10G 



CHEMISTRY. (NEW SUBSTANCES.) 



In experiments on the separation of thorium, 

 Nir. Charles Baskerville, of the University of 

 .North Carolina, obtained determinations proving 

 the presence of an oxid having unusual specific 

 gravity, which could not be accounted for except 

 by the presence of either a IH-XV oxid of a known 

 element having greater density than the usual 

 non- volatile residue after ignition, or of an un- 

 known element. Similar indications were af- 

 forded in the experiments on radioactivity. From 

 the insufficient data already obtained, it appears 

 that in case the element be tetravalent, its atomic 

 weight lies between 2(10 and 280. The author pro- 

 poses, if the supposed new element is identified, 

 to call it Carolinium, and to give it the symbol 

 Cn. The possibility of this new substance being 

 identical with M.' Debierne's actinium is sug- 

 gested. 



H. Brauner, of Prague, also announces the con- 

 clusion that thorium does not consist of a single 

 element, because on fractional hydrolysis of am- 

 monium thorium oxalate, fractions are obtained 

 in which the atomic weight of the metal varies 

 from 220 to 232. Supposing there are two con- 

 stituents, he distinguishes them as Tho and Th/3. 



Experiments on the transformations of Kontgen 

 rays by matter have shown M. G. Sagnac that the 

 study of the electric action of the secondary rays 

 emitted by a body affords a test of the presence 

 of small quantities of relatively active substances, 

 such as copper, iron, or aluminum. Hence, also, 

 a method of searching for new elements. 



Experiments upon the action of high tempera- 

 ture on alcohols, described by W. IpatiefF, show 

 that when alcohols are passed through red-hot 

 tutes according to a method adopted by Berthe- 

 lot, the corresponding aldehydes are the chief 

 product. In many cases the yields are so good 

 that the method becomes an advantageous one 

 for the preparation of certain aldehydes. The hot 

 tube may be of glass or iron, preferably iron, and 

 the temperature that gives the best yields is about 

 700 C. Alcohol treated in this way gave 25 per 

 cent, of the theoretical quantity of formalde- 

 hyde, isobutyl alcohol about 40 per cent., and 

 isoamyl alcohol from 30 to 40 per cent, of the 

 corresponding aldehydes. 



Martignon has observed that the rare earth 

 metals neodymium, praseodymium, and samari- 

 um are capable of combining with hydrogen 

 when the metal is set free from one of its com- 

 pounds in the presence of that element. This is 

 effected by heating the oxid of one or other of 

 the metals with metallic magnesium in an atmos- 

 phere of hydrogen. If the liberation of the metal 

 is carried out in an atmosphere of nitrogen, a 

 nitrid is obtained. Nitrids of thorium, cerium, 

 and lanthanum have been prepared in a similar 

 i) anner. 



It was observed a few years ago by MM. Sabba- 

 tier and Sonderens that nickel is capable of caus- 

 ing the direct combination of hydrogen with 

 ethylen and acetylen, with the formation of 

 ethane in both cases. The same authors have now 

 shown that reduced nickel is a very active cata- 

 lytic agent, surpassing even spongy platinum so 

 far as hydrogen is concerned. Thus a mixture of 

 hydrogen and benzene vapor passed over reduced 

 nickel at the temperature of about 200 C., readily 

 gives hexahydrobenzene, no benzene escaping con- 

 version if the hydrogen is in excess. The reaction 

 appears to be a general one. since the homologues 

 of benzene behave similarly. Nitrobenzene is re- 

 duced to anilin. 



The studies of F. von Kuzelgen show calcium 

 carbid to be a very powerful reducing agent, it 

 being even capable of decomposing compounds of 



the alkali metals. Chlorids are much more easily 

 reduced by it than oxids. With most chlorids 

 when once the action is started at any point it 

 usually proceeds throughout the entire mass, and 

 very often with explosive violence. For the reduc- 

 tion of oxids, on the other hand, external heat 

 must generally be applied. Moissan has shown 

 that molten carbid acts on the oxids of car- 

 bid-forming metals with the formation of me- 

 tallic carbids. When, however, the reduction 

 takes place at a lower temperature, the metal is 

 free, or almost free, from carbid. At intermediate 

 temperatures the amount of carbon in the re- 

 duced metal w r ould increase until the tempera- 

 ture is sufficiently high as in Moissan's experi- 

 ments for the formation of carbid when carbid 

 alone would be produced. As a rule, however, 

 reaction by means of calcium carbid yields purer 

 metals than if the reduction is affected by carbon 

 alone, since the reaction takes place at a lower 

 temperature. W 7 hen the carbid is employed in 

 the proper proportion, only traces of calcium are 

 present in the reduced metal. By using a large 

 excess of carbid, however, calcium alloys can be 

 obtained. Calcium carbid can be utilized in the 

 laboratory for various reducing purposes, but its 

 application on a technical scale would be condi- 

 tioned on the yield of metal. In the case of oxids 

 the yield depends on whether the oxid is easily 

 reduced .by carbon or not. Both the calcium and 

 the carbon of the carbid act as reducing agents, 

 the former being the more powerful, as indicated 

 by the differentiation of the general equation into 

 tw r o stages. The greater the difficulty of this re- 

 duction of the oxid by carbon, the less will the 

 carbon assist in the reduction that is to say, 

 more carbid will be required for the reduction, 

 w r hich will then take place chiefly at the expense 

 of the calcium. This being the case, free carbon 

 is liberated, and the larger the quantity of carbon 

 thus set free, the greater the difficulty of fluxing 

 or obtaining a regulus. The reduction of copper 

 by carbid is, according to Moissan, hardly likely 

 to become a technical process. Carbid may, 

 however, become useful in the production of other 

 metals in the pure condition, as, for example, for 

 the reduction of nickel oxid or bismuth oxychlo- 

 rid. Improvements might be effected in the case 

 of oxids easily reduced by carbon, by adding a 

 certain amount of free carbon to the mixture. 

 Again, if the oxids are difficult to reduce by car- 

 bon, if th'3 reduction, for example, takes place 

 chiefly at the expense of the calcium, a saving 

 might be effected by the addition of aluminum 

 to increase the reducing pow r er of the carbid, and 

 to decrease the quantity of carbon. The applica- 

 tion of carbid for the reduction of alloys appears 

 to offer better prospects. By proper use of chlo- 

 rid and oxid, it is possible to reduce simultane- 

 ously metals the separate reduction of which 

 offers great difficulty. Alloys can thus be ob- 

 tained which are not easily prepared by fusing 

 the constituents, owing to differences in the melt- 

 ing-points. Carbid can also become useful in re- 

 fining metals. The process of reduction by means 

 of carbid is not without hope if it be applied in its 

 proper place. This lies. not in attempting to re- 

 place existing processes of reduction, but rather 

 in application in cases w r here existing methods are 

 either useless or give only unsatisfactory results. 

 Among some striking experiments based upon 

 the affinity of aluminum and magnesium for 

 oxygen, which are described by A. Dubois, is one 

 in which moistened magnesium or aluminum pow- 

 der is placed upon a scorifier or porous plate, 

 covered with dry magnesium, and ignited. As 

 soon as the combustion reaches the moistened 



