542 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



ON TUE NATURE AND NAME OF OZONE. BY C. F. SCHONBEIN. 



MM. Ed. Becquerel and Fremy* have recently confirmed the ob- 

 servation, already made by others, that ozone may be produced in 

 the purest possible oxygen when this is subjected to the influence 

 of electrical discharges. These physicists are on this account of 

 opinion that ozone is to be regarded as allotropic oxygen, and pro- 

 pose to call it " Oxycfene <jlecirise." I consider this term inappro- 

 priate, and upon the following grounds : — 



1 . Oxygen may be ozonized not only by electricity, but also by 

 ponderable substances, as for instance phosphorus, or in other words, 

 may be so influenced that it will effect oxidations even at ordinary 

 temperature which would not otherwise take place. According to 

 my opinion there is no disengagement of electricity during the 

 modification of oxygen by means of phosphorus, the oxygenization 

 of turpentine, &c., whence it appears to me to follow that the forma- 

 tion of ozone, through chemical action, is unconnected with electri- 

 cal action, at least directly. I have recently endeavoured to show 

 that under suitable circumstances 1000 grms. of phosphorus con- 

 vert 1720 grms. of ox}^gen into ozone, and indeed with tolerable 

 rapidity. In order to ozonize this quantity of oxygen by means of 

 electrical discharges, the electricity of a thunder-storm would pro- 

 bably be necessary ; for even the most powerful discharges which 

 we are able to pass through oxygen or air artificially, produce com- 

 paratively but an extremely small amount of ozone. If, therefore, a 

 disengagement of electricity took ])lace during the contact of phos- 

 phorus with oxygen or atmospheric air, and if this electricity was 

 the cause of the formation of the ozone which occurs under these 

 circumstances, we might expect to observe the most violent electrical 

 pheenomena, in a flask where large quantities of ozone were pro- 

 duced under the influence of phosphorus. But we are not acquainted 

 with anything of the kind , the production of ozone goes on quietly 

 and noiselessly, and no signs of electrical disturbance can in any 

 way be detected. Consequently, if ozone can be formed from com- 

 mon oxygen without the aid of electricity, it appears to me that the 

 term " Oxygme electrise" is altogether inappropriate, and it might 

 with equal justice be called " Oxygene phosphorise." 



2. It is well known that oxygen possesses in many of its combi- 

 nations the eminently oxidizing properties of ozone, for which rea- 

 son it appeared to me desirable to express the particular condition 

 of the oxygen in the nomenclature of these substances. This would, 

 however, be diflicult if the name " electrified oxygen " is adopted. 

 If, for example, the peroxide of lead is called ozonized oxide of 

 lead, the peroxide of nitrogen ozonized nitrous acid, these names 

 are convenient, and are in harmony with the formula PbO + O, NO'^ 

 + 20, which I have proposed for these bodies. 



Since the above-mentioned physicists themselves affirm that ozone 



* Comptes Renchs, Mar. 15, 1852, p. 39!); Phil. Mag. July 1852, 

 p. 543. 



