of Sulphuric Acid and Alcohol, fyc. 359 



hydrogen, this oily matter is precisely similar in the propor- 

 tions of its elements to olefiant gas. 



The crystals which spontaneously separate from oil of wine 

 were next examined ; they were prismatic, and resembled pre- 

 cisely in all their characters, except their solid form, the fluid 

 substance just described. They fused at a temperature a lit- 

 tle above that of boiling water. After purifying a portion by 

 pressing them in blotting paper, to remove any adhering oil 

 of wine, several experiments were made upon quantities of a 

 grain each; 6*46 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas and 1*2 1 

 grains of water were obtained ; the 6*46 cubic inches of car- 

 bonic acid equal - 82106 of a grain of carbon, and the 1*21 

 grains of water equal • 13444 of a grain of hydrogen. 



The carbon and hydrogen are here very nearly in single 

 proportionals, but there is great loss, I believe : this may be 

 partly attributed to oil of wine still adhering, but of that I am 

 not at present able to satisfy myself, my stock of crystals being 

 exhausted. 



On mentioning these results to Mr. Faraday, he gave me 

 some sulphuric acid which had been exposed to olefiant gas, 

 during some of his experiments on the products of the de- 

 composition of oil by heat. It had absorbed about 80 times 

 its volume of the gas, acquired a deep brown colour, and a 

 smell resembling oil of wine. It was saturated by carbonate 

 of potash carefully evaporated to dryness, and the dry mass 

 digested in alcohol. A small quantity of a salt was obtained 

 from the alcoholic solution having the crystalline form and 

 general characters of the salts I have been describing. 



Thus it would appear that hydrocarbon constituted of sin- 

 gle proportionals, or 6 carbon and 1 hydrogen by weight, has 

 the power of combining with sulphuric acid : and that whether 

 it be evolved and then combined, as in the case of olefiant gas, 

 or its elements separated from other compounds, as from alco- 

 hol, it forms precisely the same combination, sulphovinic acid. 

 It further appears that oil of wine is a perfectly neutral com- 

 pound of sulphuric acid and hydrocarbon, and that it is resolva- 

 ble by various processes into sulphovinic acid, during which it 

 loses hydrocarbon, and acquires a saturating power equivalent 

 to only half the natural power of the sulphuric acid it con- 

 tains. The remaining hydrocarbon enters with it into saline 

 combinations, and is there equivalent in saturating power to 

 the quantity of base taken up. The proportions of hydro- 

 carbon which in this way replace bases being four propor- 

 tionals, or 24 carbon, 4 hydrogen. 



LVL Che- 



