\S4f OBSETVATIONS on muriatic acid. 



therefore, afford no better method of difengaging hyperoxige-, 

 nized muriatic acid without decompofition. 

 Oxalic, tartare-J Oxalic, tartareous, and citric acids, act as I before mention- 

 acids* ec * » anf * lne h)'P erox 'S en ^ ze ^ muriatic acid holds its place, in 



the order of affinities for potath, immediately before the benzoic. 

 Amufing com- I fl la ll not Hop to detail a number of amufing phenomena 

 fait andftrong 18 ^ iat ma ^ ^ e P r °duced, by projecting into the ftronger acids, 

 acids. mixtures of combuiiible bodies, whether metallic or not, and 



hyperoxigenized muriate of potafli. The caufe of them is well 

 underftood, and the theory points them out : they are, there- 

 fore, no longer objects of philofophical admiration. But I mud 

 mention one experiment, which, had it fucceeded, I mould have 

 The diamond ^ thought important. I projected various mixtures of very mi- 

 this humid way. nute ty pulverized diamond and this fait, into the different acids; 

 but found the diamond undiminithed, by every attempt to com- 

 bine it with oxigen in the humid way *. 

 The h. ox. mu- Another, but imponderable, part of this fait, as indeed of all 

 much fabric hyperoxigenized muriates, feems to be an extraordinary quan- 

 tity of caloric. For, during their formation, fcarcely any heat 

 is difengaged, as by other acids; and, very little heat applied 

 to the falts, gives the gafeous form to their oxigen. 

 Erroneous opi- An opinion has prevailed among fome ingenious chemifls, 



mon, that m- t j iat f rom m j x t ur e of this fait with fulnhuric acid, nitrous gas 



trous gas may be. , , . , •. . 



formed from this is difengaged, and fulphate of lime formed in the retort. But 



fait, &c. thjs j s a m iftake, anting, on the one hand, from the fmell and 



vapour of the hyperoxigenized muriatic acid, and, on the other, 

 from fulphate of lead, which the common fulphuric acid of this 

 country frequently contains in folution, and which is precipi- 

 tated from it by water. Before we aflert a fact, we mould be 

 well allured of the purenefs of our chemical agents. This.. 



* I mufl: confefs, that the vivid flafhes of light, emitted from the 

 mixture of this fait and combuiiible bodies thrown into an acid, ap- 

 pear to me, in fome meafure, to prove the modification propofed by 

 Leonhardi, Richter, Gren, &c. to that part of the Lavoifierian the- 

 ory which regards the emiflion of light during combuftion. Another 

 tellimony in favour of their modification, may be drawn from the 

 vegetable kingdom. All plants growing in places deprived of light, 

 are merely mucilaginous. But the mucilage of theie plants burns 

 without the e million of light. Light, therefore, appears not to be 

 difengaged from oxigen ; elfej why not by this mucilage as well as 

 by other combuiiible bodies ? 



3 fuppofed 



