Under such conditions, a voltameter having an
internal resistance of 1 ohm produces 0.65 liter of hydrogen per hour,
while it will disengage 6.500 liters if its resistance be but 0.0001
of an ohm. It is true that, in this case, the current would be in the
neighborhood of 15,000 amperes. Laboratory voltameters frequently have
a resistance of a hundred ohms; it would require a million in
derivation to produce the same effect. The specific resistance of the
solutions that can be employed in the production of gases by
electrolysis is, in round numbers, twenty thousand times greater than
that of mercury. In order to obtain a resistance of 0.0001 of an ohm,
it is necessary to sensibly satisfy the equation
20,000 l/s = 1/10,000
_l_ expressing the thickness of the voltameter expressed in meters,
and _s_ being the section in square millimeters. For example: For l =
1/10, s = 20,000,000, say 20 square meters. It will be seen from this
example what should be the proportions of apparatus designed for a
production on a large scale.
The new principles that permit of the construction of such voltameters
are as follows: (1) the substitution of an alkaline for the acid
solution, thus affording a possibility of employing iron electrodes;
(2) the introduction of a porous partition between the electrodes, for
the purpose of separating the gases.
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