ON THE ALKAUNE METALLOIDS* 363 



Excluding the hypothesis of Gay-Lussac and Thenard, there 

 appears to remain only one other view to be adopted — that 

 potassium is the metallic base of the alkali, combined with 

 hidrogen, the real alkali being a metallic oxide, which in 

 common potash is combined with water. In its decomposition 

 ^e oxigcn both of the oxide and of the water is separated, 

 while the metallic base and the hidrogen, or part of the 

 hidrogen, combining, form potassium ; and in the combus- 

 tion of this product, its base and its hidrogen uirite with the 

 oxigcn consumed, forming an alkali combined with water, 

 and therefore not superior in alkaline strength, at least 

 not to a great extent, to the potash in which water is 

 combined. 



Wishing to avoid every source of fallacy, I thought of a The expert- ' 

 "different mode of conducting the experiment, and this I have ^^"* "^^^*^*? * 

 to state has aliorded a result somewhat different. Mr. Davy 

 had inferred from the combustion of potassium in oxigen 

 gas, that 86*1 of it combine with 13'9 of oxigen to form 

 100 of potash. From its oxigenation by water, he had 

 stated the proportions at 84 of base and 16 of oxigen. The 

 former appeared to be the most direct mode, and I there- 

 fore preferred the estimate founded on it. Supposing then 

 86 of potassium to unite with 14 of oxigen to form 100 

 of potash, I took 4*3 of potassium, which according to 

 this estimate are equivalent to 5 of real potash, and expos- 

 ed it (the vessel being covered with a slip of muslin) to a 

 humid atmosphere, until it was converted into a solution of 

 potash. This I found required for neutralization, taking 

 the moan of several experiments, of which the results 

 varied very little, of the diluted acid employed in the above 

 experiments 154 grains. 



Here the power of neutralization in the alkali, formed by appeared to 

 the oxigenation of potassium, supposing it to consist offgs^i^ 

 86 of base, and 14 of oxigen, is considerably superior to 

 the power of neutralization of an equal weight of ignited 

 potash, the one being 139, the other 154. It appears to 

 llave been by this mode of experiment, that chemists have 

 determined the comparative alkaline strength of oxigenated 

 potassium, and fused potash ; at least I have seen no ac- 

 IJ.ounts of any attempts to do this by experiinents on the real 



product 



