^Q NEW PROPERTIES OF THE ALKALINE METALS, 



have recommended. The attention of him who manages 

 the bellows too is an object of no little importance; for, if 

 he suffer the fire to slacken, the metal will immediately 

 cease to be disengaged, and the rods will be covered with 

 nothing but pure alkali. On the contrary, if he increase 

 the fire at this period of the process, the apparatus will 

 melt, and the experiment fail. This proves how high but 

 uniform the temperature must be. I have observed, that 

 the metal is always produced at the heat of melting iron, 

 Accordingly an iron tube will seldom serve twice, and re* 

 torts always melt before the whole of the metal is obtained. 

 The metal a I intend to inform the public of the observations, that I 

 pound. " ma y hereafter make on this metallic product; but in the 

 mean time I think I may conclude from my experiments, 

 that the production of the metal is not owing, as has been 

 said, to the disoxigenation of the alkali; but that it is a, 

 new compound, in which hidrogen appears to have entered 

 into combination, and I conceive in a state of great con- 

 densation. 

 Hidrogen, al- Be this as it may, during the whole of the operation hi-* 

 sic radi'cal PrUS ^rogen, alkali not converted into metal, and prussic radical 

 given out. in the state of gas, continue to be disengaged. The last 

 in particular I have collected in pretty considerable quan- 

 tity. 

 Hidrogen an These results tend to prove, that hidrogen is one of the 

 Jjetafor of** <- om P onent P arts of tne alkalis, the extrication of which is 

 charcoal, promoted by the charcoal ; or that charcoal itself is a com- 



pound, one of the principles of which is hidrogen. There 

 \s no alternative, but one or the other of these hypotheses. 



VI. 



Observations and Experiments on the Nature of the New Pro- 

 perties of the Alkaline Metals: by the Same*. 



Phenomena OEVERAL of the phenomena, that accompany the me-? 

 Jv'eupposfae 8 ta,lizatl0n of P otash and S0(ia » beill g inexplicable on thehy- 



* Journal it Physique, June, 1808, p. 4.*>2. 



pothers 



