The flame spectra of carbon monoxide and water gas. Part II

Abstract

Since making my previous communication to the Society upon the Flame Spectra of Carbon Monoxide and Water Gas, I have, at Prof. Bone’s suggestion, carried out some further experiments in which flames of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, or mixtures of the two in determined proportions, were maintained in an atmosphere rich in oxygen, immediately in front of the slit of the spectrograph without any quartz window or the like intervening, whereby I was able to obtain a much better illumination of the slit and more intensive spectrograms of the flames. The results of these further experiments have confirmed and extended in so striking a way the conclusions about the mechanism of CO-combustion which were set forth in my previous paper, that it has been decided to describe them in this further communication. The new procedure adopted in these experiments will be understood by reference to the accompanying diagram. A jet of the combustible gas was ignited as it issued from the expanded orifice A of the 1 mm.-bore quartz tube BB. This orifice had been previously expanded in the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe until it had acquired the particular form shown in the diagram. The quartz tube was suitably mounted co-axially with a wider glass tube CC (internal diam. 8 mm.), having a side-arm D, through which a stream of oxygen was maintained. The flame at the orifice A was thus surrounded by an atmosphere of oxygen; and by placing the burner at a distance of about 1 cm. from the slit S of the Bellingham and Stanley spectrograph (wave-length range 6000 Å. U. to 2100 Å. U.), much more intensive spectrograms were obtained for oxy-carbon monoxide and oxy-hydrogen flames than by the method previously employed. In each case the undried combustible gas, stored over a mixture of equal volumes of glycerine and water, was burnt at a constant rate of 10 litres per hour; and a 45 minutes exposure was allowed in taking the spectrograms, Imperial Ordinary plates being used.