeded in  
obtaining satisfactory results by using 
nitric acid of #a4b sp gr4 ,the         
phosphorus was oxidized in a retort  of 
#ejj c4c4 capacity4 ,the retort was     
inclined so that any liquid  condensing 
in the neck would run back4 ,a glass    
tube fitted to the  neck of the retort  
by means of gypsum served to convey the 
evolved  gases into a wash bottle       
containing pure water4 ,the latter was  
connected with a combustion tube        
containing in one end a layer of        
metallic copper about six inches in     

length1 this served to decompose  the   
oxides of nitrogen4 ,the remainder of   
the tube was filled with  copper oxide1 
which served to oxidize any carbon      
compound1 which  might be formed by the 
oxidation of the phosphorus1 to carbon  
dioxide4 ,after leaving the combustion  
tube the gases passed1 first  through a 
wash bottle containing water1 then into 
one containing  clear barium hydroxide1 
which was protected from the action of  
the  air4 ,all joints which were not of 
ground glass were made by means  of     
gypsum4 ,the operation was conducted as 
follows3--,after #bjj to  #cjj cubic    
centimetres of nitric acid 7sp gr #a4b7 
and the weighted  quantity of phosphorus
 had been introduced into the retort1 a 
slow  current of air free from carbon   
dioxide was drawn through the           
apparatus4 ,the tubulus of the retort   
was then closed by means of a  glass    
stopper1 the combustion tube containing 
the metallic copper and  copper oxide   
heated to a red heat1 and a solution of 

baryta water  rapidly filtered into the 
last wash bottle4 ,the retort was then  
heated gently1 after a time a regular   
evolution of gas takes place1  and a    
precipitate gradually forms in the      
baryta water4 ,at the end  of the       
operation1 air free from carbon dioxide 
is again drawn  through the apparatus to
 remove all of the oxidation products4  
,the precipitate is allowed to settle1  
the clear liquid is rapidly  decanted   
through a filter4 ,the precipitate is   
then washed1 and  quickly brought upon  
the filter paper4 ,the filtering is done
 by means  of a pump and is very rapid4 
,the precipitate is then dissolved in   
dilute hydrochloric acid and the        
solution heated to boiling and the      
barium precipitated by sulphuric acid in
 the usual way4 ,from the  weight of    
barium sulphate obtained1 the quantity  
of carbon in the  phosphorus is readily 
calculated4    ,in some instances the   
experiment was varied by using a large  
quantity  of phosphorus and allowing the

 action to continue for two or three    
hours1 then weighing the phosphorus     
which remained unacted upon4 ,in  two   
instances the carbon dioxide was weighed
 directly by replacing  the wash bottle 
containing the baryta water by weighed  
potash bulbs4    ,the following are the 
results obtained          ,i4  #f4bbgb  
grams ,phosphorus gave 4#jcjj gr        
,ba,s,o#d  4#jjeg grm ,,co#b  4#jjaf gr 
,c  4#jbf;,c4         ,,ii4 #g4iede grm 
,phosphorus gave 4#jcbd gr ,,co#b       
4#jjhh gr ,carbon  4#aaa ,carbon        
,,iii4 #h4hjda grm ,phosphorus gave     
4#jacd gr ,,co#b            4#jjcfe gr  
,carbon  4#jdb ,carbon         ,,iv4    
#i4jfej grm ,phosphorus gave 4#jedj     
,ba,s,o#d            4#jaja grm ,,co#b  
4#jjbgh gr ,c  4#jca ,c4          ,v4   
#af4dfcc grm ,phosphorus gave 4#acjc gr 
,ba,s,o#d  4#jbdf gr ,,co#b  4#jjfg ,c  
4#jda ,c4         ,,vi4 #aa grams       
,phosphorus gave 4#jibi grams           
,ba,s,o#d  4#jage gr ,,co#b  4#jjdgh ,c 
4#jdc ,c4          ,footnotes3    #a    

,annales de ,chim4 et de ,phys4 #ad-beb 
#b ,poggendorf4 ,ann4 #ie-dhd ,journ4 f4
 prakt4 ,chemie4 #fe-dii    #c ,pogg4   
,ann4 #ajc-fdd    #d ,pogg4 ,ann4       
#abj-bej    #e ,journ4 f4 prakt ,chem4  
#eb-ace    #f ,journ f4 prakt4 ,chem4   
#ec-fe    #g ,journ f4 prakt4 ,chem4    
#gg-abi    #h ,journ f4 prakt4 ,chemie  
#hf-fe    #i ,untersuchungen ber        
,sauerstoff4 ,hanover #ahfc    #aj      
,liebig's ,annalen #aed-bae4    #aa     
,annales de ,chim4 et de ,physiologie   
#c-eh    #ab ,compt4 ,rendus #ej-hbi    
#ac ,berichte der ,deutschen ,chem4     
,gesellschft4 #f-ajh    #ad ,zeitschrift
 f4 ,chemie 7#ahgj7 #f-faa    #ae       
,zeitschrift f4 ,physiol4 ,chemie #b-bb 
#af ,zeitschrft4 ,physiol ,chem4 #e--bdd
    #ag ,berichte der ,deutsch4 ,chem4  
,gesell4 #c-hd    #ah ,berichte der     
,deutsch4 ,chem4 ,gesell4 #h-adae    #ai
 ,american ,chemical ,journal #d-ej     
#bj ,berichte d4 ,deutsch4 ,chem4       
,gesell4 #ae-bdba    #ba ,berichte der  
,deutsch4 ,chem4 ,gesell4 #ae-bbb       

,american ,chem4 ,journ4 #d-ec    #bb   
,berichte der ,deutsch4 ,chem4 ,gesell4 
#af-abc    #bc ,berichte der ,deutsch4  
,chem4 ,gesell4 #af-abf    #bd ,journal 
,am4 ,chem4 ,soc4 #a-bcb    #be         
,american ,chem4 ,journal #d-ded    #bf 
,zeitsch4 f4 phys4 ,chem4 #e-bej    #bg 
,berichte der ,deutsch4 ,chem4 ,gesell4 
#af-badf    #bh ,chemical ,news #dh-be  
#bi ,poggendorff's ,annalen #aae-cdh4   
#cj ,american ,chemical ,journal #e-dbf4
    #ca ,bulletin ,soc4 ,chim4 #ch-adh  
#cb ,berichte d4 ,deutsch4 ,chem4       
,gesell4 #g-bhc