[467] Ostwald, Allgem. Chemie, Vol. II, part 1, p. 881 (1893).
[468] Haber, loc. cit.
[469] Then TDecomposition = 10−4 × 1022 = 1018 seconds, and, since there are 3.15E7 seconds in a year, TDecomposition = 3E10 years.
[471] Since there are still smaller "instability constants" than that of the argenticyanide-ion (e.g. for the gold-cyanide-ion the constant is 1 / 1028), there is a large margin of safety for the plausibility of Haber's argument. For full details, his articles (loc. cit.), and the discussion (by Abegg, Bodlaender, Danneel, ibid.) aroused by them should be consulted.
[472] See Le Blanc and Schick, Z. phys. Chem., 46, 213 (1903), on measurements of the speed of ionic actions. The values obtained agree, in general, with Haber's contention.
[473] The concentrations of silver-ion are large, in comparison with those in cyanide solution, and the action is, most likely, essentially an ionic one; but the argument applies with equal force to cyanide systems.
[474] Loc. cit.
[475] An equilibrium constant, as we have seen, is a ratio of velocity constants of balanced reactions (pp. [94], [233]) and involves therefore at least two unknown velocity constants. By determining the actual rate of change with known concentrations of reacting components, i.e. by determining the velocity constants themselves, rather than their ratio, a definite conclusion as to the mechanism or path of a given reaction can often be reached (see p. [80]).
[476] Proceedings Amer. Academy, 1892.