Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1845-11-19

S eN. lie OutdlueO -tHIS' gas uS cNpOaiHS
quantity of pexoxide Of mercury 10 The
action OF the suns rays, concentrated
upon it by powerful lens. "f present.
ly found" says he, :. that air was expell
ed from this preparation Of murcury.
very readily" Nitrous and nitric acid,
muratic acid, and ammonia, Were also his
discoveries.
Pries,ley a short lime after having dis
I covered oxygen, ascertained that plants
1 had the power of deconlposing carbnnic
acid gas, and yitiated air. exhaled from
The lungs of animals. and noxious gases,
arising from .decomposed vegetable mat
remembering these exhalatons perfect
] ly pure by appropriating the jeleterious
atoms TO their own organization. and
1 throwing of The pure portion, which again
was fiji Tor respiration.
| Iu l776. Cayendish presented to the
Royal Society Of London, an essay on
IinHamable air. He describes il as the
lishtes, known substance. and that by
combustion with oxygen, water was the
only result; hence the term hydrogen
early applied TO This gas. Cavendish al
so discovered the composition Of The
atmosphere and demonstrated very
clearly thatthe air is composed ofoxygen
and nitrogen. in a state of mere mechaniz
cal combination. lie was led to this con-
clusion from the circumstance tha; in pass
ing currents OF electricity through com
mon air, he was enabled 10 generate nj
trous and nitric acid.
| These beautiful experiments Of Caven
dish, laid the foundation for that mosl
useful OF all the branches of chemistry
mean analytic. and synthetic chrmistry.
EScheele about the same time discovered
chlorine. This discovery Of Scheelr. in
conjunction with the labors Of his eminent
contemporaries, contributed 10 invest
chemistry. with a degree Of interest ard
importance, which gave it an entirely
new and distinct aspect, and an elevated
frank in natural science.
Aboutahe year I7s6, Layoisier, -Four
croy, and their associates in Paris, un
dettook The celebrated. reform in The no
jsmpaciafure Of chemistry which being.
Improved upon by eminent successors,
has resulted in far greater perfection than.
s5Tuy-urTey-uTITrrfTyT,rr
Layoisier inferred sthat5pXygen was The
universal, and only asiai iying principle.
l.and By series of well conceived research.
1es. he demonstrated the identity Of char
coal and The diamond. ~
| The discovery of the chemical inau
cnces Of electricity, dates an important
epoch in The history Of chemistry, andsis
one Of The most fertile sources Of its re,
cen, progress. The first discoverer of The
application Of electricity to the bodies Of
recently killed animals, was made by
Galvani, an anatomist Of Bologna. who
lived abou, The year 1890 He observed
that by placing TWO plates Of different
metals upon a portion of the flesh oil a
frog, that spasmodic or convulsive con-
fractions were produced. From this dis
covery of Galvani i: led philosophers to
The observance of The great analogy be-
tween Gavansm or electricity, and amer
cation Valla improved this form Of
electricity considerably; he invented the
Pile of Volta. and about the year ] SUI The
chemical po,rcrs Of The Voltaic Pile was
observed in regard 10 The decomposition
of certain salts in solution, and waller. by
Mr.. Nichosou; these were. however.
more correctly investigated shortly after
wards. by the distinguished French chem
ist. NJ. Berzelius. But in the hands of
Sir Humphrey Davy. The Vultair Pile led
to more important aud extraordinary re-
suits than to any of his CO contemporaries. -
Anterior to he lime Of Davy, the aka
lies aud alkaline car,hs, were regarded hy
chemists. as simple rr elementary bodies.
| But Davy in 1907. succeeded in decom
posing these substances, by means of pow
erfuI galvanic apparatus, and showed that
The basis Of these alkales are metals,
which have powerful affinity for oxygen,
and united with it in definite proportions.
Davy rendered great service to chemistry
by his numerous discoveries. and also by
correcting the false opinion which prevail
ed, that oxygen was the only acidilying
principle-he demonstrated the existence
of acids ,cithout oxygen, and laid the ioun.
da,ion of The theory of the hydrdcids.-
To these great researches Of Davy. he
added iha, of the discovery Of the safety
| lamp.
Anatyctic chemistry vas first scienlifi-
cally cultivated by NJ. Bregman, a Sw iss.
abou, The year 1865. This mani is said,
died in consequence Of intense aPpiica-
,ion TO his favorile study. He turned his
auen'iou 10 The analysis of The minerals,
and several of the mineral waters. This
branch of chemistry was greatly extended
and improved by Klaprelh: who spen, a,
it his long and laborious life. Another
great name connected with chemical an
aIysiq, is Monsieur lie Docteur ValgueIln,
who originally was quite an obscure ndi-
vidual living in a remote country village
of Normandy. He afterwards was en-
ployed in The Laboratory Of Fourcroy,
where he acquired great dexteriiy in The
Iorduary duties of his situation, and ulti-
j!malely became an exper, and original
4 analyst. He arose 10 high emiDence as a
lchemist, and his important coniribrtIons
and discoveries are now relieving many
diseases totwhich human flesh is heir TO.
The principal English analytical chem