IV. On the influence of temperature on the heat of dissolution of salts in water

The experiments described in this paper were undertaken in the hope of obtaining some light upon the vexed question of the condition in which a solid exists when dissolved in a liquid, and were directed more especially towards the investigation of the well-known remarkable phenomena exhibited by sodium sulphate. Crystallised sodium sulphate melts at about 34°, and at this temperature the salt begins to show signs of dissociation by depositing the anhydrous compound. According to Wiedemann, indeed, indications of change are observable at a few degrees lower. He finds by observation of the volume of the crystallised salt at different temperatures, that whereas slight expansion occurs from 17° to about 30°, contraction then sets in, at first slowly, then, at 33° to 34°, very rapidly, till the salt melts. The melted salt expands regularly in proportion as the temperature is raised to near 100°. Nicol has made experiments upon the expansion of solutions of the same salt, and with similar results.