The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-19 00:00:00

THE LIYERPOOL STANDARD.

have hitherto failed, but their labours have led to the discovery
of a very remarkable circumstance. If a little quicksilver be
poured into a watch glass containing a little sodium and a small
quantity of the solution or sal-amtuoniac poured upon it, a num-
ber of small bubbles arises on the instant, from the mass. and
form themselves on the surface. The qu.cksilver, at the same
time expands, and is covered over with cauliflower excrescences,
and at length loses its fluid condition, becoming a soft mass like
hotter which we may cut or mould with our fingers, stilt re:wattle;
its metallic appearance. It becomes very light, so light that is
is able to float upon water, but it is metallic in appearance, re-
sembling the combination of quicksilver with potassium and so-
dium. Upon onServing what is called the atnmoniacal amal-
gam attentively the process which has taken place is exceedingly
remarkable. The constitution of sal-aininotiiac consists of
chlorine and hydrogen (amuriatic acid) and ammonia. When
this is put into contact with the quicksilver and sodium we have
the following re-action :—The chlorine passes to the sodium,
and we have common salt formed, and the- ammonia passes to
thequicksil ver and causes its cauliflower appearance. This was
remarked by chemists and gave rise to views which had for-
merly been scouted as not only improbable, but absurd, viz.—
that the metals were compound bodies, and that they only ap-
pear simple beeause we are not in possession of the means of
separating them. Another very remarkable point of view in
which it is at present important to consider ammonia is with
respect to the reaction which potassium and sodium exercise
exercise upon
,it. If a piece of potassium be placed in a tube
througn which ; ammoniacal gas is urged, and the potassium
heated with a taint), instead Of ammoniacal gas, hydrogen will
issue from the tube which may be inflamed. This experiment
is one so important in scientific chemistty- as to deserve
some attention. In fact, ammonia occupies at present the most
important posiiion in chemistry of all substances, and the his-
tory of its combinations is looked forts-aid to as the key to the
present constitution of chemistry, for which all philosophers are
seeking. It presents itself in so many different points of view.
and undergoes re-actions of apparently so contradictory a na-
ture that its study,is.rendeted a matter of no little difficulty..
There is no other fact concerning it 'established than that the
ammoniacal gas itself is not alkaline, it is not a base, but when.
it is in combination or in contact with water. It acts inure pow
erfully as a base in all the Salts of ammonia containing exactly,
the quantity of water which is necessAry. Co return to the ex-
periment streamof directing a ammoniacal gas overheated
potassium. The potassium, by the action of the continued,
stream of anmionia is entirely cOnvetted into a ffaik olive co
touted substance, and tiiinn examining the reaction which 13.
taken place 'we shallfied a most remarkable result. Ammonia'
consists of One atom Of nitrogen, united with three' atoms of
hydrogen. When the potassium is heated in the ammonia,
thexe is liberated from the ammonia precisely as much hydro-
gen as the Metal would have liberated- froth water, thatis one;
and' o, the'whole of the nitrogen with two thiects'Ofgie'hy-;
drOgen enter into combination with the potassium, and in this
manner constitute the dark olive eotoured substance, It is
ftiiind in a most remakable manner that.the nitrogen end atogen are !doable of being't ransferred from one metal' to ano-
ther the same 'as- oxygen, that they ; assimilate to oxygen in
their general relations, and that the composition of ammonia
May be written in this inatiner:-N H 2 x H, just as we write
the composition of water-0 2el-1, or as' we indicate the con-
stitution of *Haile aCid, by C H. We shall haVe other ex-
amples besides ammonia, of CoMpound substances simulating
simple ones.
The substance with which we.shall next occupy ourselves is
sulphur." It exists in nature in very large quantities, principally
in combination,- but partly free. It is met with free, principally
in volcanic districts, where it is 'found in the earth, and its
Miles -are worked as our metallic mines. The sulphur appears
to be the production of dectittiposition going on in the interior
of the. earth, the sulphur being liberated (coin its metallic coin-
bination by some superior agency. In the north of Europe,
w
here free sulphur; or, as it is called, native sulphur, is 'exceed-
ly rare, the sulphur required by the inhabitants is extracted
from the sulphuret of iron, (iron pyrites.) of which very large
quantities-exist in these parts. This mineral is a compound of
two equivalents of Sulphur and One of iron; and'when it.is roast-
ed so as to allow the: air to act treely upon it, we shall get out
the whole of the sulphur, and there will teinain only. an oxide of
iron combined with the acid which results from the burning of
the sulphur; but if we burn the pyrites, shutting out the atmo-
spheric air, we shall oxvdize by combination only one half of
the 'sulphur. and we shall obtain the green copperas. The se-
cond atom of sulphur is isolated and collected in the solid form.
