384 M. Balardy on a peculiar Substance [Nor. 



condenses'in the neck of the retort precipitates to the bottom 

 of the vessel on account of its great specific gravity. Whatever 

 may be the affinity which water possesses for this body, the 

 stratum of liquid which surrounds it is very soon saturated, and 

 this surrounding the brome, it secures it from the solvent power 

 of the superior strata ; to obtain it in a state of great purity it 

 is afterwards necessary only to separate it and to deprive it of 

 the water which it may retain, by distilling it from chloride of 

 calcium. 



The properties of brome are, that, when examined in mass by 

 reflected light, it is a blackish-red fluid, but when a thin stratum 

 as placed between the light and the eye, it is of a hyacinthine 

 red colour. 



Its disagreeable smell reminds one of that of the oxides 

 of chlorine, but it is much less intense ; its taste is ex- 

 tremely strong ; it acts upon organic substances, upon wood, 

 cork, &c.; it corrodes the skin especially, giving it a deep yellow 

 colour ; this colour, which is less intense than that produced by 

 iodine, like it, disappears after some time ; and if it have re- 

 mained in contact with the skin for some time, the colour dis- 

 appears only when the epidermis is destroyed. 



It acts strongly upon animals, a single drop put into the bill 

 of a bird killed it ; its specific gravity, as nearly as I could , 

 ascertain it with the small quantities of the substance, was 

 2*966, and when exposed to a temperature of 18° centig. it is 

 not rendered solid ; it is readily volatilized, which is a great 

 contrast to its specific gravity ; when a drop of brome is put 

 into any vessel, it is immediately filled with a deep orange red 

 vapour, which by its colour might be mistaken for nitrous acid, 

 if it were not distinguishable from it by numerous properties. 

 It boils at 47° centig. hv'at, which thus varies the physical 

 state of brome, has no action at all upon its chemical nature. 

 I did not find any decomposition, by passing its vapour through 

 a luted glass tube heated strongly red : it is not a conductor of 

 voltaic electricity ; I ascertained this by preventing the decom- 

 position of water, by interposing a portion of brome three or 

 four lines in length in one of the conductors : neither does elec- 

 tricity appear capable of decomposing brome; this substance, 

 when submitted to the action of a pile, strong enough to decom- 

 pose water and saline solutions, suflered no apparent diminution 

 of volume, no evolution of gas, nor any deposit of matter upon 

 the ends of the platina conducting wires. In a word, it gives 

 no indication of decomposition. 



The vapour of brome does not support combustion; a lighted 

 taper when immersed in it is soon extinguished, but before it 

 goes out, it burns for an instant with a flame which is green at 

 the base, aqd red in the upper part, just as it does in chlorine 

 gas. . ^ 



Brome is soluble in water and alcphol, and especially in 



