264 FIXED ALKALIES AND ALKALINE EARTHS. 



Sulphuric acid 69-2 or 5 

 Lithia 30-8 - 2-225 



100-0 



The salt being ueutral, and 5 being the atomic 

 weight of sulphuric acid, the corresponding 

 number for lithia must denote the weight of an 

 atom of that alkali, according to the determina- 

 tion of these chemists. Lithia, consequently, 

 according to the analysis of Arfwedson, weighs 

 2-308, according to that of Vauquelin, its 

 weight is 2'225. The mean of these two ana- 

 lyses gives us 2*266 for the atomic weight of li- 

 thia. This approaches very near 2'25, which, as 

 I shall show immediately, is the true atomic 

 weight of lithia. 



Gmelin's* analysis (when corrected) is as fol- 

 lows : 



Sulphuric acid 6'7'15 or 5 

 Lithia 32-85 - 2-416 



100-00 



The atomic weight of lithia derived from this 

 analysis, is higher than that given by Vauquelin, 

 or even by Arfwedson, amounting to 2'4l6. 

 But, if we compare Gmelin's analysis of car- 

 bonate of lithia with his analysis of the sulphate, 

 it will be evident that they cannot be quite ac- 



* Gilbert'* Annalen, IJX, 238. 



