PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, 



PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL. 



INTRODUCTION. 



FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER. RESULTS OF THE 



ATTRACTIONS BETWEEN MASSES, SURFACES, 



AND MOLECULES. 



As the science of Chemistry has for its object the study of the 

 nature of all substances, or of all varieties of matter, it is necessary 

 first to consider some of the properties which belong to every kind of 

 matter, and are known as essential or fundamental properties. The 

 fundamental properties of matter having a special interest for those 

 studying chemistry are : extension, divisibility, gravitation, porosity, and 

 indestructibility. 



I. EXTENSION OR FIGURE. 



Matter is anything occupying space, and this property is known as 

 extension. All bodies, without exception, fill a certain amount of 

 space ; they all have length, breadth, and thickness. That portion of 

 matter lying within the surrounding surface of a body is called its 

 mass. We distinguish three different conditions of matter, namely : 

 Solids, Liquids, and Gases. These conditions of matter are known as 

 the three states of aggregation, and we will now consider the peculiar- 

 ities of matter when existing in either of these states. 



Solid state. Solids are distinguished by a self-subsistent figure. 

 A solid substance forms for itself, as it were, a casing in which its 



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