The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-05-04
The Analysis of the Diamond.

The Analysis OF the Diamond.
The great French chemist, Lavoisier,
undertook the examination of the dia-
mond, and it is worth while noticing how
carefully he went to work, how he pro-
ceeded slowly from one step to another,
in logical sequence, until he arrived at
the true solution of the question he had
undertaken to investigate-that is, until
he was able to tell us exactly what hap
pens when the diamond evaporates in the
free fire, and why it did not do so when
surrounded by charcoal In the first
place, he evaporated the diamond by
means of the burning glass, and he OBJ
served that no BILE vapor or smoke was
given of, but that the diamond disap-
peared. He thought that perhaps the
solid diamond had in some way been dis.
solved by the water, and that by evapor-
ating the water, which was in the lower
part OF the bell jar in which he burnt his
diamond, he might obtain the constitu-
ents of the diamond in solid form: but
he found that no solid residue was left on
evaporation, and thus no trace of the dia-
mond could be found.
His next experiment was that of plac-
ing diamond in the focus of less pow
ertul lens than the one he had formerly
used, so that the diamond was not heated
to so high temperature as before, again
placing 1t, however, in bell jar over wa
ter. He then found that the diamond.
when not heated quite so strongly, lost
only about one-quarter of its weight; it
did not disappear altogether, but the re-
markable fact was noticed that it became
covered with black substance which La
voisier describes as being exactly like
lampblack or SCOT, so that it dirtied the
fingers when touched, and made a black
mark upon paper
Hence Lavoisier concluded that the
diamond is susceptible Of being brought,
under certain circumstances, into the con-
dition of charcoal, so that it really belongs
to the class of combustible bodies. He
was, however, yet far from having proved
this point, and he went on experiment
ing. He next measured the volume of
air in which he was going to burn the
diamond, and found it to be eight cubic
inches. Then he burned the diamond in
this volume of air by means of lens,
and found that the air had diminished
to volume of six cubic inches, thus
showing that the air had undergone some
change by the combustion of the dia-
mond, and that two out of the eight vol
umes of air had disappeared.
The next experiment he made was to
examine the condition of the air in which
the diamond had been evaporated. What
changes had gone on in the air in conse-
quence OF the evaporation of the dia-
monds After allowing the glass in which
he had burned the diamond to stand for
four days, he poured clear lime water into
the jar in which the diamond had been
evaporated, and he says this lime water
was at once precipitated in the same man
ner as if it had been brought into contact
with the gas evolved in effervescence and
fermentation, or that given off in cases
of metallic reduction. Here, then, he had
got on the track of what he wanted.
Hitherto the diamond had apparently dis
appeared, and nothing was found to &C
count for its disappearance; but now he
had found that there was something con-
tanned in that air before.
The next step he took was to examine
the white precipitate or powder which
was formed, and he found that the SUBJ
stance thus precipitated from lime water,
evaporated, effervesced on treatment with
acid, and evolved what was then known
as fired air, but which we now know AS
carbOnic acid gas. Here, then, in his last
experiment he completes his proof, show
ing that exactly the same effects are OBJ
served when charcoal is experimental
upon, instead of diamond.
LsvOsier had now run his quarry to
earth; he had determined exactly what it
is that is formed when diamond is
burned. He has shown that diamond
when burned produces exactly the same
substance that is produced when com
mon charcoal is burned, and he, therefore,
legitimately concludes that diamond is
only another form Of the element carbon.
The reason that the diamond did not burn
in the furnace when surrounded by mass
of charcoal, was that the air, or rather the
oxygen of the air, could not get to the
diamond, because it was kept off by the
charcoal, which burned instead OF the
diamond.-Prcfessor Roscoe.
THE RIVER BETwEEN.-Nota hun
dred miles from the town of D lived
long, gaunt, big footed specimen OF
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