144 CONSTITUTION OF LIQUIDS. 



constitution of different liquids may be the more 

 readily understood, I have presented them in a 

 tabular form. 



The second column of the first table exhibits 

 the number of carbon atoms in the various com- 

 pound liquids, with the letter C annexed, the 

 second column, the number of hydrogen atoms 

 the third, of oxygen, and the fourth, of nitrogen ; 

 while the fifth column represents their united 

 equivalents, or proximate atomic weights, com- 

 pared with hydrogen as unity. The sixth column 

 gives the specific gravity of the liquids, compared 

 with water 1000, and the seventh, their boiling 

 points. The remaining numbers give the rela- 

 tive proportions of their constituents in the 1 00 

 parts by weight, as derived from the best analyses 

 of modern chemists. By inspecting the first table, 

 it appears that all the most spirituous and vola- 

 tile liquids contain large proportions of hydrogen 

 and carbon that most of them are lighter than 

 water, and boil at lower temperatures. 



Naphtha is composed of 5 atoms hydrogen and 

 6 of carbon, or of 87.75 parts by weight of car- 

 bon, to 12.25 of hydrogen in the 100. It is also 

 more dense than aetherine, and less volatile. 

 Hence it would seem, that the elasticity of 

 aetherine exceeds that of naphtha, for the same 

 reason that the elastic force of olefiant gas is 

 greater than that of aetherine ; or that the elas- 

 ticity of hydrogen exceeds that of olefiant gas. 



