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       [B] 



     Conductivity of Positive Ions.  S.H. Shakman

 

A notable order of agreement between calculated and observed
conductivity values (within 10% for a majority of positive
inorganic ions listed by CRC*) may be derived when ions are
assigned [either anhydrous (a) or maximally hydrated (h)] weight
values (Wa,Wh) in accord with Flint's description of hydrational
potentiality**; and relative conductivities are calculated as
inverse square root of weight (in accord with Graham's law of
diffusion, as first treated by Flint***).                 
 Table  -  Equivalent Conductivity, Calculated vs Observed 
 Ion:            H+    Li+    Na+    K+   Rb+    Cs+   [H+:
 W(a or h)**     4(a) 350(h) 222(h) 94(h) 76(a) 112(a)  K+]
 1//W           .5000  .0535  .0671 .1031 .1147 .0945  4.85
 Calculated                 [BASE ] 
   Conductivity 373.1  39.9 [50.08] 77.0   85.6  70.5  4.85
 Observed       349.65 38.66 50.08  73.48  77.8  77.2  4.76
 
*CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 1985-6, D-167-8. 
**FLINT, L.H., Behavior Patterns of Hydration (1964), 21:     
  Wa=2(atomic no.+/-valence); Wh=Wa+18H, when H=23n-(atomic  
  no.+/-valence), H varies from 23 to 0 and n from 1 to 4. 
***FLINT, L.H., J. Washington Acad. of Sci., 22 (1932), 98. 

1987 AAAS Abstract #111; (c) 1985 SHShakman Txu219626

Flint, 1964, p. 18-9: In that his initially-determined 
hydration numbers were integers as per [A] above, Flint had
next postulated integers for ionic weights (twice the atomic
numbers) and then a change in weight with ionization:
   "The third and final step which marked the definitive
diagnosis of hydrational potentiality was the introduction 
of the postulate of a specific change in weight with 
ionization. ... It was a drastic revolutionary and 
seemingly incredible step, but it permitted an integration
of observational data with a satisfying convincing nicety. ...
    "At the time of the discovery in 1932, I had attained the 
age of 39, an age held and maintained by no less an authority
than Jack Benny to represent the very peak of perfection in
a numan male. ..."
     Flint then turned his attention to attempts to validate 
the description using specific gravities, etc., whereas a
measure of validation may be derived from the ability to 
extend this system to a majority of positive ions, as
illustrated above.

[M. Berkowitz and W. Wan, Journal of Chemical Physics
(1 January 1987, p. 377): "To describe the limiting ionic
mobility on a molecular level is a very challenging task ..."]