Antozone and Peroxide of Hydrogen. 411 



what a flood of light it illuminates all the hitherto hopelessly 

 obscure passages in the history of antozone, aud enables one to 

 give readily a natural explanation to phenomena which at the 

 time of their original discovery perplexed mightily their dis- 

 coverers, and led them to form many ingenious, but in the end 

 harmful hypotheses. 



For instance, examine with the aid thus given, Schonbein's 

 first distinguishing characteristic of antozone : i. e., as made 

 from barium peroxide, it combines with water to form peroxide 

 of hydrogen. Since the gas given off in this reaction consists 

 not only of ozone, but of peroxide of hydrogen, the peroxide of 

 hydrogen which Schonbein thought was formed on its coming 

 into contact with water, really pre-existed. Consider his second 

 test : that antozone does not turn manganous salts brown, 

 while ozone does. This difference is likewise true of peroxide 

 of hydrogen as compared with ozone. The same remark applies 

 to his third test : — that it bleaches papers saturated with man- 

 ganous salts, after they have been turned brown by ozone. The 

 same effect precisely is produced by peroxide of hydrogen. Is 

 there any adequate explanation of these agreements, short of 

 conceding that Schonbein's antozone is disguised peroxide of 

 hydrogen ? 



But what shall we say of those numerous cases, in which 

 Meissner thought that a mixture of ozone and antozone was 

 present, and that on removing the former by passing the mixture 

 through a solution of iodide of potassium, the latter went on 

 alone attended with its characteristic white cloud ? The expla- 

 nation is that afforded by von Babo, viz. — that when ozone 

 decomposes potassium iodide solution, there is found in addi- 

 tion to free iodine, iodate of potassium and potassium perox- 

 ide, peroxide of hydrogen. If any one doubts the adequacy of 

 this explanation, let him try the following experiment. Strongly 

 ozonize some dry oxygen by an electrical ozonizer, pass the 

 ozonized gas through a sulphuric acid wash-bottle, and then 

 allow it to descend upon a potassium iodide solution. The 

 ozone will undergo complete absorption, the solution becoming 

 deeply colored by the liberated iodine. Eesting upon the sur- 

 face will be seen a dense white cloud. This white cloud may 

 now be aspirated through many wash-bottles containing water, 