When sulphur is heated it is acted upon in a remarkable man-
ner. II conducts heat very badly, so much so, that we may hdld
a piece of sulphur in the hand, while- the other extremity is
Melting with heat. The consequence is, that if a person whose
hand is any way warm, takes hold of'a roll of sulphur, it will
crackle into piece.. The reason is, that sulphur, when heated,
expands; but the inner coating not receiving the heat so quick-
ly as the outer, refuses to expand at the same instant as the
outer, which causes a separation of the mass. Sulphur melts
at
,a temperature not greater than that of boiling water. It is
then Of a rich yellow colotir, and, as liquid as water. On heat-
ing, it up to bet ween 3 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit, according
as the temperature rises, it loses its fluidity and yellow colour,
and becomes a dark brown, and thick like treacle, until at last,
when it reaches 400 degrees, it is so thick and hard that you
may turn the vessel upside down without it 'dropping out.
When heated to a higher tempeiature it again becomes thin
and more liquid, and begins to regain its yellow colour. When
it reaches 645) degrees, it is quite as liquid- and yellow as beforeif was heated beyond the boiling point of water, and if,heated
still further, it begins to boil and evaporates. When melted,
if it be slowly cooled it crystalizes, liut if rapidly cooled, it is
depoiited in an exceedingly fine powder, which constitutes 'the
flowers of brimstone of Commerce. If, when it is slowly cooling
from a melted state, the crust is broken, and the sulphur allow_
ed to nth out, we shall find the interior of the mass, when cool-
ed, to have crystallized in a beautiful manner. Sulphur, in:its
chemiCal relations, resembles Oxygen. It is not merely tom_
bustible, but is also what is called, by the older chemists, asup-
porter of combustion: The fact is, that combustion is indepen-
dent of any one substance. If copper filings be mixed with
sulphur, and placed in a test tube, a rapid combustion will, go
on upon heating the test tube over a spirit lamp, until the cow-
tents are turned into a black mass. Copper unites with oxygen,
but its effect is nit powerful. We cannot.'streceed in burning
copper wire in oxygen gas as we. can iron wire, hot we can burn
it in the vapour of sulphur.
'u Sulphur acts towards copper tss a
supporter
differs rtetowakty
oxygen it acts as a oM.,
SulphuriTOtstus
niarn
from phosphorus iirste
eb
character of its burning. It does not give snch an intense
and the light is of a different character. Its combustion
heat given out fromthe
:
gen is more intense than in atmospheric air, but its character is
the same. In general; the "amount of
burning substance is independent cf the nature of_ the
substance
itself, t 7
itself, but depends rather upon the products. If
the
f
all result
a
combustion is the production of a solid body,e substance,
" solide shall
great amount of light. Phosphoric acid is
and as it is emancipated from the surface of the phosphorus,
produces a white light. When the product of combustion' is a
'
a ion, inconsequence
gaseous body,
the light can act., It
of there being no solid body upon which
ofthe flume is of
we have scaicely atiy I•
gas light a minute quantity gas,
we give to a,.
hich is supplied
preponderates so greatly over the whole
the quantity of gas, that
d into gaseous carbonic acid: But if
a pale blue colour, because the quantity of air w
of the gas is at once borne
t is the same thing, if
air,
we diminish the quantity of atmospheric place.
in takes
a qnantity of
in the first instance, an imperfect combustion,
we increase the quantity of gas, or, u .
is ignited, and this powder "produces the a i
powder,
when phosphorus is burned in oxy-
genpower. In the same way,
carbon is formed : this carbon, in the state orals exceeittainnytfitinge
ifl. When phi's-
duct formed by the combustion of sulphur is an ae
hi hest degree
orus is burned in oxygen, it passes at once to the.h
it g
gas, the phosphoric acid is afterwards burned. The pro-
is capable of
of oxydation: It takes up all the oxygen whi •
two-thirdiof the' uantity of oxygen which it is capable taking
up. ; but this is not the case of sulphur, which takes only
up. With"the lowest degree of oxygen it forms what is termed
sulphurous acid with
may be generated by a variety with the higher, sulphuric acid.
Sulphurous ac
limo), be 'simply produced by the combustion o
sulphur in
oxygen, or in atmospheric ait. Sulphurous acid is r easily
of processes.
e
absorbed by water, therefore; we cannot make use 0
vf water
.
tbe purpose" of collecting it, but we can either make use of
furquicksilver, or reverse the process 'adopted in the collection of
._ o
f
'ammonia. We can likewise obtain' the gas .by beating oil
'vitriol and quicksilver. Oil of vitriol Contains sulphuric acid.
