}$0 EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND OF CHLORINE AND AZOTE. 



V. 



On the Explosive Compound of Chlorine and Azote. By Messrs. 

 R. Porrett, jun. Wm. Wilson, and Rupert Kiuk. 



To Mr. Nicholson. 

 SIR, 



IJSJSmS 1[ H the be S innin * of December, 1812, we learned from 

 * of JL sc 



tlie authors* of iL some of the newspapers, and from other sources, that a 



com* o"u°d V f new ex i^ os ' ve compound had been discovered at Cambridge, 



chlorine and by Mr. Burton ; that it was supposed to be a compound of 



azote. chlorine and azote j that its explosive properties were of the 



most terrible kind, and had occasioned a very serious accident 



to Sir H. Davy, who was examining it j that the contact of oil 



would cause it to explode ; that it was formed by exposing a 



solution of nitrate of ammonia to chlorine gas; and lastly, 



that the application of a freezing mixture during its formation 



was advantageous. 



Such is the sum of the information which we then obtained, 

 and which stimulated us to undertake a number of experi- 

 ments with this compound j we have not since procured any 

 further information respecting it, excepting such as we have 

 derived from our own experiments. We state this, in order 

 that your readers may have the means of distinguishing from 

 among our experiments, those few which are not original. 

 Experiments. We shall now proceed to relate our experiments, beginning 



with those which concern the formation of the compound. 

 Chlorine gas The' mode which we adopted for forming it, was, in every 



was received j ns tance, to fill with chlorine gas, over warm water, glass 

 over warm ,-'-■+•% r , . • , , 



water, in receivers of the capacity of about sixteen cubic inches j and to 



glasses of 16 transfer" these into small basins, containing the ammoniacal 

 cub. inches, . . „ r . . . . , , 



and thence saline solutions. We soon found that the compound could 



transferred to De formed with solutions of other ammoniacal salts besides the 



of the am- nitrate : those which we have successfully employed for ob« 



mon-solutions. taining it, are the following : 



Other amnion. Sulphate of ammonia, 



salts which _, , . , 



form tlie com- Phosphate ^ do. 



pound. Muriate * do. 



Nitrate do. 



Oxalate 



