On a New Metal, Pelopium, &§c. 357 
Anr. XXXVI—On.a New Metal, Pelopium, contained in.the 
Bavarian Tantalite; by Pror. H. Rose.* | 
Iv a former paper,t on the composition of the so-called tantalic 
acid which occurs in the columbite of Bodenmais in Bavaria, 1 
showed that it consisted of two acids, one of which differs so de- 
cidedly from all known metallic oxyds, that I did not hesitate to 
regard it as the oxyd of a new metal, which I named niobium. 
I did not then enter into a description of the second acid, which 
occurs in company with the niobic acid, but merely observed 
that it possessed great similarity to the tantalic acid procured 
from the Finland tantalites. 
The separation of the two acids according to the method I for- 
merly described, was exceedingly troublesome and tedious. Af- 
ter I had suspected a peculiar substance in the so-called tantalic 
acid from columbite, and had vainly attempted in various ways 
to isolate it, I succeeded in effecting this only approximatively on 
converting the acid into chlorid, by mixing it with charcoal and. 
passing a current of chlorine over the heated mixture. I ob- 
tained a yellow, readily fusible and very volatile chlorid, and a 
white, infusible, less volatile chlorid. Both were converted by 
water into metallic acids, which were not dissolved by the hy- 
hloric acid formed, but separated on boiling, and could easily 
by washing with water from every trace of acid; but 
when the acid from the white infusible chlorid, after I had sep- 
with charcoal, and treated with chlorine, I constantly obtained 
white non-volatile residue, which, on being again subjected to a 
*N i ites i it, (Columbit vou melee enthaltenes neues 
Waal a Miata Lesa Doggett ‘ola ted from Chem. Gazette, Sep- 
tember 15, 1846. Be Poggend. Annal. Bd. 63, S. 317. 
