ON OLEFIANT GAS. C2I 



w 



v. • ! ' VV I 1 * 



Mr Dalton considers it as composed of an atom 

 of carbon and an atom of hydrogen. This comes 

 tolerably near the preceding analysis, if we sup- 

 pose the weight of an atom of carbon 4.5, and that 

 of an atom of hydrogen 1. For 85 is to 15 very 

 nearly as 4.5 is to 0.8. 



6* There is a curious experiment, first made by 

 Cruickshanks, and afterwards repeated by Ber- 

 thollet, which I thought it worth while to verify. 

 When olefiant gas is mixed with less than its bulk 

 of oxygen, and the mixture is fired by electricity, 

 a quantity of charcoal precipitates, and the bulk 

 of the residue, after the detonation, is much great- 

 er than before. The following table exhibits the 

 result of my experiments in this way : 





Measures of 

 olefiant gas. 



Measures of 

 oxygen. 



Residue af- 

 ter combus- 

 tion. 



Do. washed 

 in lime-wa- 

 ter. 



Measures of 

 nitrous gas 

 added. 



Residue. 



I 



39-5 



28.5 



100 



94-5 



37 



121.5 



2 



40 



33 



1 10 









3 



40 



30 



1 10 









4 



40 



29 



no 









In each of these experiments a quantity of 

 charcoal was precipitated. It remained long sus- 

 pended in the gaseous residue, quite dry, and 



