3  5  2  Chemical  Notes.  { ^jl^fg"™'* 
CHEMICAL  NOTES. 
By  Prof.  Saml.  P.  Sadtler. 
Inorganic  Chemistry.  —  On  the  formation  of  Ozone  by  the  aid  of 
Hydrocarbons. — Every  chemist  knows  that  alkali  metals,  preserved  under 
naphtha  in  stoppered  bottles,  do  not  retain  their  lustre.  J.  Schiel  has 
made  some  experiments  which  explain  the  matter.  Apiece  of  thallium 
was  preserved  under  petroleum,  which  had  been  rectified  over 
sodium,  and  the  bottle  stoppered.  After  several  days,  the  metal,  sides 
and  bottom  of  the  bottle,  wherever  covered  by  the  petroleum,  were 
coated  with  a  brown  deposit,  which  increased  in  amount  and  became 
darker.  This  could  only  be  explained  by  the  ozonizing  of  the  air  shut 
in  the  bottle,  and  the  oxydation  of  the  thallium.  A  test  showed  that 
the  dark  coating  was  really  thallium  oxide.  A  series  of  experiments 
showed,  moreover,  that  the  hydrocarbons  especially  had  this  ozonizing 
action.  Benzol,  petroleum-naphtha,  petroleum,  oil  of  lavender,  oil  of 
turpentine,  form  a  series  of  compounds  with  increasing  ozonizing  effects. 
Easily  oxidizable  metals,  like  lead  and  iron,  are  rapidly  oxidized  when 
placed  under  hydrocarbons,  connected  with  the  air  by  a  capillary  tube 
passing  through  the  cork  of  the  bottle.  The  oxide  of  lead  dissolves 
in  petroleum,  and  colors  it  a  clear  yellow.  Peroxide  of  lead  does 
not  appear  to  form  under  these  circumstances.  Even  so  electro  nega- 
tive an  element  as  copper  wili  oxidize  under  turpentine  oil,  because  of 
the  ozonizing  power  of  the  latter. — Ber.  der  Chem.  Ges.,  xii,  p.  507. 
H.  Kohler  has  examined  into  the  correctness  of  the  statements  made 
in  many  of  the  text-books  that  mercuric  iodide  fuses  at  238°C.  to  an 
amber-colored  liquid.  He  finds  that  different  preparations  of  mercuric 
iodide  examined  fuse  invariably  at  2530  to  254°C.,and  that  the  color  of 
the  fused  mass  is  not  amber  colored  but  always  blood-red,  resembling 
bromine.  The  clear  yellow  color,  which  the  iodide  takes  at  I50°C.V 
changes  as  it  approaches  its  fusing  point  (already  at  230°C.)  to  a  deep 
orange.  He  finds,  moreover,  that  the  best  crystallizations  of  the  mer- 
curic iodide  are  gotten,  not  from  concentrated,  nor  from  dilute  nitric 
acid,  but  from  concentrated  hydrochloric  acid. — Ber.  der  Chem.  Ges.y 
xii,  p.  608. 
On  the  vapor-density  of  InCl3  and  the  equivalence  of  In. — Victor  and 
Carl  Meyer,  in  elaborating  their  method  for  vapor-density  determina- 
tion, have  incidentally  made  some  very  valuable  determinations,  bearing. 
