Introduction and Historical Statement.
The atomic weight of cadmium has been investigated by a number of chemists but the results obtained vary between wide limits. The work described in this paper was undertaken with the object of finding the cause of the discrepancy in some of the methods employed. A complete historical statement has been given by Morse and Jones, (Amer. Chem. Jour., 14. 261.) and it is only necessary, here, to give a summary for the purpose of reference:
| Ratio. | At. Wt. Cd. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1818, | Stromeyer, | Cd : CdO | 111.483 |
| (Schweiggers Jour. 22, 336.) | |||
| 1857, | Von Hauer, | CdSO4 : CdS | 111.935 |
| (Jour. f. Prakt. Chemie 72, 338.) | |||
| 1859, | Dumas, 1st series. | CdCl2 : Ag | 112.416 |
| 2d „ | CdCl2 : Ag | 112.007 | |
| (Ann. Chim. Phys. [3], 55, 158.) | |||
| 1860, | Lenssen, | CdC2O4 : CdO | 112.043 |
| (Jour. f. Prakt. Chem. 79, 281) | |||
| 1882, | Huntington and Cooke, | CdBr2 : AgBr | 112.239 |
| „ „ | CdBr2 : Ag | 112.245 | |
| (Proceedings Amer. Acad. 17, 28) | |||
| 1890, | Partridge, 1st Series | CdC2O4 : CdO | 111.816 |
| „ 2d „ | CdSO4 : CdS | 111.727 | |
| „ 3d „ | CdC2O4 : CdS | 111.616 | |
| (Amer. Jour. Sci.[3], 40, 377) | |||
| 1892, | Morse and Jones, 1st Method, | Cd : CdO | 112.0766 |
| 2d „ | CdC2O4 : CdO | 112.632 | |
| 1892, | Torimer and Smithy | CdO : Cd | 112.055 |
| (Zeit. f. Anorg. Chem. I. 364) | |||
In this summary as well as in the rest of this paper the following atomic weights are used:
| Oxygen | = | 16.00 |
| Sulphur | = | 32.059 |
| Carbon | = | 12.003 |
| Chlorine | = | 35.45 |
| Bromine | = | 79.95 |
| Silver | = | 107.93 |