lxxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC A>*'D 



Friedel has produced a direct union of methyl oxide and 

 hydrogen chloride a body which, since both of its constit- 

 uents can exist free, must be classed with the molecular 

 compounds of Kekule. But Friedel shows that this body is 

 not decomposed when converted into vapor, and hence argues 

 that the ordinary rules of chemical union should be extend- 

 ed to it. This can only be done by supposing its oxygen to 

 act as a tetrad or its chlorine as a triad. Since hydrogen chlo- 

 ride and methyl chloride do not unite even at 18 to 20, 

 the author inclines to the former view, and supports it by 

 other cases, such as water of crystallization a view of the 

 matter which was taken some years ago by Wolcott Gibbs. 



Hiibner has shown that benzoic acid will set nitrobenzoic 

 acid free from its salts. As the latter is the stronger acid, 

 the fact is an important one in chemical dynamics. 



Meyer and Lecco have sought to fix the equivalence of ni- 

 trogen in ammonium compounds by an examination of the 

 chloride of di-ethyl-di-methyl-ammonium, derived (a) from di- 

 ethyl-amine, and (b) from di-methyl-amine. If the same chlo- 

 ride is formed by these two processes, then ammonium is a 

 derivative of quinquivalent nitrogen ; if two isomeric chlo- 

 rides result, then nitrogen is a triad in ammonium com- 

 pounds. The most minute examination failed to show any 

 difference in the bodies obtained, and hence confirms the va- 

 riability of nitrogen equivalence. They afterward proved 

 that in the higher substituted ammonias no exchange of rad- 

 icals takes place within the molecule; thus answering Los- 

 sen's objection to the results they had previously obtained, 

 which proved that ammonium chloride and its substitution 

 derivatives were atomic and not molecular compounds, and 

 that hence the nitrogen in them was quinquivalent. 



INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 



In Inorganic Chemistry Pebal lias examined euchlorine 

 and hypochloric acid critically, and comes to the conclusion 

 that the former is a mixture of the latter and free chlorine in 

 variable proportions. He assigns to the latter the formula 

 C10 2 . 



Gopncr claims to have shown that the so-called hydrate 

 of chlorine is really a hydrate of a molecular union of hydro- 

 chloric and hypochlorous acids. He bases his opinion on the 



