48 ACTION OF StirPHUR ON CHARCOAt. 



tlty of which Mr. B^rthollet obtained from it by means of a 



gentle heat. 



but no char- But b}'' no method could he discover in it charcoal; 



<^*^^'- thouffh he imacrined he discerned some very slight traces of 



Some manga- i r • • r *i u i i- 



nese and iron, manganese and or iron, arising irom the charcoal, or irom 



The same pro- the sulphur itself. A fact long known, that confirms the 



ducts when conclusions of Mr. Berthollet, is, that the same products 



sulphurets are ™^y ^^ obtained by decomposing hidroguretted sulphurets 



decomposed by means of acids, as by distilling sulphur over charcoal, 



namely, sulphuretted hidrogen in the ^tate of gas, liquid 



hidroguretted sulphur, and solid hidroguretted sulphur ; 



and in all these substances there is no charcoal. 



The charcoal On examining the charcoal remaining in the apparatus 



notahered in after having been long exposed to the heat, Mr. Berthollet 

 appearance, r»i ici • x ■ t -, 



but combined lound no external appearance oi alteration. It retained sul- 



with sulphur, phur in actual combination, which heat could not separate, 

 but which might be dissolved by an alkali, or burned by 

 heating in contact with air. The charcoal is then very light 

 and friable, leaves fine black traces on paper, and burns 

 with difficulty. Charcoal therefore can combine with sul- 

 phur ; but this compound assumes neither the liquid nor 

 the gaseous state. 

 Charcoal con- All the facts adduced by Mr. Berthollet clearly demon- 

 tains hidrogen; strate the presence of hidrogen in charcoal, from which it is 

 inseparable by any heat we have yet been aVjle to produce, 

 which sulphur If sulphur take it from charcoal, it is by combining its che- 

 aidedby hear, jrj,it>al action with that of heat : and perhaps this may be a 

 takes from it. „ . . . , . • i /> i • i , , 



means oi depriving charcoal entirely ox hidrogen, and ob- 

 taining it in a state of purity, so as to describe its properties, 

 which from this observation may be yet unknown to us. 

 The whole of Mr. Berthollet has remarked however, that, when all the 



the cliarcoal phenomena already described have taken place, if the tem- 

 may be made ' i ■ i i i f> i 



lo disappear; perature be strongly raised, and a great deal of sulphur 



caused to pass, the extrication of gasses recommences, and 

 the charcoaV may be made to disappear entirely. On stop- 

 ])ing the process before this arrives, pieces of charcoal exhi- 

 biting evident marks of erosion will be found in the tube. 

 The little liquid obtained in this second stage of the process 

 is so volatile, that it soon reassumes the state of gas. The 

 sulphur that flows into the adopter contains no more char- 

 coal. 



