Constitution of the Alcohols. 89 



i — ^ — \ 

 radical C 2 H 3 , for the more recent and generally adopted one in 

 which it is considered as the hydrated oxide of sethyle = C 4 H 5 . HO, 

 no other hypothesis worthy of note has been propounded until 

 the very plausible one recently proposed by Williamson* ; one 

 undoubtedly deserving of attention, explaining as it does, in so 

 simple and unconstrained a manner, a number of phenomena 

 observed by Williamson and others. 



Williamson's researches led him to the conclusion that water, 

 considered as a compound of one atom of oxygen with two atoms 



of hydrogen , >• Of, one or both of which are replaceable by atoms 



of other elements, or by compound bodies such as Ch 3 , C 2 h 5 , 

 might form the type of a large number of compounds such as 



i >0 potass-hydrate, n^-us fO alcohol, ^21.5 f 0> aether, &c. 



This hypothesis is based principally upon the fact, that kali- 

 sethylat (I retain the name for simplicity sake) and iodide of sethyle 

 afford, by mutual reaction, iodide of potassium and aether, 



C 2 h 5 

 k 



}o+c 2 h\i=k.i+g;£5}o. 



And further, that by treating the sethyle-kalium compound with 



iodide of methyle, or the methyle-kalium compound with iodide 



C 2 h 5 1 

 of aethyle, the body r -.3 >0, and similarly, from the amyle- 



n . J C 5 h 11_ l 



kalium compound and iodide of aethyle the body ™ , 5 ^ 



is formed. 



Chancel's researches %, in which he obtained several bodies 

 identical with the above by a different process, viz. by the dry 

 distillation of the sulphovinates, methylates, &c, with kali- 

 sethylat, methylat, &c, led him to adopt Williamson's interpre- 

 tation, which applies here with equal seeming simplicity and con- 

 clusiveness, 



c T}S o. + Ch.| ,j }so . + c.j : | 0i 



* Annalen der Chernie [2], vol. i. p. 37 ; vol. v. p. 73. 



t Williamson assumes with Gerhardt the equivalent of hydrogen, nitrogen, 

 chlorine, potassium, sodium, &c. to be one-half the generally accepted 

 equivalent. As symbols for their equivalents, where they are half the usual 

 equivalent, I have used the small letters, a, b, &c. h=0-5, (H=l)n=7, 

 (N=14)cl=177, (Cl=35-5), k=19-5(K=39-0);-C=6; 0=8. 



X Comptes Rendus des Travaux de Chemie, par Gerhardt et Laurent, 

 1850, pp. 369, 403, 405. 



