2o6 jidditknal Ohfcrvathns on Hydrocarlonafes. 



many of thefe trials the refults difFered more from tKe former, where mixture alone was 

 employed, than could a priori have been fuppofcd, as will appear from what follows. 



Three meafures of pure hidrogen were introduced into a ftrong glafs jar over niercury» 

 and four meafures of the ox. muriatic acid gas added, the eleftric fpark was immediately 

 pafled through the mixture, to prevent, as far. as poffible, the abforption of the gas by the 

 mercury ; after the explofion, which was feeble, the gas occupied the fpace of .75 of a 

 meafure : water being admitted the mercury {till rofe higher, fo that there remained only .2 

 of a meafure. Finding that in this experiment the oxigenated gas was in excefsj the pro- 

 portions were varied as follows : 



Four meafures of pure hydrogenous gas were fired with four of the ox. muriatic gas; 

 the refiduum amounted only to half a meafure, but this contained hidrogen. Hence by 

 comparing thefe experiments together, it would appear that three meafures of hydrogenous 

 require three and a half of oxigenated muriatic acid gas to faturate them ; the produdts 

 being water and common muriatic acid. From the fame experiments we can likewife 

 deduce the excefs of oxigen in the oxigenated muriatic acid, or the proportion of oxigen 

 neceflary to convert the common muriatic acid into the oxigenated ; for according to the 

 above proportions, two parts of h/drogen gas require 2.3 of the oxigenated to faturate 

 them; now two parts of hidrogen require exaftly one of oxigen (eftimating by volume) to 

 produce the fame effetSt. Hence every 2.3 parts of the ox. muriatic acid contain one 

 part of oxigen, or about half its bulk more than the fame muriatic radical when in the 

 form of common muriatic acid gas ; this fa£l: may be found ufeful in many chemical invef- 

 tigations where the fuper-oxigenated acid is employed. In this way too we have a ready 

 way of determining the purity of the hidrogen, for if thefe gafes perfe£lly pure, be fired 

 together over mercury in the above proportions, the whole will difappear; but if the 

 hidrogen fliould be contaminated with azote, or fome inflammable gas, there will then be 

 a refiduum confiding either of azote, or carbonic acid gns, or both. 



The next experiments were made with the pure hydrocarbonates. Here I found, when 

 two parts of pure hydrocarbonate, recently procured from camphor, were fired over mer- 

 cury by the ele£lric fpark, with four of the ox. muriatic acid, that a great diminution, 

 accompanied with a confiderable depofition of charcoal took place ; the refiduary gas gene- 

 rally amounted to £.2 or 1.5 meafures, and of this lime water abforbed about, i. or 1.2 

 meafures, the remainder being inflammable. In this inftance the hydrocarbonate did not 

 yield above half the proportion of carbonic acid which it ought to have done, but this is 

 fufficiently accounted for, from the copious depofition of charcoal. 



When hydrocarbonate from sether was employed, the refults were very nearly the fame, 

 And charco:di was more generally depofited. Finding that in thefe proportions the quantity 

 of oxigen contained in the ox. muriatic gas was infufficient to faturate the carbon and 

 hidrogen of the hydrocarbonates, I next fired one meafure of the latter with four of the 

 former i after the explofion, the gas flood at two meafures } a very Httk difiiiled 



water 



