540 MANGANESE. 



enabled to place together for comparison the corresponding 

 compounds of a magnesian metal or sulphur, and of chlorine, as 

 in the following scheme : 



Metallic or Sulphur compound. Corresponding Chlorine compound. 



Suboxide of copper, . Cu 2 O . Hypochlorous acid, Cl O, 



Manganous oxide, . Mn O . Wanting. 



Sulphurous acid, . . S O 2 . Wanting. 



Manganic oxide, . . Mn 2 O 3 Wanting. 



Manganic acid, . . Mn O 3 Wanting. 



Peroxide of manganese, Mn 2 O 4 Peroxide of chlorine, Cl O 4 



Hyposulphuric acid, . S 2 O 5 . Chloric acid, Cl O 5 . 



Hypermanganic acid, Mn 2 O 7 Hyperchloric acid, Cl O 7 . 



Although hyposulphuric acid is placed in relation with chloric 

 acid, in the preceding table, it is not known that the hypo- 

 sulphates are isomorphous with the chlorates. It will be 

 observed that the compounds deficient in the chlorine series 

 are the analogues of those containing a single equivalent of 

 manganese or sulphur, and a compound of chlorine and oxygen 

 resembling manganic oxide. The former deficiencies may be 

 connected with the indivisibility of the equivalent of chlorine. 



That 2Mn, 2Zn, 2S, 2O, 2H, &c. have the same value and 

 character in combination as Cl, is certainly a very remarkable 

 circumstance. It suggests the idea, that it is by the intimate 

 association or conjunction of two basyle atoms,that one salt-radical 

 atomis produced ; and consequently that the basyle or salt-radical 

 character of an elementary body is not absolute, but relative to 

 the grouping of its atoms. In discussing the molecular condition 

 of the metallic portions of the voltaic circle, (page 207) it was 

 assumed that the ultimate atom sofa metallic mass are under the 

 influence of chemical affinities, being in a state of chemical com- 

 bination with one another, and not isolated and independent of 

 each other, like loose grains of sand. The binary or saline 

 structure of the metallic molecule there assumed, may be more 

 precisely described by assigning to it three atoms of metal, two 

 of which conjoined form the salt-radical or chlorous atom, and 

 one the basyle or zincous atom. As this molecular theory 

 modifies, in some degree, while it simplifies, and renders greatly 



