Spontaneous Decrease of the Surface Tension of Serum. I

1. Over 3,000 measurements of surface tension of sera have been made with the ring method, and they have yielded a new phenomenon, the spontaneous and rapid decrease of the surface tension of a serum in function of the time. 2. Generally, after 10 minutes the surface tension reaches a value which is practically constant. At least, the decrease is very much slower. After stirring, a rise occurs and a similar phenomenon takes place; but stability is not obtained as rapidly, requiring about 25 minutes. By stirring again, the same thing happens repeatedly, the slope of the curve being less marked each time, the rise in surface tension being slightly below each previous value, and the phenomenon undergoing a sort of damping. 3. An equation was established which expresses the experimental facts with an accuracy of about 0.2 per cent. It applies to the whole phenomenon, before and after stirring. It has only one characteristic constant, See PDF for Equation This formula, by simply changing t to c (concentration), expresses satisfactorily in general the phenomenon of adsorption in the surface layer; that is, the decrease in surface tension in function of the concentration. 4. Prolonged heat, at 55 degrees C., and time seem to inhibit this phenomenon. 5. When precipitation occurs in a serum, the bottom of the liquid, which contains the precipitate, has the highest surface tension. When stirred, the surface tension rises a little every time. The upper part, clear, with lower surface tension, shows the reverse phenomenon; after every stirring, the surface tension becomes a little lower.