Abstract
IN a letter to NATURE of May 1, 1926, Dr. Joseph and Mr. Oakley allude to some experiments which have convinced them that the alleged anomalous flocculation of clay does not exist. The anomalous flocculation of clay is said by them to be the accelerating influence of hydroxyl ions on flocculation by calcium salts when compared with the retarding effect of hydroxyl ions on flocculation by sodium salts. I should like to submit, however, that the behaviour of calcium ions in alkaline medium is not regarded as anomalous by comparison with the behaviour of sodium ions in alkaline medium. Flocculation of clay by calcium salts is anomalous when considered in the light of prevalent theories, and not necessarily when compared with the behaviour of other ions. As I understand the anomalous flocculation of clay, the most that could be claimed by Dr. Joseph and Mr. Oakley is that the sodium flocculation of clay is also anomalous.
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COMBER, N. The Anomalous Flocculation of Clay. Nature 118, 412 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118412a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118412a0
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