310 BALARD ON THE BLEACHIKG COMPOUNDS OF CHLORINE. 



which induces the opinion that they are derived from a similar com- 

 pound. 



Time has not allowed of my further extending the comparison be- 

 tween the hypochlorites and the decolorizing chlorides : I am also of 

 opinion that sucli an undertaking would be quite useless. The facta 

 which I have announced in this chapter appear to me to be sufficient 

 to justify the three following conclusions : 1st, the hypochlorites possess 

 a great number of properties which characterize free hypochlorous acid : 

 2ndly, these properties are identically the same as those previously ob- 

 served in the decolorizing chlorides ; and these latter ought hereafter 

 to be considered as mixtures of one atom of chloride and one atom of 

 hypochlorite ; 3rdly and lastly, the presence of a metallic chloride in 

 these decolorizing compounds does not alter the properties of the hy- 

 pochlorite itself. But how do these compounds serve for decolorizing 

 and disinfecting ? The answer is easy, and it arises from all the facts 

 which I have detailed in this memoir. In the case in which an acid 

 is added to them, they disengage chlorine, and it is then this chlo- 

 rine itself which decolorizes and disinfects, by a mode of action which 

 is not well known, but every circumstance induces the belief that it is 

 an oxidation, produced in an indirect manner at the expense of the 

 elements of water. If, on tlie contrary, they act without the assistance 

 of acids, it is entirely by the oxygen of the acid and of the base of the 

 hypochlorite that they decolorize and disinfect, and they are converted 

 into chlorides. 



The analogies which associate chlorine and bromine afford a pre- 

 sentiment tliat there must also exist an oxacid of this body, corre- 

 sponding with the new compound of chlorine which I have now de- 

 scribed; and this is in fact confirmed by experiment. By operating in 

 modes similar to those by which I succeeded in obtaining hypochlorous 

 acid, I obtained a new acid of bromine, which bears so strong a resem- 

 blance to it, that I have no hesitation in naming it hypobromous acid 

 although the investigation which I have undertaken is not yet com- 

 pleted, and I have not determined its composition by direct experi- 

 ments. I content myself at present with announcing its existence, 

 waiting till additional researches permit me to trace its history in a less 

 imperfect manner. 



