240 
Mr. Davy’s Researches on the 
one quantity must always be separated. Hydrogene is dis 
engaged from its oxymuriatic combination, by a metal, in the 
same manner as one metal is disengaged by another, from 
similar combinations ; and of all inflammable bodies that form 
compounds of this kind, except perhaps phosphorus and sul- 
phur, hydrogene is that which seems to adhere to oxymu- 
riatic acid with the least force. 
I have caused strong explosions from an electrical jar, to 
pass through oxymuriatic gas, by means of points of platina, 
for several hours in succession ; but it seemed not to undergo 
the slightest change. 
I electrized the oxymuriates of phosphorus and sulphur for 
some hours, by the power of the Voltaic apparatus of 1000 
double plates; no gas separated, but a minute quantity of hy- 
drogene, which I am inclined to attribute to the presence of 
moisture in the apparatus employed ; for I once obtained hy- 
drogene from Libavius’s liquor by a similar operation ; but I 
have ascertained, that this was owing to the decomposition of 
water, adhering to the mercury; and in some late experiments 
made with 2000 double plates, in which the discharge was 
from platina wires, and in which the mercury used for con- 
fining the liquor was carefully boiled, there was no production 
of any permanent elastic matter. 
As there are no experimental evidences of the existence of 
oxygene in oxymuriatic acid gas, a natural question arises, 
concerning the nature of these compounds, in which the 
muriatic acid has been supposed to exist, combined with much 
more oxygene than oxymuriatic acid, in the state in which 
it has been named by Mr. Chenevix, hyperoxygenized 
muriatic acid. 
