of a new detonating Compound. g 



liarly disagreeable smell ; at the same time a yellow sub- 

 stance was seen to form in minute films on the surface of the 

 liquor ; but it was evanescent, and immediately resolved itself 

 into gas. I was preparing to repeat the experiment, substi- 

 tuting the prussiate of ammonia and other ammoniacal com- 

 pounds, in which less heat might be produced by the action of 

 the chlorine, than in the pure solution of the gas, when my 

 friend, Mr. J. G. Children, put me in mind of a circumstance 

 of which he had written to me an account, in the end of July, 

 which promised to elucidate the enquiry, viz. that Mr. James 

 Burton, jun. in exposing chlorine to a solution of nitrate of 

 ammonia, had observed the formation of a yellow oil, which 

 he had not been able to collect so as to examine its properties, 

 as it was rapidly dissipated by exposure to the atmosphere. 

 Mr. Children had tried the same experiment with similar 

 results. 



I immediately exposed a phial, containing about six cubical 

 inches of chlorine, to a saturated solution of nitrate of ammo- 

 nia, at the temperature of about 50° in common day-light. A 

 diminution of the gas speedily took place ; in a few minutes a 

 film, which had the appearance of oil, was seen on the surface 

 of the fluid; by shaking the phial it collected in small glo- 

 bules, and fell to the bottom. I took out one of the globules, 

 and exposed it in contact with water to a gentle heat: long 

 before the water began to boil, it exploded with a very brilliant 

 light, but without any violence of sound. 



I immediately proposed to Mr. Children, that we should 

 institute a series of experiments upon its preparation and its 

 properties. We consequently commenced the operations, the 

 results of which I shall describe. We were assisted in our 



Bs 



