Ti 



ScioUiJk Notices^-^Chefimtr^. 



[July, 



according to the experiments of Thomson, Henry, Dalton, and 

 Saussure. 



With the exception of fluosilicic and fluoboric gases, all the 

 gases absorbed in considerable quantity by water, are contained 

 in the foregoing table. While the other gases, such as oxygen, 

 hydrogen, &c. which are condensed into liquids with great diffi- 

 culty, are absorbed by water in very minute quantities indeed. 

 This, however, is more than the theory requires. 



3. Mr. Faraday was enabled to give approximations to the 

 specific gravities of some of the liquids into which the gases 

 were reduced. Now it would be an objection to the hypothesis, 

 if there were an excessive discordance between the specific 

 gravities obtained by Mr. Faraday, and the specific gravities 

 which these liquids maintain in mixture, or when in solution 

 with water, &c. For although the specific weight of a mixture 

 of two liquids is rarely the mean of the weights of the liquids, 

 yet in general the variation from the mean is not excessive. 

 There exists, however, no such discordance. Indeed, a com- 

 parison of these specific weights, which I have made, re- 

 markably confirms the theory. 



In addition to these facts, this hypothesis has in its favour 

 all those circumstances which are thought to recommend the 

 chemical theory of the absorption of gases, so ably illustrated 

 by Berthollet, Thomson, and Saussure. Indeed, the account here 

 given may be considered as a development of that theory. 



By the latent heat which becomes sensible in the condensa- 

 tion of vapours, and also by the heat which is frequently 

 •evolved in the mixing of liquids, that increase of temperature, 

 which always marks the absorption of gaseous bodies, is ex- 

 plained. The same liquid absorbs different quantities of dif- 

 ferent gases, and different liquids absorb unequal quantities of 

 the same gas, from the attraction between the absorbing liquids 

 and the gases when liquefied being variable, as is the cas,e 

 among ordinary liquids. Diminution of pressure, or increase of 

 temperature uniformly lessens the quantity of a gaseous body 



