290 BALARD’S RESEARCHES CONCERNING THE NATURE OF 
acid, with the disengagement of chlorine. This peculiarity may, per- 
haps, furnish those chemists with an additional reason, who think that 
hyposulphuric acid is not a primary compound of sulphur and oxygen, 
but a secondary combination of sulphuric acid and sulphurous acid. 
The compounds of oxygen and phosphorus do not present anything 
similar. In fact, oxide of phosphorus, hypophosphorous acid, phospho- 
rous acid, and even phosphatic acid, are all immediately converted into 
phosphoric acid, with the disengagement of heat and of chlorine gas. 
The same is also the ease with arsenious acid, which is converted 
into arsenic acid, and with selenious acid, which is changed into selenic 
acid, giving rise to the production of the same phenomena, to an evyo- 
lution of chlorine, and a considerable disengagement of heat. 
The metallic oxides act variously with liquid chlorous acid. It will 
be imagined that so energetic an agent of oxidation would convert the 
greater part of these compounds susceptible of it into peroxides, but 
that it would not exert any action on those which are already saturated 
with oxygen. This is what actually happens. The deutoxide of tin, 
the peroxide of iron, &c. suffer no change by chlorous acid; whereas 
the protoxide of iron, tin, manganese, nickel, cobalt and lead are con- 
verted into peroxides with the evolution of chlorine. The protoxide of 
chromium is immediately converted into chromic acid. There are, how- 
ever, some oxides susceptible of a higher degree of oxidation, such as 
the oxide of bismuth, and the peroxide of manganese, upon which chlo- 
rous acid does not appear to act. 
Although the alkaline oxides can, under some circumstances, com- 
bine with a larger proportion of oxygen,-chlorous acid, instead of super- 
oxidizing them, merely combines with them. Still further, it decom- 
poses the peroxides of these metals, and disengaging oxygen it reduces 
them to the state of protoxides, with which it forms decolorizing chlo- 
rites. It is at any rate in this way that I have observed it to act with 
the peroxide of barium. 
With the peroxide of lead and the two oxides of silver, which are 
metals with which chlorine forms insoluble compounds, it acts in an 
entirely different manner. These oxides are decomposed with the pro- 
duction of chlorides, and not chlorites, and with a disengagement of 
oxygen mixed with a little chlorine. This happens from the re-action 
of chlorous acid upon the chloride formed. 
The metallic chlorides are decomposed by chlorous acid. This de- 
composition is always accompanied with an abundant disengagement of 
chlorine, and the metal is oxidated. As to the nature of the definitive 
product, it evidently depends upon the manner in which this oxide acts 
either with chlorine or with chlorous acid. Thus the chlorides of the 
alkaline metals form mixtures of chlorides and chlorites. Those of 
manganese, iron, nickel, cobalt, lead, and tin, occasion a disengagement 
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