﻿Acetylene. 105 



His blood contained ] 0°/^ acetylene, less than Jg- the rate 

 of absorption of carbonic oxide and not a larger percent- 

 age of acetylene than would have been absorbed by water. 

 The mixture contained much more acetylene than could 

 ever get into the air of a room, and in fact in a dwelling 

 house a much smaller quantity would produce an ex- 

 plosion. 



A dog was killed by breathing 40""/^ acetylene and 

 20°/^ oxygen in 51 minutes ; another in about 30 minutes 

 by 80°/^ acetylene and 20°/^ oxygen. A guinea pig was 

 not killed in 39 minutes by the same mixture. 



L. Brociner (Comptes Rendus, 1895, II., 773) had made 

 similar experiments in 1887, and concluded that acetylene 

 was not poisonous. It is not more absorbed by blood 

 than by water. It has no specific action on blood. Sul- 

 phide of ammonium reduces such blood normally. It has 

 no special absorption band. 



Berthelot and Claude Bernard 30 years ago found 

 acetylene not poisonous. 



Moissan (Comptes Rendus, 1895, II., 566) says pur^ 

 acetylene only has an astheric agreeable odor. 



Bistrow and Liebreich in 1868 (Ber. I., 220) pronounced 

 acetylene poisonous, but this opinion is contrary to that 

 of Berthelot and of Claude Bernard, and Berthelot has 

 recently stated anew that pure acetylene is not poisonous, 

 and has pointed out that the old method of preparation 

 of acetylene by means of the acetylide of copper may 

 contaminate the gas with prussic acid (Comptes Rendus, 

 1895, II., 566). It may be concluded then on the best 

 authority that pure acetylene is not poisonous. 



The smell of freshly prepared acetylene made with 

 commercial carbide of calcium would lead one to suspect 

 that the gas contained phosphoretted hydrogen and Well- 

 gerodt (Ber. 1895, 2107, 2115) detected its presence in 

 acetylene by passing the gas through nitrate of silver 

 solution. I also got by another method a good molybdate 



