62 Dr. Kane on the Compounds of Ammonia. 



If, as Dulong proposed, all acids be regarded as hydrogen compounds, thus 

 SO3 + HO as SO4 + H, similar to c/h, the old view explains the main requisite in 

 all theories of ammonia, the presence of water in the salts formed by the oxygen 

 acids. Sulphate of ammonia becomes so^.h-j-nHj, like c/.h-j-nHj. 



B. — The theory of Berzelius : 



1. That the ammoniacal amalgam contains a body, nh^, which is metallic, com- 

 bines with oxygen, and then may replace potash in combination. 



2. That when NH3 combines with hc/. the NH3 takes h, and forms NH4, with 

 which the chlorine combines. 



3. That the water in the ammoniacal salts with the oxyacids converts NH3 into 



NH^+O. 



C. — The amide theory, as left by Dumas and Berzelius : 



1. There was assumed a hypothetic body, nh^, which replaced chlorine and 

 oxygen in certain organic combinations. 



2. Potassium or sodium heated in ammonia, liberated therefrom as much hydro- 

 gen as from water, and formed amidide of potassium or of sodium. 



Ammonia is in no place called amidide of hydrogen by Berzelius or by Dumas, 

 nor is NH3 ever written NHj-f- h, but Dumas may have had that idea indistinctly in his 

 mind when he said that it was perhaps possible that as hydrogen forms hydracids 

 with some bodies, so it might produce hydrobases by its union with others. He 

 may have meant that hydrogen formed ammonia, a hydrobase, by uniting with 

 NH3 amidogene, but he much more probably referred to the combination of the 

 hydrogen at once with nitrogen ; his adherence to the common, but incorrect 

 ideas of the nature of the hydrogen bodies in general having completely pre- 

 vented him from seeing the true position of ammonia and its compounds. 



The insufficiency of these views may be very briefly pointed out ; thus, 



A. — The oldest view. 



1. It applies only to the common ammoniacal salts, but does not attempt any 

 explanation of the nature of the numerous other classes of ammonia com- 

 pounds. 



2. It states merely that nHj acts as a base, but does not explain its relation 

 to ordinary bases which are metallic oxides, nor the points in which the ammo- 

 niacal salts differ from the metallic salts of the same acid. 



