444 Dr. L. Bleekrode on the Electric Conductivity 



Nitrobenzol is a bad conductor, and is only feebly attacked 

 by the alkalies; and so is binitrotoluol, which, indeed, is 

 scarcely at all acted on by fuming nitric acid even at a high 

 temperature. On the other hand, binitronaphthaline is a very 

 good conductor which is also decomposed by the alkalies and 

 by sulphides. 



Conversely, the Table comprises substances in which ac- 

 cordance of this kind does not subsist. Phenol is a bad con- 

 ductor, although the hydrogen of its hydroxyl can be replaced 

 by potassium or sodium *, and the hydrogen of the radical by 

 the halogens or atomic groups like N0 2 , iS[H 2 , &c, mostly 

 without the aid of heat. It is true that double decomposition 

 with the alkalies does not take place ; phenol cannot, for in- 

 stance, expel the carbonic acid from carbonate of potass. 

 The behaviour of nitrophenol is precisely the same, which yet 

 decomposes carbonate of magnesia. Trinitrophenol possesses 

 very powerful acid properties, and forms salts with soluble 

 bases by reciprocal decomposition ; metals take the place of 

 its hydrogen ; nevertheless it shows scarcely a trace of con- 

 duction with the current of 20 elements, and decomposition 

 first takes place when the induction-current is employed. On 

 the contrary, nitroaniline is a good conductor, although it 

 furnishes no combinations with metallic salts by double de- 

 composition. 



The haloid compounds of the alcohol-radicals often exhibit 

 a certain degree of conductivity for powerful galvanic currents ; 

 for a galvanometer-deflection of from 2° to 4° is observed, 

 which is much greater with the allyl compounds. Their 

 chemical character agrees with the hypotheses before-mentioned 

 in so far, that they are decomposed by soluble bases, a metallic 

 salt and an alcohol being formed, though for this it is fre- 

 quently necessary to raise the temperature. These substances 

 are also directly acted on by some metals — for example, ethylic 

 iodide by magnesium, at ordinary temperature f , diallyl being- 

 formed ; the silver-salts, too, are decomposed by them. 



Again, the sulphides of the alcohol-radicals do not behave 

 in accordance with the hypotheses, since they appear to be 

 bad conductors, and yet allylic sulphide, which does not give 

 passage to the induction-current, with nitrate of silver forms 

 sulphide of silver by double decomposition. Still more striking 

 in this respect is the behaviour of mercaptan, which exchanges 



* Phenate of potassium (C 6 H 5 OK) is decomposed, with brisk libera- 

 tion of gas, by the current from 5 Bunsen elements. 



t Gladstone and Tribe (Proc. Hoy. Soc. vol. xxvi. p. 2) recently found 

 no galvanometer-deflection, with ethylic iodide, for the current from 100 

 Grove's elements. 



