188 ANNUAL OF. SCIF.XTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



REDUCTION OF ALUMINIUM BY ZINC. 



The l:\rixost itom of tho cost of aluminium has liithoito bopn 

 that of the sodium n^cil iu its roductiou; l)ut we are now told 

 that M. Basset, of Paris, has succeeded in reducing it from tho 

 chh)ride l)y means of tiie much cheaper metal, zinc. His plan is 

 to fuse chloride of aluminium with an excess of zinc, and he states 

 that th(.' results are cliloriik' of /.iue and an alloy of yAnc and 

 aluminium, from which all the zinc may he driven off by a white 

 heat. If this jn'ocess be practicable on the large scale, there will 

 be no reason why aluminium should not speedily become cheap 

 cnouirli for cm[)loym('Ut in the many mechanical ajjplieations for 

 Avhii-ii it is so a(lmiral)ly fitted, instead of being ccmiined, as at 

 present, to ornamental uses only. — Mech. Mag., Jan., 18(55. 



INGREDIENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR. 



II. R'insch stretched eighteen square feet of carefully washed 

 linen cloth upon poles, so as to form a sort of roof. Over one such 

 roof he allowed very dilute hydrochloric acid to trickle for four- 

 teen days, and over another a one-jx-r-cent. soda solution for the 

 <;ame lime. The collected li<iuors were then evaporated and ex- 

 amined. Tile acid liquor was first distilled. A beautiful violet- 

 colored (an aniline?) compound i)assed over first, then sal ammo- 

 niac, and, last, some pyrogeiunis ])roduets arising from the organic 

 sul)stances aiisurbcd b}- the acid. The residue was then com- 

 pletel}' carbonized, and the ash examined. It contained traces 

 of metals precipitable by ILS (Pb, Sn, or Cu?). The aqueous 

 extract of the ash contained Xa, considerable traces of Ca and K, 

 and doubtful traces of Mg. The hydrochloric solution of the ash 

 contained Ca, Fe, Mn, Al, and traces of SO3. Silica remained 

 behind insoluble. In the collected soda liquor the author found 

 much CI and COo, with decided traces of PO., and SO3. There 

 ■were also traces of Ca, and much organic matter, with Fe, Mn, 

 and SiOg. — X Jahrb. f. Fharm., 24, 193. 



CRYSTALLOGENIC FORCE. 



According to !M. Kuhlmann's researches on the Ciystallogenic 

 Force, — on the ai-tiiicialcr3Stallization of mineral substances and of 

 uietals by humid means, — when crystals of carbonate of soda were 

 placed in a solution of suli)hate of copj:)er, a layer of carbonate of 

 copi^er was precipitated on them ; by degrees the whole of the 

 carbonate of soda changed into a solution of suljjhate of soda, 

 ■whilst the slowly-formed crystals of carbonate of copper produced 

 artificial minerals, closely resembling azurite and malachite. In 

 the same wa}', crystals of carbonate of soda placcnl in a solution 

 of sulphate of nickel formed blue and green carbonate of nickel, 

 and placed in a solution of nitrate of cobalt ])roduced magnificent 

 ruby-red crystals of carbonate of cobalt. The author states that 

 the reduction of metals to the crystalline state can be produced 

 by the action of water and acids ; esi:)ecially is this the case with 

 ailoA'S, and he shows that a lead alloy can thus l)e crystallized. Sul- 

 phate of copper placed iu a solution of polysulphide of potassium 



