32 MONATOMIC ALCOHOLS. 



Paraffin. The portions of petroleum or of the oils 

 obtained by the distillation of peat, bitumen, etc., 

 which boil above 300, solidify wholly or partially on 

 cooling, forming, when purified, a colorless, translucent 

 mass, called paraffin. Paraffin is not a distinct chem- 

 ical body, but a mixture of several solid hydrocarbons, 

 homologous with marsh gas, which, up to the present, 

 have not been separated. The melting point of com- 

 mercial paraffin varies from 45 to 65. 



B. MONATOMIC ALCOHOLS, OH 2W + 2 0. 



A large class of organic compounds has been desig- 

 nated by the name alcohols. These are formed by the 

 displacement of one or more atoms of hydrogen in the 

 hydrocarbons by the same number of hydroxyl atoms 

 (OH). These bodies possess the common property of 

 readily taking up acid radicles in the place of the hy- 

 drogen of the hydroxyl group, thus forming compounds, 

 analogous to inorganic salts, called ethers. 



According to the number of hydroxyl atoms con- 

 tained in them, alcohols are divided into monatomic, 

 diatomic, triatomic, etc. 



The monatomic alcohols, which are derived from the 

 hydrocarbons of the marsh-gas series, have the general 

 formula OH 2 "+ 2 or (MP^.OH. Only one mona- 

 tomic alcohol can be derived from marsh gas and ethyl 

 hydride each. These two alcohols have the constitu- 

 tional formulae CH 3 .OH, and CH 3 .CH 2 .OH. With the 

 third member C a H 3 0, however, the case is different. 

 Here, according as in the hydrocarbon CH 3 .CH 2 .CH 3 

 an atom of hydrogen of one of the terminal carbon 

 atoms, or of the central one is displaced by OH, two 

 isomeric alcohols must result, which have respectively 

 the constitutional formulae CH 3 .CII 2 .CH 2 .OH, and 

 CH 3 .CH.OH.CH 3 . 



A similar method of consideration shows that four 

 isomeric modifications of the fourth member C 4 H 10 

 are possible, of the fifth, eight, etc. 



The conduct of the alcohols in a chemical point of 



