Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-07-05
Che family Cirtle.
How Johnny studied Science.
~ rNCLE on rEA11.

How Johnny studied science.
~ rNclE oAr-rEAw.
When the lunch was finished, Sally su.
down on the wash bench near by, Johnny
perchcd himself on the wood-pilc. Sally
wiped her face with her apron, and then
began very pleasantly 10 ask about car
bonic acid. She began to take an Interest,"
in her brothers study, fer she saw that
knowledge often helps people to save time
and trouble which amounts to the same
thing as saving money. What is it made
of said she. and WHERE doc- it come
from p
Its one Of the very greatest thing in
creation, said johnny at least the more
| read my chemistry the more | think SO.
1t is composed Of carbon and o2ygen-SiN
parts by weight Of carbon and sixteen Of
oxygen Both of these are elements that
is they cannot be separated into other
substances. You can combine. but you
cannot divide them into new ones. Carr
bon has many forms, but the most common
one is coal. Oxygen is a gas which eX-
lists in the air We breath Indeed, il IS
that part OF the air which enables ms &C.
live. The air is composed OF one-6irh ot
oxygen mixed with four-Etths OF another
gas, nitrogen When we burn caa. il
unites with oxygen from the air. and care
bonic acid is formed.
Then carb0nic acid must bc formed
whenever carbon OF amy substance com
laining carbon is burned sand Sally
OF course it IS. IL Is going uT The
chimney all the time when there IS . fire.
in the stove Wood and resin. and ilt.
and most common substances that burn.
contain carbon; and when they are burned,
the carbon IN them combines with oxygen
Just the same as when coal. which " raaI-
~ pure carbon, j. burned.
Then when anything is burned up, ID
simply combines with oxygen and that is
all
Very much y. Only when TIL SUBJ
stance combines with the oxygen 30 gu.cs-
~ that we can feel the heat or see flame.
we call it combustion or burning; but
when it goes On slowly, we cal. X decay IN
eremacausis for when "a thing Is rottug.
1t Is only combining very slowly with oEy-
gen, and if it has carbon Ia II. the SUBJ
stance will give off carbouic acd. just ais
if it was consumed by fire, only ggeat
many times more slowly. There - also
the combination Of metals. iike iron. with
oxygen. and this zoe IS the name III rust
ing or oxidation.
But, Johnny, now 30 you icaau a.I 3.
those hard words =
%, | study each word and it, dgdu,-
tions, until am quite sure I can r,mem-
Der all about it,.
johnny was right Il IS ucca -ary 10
learn a good many hard words ia stud sing
chemistry and there is nothing ll6e doing
things thoroughly as you 90 a .ons.
Then, johnny, an sub-fanc unite With
oxygen.
Almost any substance can be made to
unite with oxygen in some way. There s.
ga, hydr gan. which combines with ei4h
times It's weight Of oxygen 20 form water.
1t is curious that two gases should uute
to form liquid, isn't it2 This bydros.u
is curious enough, though, IL we take %
alone by Itself IL is the Eighties, sab-
stance IN the world, and the best 1l~ FIR
filling balloons. e you should make "a
balloon about foot ia diameter. ami Gu
it with hydrogen, it would liit an ounce
bullet a mile or two high iu the air.
Come back to your text Johnny, said
Sally. (You notice She didn't cal him
Jack any moreJ What about the COM
position Of water.
A | said minute ago, Sally, water Is
made of one part by weight Of hydrogen
and eight Of oxygen. If you heat water
warm enough to convert it into steam, 10
will occupy seventeen hundred and City
times as much space as it did before /;
that is how the steam engine
Never mind the steam engine now. Can
you separate the hydrogen from the oxygen
in the water, SO as to prove that water IS
composed Of these two -
Yes. | can take the hydrogen out Of
the water and then combine it with oxygen
again to form the water but | shall have
to use sulphuric acid and some bits Of
iron and zinc
That will be too much trouble. johnny,
Just now We will try and have the OK
pertinent this evening. Let US 20 back TO
the carbonic acid. | once heard a doctor
say that we are breathing out carbonic acid
at every breath. Do you suppose we have
furnace and fuel burning inside Of Us all
the time 3? and Sally laughed.
l Cdi u pam IL ~ RH~i'" ~ l'4tNNA
her brother; but [ was reading something
about that only the other day. 1t seems
that everywhere in our bodies there are
little particles that become done with
they are played out, and must be replaced
by live particles from the fresh blood
These little dead particles in the flesh are
taken up by very small vessels, so small
that you cannot see them, and are carried
INTO the veins. and the veins convey them
in the dark colored blood into the lungs
In the lungs the oxygen of the air we draw
in burns them up, and the carbonic acid is
breathed out at every breath
And then said his sister, L suppose
some of the food we eat must be carried to
where these dead particles are taken up
and put in their places, or else we should
burn up to nothing, a little at a time
That is what the book says Sally. The
part of the food that is most useful is sep
arated from the rest and goes into the ar
teries, and is carried out, to replace the
PARTICLES that are taken up and carried by
veins back to the lungs, to be burned.