Composition of Nickel

F. W. Aston. The Constitution of Nickel. Nature 107, p. 520. 1921.

Using the same apparatus as in his previous works1, Aston established that nickel consists of at least two isotopes. Having obtained a steady discharge at comparatively high pressure and strong current in vapors of nickel tetracarbonyl, \(\mathrm{Ni(CO)_4}\), and carbon dioxide, Aston observed in the spectrograph two lines: the more intense one—58, and the weaker one—60, which he compared with the standard line 44 of carbon dioxide.

Taking the ratio of the intensities of the first and second lines to be \(2:1\), the combination of the observed isotopes agrees well with the atomic weight of \(\mathrm{Ni} = 58.68\).

A. Trapeznikov.

1. F. W. Aston. Phil. Mag. 39, p. 611, 1920; see also E. V. Shpolsky, “The Revival of Prout’s Hypothesis,” Advances in Physical Sciences, vol. II, issue 2, p. 241, 1921. ↩