Oxygenized Acids and Oxides. 111 
I had hitherto believed that the whole of the oxygen was se- 
parable from muriatic acid at a temperature below boiling ; but 
after boiling oxygenized muriatic acid for half an hour I still found 
oxygen in it ; which is demonstrated by bringing oxide of silver 
in contact with it, when oxygen is suddenly disengaged. This 
oxide enables us, with great ease, to determine the quantity of 
oxygen contained in oxygenized muriatic acid ; and the analysis 
takes only a few minutes. Take a graduated glass tube, fill it 
almost wholly with mercary, pour into it a krown volume of acid, 
fill the tube completely with mercury, and then turn it upside 
down in a mercurial trough. Send up into the acid an excess of 
oxide of silver suspended in water; and immediately there will 
‘be seen disengaged (which may be read off on the tube) the quan- 
tity of oxygen which the acid contained. The quantity of chlo- 
rine can be estimated ; and consequently the muriatic acid, by de- 
composing a part of the acid itself by means of nitrate of silver: 
but as in this experiment a portion of the oxygen of the oxide is 
disengaged, we must take an account of this quantity to obtain 
an accurate result. 
The separation of oxygen from the oxygenized muriatic acid 
is so rapid that there would be danger in operating with a weak 
acid, containing 26 to 3U volumes of oxygen; as the tube might 
escape from the hand of the operator, or might break. Nothing 
can equal the effervescence which takes place when we immerse a 
tube containing oxide of silver, and stir it about in some grammes 
of this acid, which is instantly destroyed, and the oxygen being 
liberated, escapes with violence, driving the liquid before it. 
If the most oxygenized muriatic acid be poured on the sul- 
phate, the nitrate, or the fluate of silver, no effervescence follows. 
The whole of the oxygen unites with the acid of the salt, while the 
muriatic acid forms with the oxide of silver water and a chloride. 
I made several attempts to ascertain whether the oxygenized 
acids are capable of taking up so much the more oxygen, the 
more real acid they contain; or whether the water, by its quan- 
tity, has not an influence on the greater or less oxygenizement 
of the acid ; but my attempts have not yet enabled me to answer 
the questions. 
I have likewise tried to oxygenate magnesia and alumina, but 
without success. I succeeded, however, in superoxygenating se- 
veral other oxides, viz. oxide of zinc, oxide of copper, and oxide 
of nickel. We should succeed but very imperfectly, if at all, were 
we to content ourselves with adding oxygenized acid to the saline 
solutions of these three metals, and precipitating the liquid by 
potash. The oxides of these metals must be dissolved in oxyge- 
nized muriatic acid three or four times, and then the oxygenized 
muriate must be decomposed by potash or soda, taking care to ae 
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