ACTION OF SULPHUR ON CHARCOAL. 



45 



which the liquid is to be condensed, in a refrigerating ^^^^^^P^^*^' 5" 

 mixture. 



In conducting the operation with these precautions, the Two stages in 

 extrication of gas will not take place after a certain time, tlie process, 

 unless both the temperature of the tube and the quantity 

 of sulphur be augmented. 



The charcoal used by Mr. BerthoUet was always pre- Necessary pre^ 

 viously heated for half an hour, to expel the water and gas- cautions. 

 €es that yield to simple heat. When the operation was 

 finished, he kept up the temperature of the tube, that the 

 nature of the residuum might not be altered by the sulphur 

 in contact with it; and for the same reason he prevented all 

 access of air to the apparatus, by turning a cock adapted 

 to the tubulure of the bottle. 



On examining the products of the operation, stopped at ProductsoHh* 

 the end of the first stage, he found : 1. That the water in ^ * 



the bottle, which was milky, had the smell and all the pro- 

 perties of sulphuretted hldrogen water. 2. That the gas 

 itself had a similar smell, dissolved in water by agitation or 

 long contact, and communicated to it all the characters of 

 sulphuretted hidrogen. 3. That this gas burned with a blue 

 flame, and diffusing a smell of sulphurous acid, 4. That 

 when mixed with oxlgen gas it detonated briskly with the 

 electric spark, sometimes without rendering limewater tur- 

 bid, but more frequently producing a slight precipitate, and 

 depositing sulphur. 



From these characters every one must recognise in it sul- Evidently sul- 

 phuretted hidrogen; though Mr. BerthoUet found, that it P'l"'"^"^^ ^i- 



1 111- ? .-1.1., . diogen,thougli 



was less soluble m water than what is obtained by the ordi- little soluble 



nary means. Scheele, Kirwan, and others, however, have ^'^ ^^^^^''• 

 mentioned combinations of sulphur and hidrogen, which 

 were little, if at all, soluble in water. 



The liquid collected under the water in the receiver, and a liquid like 

 in the bottle, had perfectly similar properties to those de- ^^^*. '^^ '"^"^" 

 scribed by Lampadius, and by Clement and Desormes : ^*^^^"*' 

 that is, it was as transparent as water; it emitted a smell 

 resembling that of sulphuretted hidrogen, but more lively 

 and pungent; shaken in a phial with water, it adhered to 

 the glass, and rendered it greasy like an oil; and it burned 

 rapidly, with a blue flame, and smell of sulphurous acid. 



He 



