riiv. 



insoluble 



As to the laws of >iui ".. ;..h,..,u k. 



of Prague, has shown: 1. that ..f OffsAioavb- 

 * ting of carbon and hydrogen. it h 

 ycen, tntirtanrirt free from oxygon 

 ' in wairr ; 2, the richer a com* 

 i tl .- - tnwateri 



I each other in stru< - 

 UM thml rule Q T. 

 ves that simple compounds are 

 la water, more complex compounds in 

 more complex liquid*, like alcohol, benzene, etc. 

 The law. originally applied by its author too* 

 MM substances, admits of extension to all 

 bodies, whether afajMSJtl orCOttpOUAds. Thus 

 many mrtalsa* |ttlladium, are soluble in hydro- 



- 



A Mill larger nuralxr are noluble in car- 

 M iron, tnannnen, nickel, and aluminium. 

 l* abo dwwTve in one another, sometimes 

 to an indefinite extent, b < nerally to 



fcrm alloys of definite constitution capable of 

 crpullinng. Thb b exactly analogous to salts 

 rnrvtAJlizing with definite amounts of water, 

 b, which are, as a rule, insoluble 



r, dissolve in various organic substances. 

 , carbon ditmlpl. Metals which 



In oaoh other and in hydrogen, or the 

 carbon, are insoluble in such complex 

 It follows, therefore, that nonmetab 

 the point of view of solubility are more 

 complex, and therefore more highly evolved sub- 

 stances than metals. Sulphates, which are not 

 of such simple structure as chlorides or bro- 

 or even as nitrates or chlorates, having 

 m the molecule, are, as a rule, less 



Argon and //'/I'M m. The 

 by Lord Rayleigh and I'n.f lUin- 

 y of their discovery of a new constituent in 

 the atmosphere which they named argon was re- 

 corded in the** Ann last year. 

 A further communication concerning the newly 

 discovered element was made by the authors at 

 a public meeting of the Royal Society held 

 Jan. 81, when the properties of argon were d-- 

 scribed so far at they had been discovered and 



M. :;.- : .,1 . 



* .- . .- : l.'-rd ii.r. : j:,'- attention 



Kayleigh's attention 

 w M directed to the inquiry which resulted m 

 tab discovery by observing, while engage. 1 m 

 - . ? :>, :.- -,-. ,,f s,, nil . ,,f ,j,,. 

 ore permanent gases, that nitrogen when ex- 

 trartrd from the atmosphere was about one half 



Keeat heavier than when obtained from ch-m- 

 cninpounds. Prof. Ramsay became inter- 

 ested in the research, and the two, each in- 

 vestigating in hb own way, produced arg 

 dlfetent methods about the same time. 

 separated from the atnuwphere and from the ni- 

 trogen, which it much resembles, by atmvlows. or 

 absorption in porous bodies, and by - sparking,- 

 operation of the electric spark. Yt proves 

 to be an inert g**. generally refusing to 

 into combination with other substances, having 

 ft density of abr. Q wa tcr, 



t having been found that the nitrogen extracted 

 from nun water i-. twice as rich in argon as that 

 which exists in the air ; and has been shown by Mr. 

 Crookes to have two spectra, marked by red and 

 blue lines respectively. As determined by Prof. 

 Olxewski.iU critical temperature is -126 C\ and 



.:ical pressure 80*6 atmospheres. It boils. 

 iiinitT a pressure of 740'5 millimetres,!! 186'9 



1 has a density nt the boiling point of 

 1*5. It has been BOMB into a \\hite solid of 



which the melting point is alxmt IK' 

 Tin- mil" of its .sj.eci: i 06, points to the 



conclusion that ii is monfttomio, The '|> 



next arises, whether it is an element <>r a MUM uiv 

 of elements. M r. Crooke's < . of the dual 



character of its spectrum bears in favor of the 

 \ n-\\ that it is a mixture; I'rof. < H/e\\ 

 in inal ions ,,f iii-!iriiti- boiling and inciting points 

 and critical temperature l>car as directly and 

 rcibly against that view; ami tin-authors 

 : d the balance of the evidence as pointing 

 to simplicity. Its utomic weight, as calculated 

 fr'iii its density by Avogadro's law, is 40. If 

 this I.e correct ami" it is miKitomic. n<> iilace 18- 

 fotiml for it in the periodical scale. Were it 

 diatomic, and its atomic weight 'JO. it mi-lit 

 find a place between fluorine, lv, and sodium. '*!''>. 

 Of this os|Kct of the subject, the authors said in 

 their j.ajK-r: " If argon be u single element, then 

 there is reason to doubt whether tlie periodic 

 classification of the elements is complete; 

 whether, in fact, elements may not exist which 

 can not IK- fitted among those of which it is 

 composed. On the other hand, if argon be a 

 mixture of two elements, they might find a, 

 pla< -e in the eighth group, one after chlorine, and 

 one after bromine. 



Prof. Mendeleef. discussing the constitution 

 and ] ilace of the new substance, dismisses the sup- 

 position of its being a mixture as Iving beyond 

 all probabilities. He then discussed the series of 



{Kwsible molecular formulas. \ \. :< \ a . 

 f it were A, no more could be found for it in t he 

 periodic system. Upon the second supposition 

 (A) it would find its place in the eighth group 

 of the second series, or after fluorine, but this 

 supposition, too, was liable to strong obje< 

 Much, however, might be said in favor of a third 

 hypothesis, that the molecule of argon contains 



"ins. and that its atomic weight is about 

 14. whence it might be considered as conden-ed 

 nitrogen, N . On the supposition that the 

 molecule contains five atoms and its atomic 

 " or 8, no place is found for it in the 

 penodic system ; but if the molecule be suj'i 

 to contain six atoms, and the atomic weignt be 

 fi'. r >. t he element might find a place in the first 



probably in the fifth group. The author 

 considered this supposition and the one that 

 gives the molecular formula N t as the more 

 prolwble ones. 



The supposition that argon is an allot ropic 

 form of nitrogen was suggested by I'n.f. I 

 on the first publication by Lord Raylefgfa and 

 I'rof. Kauisny. Similar "views have bee 

 pressed by I'n.f. T. L. Ihip,n. M. iVrthelot, 

 and Prof, Brauner, of p r a_ 



rimenting with a small quantity of ar- 

 gon sent him by I' ro f Ramsay. M. Berthelot 

 found that utnler the influence of the silent 

 ele<-tri<- diM-harge it would c<,mbine with cer- 

 tain organic c,,mpounds. and notably with ben- 



'itli which H3 per cent, (.r five sixths of 

 the argon was condense<l in chemical combina- 



n>e products of the combination resem- 

 bled those produced by the silent discharge act- 

 ing on nitrogen mixed with the vapor of benzene, 



