The decomposition of ozone by heat

Much doubt has recently existed as to the interpretation which may be put upon measurements of the velocity of chemical change in gas reactions. Van’t Hoff deduced the “order of the reaction” in certain cases from considerations of the law of mass action. Bone and Wheeler have shown that the combination of hydrogen and oxygen at temperatures below that necessary to explode the mixture takes place mostly (if not entirely) at the surfaces with which the gases are in contact, and that no conclusion as to the order of the reaction can be drawn from pressure measurements. Ozone was chosen for further work on the subject, as it affords one of the simplest possible cases. The decomposition by heat furnishes only one substance, and the reaction is irreversible (at least for all practical purposes).