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AN ACCOUNT 
OF SOME 
EXPERIMENTS MADE TO DETERMINE THE SPECIFIC 
GRAVITIES 
STEAM OR VAPOUR 
FROM 
WATER—ALCOHOL—ETHER--PYROXILIC SPI- 
RIT—AND ACETIC ACID. 
By WILLIAM HADFIELD. 
Read October 18th, 1833. 
It is well known that water and other liquids, 
when heated sufficiently begin to boil, or throw 
off an elastic fluid called steam or vapour. The 
phenomena are well exhibited by heating water 
in a florence flask, half filled, until it boils. 
When in brisk ebullition, the steam issues from 
the neck invisible till it is condensed into small 
drops by the low temperature of the surrounding 
air. In a Torricellian vacuum also, aqueous 
