--ED.]
Numerous experiments have made known the total mass of hydrogen
capable of carrying one coulomb, and it will therefore be possible to
estimate the charge of an ion of hydrogen if the number of atoms of
hydrogen in a given mass be known. This last figure is already
furnished by considerations derived from the kinetic theory, and
agrees with the one which can be deduced from the study of various
phenomena. The result is that an ion of hydrogen having a mass of 1.3
x 10^{-20} grammes bears a charge of 1.3 X 10^{-20} electromagnetic
units; and the second law will immediately enable the charge of any
other ion to be similarly estimated.
The measurements of conductivity, joined to certain considerations
relating to the differences of concentration which appear round the
electrode in electrolysis, allow the speed of the ions to be
calculated. Thus, in a liquid containing 1/10th of a hydrogen-ion per
litre, the absolute speed of an ion would be 3/10ths of a millimetre
per second in a field where the fall of potential would be 1 volt per
centimetre.
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