NEW ACID GASf, gQ 



phuretted liquor of Dr. Thomson, alone resulted from the in tlie expert 

 action of dry oximuriatic gas on dry sulphuretted hidrogen ; 

 and that the production of sulphuric acid, in Mr. Murray's 

 experiment was owing to his having admitted water. 



My brother, Mr. Davy, next discovered the existence of New com- 

 a new gas made in the same way as the gas employed in ^ " 

 Mr. Murray's first experiments, in which he says he ob- 

 tained carbonic acid, and possessed of ihe property of con- 

 verting carbonic oxide into carbotiic acid, it being a com- 

 pound of oximuriatic gas and oxigen. 



Lastly, it appeared, that due allowance being made for Experimemto 



the difficulty of entirely excluding moisture, pure oximu- show that oxU 



. . . " , , , p . T ■ -J • i muriatic sa.% 



natic gas is not capable of converting carbonic oxide into ^^^^ notaci- 



carboiiic acid, when inflamed with a mixture of this gas and dify carbuaic 



hidrogen. Thus, when 10 measures of carbonic oxide were 



subjected to the action of oximuriatic gas inflamed by an 



electric spark with hidrogen, only two measures disap- 



appeared, 8 measures of carbonic oxide remaining unaltered. 



A result perfectly satisfactory, I conceived, considering the 



minute quantity of the gasses operated upon, not altogether 



amounting to half a cubic inch ; ar.d recollecting, that half a 



grain of water contains sufficient oxigen to convert about four 



cubic inches of carbonic oxide into carbonic acid. 



Mr. Murray is of a different opinion. He considers, in Mr. Murray of 



h\s last communication, the disappearance of two measures * contrary opi- 



~ , • • T 1 . ,, ... . nion. 



ot carbonic oxide, a demonstration, that oximuriatic gas is 



a compound of an unknown basis and oxigen. In the same 



paper, which is published in your Journal for June, he has 



given an account of the repetition of his experiment on the 



mixed gasses, employing pure oximuriatic gas; 'and he has 



arrived at the conclusion, " that the production of" carbonic 



acid is established beyond the possibility of doubt.*' 



I shall state the manner in which he conducted the expe- 

 riment, and the evidences which satisfied him of the pro- 

 duction of carbonic acid. 



He exposed to light a mixture consisting of one volume u\se 

 of carbonic oxide and of the same quantity of hidrogen mentinsup.' 

 with twice that quantity of oximuriatic gas. 

 he added ammoniacal gas to complete saturation, and, 

 finding that moat of the carbonic oxide had disappeared, 

 • >">s^>?i • . and 



