The crystal structure of the normal paraffins at temperatures ranging from that of liquid air to the melting points

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to give a survey of the structures of the normal paraffins at temperatures ranging from that of liquid air to those in the neighbourhood of the melting points. The paper divides naturally into two parts, one dealing with the thermal expansion, i. e ., with the gradual and con­tinuous increase of the lattice dimensions with increasing temperature; the other with the discontinuous structural changes which occur under certain conditions when the substances are subjected to temperature changes.. Chemical Material . The chemical material was partly that already used in previous work and partly new material. Most of the substances were synthesised in the Davy-Faraday Laboratory. Some of the preparations such as hexane and pentane were bought and carefully purified. The writer is again very much indebted to his colleagues, Dr. H. S. Gilchrist and Mr. E. L. Holmes, who were kind enough to do all the chemical work for him.