ON THE COMPOSITION Of ALCOlHiiL. Q2S 



The change experienced by this fluid (luring its transfor- Conversion of 



alcohc' 

 ether. 



mation into ether has occupied the attention of the ablest ^^^^^'^"^ '"^"^ 



cheuiists. Some have ascribed to ether more oxigen and Contradictors 

 less carbon than to alcohol* : others have embraced the op- opinions re-' 

 posite Dpinionf. These contradictory conciusioas ate ^^^'^'^"'"'S '^• 

 founded on indirect considerations, and the (jnestion must 

 remain vindecided, if it be not subjected to a more profound 

 examination. This may. be accomplished by two different Two ways of 

 proce.^ses. One consists in analysing- the residuum left by coming at the 

 the alcohol and srdphuric acid after the separation of the ^,^,,j sisofth 

 etiier: but this residuum, which consists of several different residuum of 

 and very compound substances, requires for its examination ^'}^.^^hei too 

 an immense labour abounding with difficulties. The other Easi-st method 

 process confines itself to the analysis of alcohol and of ether, to analyse both 

 and to deducing- from their difference the changes they have hor*^^'* ^ ^°' 

 und«rgon-e duviiig their transformation. I have cho?en the 

 latter mode: as to the advantage of being more easy it adds 

 that of giving us a more absolute knowledge of the compo- 

 sition of these tv/o substances. 



The 0]>eration by which I have analysed them consists Mode here 

 principally in changing them, by an addition of oxigen, into P""^'^"* 

 water, and carbonic acid gas, and estimating from the known 

 composition of these the quantities of carbon, oxigen, and 

 hidrogen, contained in alcoliol and in ether. 



Tlie proportions of the elements of water and carbonic Elements of 

 acid gas have not been ascertained with such precision, as 1^^'^^ ^". , ^" 

 to leave no uncertainty respecting them ; and I will not completely as- 

 venture to afiirm, that those I have adopted, and wiiich I certameti, 

 am about to mention, are preferable to any other. It will 

 be easy in this respect to alter the last terms of my analyses, 

 considering, 1st, the volume of the oxigen gas, which I 

 caused to disappear by burning a given weight of alcohol 

 and of ether; and, 2dly, the volume of carbonic aqid gas 

 produced at the same time. These two terms alone are 

 the fundamental and important expression of my results. 

 In all the subsequent experiments 1 admit 



1, that 100 parts of water contain 83 parts of oxigen by p,oponioniof 



* Annaies da Chimie, vol XXIIJ, p. 43, 



f Stat/que chimique, par BerthoHet, yjI. II, p, 5:2. 



weight, 



