ETHYL. 369 



oxide itself, on heating, forming a bi- 

 sulphate, and at a little higher tem- 

 perature, yields it up again, as gaseous 

 ether or oxide of ethyl. The change 

 in the alcohol consists, simply, in the loss of an atom 

 of water. The whole figure represents a molecule of 

 alcohol ; the lower portion one of ether. 



929. PRODUCTION OF ETHYL. The 



How is the -i i 11 



radical ethyl radical ethyl cannot, like many metals, be 

 procured? directly produced from its oxide. Heat, 

 or other means, applied to accomplish this object, 

 destroys the radical itself. But the end may be 

 reached by a circuitous process. This consists in first 

 producing from the oxide, an iodide 

 of ethyl, and then removing the iodine 

 by a metal. A colorless gas, of the 

 composition indicated by the hydrogen and carbon at- 

 oms of the figure, is thus evolved. 



930. CONVERSION OF ALCOHOL INTO 



How is alcohol 



convertedinto OLEFIANT GAS. The production of alcO- 



olefiantgas? ^ fr()m olefiant gag hag been described 



in the section on hydrogen. The subject is again in- 

 troduced, for the purpose of illustrating the change, by 

 reference to the atomic composition of the two sub- 

 stances. Representing the atom of 

 alcohol as before, it is converted by 

 the removal of two atoms of oxy- 

 gen, and two of hydrogen, into olefi- 

 ant gas. The composition of this gas is indicated by 

 the central group of the annexed figure. The ab- 

 straction of oxygen and hydrogen is effected through 

 16* 



