80 THE INVISIBLE WORLD 



gen, C 4 H 6 O 2 firmly locked together. When ris- 

 ing into steam, they are not broken up, but remain 

 the same. And each and every one of these mole- 

 cules of alcohol clings tight to a molecule of water 

 and takes it along through the pipe into the re- 

 ceiver. The receiver therefore contains as many 

 molecules of alcohol as it does of water ten gal- 

 lons of each. 



This is about the usual strength of distilled 

 liquors. They contain about fifty per cent, of al- 

 cohol, the rest water. The different kinds depend 

 upon the different kinds of materials used in fer- 

 menting the wort. Use pure cane sugar, and you 

 get the spirits of alcohol. Use wine, and you get 

 brandy. Use West India molasses, and you get 

 rum. Use rye, wheat or corn, and you get whiskey. 

 Use rye and wheat evenly mixed, adding a small 

 quantity of the juniper berry, and you get gin. 



If a stronger liquor is desired, it must be re- 

 distilled, over and over, until the desired strength 

 is had. But ninety per cent, alcohol is the high- 

 est strength which can be obtained by distillation. 

 It has such a powerful attraction for water that 

 it retains ten per cent, anyway. This ten per cent, 

 of water can be taken out, and absolutely pure al- 

 cohol obtained, only by using some chemical sub- 

 stance, like chloride of calcium, which has a more 

 powerful attraction for water than for alcohol. 



Absolute alcohol freezes at 140 degrees below 

 zero; while mercury freezes at 40 degrees below 

 zero. Therefore for the lower temperatures al- 

 cohol is used in making thermometers. 



