54 On a new Compound of Chlorine and Carbon. [1821. 



gas ; 'when heated, melting, boiling, and subliming at a tempe- 

 rature between 350 and 400, and subliming slowly without 

 melting at a heat of about 250, forming long needles. Potas- 

 sium burned with a vivid flame in its vapour in an open tube, 

 and carbon was deposited ; a solution made of the residuum, 

 and saturated with nitric acid, gave a copious precipitate with 

 nitrate of silver. M. Julin then remarks, that the small quan- 

 tity he possessed, with want of leisure, prevented him from 

 making any further experiments on it, and concludes by com- 

 paring it with the chlorides of carbon that have lately been 

 formed. 



The small quantity of the substance which, by the kindness 

 of M. Julin, we had at our disposal at that time, was insufficient 

 to enable us satisfactorily to ascertain its nature. We found it 

 mixed with free sulphur, and sulphate and muriate of ammonia. 

 When purified, our first object, in consequence of M. Julin's 

 suggestion, was to compare it with the perchloride of carbon, 

 but it was found entirely distinct from it in its properties. 



Since M. Julin's return from the continent, he has very 

 kindly placed some further portions of this substance at our 

 disposal. We have therefore been enabled to continue our 

 experiments, and have come to the very unexpected conclusion 

 of its being another chloride of carbon, in addition to the two, 

 an account of which has been published in the Transactions of 

 the Royal Society for this year. 



The substance, after being boiled in solution of potash, 

 washed in water, dried and sublimed, formed beautiful acicular 

 crystals, which appeared to Mr. W. Phillips to be four-sided 

 prisms. They contained no sulphur, and, when dissolved in 

 alcohol or aether, gave no traces of chlorine or muriates by 

 nitrate of silver. They burned in the air with a strong bright 

 flame at a heat below redness, and agreed with the description 

 given by M. Julin of the properties of the substance. 



When heated moderately, it sublimed unaltered ; but on 

 passing a portion over rock-crystal, heated to bright redness, 

 in a green glass tube, it^ was decomposed, charcoal was depo- 

 sited, and the gas, passed into solution of nitrate of silver, pre- 

 cipitated it, and proved to be chlorine. 



A portion was repeatedly sublimed in a small retort filled 

 with chlorine, which was made red-hot in several places ; it 



