Sealed-room experiments on the equilibrium of ionization in air

In an attempt to establish the correct form of the equation describing the equilibrium of ionization in air periodic measurements were made of Z and n , the concentrations of condensation nuclei and of small ions, inside a sealed room. It was found that n increased linearly with time in the initial stages, whilst Z decreased in agreement with an equation proposed by Nolan . These results did not fit the type of equilibrium equation usually assumed. In further experiments direct measurement showed that q , the rate of production of ion pairs, varied considerably with time, controlling the course of the equilibrium. A possible explanation of the observed change in q is suggested.