0»THE »i.TUIlE OF OXiMURlATlCf SfuSJ* 



WiitftT bS^'*dkiinuriatic gas ? Pass this gas and steara tbgetner Water rdeeoH»- 

 throu^ii a tubt^ heated to redness, oxigeu gas will be P'O- muriatic cSl 

 duced, and muriatic acid gas formed. Detonate this gas 

 nr\d hidrogen gas together, and a similar formation of " .ija c* 

 muriatic gas will take place. With these facts in view* 

 ivho can hesitate in asserting, that water is decomposed by 

 6ximuriatic gas, that its bidrogen is attracted by this sub- 

 stance, and its 6jcigencoiv«fqUently set free ? 



Since charco:d has tio action on oximuriatic gas, is there 

 any anomaly in the want of action between this gas and car- 

 bonic ojtide? and since oximuriatic tj^as alone decomposes 

 water, is there any thing unexpected in this effect being 

 more readily produced by the joinl attractions of oximuri- 

 atic gas and carbonic oxide ? 



Mr. Murray, to obviate every objection that might be Carbonic acirJ 



raised to the formation of carbonic acid eas wb en Water P'"'',^"'^.^^ ^'■°* 



. , 1 . 1 carbonic- ox- V 



was present, made mixtures ot carbonic oxide, hidrogen, ide, hiHrogen* 



and oximuriatic ^as, over mercury, which were exposed to ^"^ *^*^™""''^ 



III 1 J 1 . • 1 TT 1 ^^^ K^^ OVtX>' 



the solar ligbt, or detonated by an electric spark. He used mercury, 

 water for absorbing the muriatic j^^as formed, and con- 

 stantly found great part of the carbonic oxide converted into 

 carbbnic acid. 



I have assisted Mr. Davy in repeating these experiments; DilR».rent re- 

 our mode of operating differed principally in this respect, byMr. DaTv. 

 we used ammoniacal gas instead of water for removing the 

 muriatic gas, and we have obtained, probably in conse- 

 quence of this, very different results. I beg leave to tran- 

 scribe the account of one of the experiments, given by Mr, 

 Davy in a note at the end of his Bakerian lecture for 18 lo!. 

 •' We found that 7 parts of hid ' ogeh S parts of gaseous ^n cxperi- 

 oxideof carbon, and 20 ]>arts of oximuriatic gas, exploded nift»t «fh^ ^^ 

 by the electric spark, diminished to about 30 measures, and 

 calomel was formed on the sides bfth^' tube. ^On adiJintr ' 



dry ammonia in excess, and exposing the remainder to. .wi !w;.iwiaa« 

 water, a gas remained, wiiich equalled more than 9 mea- 

 eurefe, rind whitih ixM gasedus 6Xide of carbon, with no' 

 Tri6re impurify'^^ than might Be exj^edtetl in" the air in the 

 gasses and the nitrogen expelled from the ammonia." Tti 

 another experiment conducted in the same way as the last,. 

 a mixture ot 22 measures ot oximuriatic gas, of 8 hidro- rlment. 



