OXYGENATED MURIATIC ACID. 
1G8 
muriatic acid is a fubftance hitherto undecompounded, 
and therefore mud at prefent be confidered as an element; 
that it contains no oxygen, at lead none has ever been 
extratted from it; that it unites with mod metals and 
falifiable bafes, forming the tnuriats, which therefore are 
not (like the fulphats, nitrats, See.) compounds of an 
oxydated bafe and an acid, but are compofed merely of the 
bafe and of oxymuriatic acid. Thus, for example, com¬ 
mon fait, or muriat of foda, when perfectly dry, is, accord¬ 
ing to this hypothefis, compofed, not of foda and muriatic 
acid, but of (odium and oxymuriatic acid, and fo of the 
red. Oxymuriatic acid will, however, unite with oxygen, 
forming a very Angular compound, whofe properties have 
been discovered by fir H. Davy. This eminent chemid 
therefore gives the name of chlorine to oxymuriatic acid, 
and of euchlorine to the compound of oxymuriatic acid 
and oxygen, which will be prefently deferibed. 
Chlorine has the following properties : Its colour is, as 
its name imports, greenidi-yellow. It has a peculiar fuf- 
focating odour, and, when refpired,is indantly fatal: even 
when largely diluted with atmofpheric air, it produces 
highly deleterious effetts, fuch as cough, catarrhal aft’ec- 
tion, and great irritation of the lungs. Thefe are cir- 
cumdances which render much caution neceflary in col- 
letting and examining the gas. One hundred cubic inches 
of chlorine, at a mean temperature and preffure, weigh 
76 grains. At the temperature of 6o° Fahrenheit, one 
volume of water diffolves about two of chlorine : the di¬ 
lution has the odour and colour of the gas: its tade is 
naufi (usand adringent. By means of Wolfe’s apparatus, 
water may be conveniently faturated with this gas: the 
contents of the fil'd bottle fhould be rejetted as contain¬ 
ing a portion of muriatic acid, which paffes over during 
the didillation. When a burning wax-taper is plunged 
into a bottle of chlorine, the brilliancy of its dame is 
greatly impaired; it exhibits a dull red light, and throws 
oft’ a large quantity of charcoal. 
The attraction of chlorine for the metals is in mod in- 
ftances extremely energetic; when copper-leaf, or anti¬ 
mony, or arfenic in powder, are thrown into the gas, they 
immediately enter into vivid combudion, and form binary 
compounds; and, if the oxyds of thefe and many other 
metals be heated in chlorine, oxygen is expelled, and 
fimilar compounds of the metal and chlorine refult. 
The metallic chlorats may be formed by diffolving the 
oxyds of the different metals in chlorine acid. They do 
not poffefs any very remarkable properties, except thofe 
common to all the chlorats, or muriats, viz. of giving out 
oxygen when heated, and of detonating when thrown on 
burning coals. The chlorat of filver, mixed with a little 
fulphur, and druck (lightly, detonates with confiderable 
violence. 
From the attion of chlorine, or oxymuriatic acid gas, on 
ammonia under peculiar circumdances, a very Angular 
produft, exceeding all others in detonating quality, is 
obtained. This compound, now called detonating oil, was 
difeovered by Dulong, a French chemid ; and an extenfive 
Aeries of experiments has been made upon it by Meflrs. Por- 
ret, Wilfon, and Kirk. To obtain it, fill a (mall jar with 
chlorine, and transfer it into a bafon containing a folution 
of nitrat or muriat of ammonia a little warmed ; the gas 
will (lowly become condenfed, and the liquor rife up in 
the jar ; an oily-like film will form on its furface, which 
increafes and colletts into globules, which at length fall 
through the liquor: this is the explofive compound. It 
explodes violently at 2.12. 0 Fahrenheit; the mod violent 
explofions, however, are produced from it when it is 
touched cold with inflammable bodies : a portion of it, 
for example, the fize of a pin’s-head, being brought in con- 
tatt with olive-oil, the vefl’el is broken into fragments by 
the violence of the explofion ; its eft’etts are indeed fo vio¬ 
lent, as to have given rife to fevere accidents ; hence 
the propriety of wearing a mafk and gloves, and of taking 
care that the veil'd in which it is formed, or the inftru- 
ment by which it is removed, (ltall.be perfettly clean and 
free from contbudible matter. It is fingular, that a num¬ 
ber of inflammable fubdances do not caufe this curious 
fubdance to explode, fuch as charcoal, alcohol, or ether; 
and, among the inflammable bodies which either do or 
do not caufe it to explode, it does not appear that any 
analogy can be traced. From a feries of analytic experi¬ 
ments made by Meflrs. Porret, Wilfon, and Kirk, it ap¬ 
pears that this compound confids of chlorine, nitrogen, 
and hydrogen : the hydrogen, they fuppofe, by its affini¬ 
ties to the other elements, lerves as the medium of union ; 
and the great explofive power of the compound they con¬ 
ceive owing to the attion of oxymuriatic acid condenfed 
in the combination, but at the fame time retained only 
by a weak affinity. It is not improbable that it may be 
a hyper-oxymuriate of ammonia. The preparation of this 
compound is extremely hazardous, and requires the 
greated precaution. 
