IS 14.] Alcohol and Sulphuric Ether. 39 



heat in close vessels, we find that 81*37 grammes (1256*7 grains) 

 of weak alcohol, of the specific gravity 0*8307, furnished the fol- 

 lowing products : — 



Grammes. English Grains. 



Oxycarbureted hydrogen 59 069 912*30 



Water 17771 271*40 



Oil 0*410 6*33 



Charcoal 0*050 0*77 



Alcohol of Richter 0*650 10*10 



Loss 3*420 55*82 



81*370 1256*72 



If the small loss be considered as aqueous alcohol not decom- 

 posed, the alcohol decomposed will be 77'95 grammes. If we 

 reduce these results to what they would have been if we had 

 employed the alcohol of Richter, all the above products remain as 

 before, but the water is now reduced to 6*541 grammes, and the 

 quantity of alcohol of Richter decomposed amounts to 66*07 

 grammes. When for these products we substitute their elements, 

 100 parts of alcohol of Richter are composed of 



Carbon 5 1 *98 



Oxygen 34*32 



Hydrogen 13*70 



100*00 



We find in this result 9*15 parts of hydrogen in excess over and 

 above 38*87 parts of water reduced to their elements. 



This hydrogen in excess in the alcohol is to the carbon as 

 1 : 5*68, just as in olefiant gas and in the oxycarbureted hydrogen 

 gas obtained by the decomposition of alcohol. It is easy to see that 

 100 parts of the alcohol of Richter are represented by the elements 

 of 61*13 parts of olefiant gas and 38*87 of water. 



To obtain from this analysis the volume of oxygen gas which a 

 given weight of alcohol consumes in burning, and the volume of 

 carbonic acid gas which it forms at the same time, it is sufficient to 

 reduce by calculation the 51*98 parts of carbon into carbonic acid 

 gas, and to consider that the volume of oxygen consumed must be 

 equal to the volume of carbonic acid gas produced, and to half the 

 volume of the hydrogen gas in excess. Thus a gramme (15*444 

 grains) of alcohol of Richter requires for its combustion 1449*84 

 cubic centimetres (8848*37 cubic inches) of oxygen gas, and forms 

 at the same time 966*5 1 cubic centimetres (5898*77 cubic inches) 

 of carbonic acid gas. 



Now these two numbers are to each other as 2 : 3. Hence I 

 conclude that alcohol is represented by the combination of water 



6 



