288 C H E M 
is melted with conta£I of air, it becomes covered with a 
grey pellicle, which is quickly converted into a yellowilh 
oxyd, and eafdy reducible. This oxyd weighs more than 
the /.ink made ufe of; but, if the metal be lirongly heat¬ 
ed, it burns with a white or light greenilh yellow flame, 
very brilliant, and funilar to that of phol'phorus. The 
current of this flame drives up the oxyd of /.ink, which 
is condenfed in the air in the form of white and very light 
flocks, named flowers of zink, powpholix, nihil album, phi- 
lofophical wool, or cotton. 
’ The following is La Grange’s procefs for obtaining 
this white oxyd : Place a large crucible upon two bricks 
in a good furnace; let the crucible be inclined at an an¬ 
gle of about 45 0 ; fix the cover of the crucible fo that it 
may ealily be doled when neceflary. Put zink in the 
crucible, and urge it to fufion with a fire capable of main¬ 
taining a white heat, and keep the crucible flint. When 
it is very hot, uncover the crucible, arid a perfect white 
flame, very vivid, riles from the furface of the zink ; at 
the fame time arifes a very white flaky matter like cot¬ 
ton : this is white oxyd of zink. Take this away with 
a long-handled iron-fpoon ; more is immediately form¬ 
ed, which is to be taken away in like manner, till all the 
zink is converted into oxyd. This oxyd is not volatile, 
though it riles in the manner of volatile bodies; it is, 
on the contrary, extremely fixed by fire. This oxyd 
may be melted into glafs, but it requires an intenfe heat: 
the vitrified oxyd w ill be of a fine yellow colour, and not 
reducible by charcoal, or any other combultible body. 
Zink is fcarcely alterable by the air. Its furface tar- 
nifhes a little, and appears to fuller a flight beginning of 
oxydation. 
Phofphorus may be united to zink : Put into a Hone 
retort two parts of zink-filings, and one of phofphorus': 
proceed to diftillation, having firft adapted a receiver to 
the neck of the retort. The produdf is a little pholpho- 
rus ; and in the neck of the retort, r. Zink in the metallic 
form. 2. A red efflorefeent fublimation. 3. White oxyd 
of zink. 4. A fublimation in needles, of a metallic ap¬ 
pearance, a little bluiflr and rainbow-coloured. A black- 
ilh matter, like Icoria, remains in the retort. Pelletier 
regards the red efflorelcence, and the needled fublima¬ 
tion, as a phofphorated oxyd of zink. But this combina¬ 
tion is molt ealily eftedted, by throwing at different times 
final 1 pieces of phofphorus upon zink, heated in a cru¬ 
cible, and by covering the mixture with refill to prevent 
the oxydation of the metal. Phofphure of zink has a 
metallic lultre, not unlike that of lead ; it is flightly mal¬ 
leable, burns in the fire like zink, and leaves behind it a 
Ipongy reiidue. 
Zink difl’olves in hydrogen gas : Put four parts of the 
roalted blende, with one part of decrepitated charcoal! 
into a retort: adapt a recurved tube, which goes into 
water under a jar in the pneumatic apparatus. When 
the temperature is not ftrong enough to reduce the zink, 
the gas which is difengaged has no other properties than 
carbonated hydrogen gas; but, as foon as the redudfion 
begins, the hydrogen gas holds zink in folution, which 
is eafdy perceived by the bluifli yellow flame it emits in 
burning. The nearer the operation draws to a conclu- 
fion, the heat being maintained, the more the gas is 
loaded with zink. During the experiment, then,"there 
is produced carbonic acid gas, and zinkated and carbo¬ 
nated hydrogen gas. 