It has been found, by experiment, that all feeds vege¬ 
tate mod rapidly when deeped in oxymuriatic acid. One 
indance will fuffice. The feeds of Lepidutn fativum ger¬ 
minated after fix or feven hours when put into oxymuri¬ 
atic acid, whereas, when lying in common water, they 
required from thirty-fix to thirty-eight hours. Seeds 
twenty or thirty years old, brought from the Bahama If- 
lands, Madagafcar, &c. which condantly refufed to ger¬ 
minate, very readily in this way vegetated, and produced 
plants which grew up very fuccefsfully. As every gar¬ 
dener cannot obtain this acid, Mr. Humboldt propoles a 
very eafy method to procure it without difficulty. He 
took a cubic inch of water, a tea-fpoonful of common 
muriatic acid, two tea-fpoonfuls of oxyd of manganefe; 
mixed it, and placed the feeds in them. The whole was 
allowed to digeft with a heat of 18—30 0 of Reaumur. 
In this the feeds germinated excellently; but it is necef- 
fary to take the feeds out as foon as the corkle appears. 
That the feeds are not injured by the acid, is proved by 
the many plants which have been treated in this way un¬ 
der the infpettion of Mr. Jacquin, and in which vegeta¬ 
tion went on extremely well. 
It was in the year 1811 that fir H. Davy difeovered the 
gafeous compound of chlorine and oxygen. Its colour is 
more intenfe than that of chlorine; a circumftance which 
induced him to call it eucldorine, from iv and gXufoq. To 
obtain this gas, fome oxymuriate of pota(h fhould be in¬ 
troduced into a very final] glafs retort, and a mixture of 
equal parts of muriatic acid and water poured upon it. 
Twenty grains of the cryftallized oxymuriate to half an 
ounce of the dilute acid, are good proportions. On the 
cautious application of a very gentle heat, the euchlorine 
paffes over, and muff be colledted in the mercurio-pneu- 
matic apparatus. The fmell of this gas differs from, and 
is much lefs difagreeable than, that of chlorine ; but it is 
unrefpirable. Water takes up eight times its volume of 
euchlorine, and forms a lemon-yellow folution. Its 
weight, compared with that of hydrogen, is as 33 to 1. 
One hundred cubic inches weigh feventy-five grains. 
When heated to a temperature between ioo° and 150 0 , it 
expands with explofion, and is refolved into its conftitu- 
ent parts; viz. two volumes of chlorine and one of oxy¬ 
gen. It exerts no attion upon thofe metals which inflame 
in, and energetically combine with, chlorine. If copper 
leaf, for inftance, be introduced into pure euchlorine, it 
is not even tarnifhed ; but, if heat be applied fo as to de- 
compofe the gas, the metal is indantly ignited, and burns 
as in a mixture of two parts of chlorine and one of oxy¬ 
gen. Phofphorus an inflamed taper, and fulphur in a 
(late of combudion, immediately decompofe euchlorine, 
and exhibit the fame phenomena as when burned in an 
artificial mixture of its elementary gafes. The term chlo¬ 
rine (hould now fuperfede that of oxymuriatic acid, not 
merely on account of its brevity and propriety, but as 
founded upon an obvious and unalterablecharatter of the 
body it reprefents, namely, its colour; befides, it would 
be abfurd to call a body oxymuriatic acid which exhibits 
no acid charatters, and in which neither oxygen nor mu. 
3 ' riatic 
