ANALYTICAL EXPERIMENTS ON MURIATIC ACID. 



101 



Iii other trials made upon smaller quantities after various R esu i ti# 

 failures, I was at last able to obtain the results ; there was no 

 proof of the evolution of any permanent elastic fluid during 

 the operation. A solid mass remained of a greenish colour 

 at the surface, but dark gray in the interior. It was ex- 

 tremely inflammable, and often burnt spontaneoully when 

 exposed to air; when thrown upon water, it produced a vio- 

 lent explosion, with a smell like that of phosphu netted hi- 

 drogen. In the residuum of its combustion there was found 

 muriate of potash, and phosphate of potash. 



1 endeavoured to perform this experiment in an iron An iron tube 

 tube, hoping, that, if the muriatic acid was decomposed in t ^2xoe rl" 

 the process, its inflammable element, potassium, and phos- ment. 

 phorus, might be separated from each other by a high de- 

 gree of heat ; but in the first part of the operation the action 

 was so intense, as to produce a destruction of the apparatus, 

 and the stop-cock was separated from the tube with a loud 

 detonation. 



I heated potassium in the vapour of the compound of Potassium 

 muriatic and phosphoric acid ; but in this case the inflam- he »ted in the 

 •11 • *. j • 11 il • vapour of the 



rnation was still more intense, and in all the experiments, cornpoun£ i 



that I have hitherto tried, the glass vessels have been either with phospho- 

 fused or broken ; the solid residuum has however appeared 

 to be of the same kind as that I have just described. 



The results of the operation of the sulphuretted com- Action of po- 

 pounds, containing muriatic acid free from water, upon po- tassinm 01 » the 



• ..il t ,, , „ :, , sulphuretted 



tassium are still more extraordinary than those ot the phos- compounds. 



phuretted compounds. 



When a piece of potassium is introduced into the sub- 

 stance that distils over during the action of heated sulphur 

 upon oximuriatic acid, it at first produces a blight efferves- 

 cence, and if the volume of the potassium considerably ex- 

 ceeds that of the liquid, it soon explodes with a violent re- 

 port, and a most intense light. 



I have endeavoured to collect the results of this operation, Violence of 

 by causing the explosion to take place in large exhausted lhe ex P losion » 

 plate glass retorts; but, except in a case in which i used 

 only about a quarter of a grain, I never succeeded. Gene- 

 rally the retort, though connected with the air pump at the # 

 time, was broken into atoms; and the explosion produced 



by 



