An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of CadmiumBucher, John Emery
History
An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of Cadmium
Bucher, John Emery
Cadmium; Thesis (Ph. D.)
The following experiments were then made and they seem to give definite
evidence not only of the existence of an error but also of its
magnitude. Carbonate of cadmium was made by dissolving pure cadmium in
nitric acid, adding an excess of ammonia and a small quantity of
ammonium carbonate. After standing for some time the cadmium carbonate
was filtered off and rejected. The filtrate was treated with an excess
of ammonium carbonate and the precipitated cadmium carbonate allowed to
digest in it for some time. After washing by decantation several times
the carbonate was transferred to a funnel containing a porcelain
filter-plate, covered with a piece of ashless filter paper of slightly
larger diameter, and washed thoroughly. with water. It was then
transferred to a platinum dish, care being taken to avoid contamination
with filter paper and heated gently to convert it into oxide. The
resulting oxide was powdered in an agate mortar, returned to the
platinum dish and heated to incipient whiteness for seven hours in a
muffle furnace. The temperature must not be too high, otherwise the
oxide will distill readily leaving no residue. The oxide is slightly
volatile at good red heat as was observed in trying to make a
determinant at this temperature by the oxide method. A weighed portion
of the oxide which had been prepared from the carbonate in the manner
described was dissolved in a weighed porcelain crucible and the
resulting nitrate converted into the oxide again by heat just as in the
oxide method. This constitutes experiment I. Experiments two and three
were made in exactly the same way except that a platinum crucible was
used instead of a porcelain one. The results are:
Initial Wt. Final Wt. Gain Corresponding Error in At. Wt.
I. 2.95469 2.95650 .00081 −.24
II. 2.67717 2.67835 .00117 −.39
III. 3.00295 3.00422 .00127 −.38
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