The Literature of Ozone. 145 



(Chom. News, XXI, p. 107,) that ozone is formed when air is 

 blown through a gas-flame under proper conditions. This was 

 denied by Bottger (Chem. Centr., 1870, 1G1), who stated that 

 ammonium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide are formed under 

 these conditions. Daring the same year (1870), Than brought 

 forward certain experiments to show that ozone was formed du- 

 ring the rapid combustion of all hydrogenous bodies. (J. pr. 

 Chem. [2], I, -115.) The year following, Pincus confirmed Thau's 

 statement (Pogg., Ann., CXLIV, 480), and Struve published 

 his research to show that ozone, hydrogen peroxide and ammo- 

 nium nitrite, all three were formed in the combustion of hydro- 

 gen (Bull, de l'Acad. Imp. des Sci. de St. Petersbourg, XV, 

 No. 3). By experiments conducted with extreme care, Zoeller 

 and Grete (Berl. Berichte, X, 2144), showed that in the burning 

 of pure hydrogen in pure air, ammonium nitrite is formed in 

 very notable quantities. Much later Bottger (Chem. Centr., 

 1878, p. 574) found that hydrogen peroxide is formed on the ex- 

 plosion of a mixture of pure oxygen and hydrogen. Inasmuch, 

 however, as certain very careful observers, like Zoeller and Grete, 

 have demonstrated the formation of one only of the three products, 

 it is necessary that a more complete demonstration of the pro- 

 duction of all three bodies in rapid combustion be brought for- 

 ward, before it can be regarded as finally established. 



The subject of the atomation of oxygen was studied at great 

 length by Schonbein, and a large number of important facts 

 noted by him. But nt that time the true nature of ozone was 

 not known. According to Schonbein, ozone itself was one kind 

 of atomic oxygen, namely, the free atom in an electro-positive 

 condition, and antozone another kind of atomic oxygen, the free 

 atom in an electro-negative condition. He supposed that it was 

 the latter kind which, in contact with water, generated hydro- 

 gen peroxide. Although ozone is certainly not what Schonbein 

 supposed it to be, yet the existence of atomic oxygen as some- 

 thing necessarily preceding the formation of ozone may now be 

 regarded as a demonstrated fact. And whilst it has not been 

 shown that the free oxygen atoms may exist in two electro-nega- 

 tive conditions, yet such an hypothesis is theoretically not un- 

 tenable, nor has it been demonstrated to be false. 



Latterly, the number of cases in which the formation of active 



