282 Note bj/ MM. Duloiig and Tlienard 



NEW EXPERIMENTS OF M. DODBEUEINER. 



In the course of" the last month some new and most interest- 

 ing cliemical experiments by Professor Doebereiner of 

 Jena liave eiigaged tlie attention of the scientific world. 

 These were first announced in this country in the short no- 

 tice which we extract from the Quarterly Journal, in which 

 Mr. Faraday states that he had verified these experiments. 

 The last number of tlie Aniiales de Chiinic which has 

 reached us, also contains a note on the subject by MM. Du- 

 long and ThenartI, read to the Academy of Sciences on the 

 15th of last month, a translation of which we subjoin. The 

 phasnomena discovered by M. Doebereiner were known to 

 those gentlemen only by a paragraph in the Journal des Dc~ 

 hats ; they have however been earnestly engaged in researches 

 on the subject, which will be read with great interest. To these 

 we are enabled to add a paper read before the Bristol Philo- 

 sophical Society by W. Ilerapath, Esq., for which we are 

 obliged to the author and to that new institution. 



Since these were prepared for the press, we have been so for- 

 tunate as to obtain Professor Dccbereiner's own account of 

 his experiments, and we are very happy that it has arrived 

 just in time for insertion in the present number. 



" A most extraordinary experiment has been made by 

 M. Dobereiner. It was connnunicated to me by M. Hat- 

 chette, and having verified it, I think every chemist will be 

 glad to hear its nature. It consists in }->assing a stream of 

 h^'drogen against the finely-divided platina obtained by heat- 

 ing the muriate of anmionia and platina. In consequence of 

 the contact, the hydrogen inflames. Even when the hydro- 

 gen does not inflame, it ignites the platina in places ; and I 

 find that when the hydrogen is }iassed over the platinum in a 

 tube, no air being admitted, still the platinum heats in the 

 same manner. What the change can be in these circum- 

 stances, M. Dobereiner has, no doubt, fully investigated; 

 and the scientific world will be anxious to hea'- his account 

 of this remarkable experiment, and the consequences it leads 

 to. — M. F." — Qtiarferbj Journal of Science, No. XXXI. 



LVIII. Note on theProperhj tsohich somcMetals possess of faci- 

 litating the Combination of Elastic Fluids *. Bij M M. D ulo n g 

 and TiiENARD. — [Head at the Academy of Sciences, tlie 

 15th Sept. 1823.] Annales de Chimie, vol. xxiii. p. 44-0. 

 "jy/f" DCEBEREINER, professor at the university of Jena, 

 • has just discovered one of the most curious phaenomena 



which 



* Since the printing of this note, the writers have ascertained, 1st, that 



palladium in a spongj- mass will inflame hydrogen, as -ilatinum docs ; !?ndl.y, 



that 



