Abstract
WE have measured G values for the decomposition of a number of anhydrous nitrates by X-rays of 44.5 kVp. from a beryllium-windowed tube. The decomposition proceeds almost entirely according to the overall reaction: 
In Fig. 1, G values for the initial rate of decomposition are plotted against ‘free space’ per nitrate ion in the crystals. The ‘free space’ is the difference between the volume of the crystal and the volume of the ions in it, taking the volume of the nitrate ion somewhat arbitrarily as 14.5 A.3. (This is the total volume of its three oxygen atoms1.)
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References
Zachariasen, W. H., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 53, 2123 (1951).
Hennig, G., Lees, R., and Matheson, M. S., J. Chem. Phys., 21, 664 (1953).
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CUNNINGHAM, J., HEAL, H. Effect of ‘Free Space’ in the Decomposition of Solid Nitrates by X-rays. Nature 179, 1021–1022 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1791021a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1791021a0
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