lo CoHtroverfy refpeBing Phofpharus in Azotic Gas, 



gas be really a compound of oxygen and light, why fliould the phofphorus, on being mixed 

 with it, ceafc to acl on its oxygen ? Ought it not rather to do this more fpeedily when 

 the cohefion of its parts is deftroyed ? Bcfides which, the addition of acids is not fair, 

 bccaufe more acid than is neceflary to faturate the phofphorus diflblved in it, may in thi» 

 ■ way become united with the azotic gas. Thus I have found that the phofphorus, which 

 does not fliine in pure carbonic acid gas, begins to give light in that medium as foon as a 

 fmall portion of acid is added. The anfwer givci by Dr. Jaeger was more explicit. He 

 difcovered in particular, that the volume of the azotic gas was never diminilhed when the 

 luminous appearance of the phofphorus was reproduced by means of acids. Gren's Neties 

 Journal der Phjfik. B. 11. 



It was not long after, that Profeflbr Lampadius publiftied his experiments on this fub- 

 jeft. At firft he feemed to find every thing exa£lly as defcribed by Mr. Goettling, Ibid. 

 B. I. ; but foon afterwards he made the interefting difcovery, that by a careful decompofi- 

 tion of atmofpherical air, by means of nitrous gas, azotic gas may be procured, fo free 

 from oxygen, that phofphorus cannot be made to fliine in it. Sammlutig praB. chemifch. 

 Abhandl. B. I. 



Profeflbr Hildebrandt repeated Mr.Gocttling's experiments with the greatelt care. CrelFs 

 Annal. 1796, B. I. Thefe experiments are, no doubt, the mofl; exa£l of any that were 

 made for this purpofe. He has perfedtly confirmed our experiments. He has proved 

 this beyond all queftion, by feveral experiments, of which I fliall mention but one. — In 

 the fame azotic gas in which phofphorus had ceafed to fliine, and frefti phofphorus would 

 not afford light, the luminous appearance took place as foon as oxygen gas was added. But 

 this lafted no longer than till the latter was confumed ; for there was precifely as much 

 of the whole volume of the mixture abforbed, as made up the quantity of the oxygen gas 

 that was added. 



There are feveral well known papers on this fubje£l:, in the Annates de Chimie, written by 

 French chemifts ; but none of their authors have paid the leafl; attention to what has been 

 tranfa£led on this matter : a circumflance which I have thought proper to be mentioned 

 in this place. But they have added the important fa(fl, that phofphorus is foluble in 

 azotic gas. Probably they had no intelligence of what has been written about it in Ger- 

 many ; and as this appears to me to be the cafe with England, I confidered it of fome im- 

 portance, to give the ftiortefl: poflible view of the chief points of thefe tranfadtions. I 

 Jiave endeavoured to give a more ample detail of all the particular fadls, as far as they 

 were known down to Oftober 1 796, in a work of mine, equally unknown in this country : 

 Nachtraege z« den Grunzuegen der nettern chemifchen Theorit, pag. 326 — 349, in which the 

 whole extent of thefe enquiries may be feen with greater eafe by the fyftematical arrange- 

 ment of the experiments. It is to be hoped that the difpute will end here, and that the 

 fafts, (i.) that no fliining of the phofphorus can in any refpeA take place in fuch azotic gas 

 as is quite free of oxygen, and (a.) that it cannot be made to fliine unlefs fome other body be 

 added which is capable of aflbrding ojcygen, — will be admitted as incontrovertiblyeft^abliflied. 



London, Feb. 27, 1798- 



III. On 



