186 Mr. Faraday on some neii) Products 



The following is a result obtained when it was passed in 

 vapour over heated oxide of copper : — Q*Y76 grain of the sub- 

 stance produced 5'6 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas, at a 

 temperatureof 60°, and pressure 29*98 inches; and 0*58 grain 

 of water were collected. The 5*6 cubic inches of gas are 

 equivalent to O'TllTO^ grain of carbon by calculation, and 

 the 0*58 grain of water to 0'0644'4'4' of hydrogen. 



Carbon 0-71 1704. or 11-44. 



Hydrogen 0"064444 or T 



These quantities nearly equal in weight the weight of the sub- 

 stance used ; and making the hydrogen 1, the carbon is not 

 far removed from 12, or two proportionals. 



Four other experiments gave results all approximating to 

 the above. The mean result was 1 hydrogen, 1 1 •576 carbon. 



Now considering that the substance must, according to the 

 manner in which it was prepared, still retain a portion of the 

 body boiling at 186°, but remaining fluid at 0°, and which 

 substance I find, as will be seen hereafter, to contain less car- 

 bon than the crystalline compound (only about 8*25 to 1 of 

 hydrogen), it may be admitted, I think, that the constant 

 though small deficit of carbon found in the experiments is due 

 to the portion so retained ; and that the crystalline compound 

 would, if pure, yield 1 2 of carbon for each 1 of hydrogen, or 

 two proportionals of the former element and one of the latter. 



2 proportionals carbon . 121 ^3 i^i.^^^buret of hydrogen. 

 1 hydrogen 1 J jo 



This result is confirmed by such data as I have been able 

 to obtain by detonating the vapour of the substance with oxy- 

 gen. Thus in one experiment 8092 mercury grain measures 

 of oxygen at 62° had such quantity of the substance intro- 

 duced into it as would entirely rise in vapour; the volume in- 

 creased to 8505 : hence the vapour amounted to 413 parts, or 

 ^^ -^ of the mixture nearly. Seven volumes of this mixture 

 were detonated in an eudiometer tube by an electric spark, 

 and diminished in consequence nearly to 6*1 : these, acted 

 upon by potash, were further diminished to 4, which were pure 

 oxygen. Hence 3 volumes of mixture had been detonated, 

 of which nearly 0*34 was vapour of the substance, and 2*65 

 oxygen. The carbonic acid amounted to 2*1 volumes, and 

 must have consumed an equal bulk of oxygen gas ; so that 

 0*55 remain as the quantity of oxygen which has combined 

 with the hydrogen to form water, and which with the 0*34 of 

 vapour nearly make the diminution of 0*9. 



It will be seen at once that the oxygen required for the 

 carbon is four times that for the hydrogen ; and that the whole 



statement 



