308 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 54 



AESENIC. 



For the doterinination of the atomic weight of arsenic five compounds 

 have been studied — the chloride, the trioxide and three arsenates. The 

 bromide may also be considered, since it was analj^zed by Wallace in 

 order to establish the atomic weight of bromine. His series, in the 

 light of more recent knowledge, may properly be inverted, and applied 

 to the determination of arsenic. 



In 182G Berzelius ^ heated arsenic trioxide with sulphur in such a way 

 that only SOo could escape. 2.203 grammes of AS2O3, thus treated, gave 

 a loss of 1.069 of SO2. Hence As = 75.02. 



In 1845 Pelouze" applied his method of titration with known quan- 

 tities of pure silver to the analysis of the trichloride of arsenic, AsCig. 

 Using the old Berzelian atomic weights, and putting Ag= 1349.01 and 

 CI = 443.2, he found in three experiments for As the values 937.9, 937.1, 

 and 937.4. Hence 100 parts of silver balance the following quantities 



of ASCI3 : 



56.029 

 56.009 

 56.016 



Mean, 56.018, ± .004 

 Hence As = 74.92. 



Later, the same method was employed by Dumas,^ whose weighings, 



reduced to the foregoing standard, give the following results: 



4.298 grm. AsCl8=: 7.673 grm. Ag. Ratio, 56.015 



5.535 " 9.880 " " 56.022 



7.660 " 13.686 " " 55.970 



4.680 " 8.358 " " 55.993 



Mean, 56.000, ± .008 



Hence As = 74.86. 



The two series of Pelouze and Dumas, combined, give a general mean 

 of 56.014, ±.0035, as the amount of AsClg equivalent to 100 parts of 

 silver. Hence As= 74.91, a value closely agreeing with that deduced 

 from the single experiment of Berzelius. 



The same process of titration with silver was applied by Wallace * to 

 the analysis of arsenic tribromide, AsBr,. This compound was repeatedly 

 distilled to ensure purity, and was well crystallized. His weighings 



' PoRfTcnd. Annalen, 8, 1. 



- Conipt. Rend., 20, 1047. 



»Ann. Chim. Phys. (3), 55, 174. 1859. 



«Phil. Mag. (4), 18, 270. 



