22 Dr THOMAS THOMSON on a New Combustible Gas. 



luckily applied to a different combination. Carbo-hydrogen 

 has the property of forming a variety of gases and vapours, dif- 

 fering from each other in the number of integrant particles of 

 carbo-hydrogen, which a single volume of the gas or vapour con- 

 tains. The gas described in this paper (abstracting the chlo- 

 rine), contains only one integrant particle of carbo-hydrogen in 

 a volume ; olefiant gas contains two integrant particles. One of 

 the oleaginous liquids obtained by condensing oil-gas, which has 

 been examined by Mr FARADAY in an insulated state, but which 

 had been previously detected in oil gas, in the state of vapour, 

 by Mr DALTON, contains three integrant particles. Sulphuric 

 ether vapour (abstracting the water) contains four integrant par- 

 ticles ; while the vapour of naphtha contains six integrant par- 

 ticles. The following table exhibits the atomic weights, and spe- 

 cific gravities, of these gases and vapours. 



Atomic Specific 



Weight. Gravity. 



Simple carbo-hydrogen gas, 0'875 0*486 1 



Olefiant gas, or deuto-carbo-hydrogen, 1.75 0'9722 



Oil-gas vapour, or trito-carbo-hydrogen, 2*625 1 -4583 



Ether vapour, or tetarto-carbo-hydrogen, 3'5 T9444 



Naphtha vapour of hexa-carbo-hydrogen, 5'25 2'9 1 66 



The existence of the simple carbo-hydrogen was merely hy- 

 pothetic, till the discovery of sesqui-carbo-hydrogen has given us 

 an example of its actual existence. Thus the only doubtful part 

 of this reasoning has been shewn to be actually correct. This 

 circumstance gives an importance to the discovery of sesqui-car- 

 bo-hydrogen, to which it would not otherwise be entitled. 



