Abstract
A THIN platinum wire immersed in flame gases acquires a temperature far greater than that corresponding to the mean molecular translational energy of the gases. The explanation appears to be that an abnormal dissociation exists in flame gases and that the products of the abnormal dissociation combine upon its surface1,2. This perhaps throws light upon the problem of the luminosity of the Welsbach mantle. A mixture of ceria and thoria in the Welsbach mixture proportions is an effective catalyst in the combination of hydrogen and oxygen3, and it seems probable that when a mantle is immersed in flame gases high temperatures are reached at the active centres on its surface.
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References
"The Abnormality of Flame Gases", Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. (in the press).
NATURE, 152, 278 (1943).
Minchin, Trans. Faraday Soc., 35, 163 (1939).
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DAVID, W. The Welsbach Mantle. Nature 152, 477 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/152477c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/152477c0
