uith a large Voltaic Battery. 413 



Exp. 1. Oxide of tungsten, which (as well as all the other 

 metallic oxides operated on) had been previously intensely 

 ignited in a charcoal crucible, in a powerful furnace, fused, and 

 was partially reduced. The metal grayish white, heavy, bril- 

 liant, and very brittle. 



Exp. 2. Oxide of tantalum. A very small portion fused. 

 The grains have a reddish-yellow colour, and are extremely 

 brittle. 



Exp. 3. Oxide of uranium ; fused, but not reduced. 



Exp. 4. Oxide of titanium ; fused, not reduced. When 

 intensely heated it burnt, throwing off brilliant Gparks like iroUi 



Exp. 5. Oxide of cerium ; fused, and when intensely heated 

 it burnt with a large, vivid, white flame, and was partly volati- 

 lized, but not reduced. The fused oxide, on exposure for a few 

 hours to the air, fell into a light brown powder, containing nu- 

 merous shining particles of a silvery lustre, interspersed amongst 

 it, and exhaled an odour similar to that of phosphuretted hy- 

 drogen. 



Exp. 6. Oxide of molybdena; readily fused and reduced. 

 The metal is very brittle, of a steel-gray colour, and soon be- 

 comes covered with a thin coat of purple oxide. 



Exp. 7. Compound ore of iridium and osmium ; fused into 

 a globule. 



Exp. 8. Pure iridium ; fused into an imperfect globule, not 

 quite free from small cavities, and weighing 7*1 grains. The 

 metal is white, very brilliant, and in its present state its specific 

 gravity is 18*68, which must be much too low, on account of 

 the porous state of the globule. In the minutes of the experi- 

 ments, in July 1813, mention is made of the fusion of a small 

 portion of pure iridium into a globule weighing -j^\ of a grain, 

 which had been previously submitted to the action of a battery 

 of 2000 plates, of four inches square, without melting. 



Exp. D. Ruby and sapphire, were not fused. 



Exp. 10. Blue spinel, ran into a slag. 



Exp. 1 1 . Gadolinite, fused into a globule. 



Exp. 12. Magnesia, was agglutinated. 



Exp. 13. Zircon from Norway, was imperfectly fused. 



Exp. 14. Quartz, silex, and plumbago, were not aifected. 



In the year 179G, M. Clouet converted iron into steel, by 

 cementation with the diamond, with the view of confirming the 

 nature of that substance, and of ascertaining the exact state in 

 which carbon exists in steel. Clouet had also previously formed 

 steel by cementation with carbonate of lime. Mr. Mushet re- 

 peated this experiment, using instead of the carbonate, caustic 

 lime, and obtained also what he considered to be cast steel ; 



whence 



