Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 58

The two chief definite gaseous compounds of these two elements are the light carburetted hydrogen, and the heavy carburetted hydrogen, or olefiant gas. The first is easily procured by stirring the bottom of stagnant water on a hot summer's day, and collecting the bubbles in a bottle filled with water and inverted over the place where the bubbles rise. This gas burns with a yellowish flame, and when mixed with a certain proportion of air, or oxygen gas, explodes with great violence on the application of a flame. It is the much dreaded fire-damp generated so profusely in some coal-mines, and causing such fearful destruction to life and property when accidentally inflamed.

The other compound, the heavy carburetted hydrogen, forms part of the gas used for illumination; and, in fact, whatever substance is employed for artificial light, whether oil, tallow, wax, &c. &c. it is converted into this gas by heat, and then furnishes the light by its own combustion.

This gas has some very curious properties, and may be obtained nearly pure by mixing in a retort, _very carefully_, one part of spirits of wine and four of sulphuric acid. A lamp must be placed under the retort, when the gas will be speedily disengaged, and come over in great abundance; it may be collected over water.

This gas is transparent, colourless, will not support combustion, but is itself inflammable, burning with a brilliant white light, and being converted into carbonic acid and water. If mixed with three or four times its bulk of oxygen, or with common atmospheric air in much larger proportions, it explodes with great violence.

This gas is sometimes called "olefiant gas," from the property it has of forming an oily substance when mixed with chlorine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAR FOR COLLECTING GASES.]

EXPERIMENT.

Into a jar standing over water half full of this gas, pa.s.s an equal quant.i.ty of chlorine gas. The gases will speedily unite and form an oily-looking liquid, which may be collected from the sides of the jar as it trickles down. By continually supplying the jar with the two gases as they combine, a considerable quant.i.ty of this substance may be collected. Care should be taken that the olefiant gas is rather in excess.

The substance produced is insoluble in water, with which it should be washed by shaking them together in a tube, and has a pleasant sweetish taste and aromatic smell, somewhat resembling ether.

COAL GAS.

The gas so universally employed for the purposes of illumination is a mixture of the carburetted and the bi-carburetted hydrogen, with minute portions of other gases scarcely worth mentioning. It is procured by submitting coals to a red heat in iron retorts, having a tube pa.s.sing from one end, along which pa.s.ses all the fluid and gaseous matter separated from the coal, namely, gas tar, ammoniacal liquor, and various gases, carburetted hydrogen, carbonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, &c.

&c. The tar and ammoniacal liquor remain in the vessel in which the tubes from the retorts terminate, and the gaseous productions are conveyed through water and lime to separate the impurities; the remaining gas, now fit for use, pa.s.ses into large iron vessels, called gasometers, inverted over water (like the jars in a pneumatic trough), whence it is sent through pipes and distributed where required. What remains in the retorts is called c.o.ke. It consists princ.i.p.ally of charcoal, mixed with the earthy and metallic particles contained in the coal.

EXPERIMENT.

If you possess an iron bottle, fill it with powdered coal, and attach a flexible tube to it, and put it in the fire: as soon as it becomes red hot, large quant.i.ties of smoke will escape from the end of the tube, being the gas mixed with all its impurities. By pa.s.sing it through water (if mixed with lime it will be better), the gas may be collected in jars standing over water, and submitted to experiment. If you do not possess a bottle, take a tobacco-pipe with a large bowl, (a "churchwarden" for example); fill the bowl with small coal, cover it with clay or putty, and when dry put it into the fire, and the gas will soon appear at the other end of the pipe, when it may be lighted, or the gas may be collected over water, as in the former experiment.

The light carburetted hydrogen contained in this gas is given off spontaneously in some coal-mines, and as it forms explosive mixtures with atmospheric air, the mines where it abounds could not be worked except at the greatest risk until about the beginning of the present century, when Sir H. Davy, while prosecuting some researches on the nature of flame, found that flame would not pa.s.s through metallic tubes, and he gradually reduced the length of the tubes, until he found fine iron wire gauze formed an effectual barrier against the pa.s.sage of flame. He then thought that if the light in a lantern were surrounded with this gauze, it might safely be used in an inflammable atmosphere, where a naked light would instantly cause an explosion. Upon submitting the lamp to experiment, he found that by pa.s.sing coal gas by degrees into a vessel in which one of his lamps was suspended, the flame first became much larger, and then was extinguished, the cylinder of gauze being filled with a pale flame, and though the gauze sometimes became red-hot, it did not ignite the gas outside. As the supply of coal gas was diminished, the wick of the lamp was rekindled, and all went on as at first. A coil of platinum wire was afterwards suspended in the lamps, which becomes intensely heated by the burning gas, and gives out sufficient light to enable the miner to see to work. As long as the gauze is perfect it is almost impossible for the external air to be kindled by the wick of the lamp, but the miners are so careless that they will often remove the gauze to get a better light, to look for a tool, or some cause equally trivial, and many lives have been lost in consequence of such carelessness.

