Note 44 — Chapter XII · SODIUM

H. A. Schmidt remarked that perfectly dry hydrogen chloride is decomposed with great difficulty by sodium, although the decomposition proceeds easily with potassium and with sodium in moist hydrogen chloride. Wanklyn also remarked that sodium burns with great difficulty in dry chlorine. Probably these facts are related to other phenomena observed by Dixon, who found that perfectly dry carbonic oxide does not explode with oxygen on passing an electric spark.