J. Thomson, by measuring
the total quantity of electricity liberated throughout the gas.
At the degree of approximation which such experiments imply, we find
that the charge of a drop, and consequently the charge borne by an
ion, is sensibly 3.4 x 10^{-10} electrostatic or 1.1 x 10^{-20}
electromagnetic units. This charge is very near that which the study
of the phenomena of ordinary electrolysis leads us to attribute to a
univalent atom produced by electrolytic dissociation.
Such a coincidence is evidently very striking; but it will not be the
only one, for whatever phenomenon be studied it will always appear
that the smallest charge we can conceive as isolated is that
mentioned. We are, in fact, in presence of a natural unit, or, if you
will, of an atom of electricity.
We must, however, guard against the belief that the gaseous ion is
identical with the electrolytic ion. Sensible differences between
those are immediately apparent, and still greater ones will be
discovered on closer examination.
As M. Perrin has shown, the ionisation produced by the X-rays in no
way depends on the chemical composition of the gas; and whether we
take a volume of gaseous hydrochloric acid or a mixture of hydrogen
and chlorine in the same condition, all the results will be identical:
and chemical affinities play no part here.
Pages:
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322