15^ New Properties dij covered in 



phorifed hydrogen gas in it had participated in the liquidity 

 of the water. 



I then removed my finger, but not without fome difficulty, 

 from the mouth of the bottle, that I might examine more 

 accurately the nature and properties of the liquid it contained, 

 and to afcertain whether there did not yet remain fome por- 

 tions of the gas fufceptible of inflammation by the contact of 

 the air. But, fcarcely was the communication eftablifhed 

 between the atmofphere and the infide of the bottle, when 

 a loud detonation took place, accompanied with a very bril- 

 liant light. I readily judged from this phenomenon, that 

 the whole of the phofphorifed hydrogen gas had not been 

 abforbed by the water contained in the bottle; on which ac- 

 count I clofed the aperture, in order to prevent the combuf- 

 tion from being longer continued; which would not have 

 failed to produce a confiderable quantity of pholphoric acid, 

 and confequently to occafion great uncertainty in regard to 

 the refults which I wifhed to obtain. 



The bottle having been clofely flopped, I continued to 

 {hake it feveral times, under an idea that I fhould by thefe 

 means be able to fix entirely the Lift portions of the phof- 

 phorifed hydrogen gas which had remained undjfiblved. 



Hoping that I had uiceccded, and impatient to know the 

 new properties which the water faturated with the gas might 

 have acquired, I determined to unftop the bottle a fecund 

 time in contact with the air. This was foon followed by a 

 fecond detonation, ftronger, indeed, than the former. After 

 this I did not think of Hopping the aperture of the bottle, fo 

 that a flame exceedingly pale continued for fome minutes to 

 iflue from it. 



When I obferved no more apparent figns of conibuftion, 

 I examined by the fmell and tafte the liquor remaining in 

 the bottle. Its fmell appeared to me exceedingly difagree- 

 able, and altogether different from that of gafeous phofpho- 

 rifed hydrogen j its tafte, though very bitter, had in it, how- 

 ever, fomething infipid and difguiting; and its colour was a 

 little inclining to that pf lemon. 



When tried with tincture of turnfol it foon made it fenfibly 

 jred, which I afcribed to the fmail portion of phofphoric acid, 



which 



