100 ANALYTICAL EXPERIMENTS ON MURIATIC ACID. 



colour, and in this case it seemed to be a compound of dry- 

 sulphuric and muriatic acid, holding in solution a very little 

 sulphur. When it was heated in contact with sulphur, it 

 rapidly dissolved it, and then became of a bright red colour, 

 and when saturated with sulphur, of a pale golden colour*. 

 No permanent aeriform fluid was evolved in any of these 

 operations, and no muriatic gas appeared, unless moisture 

 was introduced. 



As there seemed little chance of procuring uncombined 

 muriatic acid, it was desirable to ascertain what would be 

 the effects of potassium upon it in these singular com- 

 pounds. 

 Potassium in- When potassium was introduced into the fluid generated 



troduced mto , • , ?• '•" ~ , , . , ;. „ 



the fluid from "Y tne action ot phosphorus on corrosive sublimate, at first 



muriate of it slightly effervesced, from the actiou of the liquid on the 

 moist crust of potash surrounding it ; but the metal soon 

 appeared perfectly splendid, and swimming on the surface. 

 I attempted to fuse it by heating the fluid, but it entered 

 into ebullition at a temperature below that of the fusion of 

 the potassium ; indeed the mere heat of the hand was suffi- 

 cient for the effect. On examining the potassium, I found 

 that it was combined at the surface with phosphorus, and 

 gave phosphuretted hidrogen by its operation upon water. 

 Thefluidde- I endeavoured, by repeatedly distilling the fluid from 

 siderablequan- potassium in a close vessel, to free it from phosphorus, and 

 tity of phos- in this wiiy I succeeded in depriving it of a considerable 



rus ' quantity of this substance. 



am! heated I introduced ten or twelve drops of the liquid, which had 



been thus treated, into a small plate glass retort, containing 

 six grains of potassium. The retort was exhausted after 

 having been twice filled with hidrogen, the liquid was made 

 to boil, and the retort kept warm till the whole had disap- 

 peared as elastic vapour. The potassium was then heated 

 by the point of a spirit lamp; it had scarcely melted, when 

 it burst into a most brilliant flame, as splendid as that of 

 phosphorus in oxigen gas, and the retort was deftroyed by the 

 rapidity of combustion. 



* All these substances seem to be of the same nature as the singular 

 foi»j)oi'.iid, tl'.e sulphuretted muriatic acid discovered by Dr. Thomson, 

 HnlKed in j/dgo 93. 



la 



siura. 



