272 Dr. Henry on the Analysis of Gaseous Mixtures 



III. Mixtures of Hydrogen and Carbonic Oxide with Oxygen. 



The addition of one volume of carbonic oxide to two volumes 

 of an explosive mixture produces a distinct effect in suspending 

 the action of the platinum balls, and even of the spongy metal 

 itself. The action of the gases upon each other still, however, 

 goes on slowly, even when the carbonic oxide exceeds the ex- 

 plosive mixture in volume ; and after the lapse of a few days 

 the oxygen is found to have disappeared, and to have partly 

 formed water, and partly cai'bonic acid. I made numerous 

 experiments to ascertain whether the oxygen, under these cii"- 

 cumstances of slow combustion, is divided between the car- 

 bonic oxide and the hydrogen in proportions corresponding to 

 the volumes of those two gases. The combustible gases be- 

 ing in equal volumes, and the oxygen sufficient to saturate 

 only one of them, it was found that the oxygen which had 

 united with the carbonic oxide was to that which had com- 

 bined with the hydrogen as about 5 to 1 in volume. In- 

 creasing the carbonic oxide, a still larger proportion of oxy- 

 gen was expended in forming carbonic acid. On the con- 

 trary, when the hydrogen was increased, a greater proportional 

 quantity of oxygen went to the formation of water. But it 

 was remarkable, that when the hydrogen was made to exceed 

 the carbonic oxide four or five times, less oxygen in the whole 

 was consumed than before ; the activity of the carbonic oxide 

 appearing to have been diminished, without a corresponding 

 increase in that of the hydrogen. 



In cases where the proportion of the carbonic oxide to the 

 explosive mixture was intentionally so limited that the platinum 

 ball was capable of immediately acting upon the latter, the 

 carbonic oxide was always in part changed into carbonic acid, 

 the more abundantly as its volume was exceeded by that of 

 the explosive mixture. Increasing the oxygen, so that it was 

 adequate to saturate both gases, and causing the hydrogen to 

 exceed the carbonic acid in volume, a speedy action was al- 

 ways exerted by the ball, and the whole of the combustible 

 gases was silently converted into water and cai'bonic acid. 

 The inti-oduction of the platinum sponge into such a mixture 

 was almost always found to produce detonation. 



IV. Mixtures of Hydrogen and Cyanogen mth Oxygen. 



When one of the platinum balls, after being recently heated, 



is introduced into cyanogen and explosive mixture in equal 



volumes, no apparent action takes place. With half a volume 



of cyanogen there is a slight dimhiution ; and as we reduce the 



proportion 



