Chemical Science. 387 
grains of nitric acid,” s.g. 1.56 or 1.38 into a pint matrass, and a 
piece of coin, containing nearly 35 grains of pure silver. The re- 
sulting solution was poured into about 927 grains of strong alcohol, 
and heated until it boiled; on the appearance of turbidness it was 
removed from the fire, and an equal quantity of alcohol added by 
degrees to cool the solution and moderate the ebullition. When 
cold, the whole was filtered, and the precipitate washed with pure 
water until no longer acid. It is then perfectly pure, and white as snow. 
The filter was put on a plate which was placed on a saucepan half 
filled with water, and heated to 212°, for two or three hours, that it 
might be perfectly dry ; its weight was generally equal to that of 
the silver employed, 
Tulminate of silver will not detonate alone at 212° F, or even at 
266° F. but a slight blow between two hard bodies, even under 
water, will explode it : hence wooden stirrers and paper spoons should 
be used in experiments made with it. 
When mixed with 40 times its weight of per-oxide of copper it 
may be rubbed in a porcelain capsule with the finger, or a cork, and 
does not then detonate by heat. This mode of analysis was therefore 
adopted to ascertain the proportion of carbon and nitrogen in the salt, 
or rather in the acid. ‘The gaseous mixture obtained by heat con- 
tained exactly 2 volumes of carbonic acid, and 1 volume of nitrogen: 
hence, these elements are in the same proportion as in cyanogen. 
Fulminate of silver contains two proportions of oxide, one belong- 
ing apparently to the acid, and the other, serving as base: Muriatic 
acid ; entirely decomposes the fulminate, giving a chloride equivalent 
to the oxide contained in the metal; operating in this way, 100 of 
the compound gave as a mean result, 77.528 of oxide of silver, or 
Silver . . 72.187 
Oxygen . 5,341 
It is assumed that the silver is all in the state of oxide, a supposition 
supported by alithe results. 
Muriate of potash precipitates only the silyer serving as base, and 
does not affect that of the fulminic acid ; and operating with it instead 
of muriatic acid, 100 of the compound gave a quantity of chloride 
equivalent to 38.105 of oxide of silver; and the solution remaining, 
which contained the fulminic acid united to potash, when decomposed 
by muriatic acid yielded chloride equivalent to 38.359 oxide of silver. 
Oe it may be concluded that the fulminate of silver contains twice 
as much oxide of silver as will saturate fulminic acid. 
When the compound was decomposed by oxide of copper and heat, 
a process which was conducted with the utmost attention and accu- 
racy, 100 of fulminate of silver gave a mean of carbon and nitrogen, 
equivalent to 17.16 of cyanogen; small quantities of water were 
obtained, but they were irregular, and never amounted to any thing 
like a proportional of hydrogen in the compound. Other proofs 
