Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1819-10-08
FROM rnE NEW yoRk co1uMa1A.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT
seiections from manuscripts transmitted to
the New York Corresponding Association for
TIE ~ emotion OF Internal Improvement, and
communicated for The Columbian by the COM
niittee Of publication.
an account OF the very important discovery
lately made hy professor 1henard of the Col
lege OF France being method TO charge
water VITA oxygen equal to nearly seven
huhdred times its own volume with the his
tory OF The properties OF water SO enormously
oNygenated--ir a letter from Major John NJ.
O'Connor TO JOHN Watts, NJ ID. aud commu-
nicated to Samuel l.. MliChil for the socie-
y for Internal Improvement.
- Paris Juy 18th, 1919.
My Dear Sir-Knowug the interest that
you take in all tue discoveries aud improve
meHtS. more especially ia such as are even
very remotely connected with your profession,
cannot deny myself The pleasure of cOmmu-
nicatinS 10 you "A discovery IN chymistry of
very curious aud extraordinary nature
Dir. Thenard, Professor of CHEMISTRY at
iile college OF France and al the PoIYtech-
nick school, aud author of perhaps the best
treatise now extant on Elementary and rae
teal LhymIstry, mas just discovered that wa
Ter l. capable OF absorbing or retaining in sus-
penSona quantity Ot Oxygen nearly equal To
It's capacity of sdtnration of the gas acid fuO-
boriqpe that is, nearly equal 10 700 times its
own volume. The water thus saturated with
oxygen, possesses very extraordinary auaIi-
ties, chymical and philosophical. The origin
ct TINS discovery You will deduce from the
process of obtaining the new body-I will at
tempt 10 describe IL from recollection of the
lecture aud experiments of Mr. Thenard de-
hVersd at the College of France a few dzys
ago. believe the memoir has not yet appear
ed in print.
Take a large tube, we'll luted exteriorly,
MI u with bafHte (pIOtOride of baTium) esta-
bliSh 1t across furnace, so that its two ex-
iemiles shall extend beyond the furnace
pun oHd extremity IN communication with the
pneumatic table and reversed recipient fill
ed with water, by means of curved rn5e
ana tet the other extremity communicate with
blddders flied with oxygen or with vessels
from whence is constantly disenga sing oxygen
III sufficient quantities, as from the pre-0ride of
mAusaHF +, sc. The prOtOXide of barlum
being red hot, the bladdeTS are gradually
compressed, OF the reduction of the peroxide
OF manganese Is begun: the whole of tile pro-
toXdr il thus converted into dent oxyde of
barium, which is taken from the tube aud de-
posted IN recipient COZ tanning giVen guam
uty OF water. A current OF gas acid, hydro
cat0rtc commonly called acid murIatc) is now
forced 10 pass into the recipient and gives
birth so d new body, hydro chlordte of protop-
0e OF barln.H acids, as you we'll know do not
combine witb the dendOxIde of barinm they
always reduce IT to protoXide. The oxygen
tHus diseugaged from the deHtOxide does not
Escape, but in consequence of the presence of
tue salt, remains ia suspension combination,
tlf you please with the soluble hydro CIIOTdtC
and water. The hydro chloTate is next con-
Verted into sulphate Of baryte, by pouring i'll
10 tile reel ieut proper quantity of suIphu-
nc ACID as the ahiGiiy of baryte (ptotoxide)
other. and as the sulphate of DarSte is insoiu-
BILE, this decomposition and decomposition is
readily effected, aud the SuIphate easily Sc
paraied from The water by filtration The Wa
ter now contains only the acid hydro ch,oTic
and oxygen, for during the latter operation
there In no diSeugdgt mcut OF oxygen. I'm.
composition aud decomposition OF hN dTO chic
rate and production OF Sulphdte of DdTVte NAV
be repeated even so or 10 times, ill the water
is perfectly saturated with oxygen The ouau-
tties OF the respective bodies being determine
ed, that OF the oxygen IN suspension or com
DiBdiiOn with the liquid acid mHTiatic Won
can readily discover from the laws of the COM
position of saitS aud oxygen. The ouly diai-
Guilty remaining is, TO separate the acid HYDRO
chlOrque from the water and oXyycu This
is effected 10y the addition OF "A suitable unat-
uty of nitrate ofSilyCr, which is instantly
deCOmposed~ by the acid hydro choriae and
converted into pToio -chlOIure OF silver. |
which being perfectly inSOIubIe i'm water is |
easily separated from the mixture OF Ito,5iJ
nitric acid and oxygen, now remaining iu the
recipient. lie LtlTiC acid t. next SPuatatpd
fiom the water aud oxygen by an oXyde cana
bic Of forming an iHsOluble Sub-nitTatc or h,
any excess OF potash perfectly free from eN-
traueOus bodies aud Clstallized bV CrigOrifc
compositions. The waller and oxygen is Tins
obtained pure fOI dnripg all the cOniposi tons
and reductions, no sensible quantities Of the
gas has been diScngdePd. in this state the
water contains about l20 or 1870 times its 20.
luine OF oxygen us density is greatly iucreaS-
cd ; aud what is remarkable, It's tension is dl
nulshrd
The uext process il TO concentrate the new
compound by separating IL from as rrea; a
quantity Of the aqueous fluid as possible this
Is efleeie2 by means OF the puuemdtic pumr.
Ihe vase containing the per-Oxygenatcd wa.
ties is placed uHdcf The recipient Of the pntnn.
Oh Atand lu the middle Of 4 broad vessel con.
tanning very concentrated sulphufic acid
and the pump Is pat into motion until The
mercury OF the eprOnvette or manometer of
the ppuematic machine, is within two or three
mnlinIiires (ab6ut ] ue) OF The level 10
produce so great rareiactiOn, of course the
very bGsa machine must be used The great.
CT part Of the water is thus eVdpOrattd. aud
expelled through the valves, o. absorbed bV
the powerful affinity Of TIE sulphur G acid for
the aqueous Hu,d Tie peT-o~l genattd water
~ tbas concentrated untditc mains GOO times
ITS VOLUME Ut oxygen gas, and its SPECIFIC IRA.
yiiy IS greater by one half than tiat Of wa.
ter TIE extraordinary diniuutiOu of tie
tension Of tic Fer-OXygenated water 20 0ppo-
site 90 all other CONF nations OF water and
gas the latter, however great It's aiiliy fort the
W1ter, disengasiug itself immediately in va
cHgm, or WheD w. ebulliton IL not the least
remarkable part Of this new body its oxygen
r., however, immediately disengaged by ebnl.
itiOn. Probably the excessive cold produc-
% gadcr tue tegPicd, isclita1cs the concen