As soon as a communication was made between the extremities of the pile
by the wires, small air bubbles began to ascend from the wire connected
with the silver end, and a white cloud made its appearance at the wire
proceeding from the zinc end.—The cloud gradually increased, assuming a
darker colour, and at last it became purple, and even black. A few air
bubbles were likewise observed upon this wire, which ascended from it;
but when the pile acted well, a considerable stream of air could be
perceived.—When this gas was examined, it was found to be a mixture of
hydrogen and oxygen, in the proportion of three parts of the former to
one of the latter. No great reliance, however, can be placed on the
accuracy of this analysis. The wire proceeding from the zinc end, was
found much corroded, and looked as if a portion of it had been
dissolved.
Mr. Cruickshank supposed the cloud formed round the wire of the zinc end
to be the muriate of silver, proceeding from the silver wire which had
been somehow dissolved, and afterwards precipitated in this state, by
the muriatic salts contained in the common water.
The next experiment was with distilled water, a tincture of litmus, and
silver wires, as before. The apparatus being adjusted in the manner
above described, and one wire connected with one end of the pile, while
the other touched the other end, gas immediately arose from both wires,
but in greater quantity from the one connected with the silver plate. In
a short time the whole fluid below the point of the wire from the zinc
plate, became red, and the fluid below the wire from the silver plate,
looked of a deeper blue. Distilled water tinged with Brazil wood, soon
became of as deep a purple as could be produced by ammonia.—From the two
last experiments, Mr. Cruickshank was led to suppose, that an _acid_,
probably the nitrous, is produced at the wire connected with the zinc
plate, and an _alkali_, probably ammonia, at the one connected with the
silver end of the pile.
As hydrogen gas, whether heated or in its natural state, reduces
metallic oxyds, Mr. Cruickshank resolved to subject solutions of
metallic oxyds to the hydrogen gas which was produced by the pile.—The
result answered his expectation, for in a minute or two after the
communication was formed, fine metallic needles or crystals, something
resembling a feather, were perceived round the wire connected with the
silver plate.—The oxygen too which escaped from the metal, and that
generated from the fluid used in the solution, was commonly pure, when
an excess of acid was added to take up the alkali.—The acetite of lead
and the sulphate of copper, were among the oxyds experimented upon, but
whatever the metal was, the results coincided. These experiments were
made in a tube like the preceding ones.—A number of experiments were
made by the same gentleman upon the _earths_, but we shall not detail
them; we must content ourselves with some conclusions drawn from his
observations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account