X
LXIX. - The electrical conductivity of acids and bases in aqueous solutions
J C GHOSH
Published in -
1918
Volume: 113

Pages: 790 - 799
Abstract
The abnormally high mobility of the hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in aqueous solutions has been explained on the assumption that electricity is partly carried by ths ordinary process of convection and partly propagated through water molecules undergoing alternate dissociation and recombination. The apparently high activity-coefficients of strong acids and bases in aqueous solutions has also been traced to this cause. A modified Ostwald equation, (ax)2/(l-x)V = K, based on the consideration that only free ions have the capacity of regenerating undissociated molecules, has been developed for weaker electrolytes, where the degree of dissociation is less than one. It has been shown that this equation becomes identical with Ostwald's dilution law in the case of very weak electrolytes where α is always very nearly equal to one, and also gives very concordant values for the equilibrium constant in the case of "transition electrolytes" where Ostwald's equation is not applicable.