Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 545 



the following experiments were directed to rendering a given volume 

 of oxygen entirely absorbable whilst cold by mercury, silver, or iodide 

 of potassium. 



6. When pure and dry oxygen is enclosed in a series of glass tubes 

 and subjected to the action of electric sparks, if after a time we break 

 one of the extremities of these tubes to ascertain the volume of gas 

 which has become immediately absorbable by alkaline iodide, we 

 shall find that during several hours the modification increases in 

 proportion to the time of electrization, and that afterwards it appears 

 to diminish, probably because the spark destroys that which at first 

 it produces. 



7. The difficulties presented in the preceding experiment induced 

 us to study the deportment of electrified oxygen with certain absorb- 

 ing bodies capable of immediately seizing the modified oxygen and of 

 withdrawing this gas from the decomposing action of the excess of 

 electricity ; we therefore passed a series of electric sparks into small 

 eudiometric tubes full of moist oxygen, and placed over either mer- 

 cury or a solution of iodide of potassium, or containing in their in- 

 terior a moistened leaf of silver : we then saw the oxygen become 

 absorbed in a regular manner by the action of the electric spark, and 

 in many experiments obtained a complete absorption. 



8. Lastly, to get rid of all doubts about the particular activity im- 

 parted to oxygen by the electric spark, we wished to verify the pre- 

 ceding experiments in closed tubes. We therefore introduced into 

 tubes filled with pure oxygen some iodide of potassium and moist- 

 ened silver. We submitted these tubes for several days to the 

 action of electricity ; the spark, which, during the first days was very 

 brilliant, became paler and paler, and presently almost invisible. At 

 this moment, on breaking the tubes under water, we saw this liquid 

 rush into their interior and fill them entirely, thus showing that a 

 vacuum had been produced, and consequently that the oxygen had 

 become completely absorbable without heat, by the silver and iodide 

 of potassium. We must add, that, to render these experiments de- 

 cisive, we had previously ascertained — 1st, that pure water, the sur- 

 face of glass and the platinum wires conducting the spark, could not 

 absorb oxygen; 2nd, that water is not necessary to develope the 

 activity of oxygen, but to cause the active oxygen to react upon 

 metals or iodide of potassium ; 3rd, that the electric spark does not 

 decompose the iodide of potassium. 



We think therefore that we have shown, by rigorous experiments, 

 that oxygen, under the influence of electricity, can become com- 

 pletely absorbable in the cold by iodide of potassium and several 

 metals, such as mercury and silver. 



These facts confirm the last researches of MM. Schonbein, Ma- 

 rignac and De la Rive, and show that electricity, in acting upon 

 oxygen, developes properties in it which did not exist before its in- 

 fluence ; we propose therefore simply to give the name of electrified 

 oxygen to the gas, which, having been submitted to the action of 

 electricity, acquires a particular state of chemical activity, and to 

 abandon the name of ozone, which expresses the idea of the transfor- 

 mation of the oxygen into a new body. — Comptcs Rendus, March 15, 

 1852, p. 399. 



Phil. Mag. S. 1. No. 21. Suppl. Vol. 3. 2 N 



