306 CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS 



Acetic and meconic* acids suffer a true transform- 

 ation under the influence of heat, that is, their com- 

 ponent elements are disunited, and form new com- 

 pounds without any of them being singly disen- 

 gaged. Acetic acid is converted into acetone and 

 carbonic acid (C4 H3 03= C3 H3 + C02), and 

 meconic acid into carbqnic acid and komenic acid ; 

 whilst by the influence of a higher temperature, the 

 latter is further decomposed into pyromeconic acid 

 and carbonic acid. 



' Now in these cases the carbon of the bodies de- 

 composed is shared between the oxygen and hydro- 

 gen ; part of it unites with the oxygen and forms 

 carbonic acid, whilst the other portion enters into 

 combination with the hydrogen, and an oxide of a 

 carbo-hydrogen is formed, in which all the hydrogen 

 is contained. 



In a similar manner, when alcohol is exposed to a 

 gentle red heat, its carbon is shared between the 

 elements of the water, — an oxide of a carbo-hydro- 

 gen which contains all the oxygen, and some gaseous 

 compounds of carbon and hydrogen being produced. 



It is evident, that during transformations caused 

 by heat, no foreign affinities can be in play, so that 

 the new compounds must result merely from the 

 elements arranging themselves, according to the 

 degree of their mutual affinities, into new combina- 

 tions, which are constant and unchangeable in the 

 conditions under which they were originally formed, 

 but undergo changes when these conditions become 

 different. If we compare the products of two bod- 

 ies, similar in composition but different in properties, 

 which are subjected to transformations by two differ- 

 ent causes, we find that the manner in which the 

 atoms are transposed, is absolutely the same in 

 both. 



In the transformation of wood in marshy soils, by 

 what we call putrefaction, its carbon is shared 



* An acid existing in opium, and named from the Greek for poppy. 



