Experiments on carbonated hydrogenous gas; with a view to determine whether carbon be a simple or a compound substance ... / [William Henry].

  • William Henry
Date:
[1797]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Experiments on carbonated hydrogenous gas; with a view to determine whether carbon be a simple or a compound substance ... / [William Henry]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/18 page 13
    of the repetition of them, viz. the appearance of a deposit from the carbonated hydrogenous gas during its electrization, and the formation of ammoniac by the same process. In some expe¬ riments, which I made on the first portion of gas, both these facts were sufficiently apparent; but neither of them occurred on electrifying the gas which was afterwards procured. Sus¬ pecting that the cessation of them arose from the superior purity of the latter portion from azotic gas, I passed the electric shock through a mixture of carbonated hydrogen with about one-dourth its bulk of azote, and thus again produced the pre¬ cipitate, which would have been of a white colour, if it had not been obscured by minute globules of mercury, that were driven upwards by the force of the explosion. An infusion of violets was tinged green when admitted to the electrified gas; but the change of colour did not occur instantly, as happens from the absorption of ammoniacal gas; and required for its production that the liquid should be brought extensively into contact with the inner surface of the tube. From this effect on a blue ve¬ getable colour, we may infer that the precipitate was an alka¬ line substance, and probably the carbonate of ammoniac; but the quantity was much too minute to be the subject of more decisive experiment. I shall conclude this memoir, with a brief summary of the facts that are established by the preceding experiments.* Those included under the first head are deducible from the experiments of Dr. Austin. * Since this paper was written 1 have extended the inquiry to phosphorated hydro¬ genous gas, which .expands equally with the carbonated hydrogen ; loses its property of inflaming when brought into contact with oxygenous gas; and affords evident traces cf a production of phosphorous or phosphoric acid.
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