EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND OF CHLORINE AND AZOTE. 189 



ends, placed within it ; both tubes were then filled with rner- the compound 

 cury, excepting about one-fourth of an inch at the top. This ln a vacuum * 

 one-fourth of an inch was afterwards filled with the follow- 

 ing— 



1st. A small glass cup containing the explosive compound 

 covered with a drop of muriate of lime. This cup moved 

 freely within the tube. 



2d. Muriate of lime in solution, surrounding and rising 

 above the glass cup. 



3d. A glass stopper, ground to the tube, and closing it accu* 

 rately. 



The inner tube was then raised thirty inches above the level The com- 



of the mercury in the outer one. The column of mercury in P ount, > when 

 ,, . . u j j j -i i i r m vacuo, aii 



the inner tube descended seven inches, leaving a column of sumed the 



twenty-three inches only. These seven inches were occupied state °f 

 by the explosive compound in a state of vapour : -but as a 

 little of it still remained in the cup, not converted to that state, 

 a temperature of about 100 Q was applied to it — this caused it 

 to disappear, and the vapour, after cooling, then occupied ano- 

 ther inch, the mercurial column being reduced to twenty-two 

 inches. The tube being now lowered until the mercury 

 within and without it were of the same level, the explosive 

 compound reappeared. There remained, however, seven- 

 eighths of an inch of permanent gas, which an accident pre- 

 vented us from examining j but we are inclined to believe, 

 that this small quantity was produced when, on lowering the 

 tube, the mercury rose into that part which had been occupied 

 by the vapour, and the sides of which had been wetted with 

 the liquid muriate of lime, which, notwithstanding that it was 

 very concentrated, had probably absorbed some of the vapour, 

 as we observed some bubbles of gas rising through the mercury 

 from that portion of the metal which was in contact with the 

 humid surface. 



We repeated the above experiment in the hope, that by ap- Experiment 

 plying heat sufficient to make the vapour explode, we might, of exploding 

 by this means, analyse the compound. We, therefore, exploded the compound, 

 the vapour by surrounding the glass tube with part of a gun 

 barrel heated nearly to redness j but at the instant of the ex- 

 plosion the tube was shattered. We, however, propose to 

 repeat this experiment with a tube of greater strength 



We 



