512 
POPULAE SCIENCE EEVIEW. 
from tlie same cause ; viz. from the greater activity of carbonic oxide caused 
by its greater specific heat, (i.) That similar difi'erences from the same cause 
are also found to exist in the action of other substances admittedly the 
same, and having a similar difference in their specific heat, (k.) That it is 
known that carbon and oxygen have a greater attraction for each other at 
high temperatures than they have for any other substance ; and that high 
temperatures applied to certain substances, and especially to charcoal, deprive 
them of specific heat, and thus condense them. (Z.) That it may, therefore, 
be inferred that carbonic oxide — a substance of a nature kindred to charcoal 
— has been subjected to intense heat or electricity, or to the long protracted 
application of a less amount of heat or electricity, whereby it has been 
deprived of a part of its specific heat and converted into nitrogen, while at 
the same time the unequal attraction between its elements, carbon and 
.oxygen, was thereby developed permanently to the fullest extent, making 
their separation intensely difficult, and thus accounting for nitrogen not 
having been hitherto decomposed, (m.) That the similarity of the action of 
nitrogen and carbonic oxide (?hnnot be traceable to the sameness of their 
specific gravity, for olefiant gas possesses the same theoretic, and almost the 
same actual, specific gravity, yet its action is entirely different, (n.) That 
on aU these grounds we are forced to conclude that nitrogen is an allotropic 
state of carbonic oxide. — Vide Pamphlet, “Nitrogen sho-wm to be Carbonic 
Oxide.” London: Churchill. 
A New Yellow Colouring Matter for Rosaniline has been obtained by Herr 
Max Vogel. When a strong stream of nitrous acid is passed into an alkaline 
solution of commercial fuchsine or pure rosaniline, a series of beautiful 
phenomena of colour are observed. The red colour, which is first produced, 
rapidly passes into violet ; this in its turn gives a blue, which afterwards 
changes to green. When the green solution is allowed to stand for some 
hours it assumes a reddish-yellow colour of a very beautiful kind. The 
change may be accelerated by continuing to pass the stream of nitrous acid. 
The colour undergoes no further change, and on evaporating this solution on 
a water bath, a reddish-brown paste is procured, which becomes hard on 
cooling, and when powdered has a lovely cinnabar red colour. From the 
discoverer’s analysis the formula would appear to be C^® NO®. It k 
curious that this new substance acts both as base and acid. It is sparingly 
soluble in dilute, and easily soluble in concentrated acids ; very soluble in 
alkalis. It may be separated by acids from its alkaline solutions, in which 
case it floats on the surface of the solution in a floculent mass. It dissolves 
freely in alcohol, sulphide of carbon, chloroform, and ether, but water does 
not dissolve it. — Vide “ Journal fur Pract. Chem.,” Vol. 94, p. 128. 
Ammonia and Nitric Acids in Hail. — Professor Eeichardt, who has dis- 
covered both nitric acid and ammonia in hail-stones, now gives us the 
numbers indicating the proportions in which these substances are present. 
In a million parts of had. he found 3*247 of ammonia and 0*526 of nitric 
acid. These determinations agree very closely with those of Boussingault, 
who found in a million parts of rain-water 2*08 of ammonia, and 0*83 of 
nitric acid. Eeichardt has also determined the specific gravity of hail-stones. 
Accordins to his observations there are two kinds of these bodies — one 