The effect of fine wire gauze in preventing the pa.s.sage of flame may be shown by bringing a piece of the gauze gradually over the flame of a spirit-lamp, until it nearly touches the wick, when the flame will be nearly extinguished, but the vapour of the spirit pa.s.ses through, and may be lighted on the upper side of the gauze, which will thus have a flame on either side, though totally unconnected with each other. The flame from a gas-burner will answer as well as the spirit-lamp.

Nearly all the fluids, and solids also, used for procuring artificial light, such as naphtha, various oils, tallow, wax, spermaceti, spirits of wine, ether, &c. &c. are compounds of carbon and hydrogen in different proportions, with the occasional addition of some other elements, especially oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportions to form water; as a general rule, those bodies containing the greatest proportion of carbon give the most light, though not necessarily the most heat.

PHOSPHORUS.

The next body we have to notice is phosphorus, a most remarkable substance, procured from the earthy part of bones by a process not worth detailing here. It should be _always_ kept under water, and the naked fingers should not be allowed even to touch it, for the smallest piece getting under the nail will inflame the first time the hand comes near the fire, and produce a sore very painful and difficult to heal. It should be cut under water by a knife or scissors, and removed with a pair of forceps. Its combustible properties have been frequently mentioned. It has also the property of s.h.i.+ning in the dark, so that if you write on a wall with a solution of phosphorus in oil, the letters will appear luminous in the dark--there is no danger, excepting from the greasiness of the oil.

Of the compounds of phosphorus with oxygen we have nothing to do here, but it forms with hydrogen a very curious gaseous compound, which takes fire spontaneously on the contact of air, or almost any gas containing oxygen.

EXPERIMENTS.

It may be procured in either of two ways, according to the purpose for which it is wanted. The simplest way is to put a lump or two of phosphuret of lime into a saucer, about two inches in depth, containing some very diluted hydrochloric acid; bubbles of gas will speedily arise, and bursting on the surface of the fluid will burn with a slight explosion, and a circular wreath of smoke will rise into the atmosphere, enlarging as it rises, and wreathing itself round and round in the most elegant forms. Care must be taken that the phosphuret is _fresh_, and has been kept in a well-closed bottle, or the experiment will fail. The apartment must be free from draughts. If you desire to collect the gas, another method must be employed.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Fill a small retort _quite full_, neck and all, of a solution of caustic potash, drop five or six pieces of phosphorus into it, place the finger on the end of the retort, and immerse it in a basin also containing a _hot_ solution of potash, remove the finger, and on applying the heat of a lamp to the retort, the gas will soon be disengaged rapidly, and drive out the fluid in the retort; it then escapes into the air, when it inflames with the same appearances as before described. Or it may be collected in gas jars filled with the potash solution, and held over the mouth of the retort. The object in using _hot_ solution of potash in the basin is, that when the gas ceases to be given off, and the heat of the lamp is withdrawn, the hot fluid may gradually fill the vacuum which will form in the retort, and so prevent its being broken.

This gas is transparent and invisible, like most other gases. It is very poisonous if inhaled. If kept for any time, it loses its property of spontaneous inflammation, and must therefore be made at the time it is required.

SULPHUR.

Sulphur, or brimstone, as it is frequently called, is sold in the form of sticks, or _roll_ brimstone, or in fine powder called flowers of brimstone.

It is capable of showing electric phenomena when rubbed, giving out slight sparks, and first attracting and then repelling light bodies, such as small pieces of paper, &c. It is so bad a conductor of heat, that if grasped suddenly in a hot hand, it will crack and split into pieces just as gla.s.s does when suddenly heated or cooled--of course I am speaking of the roll brimstone. Water has no effect on it, as may be seen in the pans placed for pet dogs to drink out of, where the same piece of brimstone lies for years entirely unaltered, though it is supposed to prevent the dogs from having the mange!

Sulphur is largely used in the arts, princ.i.p.ally in the manufacture of gunpowder, and fireworks of various kinds.

It combines with hydrogen, and forms a gaseous compound called sulphuretted hydrogen, which is almost the most poisonous of all the gases. It fortunately has so abominable smell, that due notice is given of its presence. Rotten eggs, a dirty gun-barrel, cabbage water, putrid animal and vegetable matter, &c. are indebted to this gas for their inviting odour; and it is found in certain mineral springs, as at Harrogate, where the water contains a considerable quant.i.ty of this gas, and is found useful in many diseases of the skin. It is also given off in a gaseous form by some volcanoes.

