1 52 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



Nickel. Oxygen. 

 Protoxide is composed of ... . 3*25 + J 

 Peroxide is composed of .... 3"25 + 1*7 



Edinburgh Journal of Science, No. 13, p. 158. 



In stating tlie composition of the peroxide, 1-7 is, I suppose, a 

 misprint; it should be J '5, which will agree with Dr. Thomsons 

 statement In his " Attempt," vol. i. p. 361. I shall probably offer 

 some observations on the composition of sulphate of nickel in the 

 next number of the Phil. Mag. and Annals.— R. P. 



NEW COMBUSTIBLE GAS. 



A paper by Dr. Thomson has been read before the Royal So- 

 ciety of Edinburgh on a new inflammable gas. It was obtained 

 from pyroxylic spirit, formed by the distillation of wood, and ma- 

 nufactured by Messrs. TurnbuU and Ramsay of Glasgow. Pyr- 

 oxylic spirit has a specific gravity of 812, and an agreeable smell, 

 and is used in lamps instead of alcohol. Dr. Thomson found that 

 the gas extricated from a mixture of aqua regia and pyroxylic 

 spirit, consisted of 



New inflammable gas 29 



Nitrous gas 63 



Azotic gas 8 



100 

 the specific gravity being \-9^:h, that of air being 1. The specific 

 gravity of the new gas was 4'-1757, and it was composed as follows : 



1 atom hydrogen 0*128 



1 atom carbon 0'750 



li atom chlorine 6"750 



7-625 

 Its atomic weight is 7625. Hence Dr. Thomson calls it the ses- 

 quichloride of carbo-hydrogen. — Ibid. No. 13, p. 182. 



OXIDES OF GOLD. 



Dr. Thomson has read another paper before the Royal Society of 

 Edinburgh, entitled some Experiments on Gold. The object of this 

 paper was to determine whether the peroxide of gold contained two 

 or tlu-ee atoms of oxygen. The evidence from the analysis of Ber- 

 zelius and Javal was in favour of three atoms ; and hence chemists 

 had considered the peroxide of gold as a teroxide. This result is 

 confirmed by Dr. Thomson, who finds that peroxide of gold is com- 

 posed of 1 atom gold 25 



3 atoms oxygen 3 



28 

 In this paper Dr. Thomson also determines that the muriate of 

 gold consists of 



2 atoms 