This compound gas is much heavier than common hy¬ 
drogen gas ; but it is lighter than atmolpherical air, and 
gives vyay to it. If this gas be let on fire, there is no fen- 
fible refidue on the lides of the vefiel, as happens with 
•iulphurated hydrogen; but, if the veflel be prefently 
filled with water, the furface of the liquid will be charged 
with a lhining pellicle of a light grey colour, which if 
collected, will be found to poflefs all the properties of 
metallic zink. Only a part of the zink therefore is burnt 
with the hydrogen gas, fince part efcapes in combuftipn, 
1 
S T R Y. 
and is found in the metallic Hate. Zinkated hydrogen- 
gas is not clecompofed by the oxygenated muriatic acid, 
like the Iulphurated and phofphorated hydrogen gas. If 
the mixture be fet on fire in the air, the combultion is 
more rapid, the flame is whiter, and no metallic zink is ■ 
depolited ; on the contrary, the zink is combined with 
the muriatic acid in the oxyd Hate, as may be fhewn by 
an alkaline carbon.it, or a hydro-fulpluire. Vauqiielin 
could not difcover the prefence of zink in the hydrogen 
gas produced by difl’olving that metal in acids weakened 
with water. 
The metallic zink does not appear to combine with 
fulphur but with the greateft difficulty. When thefe two 
lubftances are melted together, they remain diftinq! with¬ 
out contrafling any kind of union. Dehne, however, ob- 
ferved, that, if they be kept for a certain time in fufion 
together, the zink is partly oxydated, affirming at the 
fame time a brown orgreyilh colour, and becoming hea¬ 
vier. Morveau difeovered, fince the time of the remark 
of Dehne, that the oxyd of zink unites ealily with ful¬ 
phur by fufion, and that a grey mineral is produced very 
limilar to the blende of Huelgoef, from which yellow and 
prifmatic needles are fometimes fublimed, and fix them- 
lelves to the cover of the crucible. 
Malouin has not fucceed^d in his attempts to combine 
zink with the alkaline fulphure, whether by the humid 
or by the dry way, or by varying the proportions of thele 
two lubltances to each other. 
The fame chemift combined zink with arfenic. He 
obferved, that this metal does not unite fo well with 
zink, as the oxyd of arfenic does ; neverthelels, in an 
experiment, wherein he dillilled a mixture of this oxyd 
with tallow and zink, he obtained a blackifli mafs relem- 
bling blende, but lefs confident. It likewife appears that 
the zink feizes the oxygen of the oxyd of arfenic when 
they are diftiiled together, and that a portion of this me¬ 
tal is burned, at the lame time that a portion of the oxyd 
of arfenic is revived. A feries of experiments, made with 
a view to difcover the reciprocal aftion of metallic oxyds 
and metals on each other, and to determine the elective 
attractions of the oxygen with thefe fubltances, could not 
fail of proving highly inffruftive. 
It is not known whether zink is capable of being al¬ 
loyed with cobalt. 
It does not combine with bifinuth, and when thefe two 
"metals ate fufed together, the bifinuth takes the lower 
place on account of its greater weight, and they may be 
Separated by a ffroke of the hammer. 
Zink, fufed with antimony, affords a hard and brittle 
alloy, which Malouin fimply mentions, without pointing 
out any of its other properties. 
Mercury combines with zink by fufion ; but the zink 
muff not be very hot; the proper degree of heat is that 
which will finge a card without burning it. The amal¬ 
gam it forms with this metal is folid, but becomes fluid 
by trituration ; when melted, and left to cool flowly, it 
cryftallizes in plates, which have a lquare appearance, 
rounded at the edges. 
Water is decompofed by zink. When this metal be¬ 
gins to be red-hot, it is then ealily oxydated, and a large 
quantity of inflammable gas is given out; a proof that 
the water is decompofed by the zink, which feizes its 
oxygen by the affiffance of an elevated temperature. La- 
voifier and Meufnier have alcertained this fluff in their 
experiments concerning the decompofition of water. The 
hydrogen gas obtained in this procefs, holds a fmall quan¬ 
tity of charcoal in folution, which comes from the zink. 
Sulphuric acid a£!s very well upon zink, even in the 
cold: Put one part of granulated zink into a matrafs, 
and pour over it two parts of lulphuric acid diluted with 
water: if it be delired to colled! the gas which is difen¬ 
gaged, adapt a recurved tube, which is to go under.a jar 
of water in the pneumatic apparatus. In proportion as 
the acid exerts its action, the metal becomes of a blackifh 
grey, 
