OBSERVATIONS ON ETHERIFICATION. 
267 
tillation, decomposition of the acetic acid is readily effected, in 
consequence of the destruction which a portion of the mass in con- 
tact with the bottom undergoes, whilst all the acid contained in it 
is being driven off. The distillation should be begun with a gen- 
tle fire, and should be carried on without much increasing the 
heat. — Lond. Pharm. Jour. December 1, 1850. 
OBSERVATIONS ON ETHERIFICATION. 
By Thomas Graham, F.R.S., F.C.S., &c. 
In the ordinary process of etherizing alcohol, by distilling that 
liquid with sulphuric acid, two distinct chemical changes are 
usually recognized; namely, first, the formation of sulphovinic 
acid, the double sulphate of ether and water ; and, secondly, the 
decomposition of the compound named, and liberation of ether. 
The last step, or actual separation of the ether, is referred to its 
evaporation, in the circumstances of the experiment, into an at- 
mosphere of steam and alcohol vapor, assisted by the substitution 
of water as a base to the sulphuric acid, in the place of ether. 
The observation, however, of M. Liebig, that ether is not brought 
off by a current of air passing through the heated mixture of sul- 
phuric acid and alcohol, is subversive of the last explanation, as 
it demonstrates that the physical agency of evaporation is insuf- 
ficient to separate ether. Induced to try whether ether could not 
be formed without distillation, I obtained results which appear to 
modify considerably the views which can be taken of the nature 
of the etherizing process. 
The spirits of wine or alcohol always employed in the follow- 
ing experiments, was of density 0.841. or contained 83 per cent, 
of absolute alcohol. 
Expt. 1. — One volume of oil of vitriol was added to four vo- 
lumes of alcohol, in a gradual manner, so as to prevent any con- 
siderable rise of temperature. The mixture was sealed up in a 
glass tube, one inch in diameter, and 6.6 inches in length, of 
which the liquid occupied 5.2 inches, a space of 1.4 inch being 
left vacant, to provide for expansion of the liquid by heat. The 
tube was placed in a stout digester containing water, and safely 
