280 On the Vapour-density system of Notation. 



thereby account for the extreme violence of the fulminates, — the 

 decomposition of the oxide and alkali in such as fulminating 

 silver being accompanied with the intense union of half mole- 

 cules, as represented by the formula 



'AgO* 



3 mols. of oxide 

 of silver . 



AgO* 

 UgO* 



2 mols. of am- nv^H 1 ^ 

 monia . 





Ag, Ag, Ag, 3 mols. silver. 

 H0 2 > HO 2 , HO% 3 mols. water. 



^N, 1 mol. of nitrogen. 



These half-molecules must be identical; for when water, 

 HO. HO 2 , is decomposed by the voltaic circle, the0 2 2 of 

 two molecules unite to form ; and as the O 2 in each water- 

 molecule must be identical in properties, the two, O 2 in 0, must 

 likewise be so. Instead therefore of denoting one as positive 

 and the other negative, it is better to view them as having poles 

 or potential faces of complementary action which may be repre- 

 sented by symbol thus: >-, > are identical; but place them 

 together, >>, and one is entrant while the other is recipient. 



A line of similar symbols represents the character of the elec- 

 trie force as between the excited PjSgggggggggjgs^N 

 root r and excited root JN of the 



line of force P N. Standing at P and looking towards N, 

 the aspect is entrant ; standing at N and looking towards P, the 

 aspect is recipient. In each point of the line of excitement the 

 P and N aspects exist, as ^_^ 



becomes manifest when a P t ^^»L E j^^^^ N 

 conductor cuts the line; one \^y 



element, > n 3 appearing at 



one side of the conductor, and the next element, p >, appearing 

 at the opposite. 



Considering the vast cohesive power of the metals and their 

 one-atomed molecule, their solid state may be viewed as the 

 combination of their atoms with each other; so that if chemical 

 notation could distinguish what for shortness may be called the 

 burnt and unburnt conditions, the clasped and raised conditions of 

 a chemical body, we should have the II in CH 2 different in cha- 

 racter from H in HO% also Hg of mercury in a state of vapour 

 different in character from Hg in the liquid or solid form. 



In electro-plating, consider the condition of a metallic mole- 

 cule before being deposited and after. In the first it is in the 

 burnt or clasped condition (oxide in solution), in the second it 

 is in the solid form ; the dynamic clasp has also been effected. 

 Now the molecule is in both cases in the clasped cppdition, and 



