inflammable by Pei'cussion^ and their Use in Fire-arms. 201 



4). The substance remaining after the explosion, had a 

 blueish briUiant tint and a bitter acid metallic taste. With a 

 small quantity dissolved in water, litmus paper was slightly 

 reddened. I made no further investigations ; inasmuch as the 

 examination of the acids of fulminating metals, before and after 

 the explosion, was not my object ; especially since Dr. Liebig 

 has lately publislied a series of very interesting experiments, 

 the repetition of which would require very extensive labour *. 

 Liebig calls those acids fulminic acids, which, being the pro- 

 perty of all metals, he distinguishes into silver- and mercur}^- 

 fulniinic acids, &c. 



The great advantages, however, of the fulminating quick- 

 silver as igniting powder, extolled by Mr. Wright, I did not find 

 confirmed ; although I proceeded to fill copper boxes, as I had 

 done with the detonating silver, which all ignited the charge. 



III.) I also submitted to experiment the first-named mix- 

 ture, principally consisting of chlorate of potash, and found, 



1.) That it exploded only by a hard blow. Its effects were 

 much less than those of the detonating silver or quicksilver. 

 Mr. Wright, indeed, says the contrary of the latter: it seems 

 therefore that I used a better kind of fulminating mercury ; 



* Vide Ann. de C/iim. et dc Phys. part xxiv. p. 294, or the translation in 

 Gilbert's Annalen der Phys. part Ixxv. p. .393 — 423. Mr. Liebig found that 

 Bnignatelli's detonating silver was dissolved in lime-water or solutions of 

 the caustic alkalies, whereby 31'25 per cent of oxide of silver was depo- 

 sited. They produce peculiar salts called fulminates, which explode with 

 great violence. These salts are dissolved by nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and 

 acetic acid : the silver fulminic acid contained in them, and so difficult to 

 be dissolved, is deposited; and by heating a solution of fulminate of lime to 

 the boiling point, and adding a moderate quantity of nitric acid, is depo- 

 sited, on cooling, at the bottom of the vessel, in the shape of long white 

 crystals. This acid may be easily dissolved in boiling water; from which it 

 crystallizes again in cooling, has a disgusting metallic taste, and reddens 

 litnuis paper. But it cannot subsist of itself without combination with a 

 metal ; and in the same manner as there are prussic acids of iron, copper, 

 silver, and gold, so the fulminic acid combines with silver, quicksilver, cop- 

 per, iron, zinc, &c., into proper fulminic acids, which again form different 

 combinations with the bases, e. g. potash, soda, barytes, strontian, lime, &c. 

 Thus, for instance, silver-fulminate of potash consists of 3503 parts of 

 silver-fulminic acid and 14-92 of potash; silver-fulminate of soda, of 

 88-GG parts of silver-fulminic acid and 11-34 of alkali. When cooling, 

 BerthoUet'b detonating silver forms granular shining white crystals. One 

 part of this salt makes as violent a report as three jjarts of Howard's 

 (Rrugnatelli's) fulminating silver. With magnesia the silver-fulminic acid 

 combines in two ways. One combination is a simply decrepitating, not de- 

 tonating, insoluble powder, of a rosy tint: the other forms white capillary 

 crystals, and explodes very loudly. The first combination was used for 

 the analysis of fulminic acid in tlie dry way; in wliich the fulminating sil- 

 ver was evinced to consist of 32-22 of oxygen, 3 22 of hydrogen, 11-28 of 

 azote, 9-68 of carbon, and 41 of silver. 



Vol. 66. No. .329. Sf/'/'. 1825. Co But 



