DR. H. DEBUS ON THE CHEMICAL THEORY OE GUNPOWDER. 
571 
1 yoI. of gas will be equal to 11*19 litres, and 37*62 vols.=420967*8 cub. centims. 
Hence, 1 grm. of tlie powder would produce 212*9 cub. centims. of gas. 
But only 92*8 per cent, of the powder was transformed, according to equation (VIII.), 
therefore 
212-9x92-8 
100 
= 197*5 cub. centims. 
Bunsen and Schischkoff found 193*1 cub. centims. If we deduct from this number 
4*5 cub. centims., the volume of the gaseous by-products, hydrogen, sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and oxygen, and add 7*4 cub. centims. for the carbonic acid of the ammonic 
carbonate, we obtain 196 cub. centims. for the gas found by experiment. 
Hence : 
Experiment. Theory. 
196 cub. centims. 1.97*5 cub. centims. 
The chief products of the combustion of Linck’s powder contain, according to his 
analysis, the powder constituents in the proportion 
I 6 KNO 3 + 15*06C + 7*44S. 
If we substitute in equation (IX.) for y the number 15, and for 2 7*5, we obtain 
V=41*42. 16KN0 3 + 15C+7*5S corresponds to 2036 parts by weight. Expressed in 
grammes 1 vol. of the gas will be equal to 11190 cub. centims., therefore 41*42 vols. 
— 463489*8 cub. centims., and 1 grm. of the powder would yield 227'6 cub. centims. 
As only 91*7 per cent, of the Wurtemberg service powder was transformed, according 
to equation (VIII.), we have 
227-6x 91-7 
100 
= 208*7 cub. centims. for the theoretical volume. 
Linck found 218*35 cub. centims.; but from this must be subtracted 15*67 cub. 
centims. for sulphuretted hydrogen, 3*56 cub. centims. for hydrogen, and 0*09 for 
oxygen, leaving 199*3 cub. centims. of gas as the product of combustion of 1 grm. of 
powder according to equation (VIII.). Adding 5*8 cub. centims. for carbonic acid 
in ammonic carbonate, we obtain 
Experiment. Theory. 
205*1 cub. centims. 203*7 cub. centims. 
If the difficulties which have to be overcome in order to obtain exact results in 
the determination of the products of explosion of gunpowder are considered, the 
differences between the theoretical and experimental numbers appear to come within 
the errors of observation. 
In Noble and Abel’s experiments 16 mols. of saltpetre, 21*35 atoms of carbon, 
