on oxysulphurelied Muriatic Acid. 371 



this operation by the unexpected fulmination which happened, 

 while we exercised on these two substances but a slight tritu- 

 ration to combine them intimately, a trituration effected with 

 two fingers holding the mixture in the folds of a thin dry paper. 

 The noise of the explosion was very great, and such as not to 

 be reproduced by four times the quantity of the same salt mixed 

 in any proportion with different combustible bodies. All the 

 characters of this powder, its unequivocal odour of sulphureous 

 acid, whereas previously it was entirely inodorous, made it be 

 considered as a compound of sulphur and carbon combined to- 

 gether in unknown proportions, and perhaps both modified in 

 their chemical properties. The large drops of hydrogenated 

 sulphur which we found in the cavity of the apparatus, and whicli 

 was as limpid as water, did not appear to contain an atom of 

 carbon or of sulphur in the mixture. We divided it into three por- 

 tions, which we treated as follows : the first was inflamed by the 

 electric spark, burnt with a blue flame developing white vapours 

 with a sulphureous smell, and leaving no residuum ; the second 

 portion, introduced into a glass globe of large capacity contain- 

 ing oxygenated muriatic acid gas very dry, became pale yellow, 

 and terminated by leaving simple sulphur and destroying the 

 colour of the gas. We then examined the atmosj^here in the 

 balloon glass, and found it to be pure muriatic acid gas. Tiiis 

 fact, noticed by other chemists, has not been well observed or 

 duly considered; and to explain this phsenomenon with greater 

 exactness, we employed, for the same experiment, the third por- 

 tion of hydrogenated sulphur which remained. Instead of a 

 simple spherical glass vessel, as in the preceding experiments, we 

 used one elliptical and doubly tubulated. The inferior neck or 

 tubulatnre of this vessel was closed bv a steel stopcock, to which 

 was attached a curved glass siphon, in which, mercury was included, 

 to show by its height in the one or other arm, the increase or 

 diminution of the atmosphere in the glass. The other tubula- 

 ture was armed with a steel joint, through which was passed a 

 male screw of the same metal (all the steel parts were covered 

 with a hard variiish to prevent the action of the oxygenated 

 muriatic acid), at the extremity of which, introduced into the 

 inside of the vessel, was a platina wire, to which was suspended 

 a little platina cup. The inner rim was covered with skin, in 

 order tiiat the hydrogenated sulphur which was placed in the cup 

 ahould not come in contact with the oxygenated muriatic acid, 

 but at the pleasure of the operator, which was effected by means 

 of a screw and the edges of the cup being brought in communi- 

 cation with it. The whole being thus disposed, by means of a 

 strong pneumatic machine the atmospheric air was confined 

 witiiia the receiver, and afterwards we substituted very dry oxy- 



A a 2 gcnated 



