An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of Cadmium — John Shaqi
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.)
As we started with cadmium oxide, and, after passing to the nitrate,
converted it back into the oxide, the weight should remain unchanged if
the method is correct. However, this is not the case, but a large
increase in weight takes place. The increase is larger in a platinum
crucible than in a porcelain one, which accounts for the fact that a
lower value for the atomic weight is found by the oxide method when they
are used. The use of a porcelain crucible therefore diminishes the
error, but does not eliminate it. The explanation of this has already
been given. The oxides obtained in these three experiments were tested
for occluded gases in the manner already described, but only small
amounts were found. Both of those made in platinum crucibles were tested
for nitrate of cadmium with brucine and sulphuric acid with negative
results. To show that the impurity was not converted into an ammonium
salt when the oxide was dissolved in hydrochloric acid, a slight excess
of caustic potash was added to the solution, the precipitate allowed to
subside and the clean, supernatant liquid tested for ammonia with
Nessler’s reagent. No ammonia was found. In order to make these
experiments as severe a test as possible, a somewhat higher temperature
was employed than had in the five experiments described under the oxide
method. This was accomplished by boring out the stopcocks of the blast
lamp so that a larger supply of gas was furnished. The two oxides in the
platinum crucibles seemed to be constant in weight, but that in the
porcelain crucible seemed to lose in weight slowly. The weight given was
taken after four hours blasting, which is longer and at a higher
temperature than was used in any of the five determinations made by the
oxide method. If the cadmium oxide prepared from the carbonate retained
any carbon dioxide, it would lose weight in being dissolved and
reconverted into oxide. The above experiments therefore seem to furnish
very strong evidence that there is an error of at least −.24 unit in the
oxide method when porcelain crucibles are used and −.39 of a unit when
platinum ones are employed. if .24 of a unit is added to 112.07 the
result obtained when porcelain crucibles are used we get 112.31 and
adding .39 to 111.87 gives 112.26. Considering the small number of
experiments made, the fact that they were made in such a way as to give
a low value (numerically) for the error rather than a high one, and also
that the error is probably variable to some extent, especially when
porcelain crucibles are used, the corrected results agree as closely
with 112.38, the average of the chloride, bromide and sulphate
(synthetical) methods as could be expected. It must also be borne in
mind that 112.38 is only to be regarded as an approximation to the
atomic weight of cadmium. The increase in weight observed in converting
the nitrate back into oxide might also be explained by assuming that the
cadmium oxide used in the beginning of the experiments was richer in
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