Excerpt from Hydrates in Aqueous Solution: Evidence for the Existence of Hydrates in Solution, Their Approximate Composition, and Certain Spectroscopic Investigations Bearing Upon the Hydrate ProblemThis investigation is the outcome of an observation made in this labora tory in connection with an entirely different line of work. A Japanese, Ota, was working on the condition of certain double salts in the presence of water, to ascertain whether they existed as such, to any appreciable extent, or were broken down by the solvent into the constituent molecules. As soon as he began to work with concentrated solutions, he found that these solutions froze abnormally low, the molecular lowering passing through a well-defined minimum with change in concentration. Similar results were obtained a little later by Dr. Knight, also working in this laboratory.There was nothing in the theory of solutions then in vogue to account for such results - the molecular lowering should decrease continually from the most dilute to the most concentrated solution. This was obviously a remarkable phenomenon, especially if it should be shown to manifest itself in the case of any large number of substances.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.