332 <5N OLEFIANT 6A«. 



Its composition. From those experiments, it is easy to deduce the compo* 

 sition of olefiant gas : 100 cubic inches of it, at the tem- 

 perature of 60**, and when the barometer stands at 30 

 inches, weigh 29*72 grains. 



Of the 302 cubic inches of oxigen gas consumed, 208 

 went to the formation of carbonic acid. The remaining 

 94 cubic inches must have gone to the formation of water, 

 and they must have combined with a quantity of hidrogen, 

 which, if in the gaseous form, would have amounted to 

 188 cubic inches. Therefore, 100 cubic inches of olefiant 

 , gas are composed of the carbon in 208 cubic inches of car- 



bonic acid, and a quantity of hidrogen equivalent to 188 

 cubic inches. 



Now, the carbon in 208 inches of carbonic acid 

 weighs ... 26*98 grains. 



108 inches of hidrogen gas weigh - 4*80 



Total, 31-78 

 Weight of the olefiant gas, - - 29-72 



Surplus, - 2-06 

 Thus the weight of the constituents found by analysis 

 exceed that of the olefiant gas by about -j-V^h part; — a clear 

 proof, that olefiant gas contains no oxigen. The science of 

 chemistry, in its present state, admits of no stronger proof, 

 than what we have now given. 



It follows from the preceding analysis, that olefiant gas is 

 composed of about 



Carbon, - - 85 

 Hidrogen - - 15 



100 



Mr. Dalton considers it as composed of an atom of 



carbon and an atom of hidrogen. This comes tolerably 



near to the preceding analysis, if we suppose the weight of 



an atom of carbon 4.5, and that of an atom of hidrogen 1, 



For 85 is to 15 very nearly as 4*5 is to 0-8. 



Olefiant gas 6. There is a curious experiment, first made by Cruick- 



detonat dwitb ghank, and afterward repeated by Berthollet, which I 



less than Its ' , ... •/. n-, r 



weight of oxi- thought it worth while to verify. vVhen olefiant gas is 

 5*^* mixed with less than its bulk of oxigen, and the mixture is 



firetj 



