34 



Mr. Scliorlemmer on the Hydrocarbons [June 20, 



their orbits would be almost certain to degrade from ellipses into circles 

 before they got quite clear of the primary. Some would probably be found, 

 when this happens, at the distance of the rings, others within the surface of 

 the primary, none beyond both. Those within the surface of the primary 

 would fall into him and be lost. But one that lay within a ring would 

 gather by its attraction the ring round itself, and so become covered with 

 an immense atmosphere with which it would continue to rotate while ad^ 

 vancing in its circular orbit. If this rotation were sufficiently swift, the 

 new planet would throw off rings which might afterwards condense into 

 satellites, with this peculiarity, that they would always keep the same face 

 turned towards the planet, and revolve round it in the same direction and 

 nearly in the same plane in which the planet revolves round its sun. 



The speculative element in this hypothesis is so considerable that per^ 

 haps we may not prudently yield to it a probabihty higher than 1. But 

 an hypothesis which carries up so many of the main phenomena of nature 

 to a single source, and which only asks us to admit what is not antecedently 

 improbable, that the number of incandescent stars is but a small proportion 

 of all that exist, seems nevertheless to deserve to be stated. 



VI. "Researches on the Hydrocarbons of the Series H^*^"*"^,— - 

 No. III.^^ By C. ScHORLEMMER. Communicated by Prof. G. 

 G. Stokes, Sec. R.S. Received May 15, 1867. 



- . 1. Di-Isoproj)yl, C^H^^. 



loSide of isopropyl is not perceptibly acted upon by sodium even if the 

 liquid is heated to the boiling-point; but if anhydrous ether perfectly 

 free from alcohol is added, a reaction soon commences without appli- 

 cation of external heat ; the liquid becomes warm, and the iodide is decom- 

 posed with formation of iodide of sodium. The chief products of this 

 reaction are, (1) propylene, from which bromide of propylene was ob- 

 tained by passing the gases which are evolved through bromine ; (2) a 

 gaseous hydrocarbon, which is not absorbed by bromine and which burns 

 with a luminous flame, probably consisting of hydride of propyl ; and (3) 

 a liquid hydrocarbon, which, according to its composition and mode of for- 

 mation, must be considered as di-iso})ropyl. By the following method I 

 obtained the largest yield of this liquid. A flask holding about 250 cub. 

 centims. was half filled with iodide of isopropyl (which had been prepared 

 by acting with hydroiodic acid upon glycerin) ; an equivalent quantity of 

 sodium cut into thin pieces was added, upon this a layer of pure ether was 

 poured, and the flask quickly connected with the lower end of a Liebig's 

 condenser. Y/here the two liquids meet, a brisk reaction soon sets in ; the 

 escaping gases carry off a large quantity of the liquid, chiefly of the more 

 volatile ether, and it is therefore necessary to keep the condenser as cold as 

 possible. The reaction goes on generally quietly until the greatest portion 

 of the iodide is decomposed ; if it stops after a short time, gentle heat has 

 to be applied as long as gas is evolved. After the reaction is over, the 



