A Simplified Isoteniscope

OTTO F. STEINBACH and ARTHUR W. DEVOR

Adelphi College, Garden City, New York

T . HE measurement of vapor pressure with the iso-

tenscope, originally designed by Menzies, will not
give results of a high degree of accuracy unless sufficient
heated until the temperature is two to three degrees
below the boiling point of the sample. The water as-
pirator pump is then turned on, the stopcock B being
time is allotted for the establishment of temperature open. Stopcock B is then partly closed uptil the liquid
equilibrium between the heating bath and the sample in the isoteniscope bulb begins to boil, driving out the
enclosed within the bulb of the isoteniscope. With dissolved and trapped gases. In order that the tem-
proper care, so that the above condition is eliminated, perature of the bath and that of the liquid sample will
exceptionally good results may be obtained. I t was not differ by more than one degree, an efficientstirrer
this consideration that led to the present simplified de- should be used. The temperature of the sample is re-
sign of the isoteniscope. corded and the pressure of the mercury manometer is
obtained when the sample ceases to boil and the liquid
levels are identical in the U-tube. Allow the bath to
cool slowly, meanwhile adjusting stopcock B so that
the liquid levels do not differ greatly, or otherwise air
will be sucked back into the bulb. If this happens the
air must be boiled out again by reducing the pressure.
The stopcock A is used to retain the mercury level in
the manometer so that the pressure which corresponds
to the temperature of the sample may be obtained a t
the operator's convenience.
When i t is desired to obtain a new reading the pres-
sure is adjusted until the manometer levels are equal-
ized, whereupon the temperature and mercury levels
are recorded. The procedure is repeated as many times
as readings are required. The barometric pressure is
recorded a t the beginning and end of the run. It is also
The main body of the isoteniscope may be made from advisable to record the average temperature of the ex-
a 50 to 100-ml. distilling flask. The lower well is blown posed stem in order to calculate the stem correction and
in the flask so that the thermometer bulb will be com- so obtain the corrected temperature.
pletely submerged in the liquid sample. The manome- To determine the accuracy of the results obtained
ter bulbs were made from &in. test tubes. The purpose with the present apparatus, the vapor pressures of sev-
of the bulbs is to prevent the liquid in the isoteniscope eral liquids were measured. The temperature readings
manometer from being drawn over into the trap or the were corrected for the exposed stem but the pressures
flask in case too rapid change in external pressure oc- were not corrected to DOC. The latent heats of vapori-
curs. As a matter of fact, after one has sufficient ex- zation were calculated from the plot of log P and (l/T)
perience in adjusting the pressure of the system this and this was compared with the latent heat of vaporiza-
difficultyseldom occurs and it is only with inexperienced tion obtained by plotting the accepted values of log P
students that this may happen. Hence the precaution- and (l/T). The graphs were plotted on separate paper
ary construction. The manometer is connected close in order to avoid undue influence in selecting a line to
to the top of the neck of the flask so as to reduce the represent the required slope. Inspection of the ac-
dead air space to a minimum. In order to have boiling companying table shows very good agreement between
take place in the flask rather than in the manometer a the accepted values of L and the experimentally deter-
large boiling stone (porous plate) is held by a stiff piece mined ones. The results obtained with CClr and
of wire of sufficient length so that i t partly projects (CHs)2C0were obtained by separate student groups.
above the liquid surface. This helps to reduce under-
cooling to a minimum. A few loose boiling stones may TABLE 1
also be added. parcmr
Sufficient sample is added to the isoteniscope so that snmpic Expe*immlol I. Arrrhlrd I. error
the thermometer bulb is completely immersed and ~enrene 103.3 cal./g. 104.1 eal./g. 1
Wafer 563 cal./g. 868 cal./g. 1
then sufficient liquid is placed in the U-bend of the Acetic acid (20-100') 164.7 eal./g. 160.4 eel./=. ' 2.0
manometer to fill i t up to the bulbs. The isoteniscope 9893 cal./mol 9633 cal./mol
Carbon tetrachloride 50.31 cal./g. 49.33 cal./g. 2.0
i s placed in the bath (a 2-liter heaker) which is then Acetone lZR.O eal./g. 121.3 cal./& 2.5
22
 It may be noted that the latent heat of vaporization around 14 for the constant. If the Trouton constant is
per gram of acetic acid reported in the handbooks and calculated using the molar latent heat of vaporization
International Critical Tables is given as 96.8 cal./g. as determined from the accepted vapor pressure data in
This figure is obtained by dividingthe molar latent heat the table, namely 9633 cal./mole , one obtains the value
of vaporization by the molecular weight of acetic acid 391.4'A.
vapor (approximately 101) a t its boiling point. In of 24.6 for the constant. This is, of course, distinctly in
several textbooks of uhvsical chemistry, the authors
have apparently used ihe value of 96.8 cal./g. to calcu-
-
cood ameement with the values ziven for other so-
called agnormal liquids.
late Trouton's constant and accordingly report values The authors thank Mr. Harold Wilson for the drawing.*