160 ON THE EXPLOSION OF BURNING FLUID. 
Sig?ied, — Hottot, Guibourt, Bouchardat, Gaultier de 
Claubry, Buignet, and Bussy, reporters. — Journal de Phar- 
macie. 
ART. XXXIX.— ON THE EXPLOSION OF BURNING FLUIDS. 
By E. N. Horsford. 
Rumford Professor in the University of Cambridge, U. S. A. 
It has been maintained that several of the various pre- 
parations under the general denomination of burning fluids 
are, in certain conditions, explosive. It has been asserted 
by vendors, on the other hand, that they are not explosive. 
Wherein the misapprehension lies, how the numerous acci- 
dents that have occurred in the use of burning fluids are to 
be explained, and by what precautions the repetition of 
these accidents may be prevented, have been subjects of 
experimental inquiry. 
a. The burning fluids, as a class, are rectified spirits of 
turpentine, or turpentine with an admixture of a small per- 
centage of highly rectified spirits of wine, or of some other 
inflammable body readily soluble in turpentine or alcohol. 
b. Turpentine, alcohol and ether, when fired in an open 
vessel, burn at the surface so long as a supply of oxygen is 
kept up. c. A slight report attends the flash of flame at the 
commencement of the combustion, d. The accidents with 
burning fluids have ordinarily occurred during the filling of 
lamps from the cans, and always in the presence of flame, 
from a burning lamp or other source. 
In these facts (o, b, c, d,) lies the explanation of the phe- 
nomena that have been observed. 
It is well known that a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen 
in the proportion of 2 vols, of the former to 1 of the latter 
is eminently explosive : and that atmospheric air in larger 
measure may be substituted for oxygen with somewhat 
