Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Albert Griffiths
Title
Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Albert Griffiths
Creator
Date
Identifier
GFF 9/59
Subject
Description
A handwritten letter from A. Griffiths to Prof, George F. Fitzgerald, dated April 11th 1899.
Albert Griffiths thanks Mr. Fitzgerald for his letter, which allowed him to correct an error before presenting his paper. He appreciates Fitzgerald’s suggestion regarding the spiral for resolving diaphragm issues and plans to use it if objections arise. He defends his method for calculating work done by flow pressure, though he notes a possible omission related to inertia-pressures from diffusion, which he believes have minimal effect. Griffiths describes a new apparatus for measuring diffusion, though it’s showing wear, and briefly speculates on surface tension using Van der Waals’ equation.
3pp.
Transcription:
Dear Mr Fitzgerald,
I was very pleased by your letter of the 27th Feb. Fortunately reading of my papers was postponed till the 10th, and I was able to correct the error in regard to the heat of combination.
I see now that the remark in the letter about the large diaphragm was it your dodge of the long spiral would get difficulty beautifully, and if I ever receive objections to the work on the ground of in the upper and lower vessels, I will use of your notion.
You seem doubtful of the method calculating the work done by the pressure of the flow. On receiving your letter I went over the work carefully myself, and then with a learned friend. He thinks the work correct, so that if it turns out to be.... easily arise.
The only omission that I can think of, is the neglect to take any account of the pressure which may be developed by the presence of diffusion. There is a continual passage of diffused substance up the diffusion tubes which may develop of inertia-pressures. I have not been able to deal with the matter in a satisfactory manner. The inertia-pressures (assuming they exist) would not be of any resultant importance in my apparatus, but they might introduce certain corrections in the details.
"The reason why I have avoided gases, up to the present, is that I am afraid of the difficulties of inter-diffusion
I have made a new apparatus for the determination of coefficient of diffusion by the means of diffusion convection . It is a modification of the apparatus used to give an experimental illustration of diffusive convection. The vessels at the extremities of the diffusion tubes are connected by suitable tubes to larger vessels, which serve as sinks into which the diffused substance can fall. These sinks can be cleaned out with.
little disturbance to the next of the apparatuses. The apparatus commenced by behaving very well, but I have been able to spend so little time with it, that the various indiarubber joints are beginning to show signs of suffer from old age before the completion of the tests. Some additional theory has turned out to be rather interesting.
With regard to the existence of surface tension at the boundary between a dense & a dilute solution, I fancy that if one were as bold (or bolder) than the chemists, and applied Van Der Waal's Equation to solution the term a/v^2 might indicate a surface tension.
This, of course, has no bearing, on your remarks, for the term is absent from the equation far for a perfect gas.
Thanking you for your letter, especially for the correction of the error,
I am yours faithfully,
Albert Griffiths
Albert Griffiths thanks Mr. Fitzgerald for his letter, which allowed him to correct an error before presenting his paper. He appreciates Fitzgerald’s suggestion regarding the spiral for resolving diaphragm issues and plans to use it if objections arise. He defends his method for calculating work done by flow pressure, though he notes a possible omission related to inertia-pressures from diffusion, which he believes have minimal effect. Griffiths describes a new apparatus for measuring diffusion, though it’s showing wear, and briefly speculates on surface tension using Van der Waals’ equation.
3pp.
Transcription:
Dear Mr Fitzgerald,
I was very pleased by your letter of the 27th Feb. Fortunately reading of my papers was postponed till the 10th, and I was able to correct the error in regard to the heat of combination.
I see now that the remark in the letter about the large diaphragm was it your dodge of the long spiral would get difficulty beautifully, and if I ever receive objections to the work on the ground of in the upper and lower vessels, I will use of your notion.
You seem doubtful of the method calculating the work done by the pressure of the flow. On receiving your letter I went over the work carefully myself, and then with a learned friend. He thinks the work correct, so that if it turns out to be.... easily arise.
The only omission that I can think of, is the neglect to take any account of the pressure which may be developed by the presence of diffusion. There is a continual passage of diffused substance up the diffusion tubes which may develop of inertia-pressures. I have not been able to deal with the matter in a satisfactory manner. The inertia-pressures (assuming they exist) would not be of any resultant importance in my apparatus, but they might introduce certain corrections in the details.
"The reason why I have avoided gases, up to the present, is that I am afraid of the difficulties of inter-diffusion
I have made a new apparatus for the determination of coefficient of diffusion by the means of diffusion convection . It is a modification of the apparatus used to give an experimental illustration of diffusive convection. The vessels at the extremities of the diffusion tubes are connected by suitable tubes to larger vessels, which serve as sinks into which the diffused substance can fall. These sinks can be cleaned out with.
little disturbance to the next of the apparatuses. The apparatus commenced by behaving very well, but I have been able to spend so little time with it, that the various indiarubber joints are beginning to show signs of suffer from old age before the completion of the tests. Some additional theory has turned out to be rather interesting.
With regard to the existence of surface tension at the boundary between a dense & a dilute solution, I fancy that if one were as bold (or bolder) than the chemists, and applied Van Der Waal's Equation to solution the term a/v^2 might indicate a surface tension.
This, of course, has no bearing, on your remarks, for the term is absent from the equation far for a perfect gas.
Thanking you for your letter, especially for the correction of the error,
I am yours faithfully,
Albert Griffiths
Source
RDS Library & Archives GFF collection of letters
Contributor
Rights
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives.
Relation
RDS Science Archive
Format
Manuscript
Language
English
Type
Coverage
1870-1901
Collection
Citation
Griffiths, Albert, “Letter to George F. Fitzgerald from Albert Griffiths,” RDS Digital Archive, accessed December 5, 2025, https://digitalarchive.rds.ie/items/show/2374.