78 PHILOSOPHICAL TKANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1786. 



tiire of litmus. Did not affect Prussian alkali. Had no effect on the nitrous 

 solutions of copper or lead, zinc or cobalt, nor on marine solution of iron or 

 tin, or of tin in aqua regia, nor on the vitriolic solutions of iron, copper, tin, 

 lead, zinc, regulus of antimony, arsenic, or manganese ; nor on the marine 

 solutions of iron, copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, arsenic, or manganese. But it 

 precipitated the nitrous solution of silver black, and vitriol of silver brown ; 

 also nitrous solution of mercury made without heat brown and black ; but vitriol 

 of mercury first became reddish, and afterwards white ; and sublimate corrosive 

 yellow and red mixed with white. 



Gold dissolved in aqua regia is precipitated purplish black, and from the 

 vitriolic acid brownish red and black ; but reguius of antimony in aqua regia is 

 precipitated white by this phosphorated water. The nitrous solution of bismuth 

 showed first a white, and presently after a brown precipitate. Vitriol of bismuth 

 and marine salt of bismuth were also precipitated brown ; this latter re-dissolved 

 by agitation. The nitrous solution of arsenic also became brown, but re dis 

 solved by agitation. 



Phosphoric air was scarce at all diminished by the addition of an equal mea- 

 sure of alkaline air ; and water being put to these, took up in appearance little 

 else than alkaline air ; yet on turning up the mouth of the jar, the residuary air 

 smoked without flaming. The water, thus impregnated, had exactly the smell 

 of onions. It turned tincture of radishes green. It precipitated solution of 

 silver black ; and that of copper in the nitrous acid brown ; but this precipitate 

 was re-dissolved by agitation, and the liquor became green. Sublimate corrosive 

 was precipitated yellow mixed with black. Iron was precipitated white, both 

 from the vitriolic and marine acids ; but a pale yellow solution of it in the 

 nitrous acid was not affected ; and a red solution of it in the same acid was only 

 congrumated. Regulus of antimony in aqua regia gave a white, cobalt in 

 nitrous acid a very slight reddish, and bismuth in the same acid a brown pre- 

 cipitate. But neither the nitrous solution of lead or zinc, nor that of tin in 

 marine acid or aqua regia, nor that of regulus of antimony in aqua regia, were 

 any way affected. Fixed air, mixed with an equal proportion of phosphoric air, 

 produced a white smoke, some diminution, and a yellow deposit. On agitating 

 the mixture in water, the fixed air was all taken up except -tV- The residuum 

 smoked, but did not inflame spontaneously. 



From these few experiments, Mr. K. thinks it may be concluded, that phos- 

 phoric air is nothing else but phosphorus itself in an aerial state, and differs 

 from sulphur in this, among other points, that it requires much less latent heat 

 to throw it into an aerial form, and hence may be disengaged from fixed alkalis, 

 without the assistance of an acid. 