This gas may be obtained by pouring dilute hydrochloric acid upon a metallic sulphuret, such as that called crude antimony, being a native sulphuret of that metal. The gas may be kept for a short time over water. It is colourless and transparent, inflammable, but quite irrespirable, a small bird dying instantly when placed in air containing only 1/1500th of this gas. Its most remarkable property perhaps is the effect it has on certain metallic oxides, and other metallic salts, blackening them instantly. White paint is easily stained by this gas, and it will darken the colour of a metal in a solution, especially of lead, even when diluted with 20,000 times its weight of water. By way of experiment, slips of riband, silk, or even paper, may be wetted with various metallic solutions, such as silver, mercury, lead, &c. or words may be written with the solutions, and on holding them over a stream of this gas they will be instantly darkened.

If this gas be collected in the pneumatic trough, which is usually painted _white_, you will have the pleasure of seeing the colour changed to a very dark brown, when your experiments are finished. With this very limited description of some of the non-metallic elements and their combinations, we must, for want of s.p.a.ce, take leave of this division of chemistry; "the beginning of which is pleasure, its progress knowledge, its objects truth and utility."--(_Davy._)

METALS.

We have a few words to say about a cla.s.s of bodies called metals, which are of the utmost importance to mankind, and indeed without some of them, especially iron, few of the arts of civilized life could exist.

Fifty substances are now included in the list of metals; some of them, however, are only _supposed_ to exist, such as _ammonium_, the supposed base of ammonia; and very many are to be viewed rather in the light of chemical curiosities, as from their great rarity they are too expensive for use, even if possessed of valuable properties of which others might be dest.i.tute.

Several metals have been known from the earliest period of which we have any record; such were iron, gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, mercury, and probably zinc, or at least its ores; for bra.s.s, which is an alloy of copper and zinc, is frequently mentioned in the early part of the Old Testament. In the sixteenth century others were discovered, such as antimony and bis.m.u.th. In the last century, cobalt, a.r.s.enic, platinum, nickel, manganese, and chromium, together with several unimportant metals, were discovered by various philosophers; while in the present century, Dr. Wollaston discovered rhodium, the hardest and nearly the most indestructible of all the metals; and a few years later, Sir Humphry Davy found that the alkalies, potash, and soda, with many of the earths as they were called, had each a metal for its base, to which he gave the Latin name of the alkali or earth, with the termination _um_, as pota.s.si_um_, the base of pota.s.sa, sodi_um_ of soda, calci_um_ of calx (lime), &c.

Until Sir H. Davy's discovery of the metals of the alkalies, great specific gravity was regarded as one of the most striking characteristics of a metal, the lightest of them being much heavier than the heaviest earth; but pota.s.sium is very much lighter than water, and not much heavier than spirits of wine. The other metals vary from a specific gravity of nearly twenty-one--or twenty-one times heavier than an equal bulk of water--that of platinum, to somewhat less than seven, which is the specific gravity of antimony.

When pure, they all have a l.u.s.tre, differing indeed among themselves, but so peculiar that it is called the metallic l.u.s.tre, for instance, gold and copper are yellow and red--nearly all the others white, but of a different shade; still there is no mistaking their metallic character, no other substances at all equalling them in this respect. They are also opaque, although some, like gold, when reduced to thin films, allow light to pa.s.s through them. They are all good conductors of heat and electricity, though some possess that property to a greater extent than others.

Many of them are what is called malleable, that is, may be extended or spread out by rolling, or beating them with a hammer; and ductile, or have the property of being drawn out into wire. Gold, silver, copper, and iron, are the most remarkable in this respect.

All the metals are fusible, but some require very different degrees of heat to render them fluid,--platinum requiring the heat of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, while tin melts in the flame of a candle, and mercury is fluid at all temperatures in this climate, but becomes solid at 40 Fahr. below 0,--a temperature occasionally experienced in the Arctic regions, where the mercurial thermometer is useless, the mercury becoming solid.

They are all excellent conductors of heat and electricity, and have the property of reflecting light and forming mirrors; for looking-gla.s.ses owe their power of reflecting objects princ.i.p.ally to what is called the "silvering;" that is, a mixture of mercury and tin spread over the back of the gla.s.s, which being transparent, allows the image reflected from the metal to pa.s.s through it.

The following cla.s.sification is most instructive, because it suggests to the young student that there must be identical properties in the metals thus placed together:--

_Cla.s.s 1._ Ammonium, caesium, lithium, pota.s.sium, sodium.

_Cla.s.s 2._ Calcium, barium, strontium.

_Cla.s.s 3._ Aluminium, cerium, didymium, erbium, glucinium, lanthanum, thorium, yttrium, zirconium.

_Cla.s.s 4._ Zinc cla.s.s: cadmium, magnesium, zinc.

_Cla.s.s 5._ Iron cla.s.s: cobalt, chromium, indium, iron, manganese, nickel, uranium.