Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-03-06
In PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY.
Lessons in Lecture Room of a Wash
ington College.

From the Washington Star.
Just twenty students faced the pro-
lessor of chemistry one evening last
week in the lecture room of one of the
principal medical colleges of this city.
Some of them were very jolly young
men; in fact, majority of them seemed
to be suffering from a superabundance
of iollity. Two or three of them were
professionally grave, and at least one
of the score had commenced the
cultivation of the long hair,
which in days gone by was supposed to
be the uninfringable trademark of the
deep scholar and learned man. Mod
estly reclining in chair in the rear of
the room was reporter, who was gen.
orally regarded as a visiting professor,
and the class speedily came to tacit
understanding that whatever of superb
or knowledge was In its possession must
be displayed for the edifcation of the
erudite onlooker and the consequent
glorification of the institution.
Immediately in front of lecturer was
long table, every available inch of the
surface of which was occupied by
glasses, bottles, testtubes and other
fragments of the paraphernalia which
belongs to the practical chemist. At
one end of the table was an iron tub.
circular in form and about six inches
deep, and standing upright in the wa
ter, with which it was filed, were q
mum Der of glass receivers.
The ringing of bell in distant room
was the signal for silence on the part of
the class and for the announcement by
the professor of his subject, which, on
this particular occasion, was hydrogen
gas. This gas, so the lecturer said, was
the lightest of all chemicals, and it had
been known to science for about 400
years. The stated fact that the gas is
inhaled in minute quantities by every
working pair of lungs at once gives the
class g. personal interest in it, and the
students seemed to be decidedly pleased
when the lecturer said he would devote
a little time to showing them how it
could be made. To aid him in making
his experiments more clear he called
upon one of the less sedate of his pupils
and requested him to act as an accom-
PIANIST, as it we're, and to describe on
blackb board in the hieroglyphics of
chemistry the main facts in the
case. This was done in secret
cipher, in which the letters K Fl O
seemed to play very important part.
II
the iron tub, where he was set to work
at making hydrogen gas by pouring
acid on zinc and then storing the gas
away in receivers for future use. While
he was thus engaged in giving the class
an object lesson the lecturer explained
the modus operandi and told of other
plans by which the same results could
be obtained. "The decomposition of
water by metallic potassium" said The
professor, twill give us hydrogen gas"
and to make good his word he threw
little of the potassium in the tub, where
it blazed and sputtered and fzzled until
it was exhausted. The professor
then proceeded to make what has
been termed the philosophers
lamp. Zinc, water and snlphu-
glass cylinder which the professor
obligingly placed in the hands of a stu
dent who volunteered to hold it, and
who, five seconds later, wished he had
displayed less enthusiasm in his search
for scientific truth, for the cylinder be-
came uncomfortably warm. The lee
turer's heartless query, SIS it hot enough
for you ?" provoked burst of laughter
from the class that did not subside until
the lecturer had relieved the volunteer
of his burGen, tested the gas, and light
ed the lamp. A musical number was
then introduced in the programme, by
the placing of the lamp in the test tube.
With this crude instrument melodious
sounds were produced, commonly de-
nominated hydrogen tones,'" said the
professor.
How to transfer hydrogen gas from
one vessel to another was the next CO.
nundrum, and this was done by the lee
turer, who emptied one receiver and
filled another from it without wasting
more than cents worth of gas Some
OF the students seemed to feel as though
they were not too sure about it's safe
transfer, SO the professor said he would
prove its presence by setting fire to the
contents of the receivers. This declara-
ton was obviously received by more
than one of the occupants of the room,
and the reporter, not caring to become
subject Tor piecemeal investigation by
the coroner, executed a rapid move
ment to the. rear Of the stove and await
ed the destruction of the professor and
the daring young men around him.
Nobody was damaged, however, when
the explosion had done its worst, and
the unterrified but careful scribe re-
TUNED to his seat without having been
missed.
The next experiment was of consider
able interest to the younger members of
the class. A toy balloon was filled with
hydrogen gas and amid breathless
silence was turned loose. Semi-sup-
pressed 'ahs'' and "ohs" accompanied
1t as it rose to the ceiling, and one
young man with business turn of mind
suggested to a mercurial classmate that
they forsake medicine and go into the
tov-balloon business. The lecturer went
on talking of other matters, but nearly
every eye in the class was engaged in
watching the little crimson sphere as it
bumped along, as it grew smaller by
degrees and beautifully less" and as it,
after touching lightly on the professors
head, landed in the lap of bald-head-
ed young man who was, of course, seat
ed III the front row. Experiments fol-
lowed showing how the gas could be
used as test in cases of poisoning, and
then, just as the lecturers assistants
were preparing to blow soap bubbles
filled with hydrogen gas, which were to
be fioated around and exploded, the
bell rang again, the lecturer bowed his
thanks for the attention paid him the