Formation of Muriatic Acid in JVater. Tg 



was so feeblv acidulated by it that it did not redden turnsole 

 paper at all, and did not affect lime water. But the solu- 

 tion of acetate of lead became sensibly white. The acetate 

 of lead is much less sensible with respect to the other acids. 

 A solution of sulphuric acid of 1850 diluted in 16,000 parts 

 of waier, which acts also very sensibly upon turnsole paper, 

 is not at all affected by the acetite of lead. Water of ba- 

 rytes discovers even --'^j-jj^dth of its weight in v;ater acidu- 

 lated by the sulphuric acid, and surpasses in sensibility all 

 the other re-agents with respect to this acid. 



The mild nitrate of mercury is also a re-agent almost 

 equally sensible for the phosphoric acid as it is for the mu- 

 riatic ; with this difference, that the precipitate by the former 

 18 dissolved in an excess of phosphoric acid or nitric acidj 

 while the precipitate by the latter is absolutely insoluble by 

 an excess of any acid whatever. 



IV. Some further Remarks upon the szipposcd Formation 

 of Muriatic Acid in Water by the Influence of the GaU 

 vanic Pile. By Professor Pfatf'*^ - 



X HAVE continued, since my first communication in th^' 

 Annates de Chimie \ , my inquiries upon the supposed for- 

 mation of the muriatic acid in water by the influence of the 

 positive pole of the pile of Volta. I made use of glass tubes 

 of different diameters from a line to an inch ; the tubes were 

 closed below, except a small hole in which the metallic con- 

 ductor wires were fixed with sealing-wax. The communi- 

 cation between the two tubes, into one of which was con- 

 ducted the influence of the positive pole, v.'hile the influence 

 of the negative pole was communicated to the other, was 

 effected at the top, sometimes by moistened paper, some- , 

 times by linen threads, sometimes by nerves, and sometimes 

 by animal fibres. I even varied the metallic wires. T em- 

 ployed successively wires of platina, gold, silver, copper, 

 and iron. I never obtained a trace of muriatic acid, al- 



• From Afina'cs dc Chiniir, tom. Ixii. p. 2i!. 

 t See Phil. Mag. vol. xxvii. p.33S. 



B 2 thoudi 



