336 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



alterable than it is generally believed to be. It resists the action 

 of iodine, the acids, the alkalies, and the process of digestion, and 

 retains, under the influence of these agents, if not its primitive 

 composition and properties, at least some characters which permit 

 its recognition in the midst of the most complex and varied mix- 

 tures and after a considerable lapse of time. 



If the alcoholic tincture is destroyed pretty rapidly when exposed 

 to the air, and especially in sunshine, the oily solutions oppose to 

 the same agents a very remarkable resistance, of which we have set 

 forth the consequences in certain questions of natural philosophy. 

 — Comptes JRendus de VAcademie des Sciences, Sept. 8, 1873. 



ON THE DIRECT SYNTHESIS OF AMMONIA. BY W. F. DONKIN. 



The action of induced electricity on mixtures of certain gases 

 has been lately shown by Sir Benjamin Brodie (Proc. Boy. Soc. 

 April 3, 1873) to yield very interesting results. 



An obvious application of his method was to treat a mixture of 

 dry hydrogen and nitrogen in a similar manner as those referred 

 to above, with the view of effecting the synthesis of ammonia ; and 

 Sir B. Brodie kindly allowed me the use of his apparatus for the 

 purpose of the experiment, which was conducted as follows : — 



A mixture of about three volumes of hydrogen with one of ni- 

 trogen in a bell-jar over water, was passed through two tubes con- 

 taining pumice moistened with alkaline pyrogallate and sulphuric 

 acid respectively, then through a Siemens induction-tube, and into 

 a bulb containing dilute hydrochloric acid, The whole apparatus 

 being first filled with pure hydrogen, about half a litre of the 

 mixed gases was sent through the apparatus, the induction-coil 

 not being in action ; the bulb containing the acid was then re- 

 moved and another substituted, containing an equal volume of the 

 same acid. 



About; half a litre of the mixed gases was now passed through 

 the apparatus, submitting them to the action of the electricity. 

 The contents of the two bulbs were next transferred to two test- 

 tubes ; and after adding excess of potash to each, Nessler's test 

 was applied. The first solution gave a faint yellow coloration, the 

 second a rather thick reddish-brown precipitate. 



No attempt was made to estimate the quantity of ammonia formed, 

 as it would vary with many of the conditions of the experiment. 



Since writing the account of the above experiment, which was 

 made in Dr. Odling's laboratory at Oxford on March 24, I have 

 seen in the Comptes Benclus for April 22, 1873, a note of an 

 experiment by Messrs. Thenard of Paris, in which they observe 

 the formation of traces of ammonia by the action of electricity on 

 a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen ; but no details of the mode of 

 operating are given. — From the Proceedings of the Royal Society, 

 .May 1, 1878. 