When the oil of vitriol is heated in contact with quicksilver, the
latter being a metal capable of combining with oxygen, takes a
certain quantity of oxygen from the acid, so as to reduce it from
the state of the sulphuric to that of the sulphurous. Sulphurus
acid is twice as heavy as atmospheric air,in consequence of which
by conducting it through a tube to the bottom of the vessel, it
will gradually force up the atmospheric air until the vessei is
filed with the sulphurous acid gas. Sulphurous acid is per-
fectly transparent, and colourless. It has, however, a powerful
affinity fur water and that is the'reason why in burning oxygen
white fumes are evolved.' These white fumes are not sulphur-
ous acid, but the condensation of the acid by moisture. In the
same way the white fumes which arise from water, are not the
properties of the steam, but of its condensation. Sulphurous
acid passes to the state of sulphuric aCid by absorbing oxygen.
It is a powerful absorbent of oxygen, and is used in a variety
of chemical processes, where it is required to take away oxygen
from other bodies. Acids are remarkable for their action on
vegetable colours. In order to detect them, we make use of
blue vegetable colours, which, with the exception of indigo, are
all turned red by acids. Sulphurous acid exercises a remarkable
action upon vegetable colours, namely, that of rendering them
invisible, by depriving them of their oxygen. We may test
this property of the gas by immerging a red rose iu a jar of it,
when the red rose will become white. The colouring matter is
not destroyed in this process, for if we-dip the flower in dilute
sulphuric acid its red colour will be restored. It is used very-
extensively in the arts to whiten fabrics; as forliastaare, iu
some stages of the bleaching of raw'silk, in the bleathltig of
plaited straw, and in the bleaching of corn. Sulphurous acid
combines with bases, and constitutes a remarkable class of
salts, It is a-very weak acid, and capable of being expelled
fromits bases by other acids. One consequence of this is, that the
bleaching by sulphurous acid is never permanent. If yin) bleach
corn, sponge, or bonnets, they will be rendered quite white,
but this is not very permanent, because, by exposure to the air,
the sulphurous acid escapes, and the original yellow colour is
reproduced Sulphurous acid condensed in water is very often
employed'in analysis, in order to abstract oxygen from different
substances. Thus, if liquid sulphurous acid be added to a solu-
tion of the red oxide of manganese ( a metallic ingredient)
the latter is bleached. The theory-is simple. In the red liquor
we have the man ouese uniting with two parts of oxygen, one
of these unites with tbe acid to form sulphuric acid, which te-
mains in the liquid, and the other unites with the manganese
to form a completely colourless compound. Another reaction
is somewhat interesting, of which a swung lady, Miss Holland,
to whom chemistry is under some ()litigations, has taken advan-
tage. She draws patterns on ribbons, with muriate of gold,
which she afterwards subjects to the action of sulphurous
acid gas. The consequence is the reduction of the metal. The
gold lustre does not always take place, but a portion of the pat-
tern is of a dull brown colour. Since this discovery, sulphur-
ous'acid has been introduced into the more accurate researches
of the !laboratory. Very frequently sulphurous acid is gene-
rated in inVestigations where it is the object of the chemists to
get rid of it. We are now acquainted with a method of effect-
ing this. If bin-oxide of lead, which is a brown powder contain-
st:oolturt tbi
tonne
so
tuhl pthhuer osuosi
pahcoi dr ,t
eo naee
ta,
ing two equivalents of oxygen and lead be introduced into any
wi
It otmo convert ntyheer it oxygenint into fs
sulphuric
lead
c
acid, and this uniting with the protoxide of lead forms a white
to e
'l'o-morrowottm
eovfetohiengsephirt.ioKn.ane w
etisesinutt
the combinations of Chlorine, f)
insoluble powder, called sulphate of lead, which is precipitated
and illdescribecontinue
t he his ipnrqoupierri
lodine, Bromine, and Fluorine.

-----
The books of the Bank of England are said to be kept in tri-
plicate—the original being at the Bank, one copy lodged at the
rower, and another in some place of safety.
A 110 A x.—Bills were yesterday posted about the town, an-
nouncing that some person calling himself Thomas Jardine,
who had performed more wonderful feats of jumping than Sam
Scott, and challenging him for a sum of money to a trial of
skill, would eclipse all the feats of that daring individual, by
jumping from the roof of the Old Quay warehouse into the
road. instead of. into the water. There is so much gulloolity
about a certain class of the people of Manchester, that Water-
street, and the lower part of Bridge-street, were crowded with ,
anxious expectants, for some tune previously to the hour ap-
pointed and fur a long period afterwards. It is needless to say
that nu Jardine. made bill appearance.—Mancheiacr _