«46 Sir H. Davy* s further Observations 



The decomposition in this process is very simple, and must 

 be supposed to depend merely upon the attraction of the mer- 

 cury for chlorine, in consequence of which the azote is set 

 free ; and if the result does not strictly demonstrate the pro- 

 portions of chlorine and azote in the compound, yet it seems 

 at least to shew, that these are its only constituents. 



As muriate of ammonia and chlorine are the only products 

 resulting from its action upon solution of muriatic acid, it seems 

 reasonable to infer, that this action depends on a decomposition 

 of part of the muriatic acid, by the attraction of the new com- 

 pound for hydrogen to form ammonia, which, at the moment 

 of its production, combines with another portion of the acid, 

 the chlorine of both compounds being set free. 



On this view, the quantity of chlorine formed from a certain 

 quantity of the compound being known, it becomes easy to de- 

 termine the cbmposition of the compound; for, ammonia being 

 formed of three volumes of hydrogen and one of azote, and 

 muriatic acid of one volume of hydrogen and one of chlorine, 

 it is evident, that for every three volumes of chlorine evolved 

 by the decomposition of muriatic acid, one volume of azote 

 must be detached from the compound; and the weight of 

 chlorine in the compound must be less than the weight of the 

 whole quantity of chlorine produced by a portion, which is to 

 the azote in the compound as 295 to 2295, if the relative spe- 

 cific gravities of the two gases be considered as 2,627 and 1. 



Two grains of the compound, when exposed at the tempe- 

 rature of 62" Fahrenheit, and under a pressure of the at- 

 mosphere equal to that of 30,1 inches of mercury to strong 

 •solution of muriatic acid in a proper apparatus, afforded 3,91 

 cubic inches of chlorine. 



