The early history of chlorine : papers / by Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1774), C.L. Berthollet (1785), Guyton de Morveau (1787), J.L. Gay-Lussac and L. J. Thenard (1809).

Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The early history of chlorine : papers / by Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1774), C.L. Berthollet (1785), Guyton de Morveau (1787), J.L. Gay-Lussac and L. J. Thenard (1809). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    weak and pure marine acid, (c) The former colours of these flowers, as well as those of the green plants, could not be restored either by alkalies or by acids, (d) Ex- pressed oils and animal fats, when they hung as drops on the glass tube or were rubbed on it, became in a short time tough like turpentine. (e) Cinnabar became white on the surface, and when the piece was washed in water a pure mercurius sublimatus solution was obtained, but the sulphur was not altered. (f) Iron vitriol be- came red, and deliquesced. Copper and zinc vitriols were unaltered, (g) Iron filings were put into the same bottle and they dissolved. This solution was evaporated ad siccum and distilled with addition of oil of vitriol, when a pure marine acid, which did not dissolve gold, again passed over. (h) All metals were attacked, and with gold it is noteworthy that its solution in this dephlo- gisticated marine acid forms with alkali volatile an aurum fulminans. (i) When spiritus salis ammoniaci, prepared with lime, hung in drops on the tube, there arose a white cloud, and a quantity of air bubbles escaped from the drops, which gave off a smoke when they burst asunder. (k) Alkali fixum was changed into sal commune which decrepitated on charcoal, but did not detonate. (/) Arsenic deliquesced in these vapours : (in) Insects immediately died in them; («) and fire was immediately extinguished by them. 26. This proves sufficiently the great attraction which dephlogisticated marine acid has for the combustible.* It is possible that Stahl obtained such a dephlogisticated marine acid by means of iron, as he concludes from the yellow colour on the cork, and imagined that the marine acid was changed into nitrous acid. If a mixture of *[“Den brenbara” might be translated “phlogiston;” but Scheele also uses the latter word, so the literal translation is adopted here.]