ANAtYTlCAt EXPERIMENTS ON StJLPHtni; 323 



When I operated in this way, there seemed to be no 

 limit to the generation of elastic fluid, and in about two 

 hours a quantity had been evolved, which amounted to more 

 than five times the volume of the sulphur employed. From 

 the circumstances of the experiment, the last portion only 

 could be examined, and this proved to be sulphuretted 

 hidrogen. Towards the end of the process, the sulphur 

 became extremely difficult of fusion, and almost opaque^ 

 and when cooled and broken, was found of a dirty brown: 

 colour. 



The. experiments upon the union of sulphur and potas- Sulphur and 



sinm, which I laid before the Society last year, prove that pot f smn ? . .. 

 7 , j j i r evolve sulphu- 



these bodies act upon each other with great energy, and retted hidrogen. 



that sulphuretted hidrogen is evolved in the process, with 



intense heat and light. v 



In heating potassium in Contact with Compound in- Potassium heat* 

 flammable substances, such as resin, wax, camphor, and ?<* with com- 

 iixed oils, in close vessels out of the contact of the air, I flammables, 

 found, that a violent inflammation was occasioned; that 

 hidrocarbonate was evolved ; and that when the compound 

 Was not in great excess, a substance was formed, sponta- p horUg 

 neously inflammable at common temperatures, the com- 

 bustible materials of which were charcoal and potassium. 



Here was a strong analogy between the action of these Analogies, 

 bodies and sulphur on potassium. Their physical pro- 

 perties likewise resemble those of sulphur ; for they agree 

 in being nonconductors, whether fluid or solid^ in being 

 transparent when fluid, and semitransparent when solid j 

 and highly refractive; their affections by electricity are 

 likewise similar to those of sulphur; for the oily bodies 

 give out hidrocarbonate by the agency of the voltaic spark, 

 and become brown, as if from the deposition of carbonace- 

 ous matter. 



But the resinous and oily substances are compounds of a Hidrogen cer- 

 small quantity of hidrogen and oxigen, with a large quan- tainl y exists in 

 tity of a carbonaceous basis. The existence of hidrogen in S * 

 Sulphur is fully proved, and we have no ri^ht to consider a 

 substance, which can be produced from it in such large 

 quantities, merely as an accidental ingredient. 



Y 2 Th* 



