£>$ ANALYTICAL EXPERIMENTS ON MURIATIC ACID. 



and deposited sulphur by the action of water. I am in- 

 clined to consider it as a modification of the substance dis- 

 covered by Dr. Thomson, in his experiments on the action 

 of oximuriatic acid on sulphur, 

 ami with phos- Messrs. Gay-Lussac and Thenard have mentioned*, that 

 piouis. t j^ endeavoured to procure dry muriatic acid by distilling 



a mixture of calom'el and phosphorus, and that they obtain- 

 ed a fluid, which they consider as a compound of muriatic 

 acid, phosphorus, and oxigen. In distilling corrosive subli- 

 mate with phosphorus, I had a similar result, and I obtain- 

 ed the substance in much larger quantities than by the dis- 

 tillation of phosphorus with calomel. 



Phosphorus _/\s oximuriatic acid is slightly soluble in water, there was 



burned in oxi- . ,, , _ . ,. , ' 



muriatic acid reason to suppose reciprocally, that water mult be slightly 



gas. soluble in this gas ; I endeavoured therefore to procure dry 



muriatic acid, by absorbing the oxigerj from oximuriatic 

 acid gas by substances, which, when oxigenated, produce 

 compounds possessing a rlrong affinity for water. Phos- 

 phorus, it is, well known, burns in oximuriatic acid gas : 

 though the results of this eombuftion, I believe, have never 

 been minutely examined. With the hopes of procuring 

 muriatic acid gas free from moisture, I made the experi- 

 ment. I iiit roc- need phosphorus into a receiver having a 

 stop-cock, which had been exhausted, and admitted oxi- 



A white sub- muriatic acid gas. As soon as the retort was full, the phos- 



B? n and S a b fluMl )hQ^qseDter ^^ nt0C0mbnst ' On, tll! ° win » forth P a,e wllite 

 formed. flames. A white sublimate collected in the top of the re- 



tort, and a fluid as limpid as water trickled down the sides 

 of the neck., The gas seemed to be entirely absorbed, for 

 when the stop-cock was opened, a frefh quantity of oxi- 

 muriatic acid, nearly as much as would have rilled the reSoi t, 

 entered. 



The same phenomenon of inflammation again took place, 



with similar results. Oximuriatic acid gas was admitted till 



the wlAde of the phosphorus was consumed. 



No muriatic Minute experiments proved, that no gaseous muriatic acid 



acid gas form- mic j been evolved in this operation, and the muriatic acid 



was consequently to be looked for either in the white subli- 



. * The Moniu w b.fore quoted, 



mate. 



