M. Wurtz on a new Series of Alcohols. 533 



alcohol contains the group sethylene or olefiant gas, C* H'*. It 



IS derived from the type, two equivalents of water tt2 J^O"*, by the 



substitution of sethylene for two equivs. of hydrogen ; and the 

 acetate of glycol contains two equivs. of the radical acetyle re- 

 placing the other two equivalents of hydrogen,— ' ■ '•- 



4gp-^ ^2, equivs. water. Glycol. Acetate of glycol, ^^^^i^ 



The relations in which alcohol, glycol, and glycerine stand to 

 each other are seen from this table : — 



^ Type g|0' . .Type g,|0^ .^^ Type ^3 J0«. .,3,^ 



"Monoatomic alcohol. Diatomic glycol. Triatomic glycerin^f *'^'"'^ 



Alcohol. ,,^^^^J'^! Glycol. .Ethylic glycerine. '^^^''^^f^ 



-^thylic glycerine is not as yet known, but Wurtz has obtaltiibdf 



a body which is very probably the acetate of sethylic glycerine : 



ordinary glycerine would be represented by the formula tts > 0^. 



Wurtz has also obtained a benzoate of glycol by acting on 

 benzoate of silver with iodide of sethylene. 



By the action of bromide of propylene, C^ H^ Br^, on acetate 

 of silver, the acetate of propylic glycol is formed, — 



QG 116 Br2 ^ 2 AgO 04 H3 0^ = 2Ag Br + ^^4 h3 02)2/ ^^ > 



and by the action of bromide of amylene, C^^ H^^Br^, on acetate 

 of silver, the acetate of amylic glycol. Indeed to each alcohol 

 of the series C" jj»+2 qs there seems to correspond a glycol. 



Acetal, C^2 Jji4 q4^ which was discovered by Dobereiner among 

 the oxidation products of alcohol, is considered by Wurtz to be 

 a glycol in which two equivalents of hydrogen are replaced by 



sethyle, C^ H^ r 0^ ; if this be the case, one or both of the sethylic 



groups must be capable of being replaced by methyle. Experi- 

 ment has proved that this is the case. By oxidizing a mixture 

 of wood-spirit and alcohol two compounds were obtained, boiling 

 respectively at 85° and 55°, and having the formulae — 



