CONSTITUTION OF NITROSOSULPHATES. ^Q5 



pointing to the presence in thern of the nitroxyl radical; nothing 

 probable in the supposition that, in their formation, the metal or basic 

 radical quits the sulphur of the sulphite for the nitrogen of the nitric 

 oxide rather than for its oxygen. On the contrary, there are the facts 

 that metallic sodium, when it acts upon them, finds in them the 

 hyponitrite radical, (though possibly, indeed, making it for itself), and 

 leaves sulphite; and, again, that they are almost neutral to litmus, 

 instead of being strongly aikaline, as they likely would be, if their metal 

 were in direct union with the nitrogen. The hyponitrite-sulphate 

 formula displays every known chemical property of them, whereas a 

 sul phonic formula displays only some of these, and suggests the 

 existence of properties which they do not possess, such as that of 

 hydrolysing into a hydrogenised nitrogen compound. 



The great rise of temperature which attends the dry decomposition 

 of a nitrososulphate into metal sulphate and nitrous oxide must be 

 attributed rather to the heat of nitric oxide decomposing into nitrous 

 oxide, than to the oxidation of sulphite, since this is already, in the 

 salt united to oxygen. 



Nitrososulphates may be described as anhydro-double salts of 

 hyponitrous and sulphuric acids which in aqueous solution hydrolyse 

 into acid-hyponitrite and acid-sulphate, these salts simultaneously 

 changing into normal sulphate and hyponitrous acid (nitrous oxide 

 and water), thus: — 



/N:NOK /OK ,011 



0H 2 +0< =N 2 < + S0 2 < = N 2 + OH 2 + S0 2 (OK) 2 . 



X S0 2 -OK X)H X 0K 



The property they show of never exchanging their nitroso- 

 metallic radical for a simply metallic one, when they are mixed in 

 aqueous solution with other salts, is apparently nothing more than 

 what is seen in the true sulphate, potassium-ethyl sulphate. In this 



