The Dissociation of Ethane by Electron Impact

The dissociation of ${\mathrm{C}}_2$ ${\mathrm{H}}_6$ by electron impact has been investigated with a new mass spectrometer. One negative, two doubly-charged and fourteen positive ions have been observed corresponding to the various states of dissociation of the ${\mathrm{C}}_2$ ${\mathrm{H}}_6$ molecule. An analysis is given of the processes taking place in the upper mass-range where unique interpretations of the results may be made. The difficulty of accurately determining the relative intensities of two ions having a large difference in mass is discussed as well as the meaning of the probable errors given for the measured appearance potentials.