_In taking the specific gravity of a solid not in powder_, a lump of it is freed from loose particles and its exact weight determined. By means of a horse hair with a slip knot it is suspended to the balance, and beneath it is placed, out of contact with the balance pan, a beaker of distilled water. The horse hair must be long enough to keep the mineral well beneath the surface of the water so as to allow the balance to vibrate. Air bubbles are removed by touching with a camel-hair pencil. Whilst the mineral is suspended in water the weight is again taken. It will weigh less than before, and the difference between the two weighings gives the weight of water (and consequently the volume) displaced by the mineral. The weight in air divided by the difference is the specific gravity. Thus Weight in air 3.2170 grams Weight in water 2.7050 " ------ Difference 0.5120 gram 3.2170/0.5120 equals 6.28, the sp. g. The sp. g. of a substance depends mainly on its composition, but is affected by certain conditions. The effect of temperature has been already considered. Air holes and empty spaces lessen the specific gravity of otherwise solid bodies; and metals, which after fusion become imperfect solids, have their density increased by hammering or rolling. But metals when free from pores have their density diminished when rolled, without annealing. The effects of these conditions are slight when compared with those due to the presence of impurities. For simple substances, or mixtures of only two substances, a determination of sp. g. is a sufficient check on the composition for many practical purposes; and with more complex mixtures, such as slags and some of the products of dressing operations in which the material does not differ much in its nature from time to time, such a determination will yield information of considerable value, and afford a check upon the proper working of a process. When the mixing of two substances is accompanied by a change in volume, the sp. g. of the mixture can only be learnt by experiment. But when the substances have no such action on each other the resulting sp. g. can be calculated. Some of these calculations have a practical interest as well as an educational value. Students should practise them so as to become familiar with the relations between weight and volume.