2,20 Chemical Notices: — Rudorff on solid Phosphuretted Hydrogen. 



I hope that T have now so far explained the special object of 

 the paper printed in the July Number of the Magazine, and so 

 considered Mr. Harrison's objections, that it will not be neces- 

 sary for me again to address you on the same subject. 

 I am, Gentlemen, 



Your obedient Servant, 



William Ellts. 

 Greenwich, August YJ , 186/. 



XXIX. Chemical Notices from Foreign Journals. 

 By E. Atkinson, Ph.D., F.C.S. 



[Continued from p. 34.] 



"\TTHEN biniodide of phosphorus is treated with water, yellow 

 * T flocculent masses are formed, which have always been as- 

 sumed to be finely divided phosphorus. This substance has been 

 investigated by Rudorff*, who has found that it is solid phosphu- 

 retted hydrogen. The analysis was effected by heating it in a 

 known volume of an indifferent gas, by which it was decomposed 

 into phosphorus, phosphuretted hydrogen, and hydrogen. The 

 phosphuretted hydrogen was absorbed by a solution of copper. 

 The hydrogen calculated from this, together with that obtained 

 by direct measurement, gave the total quantity of hydrogen. 

 The phosphorus was determined by oxidizing the powder with 

 nitric acid and combining the phosphoric acid with oxide of lead. 

 The results of the analysis gave 99 per cent, of phosphorus 

 and 1*58 hydrogen ; this agrees very well with the formula P 2 H, 

 which requires 98*41 phosphorus and T59 hydrogen. 



The iodide of phosphorus yielded about 2 per cent, of its 

 weight of this substance. 



Weber has made the following observations f on the action 

 of chloride of iodine on bisulphide of carbon. Terchloride of 

 iodine acts energetically in the cold on bisulphide of carbon ; a 

 brown liquid is formed, containing chloride of sulphur, chlo- 

 ride of carbon, and a crystallizable combination of chloride 

 of iodine and chloride of sulphur. The same products are 

 formed when a current of chlorine is passed into a solution of 

 iodine in bisulphide of carbon; the quantity of chlorine ab- 

 sorbed is very great, and causes a considerable increase of vo- 

 lume; at the same time there is a distinct increase of tempera - 

 rature : the reaction is finished when the liquid is of a wine- 



* PoggendorfF's Annalen, vol. cxxviii. p. 475. 

 t Ibid. p. 416. 



