Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/104

 A L K

A L K

underftood in this very fenfe by Van Helmont ; and this the general account he and Paracelfus give of it. Hence it is eafy to fee, that the Aikaheji is not to be fought for in human urine, nor in any production thereof; nor in tartar or any of its preparations, tho' it is faid that a fubftitute may hence be had for the principal ; nor can the phofphorus be ever fuppofed juftly to be the Aikaheji, becaufe it is repugnant to feveral of the properties and qualities, above kid down, from thefe authors. Glauber alio in vain fought the Aikaheji in the fixed alkali of nitre ; and Zwelfcr in diftilled vinegar feparated from the cryftals of verdigreafe ; Rolfink had no juft idea of it, when he fuppofed it to confiit of the fixed alkali of tartar for its bafis, mixed with fome acid of the mineral vegetable or animal tribe; for fait of tartar with the vinegar of antimony, makes only a tartarum tarta- rtfatum, and with acid whey only a better fort of the fame ; nor does the addition of fal armoniac much alter the matter. But no one feems better to have underftood the mind of Pa- racelfus and Helmont in defcribing the Aikaheji, than Petrus Johannes Faber ; in a paper of his published in the German ephimerides, he obferves, that the liquor Aikaheji is a pure mercurial metalliclt fpirit, fo clofely connected to its own na- tural body, that thefe two become one infeparable indeftruc- tible fubftance, deftroying all things and turning them into their firft matter. It is a true philofophical mercury chofen from the mineral kingdom, and joined with its own pure body, whereby it becomes an infeparable milky and butiraceous liquor, which penetrates and diflblves all things.

Bccher is alfq of the fame opinion : he exprefly fays, that he difcovered in fea-falt, a certain arfenical and mercurify- ing power, which, when feparated pure, would be the Aika- heji, tho' a very different thing from the philofophic mercury : and hence he takes mercury for a fulphureous metallic fub- ftance, which of itfelf would be folid ; but that it receives all its fluidity from the arfenical fulphur of common fait. The pureft quickfilver, he obferves, being diflblved in fpirit of nitre and precipitated with fpirit of fea-falt becomes volatile, and difpofed to part with its mercury eahly ; confequemly fea-falt, may convert the pureft metals from their own fixed nature into true mercury. This is a fubtile infinuation, which Boer- haave wilhes the author had given more fully. Upon the whole, it does not appear plainly, that the Alkahejiwzs ever put to all the tefts mentioned, or that all the great things recorded of its power were really experimented. The che- mifts are very apt to reafon from analogy, and from one ope- ration of a body to deduce more. Helmont complains that the vial of it once given him was taken away again ; whence pro- bably he did not make any great number of experiments with it ; and Paracelfus is no where very particular in his accounts of his own folvents : however it is the advice of Boerhaave, to all who have leifure, and love chemiftry, to treat fea-falt and mercury in every chemicai way, in order to difcover it ; in which, tho' they mould not fucceed, yet the knowledge obtained from the experiments, made with that intent, will well repay the trouble of them. Boerh, Chem. p. 580.

Alkahest is alfo ufed in a more extenfive fenfe, fo as to com- prehend all fixed falts volatilized, and reduced into a quintef- fence.-'— Some judge it to be in this fenfe, that the word is ufed by Paracelfus in the pafiages above cited. In this view there are numerous Aikaheji s, all different from the univerfal one.

The former are fo many particular menftruums, each ftronger or weaker than other; and which, at leaft fome of them, lofe part of their virtue, at each operation. Whereas the latter is fuppofed immutable, and to have as much force after a thoufand diflblutions as at firff. Hence it is that thefe wri- ters fpeak of three kinds of Alkahejis, or diflblvents, called, Arcanum Microcofmi, Arcanum famech, Arcanum Ponticitatis. The firft is certainly prepared from urine, which Philaletha, and after him others, have miftakenly fuppofed to be the mat-

. ter of the third. The fecond is made from fpirit of wine. For the third kind, viz. the Arcanum Ponticitatis, which is the moft fublime, and myfterious, an idea of it may be thus con- ceived. AH mineral and metalline falts contain an acid,

. which by alcoholifation with their fixed fait may be reduced to a quinteflence, which makes the Aikaheji now fpoken of; otherwife called the catholic Aikaheji, of which we have treated above.

The preparation of this is much die fame with that of the lefler fal circulatum, only that there is fome further fecret in it known to few. With this, neutral falts are prepared, alka- lized, fublimated, and at laft reduced into a mercurial eflence, which conftitutes as many Alkahejls or diflblvents, as there are falts on the earth. De la Caze, Lett, in Mem. de Trev. 1707. p. 1462. feq.

Lully's Aikaheji feems to have been of a kind different from all the reft : it is reprefented as a kind of mercurial gold, whereby he not only fixed mercury, but tranfmuted it into gold. — Of which Helmont makes frequent mention. Tracr. Natur. Contr. Nefcia. §. 40. p. 108. It. in Demonft. Thef. §. 58. p. 4^9- It. Vita Eeterna. p. 452. It. in Art. Vit. p. 483. CnceffeL in Ephem. Acad. N. C. Dec. 1. An. 4. Obf. 108, p. 108.

ALKAHESTIC is ufed by fome to denote the quality of bo- dies which are powerfully folvent.

In which fenfe, Alkahejtic amounts to much the fame with menftruous ; except that the former imports a greater degree of the folutive power, than the latter. See Menstruum. De Bernitz has given divers forms and proceffes of Alka- hejlic liquors, after Helmont, Cnoeffehus, CSV. One, for the refolui'ion of minerals ; another for that of vegetables ; and a third, for that of animal matters. Fafcic Alter. Medicani. Singul. Tit. 27. Ephem. Acad. N. C. Dec. 1. An. 6. app. p. 139. feq. See Solvents and Solution.

ALKALI. Seethe article Alkaly.

ALKALINE, (Cycl.) in a general fenfe, fomething that has the properties of an alkali.

In this fenfe we fay, Alkaline falts, Alkaline fpirits, Alkalint fubftances, iJe.

The word is otherwife written, Alcaline, Alkaieous, Alca- lious, Alkaltzate, and Alcali-zate, which all amount to the fame thing.

Befides Alkaline falts, there are many other bodies, which produce nearly the fame effects, with acids ; being diflblved by them with ebullition and effervefcence, and like fixed and vo- latile Alkaline falts, forming faline fubftances of different fi- gures in their cryftalizations,

Thefe Alkaline fubftances are of different natures. Some are merely earthy, as quicklime, marble, fealed earths, &c. Others are metalline ; among which fome have their peculiar and appropriate acids to a£t on them, as gold, tin, and antimony, which diflblve with aqua regia ; filver, lead, and and mercury, with aqua for its ; others diflblve with all forts of acids, as iron, copper, zink, bifmuth, &c. There are others of the animal el'afs, confifting 1. Of ftony matters found in the vifcera of certain fpecies, as the calculus humanus, bczoard, crabs-eyes, &c. 2. Teftaceous matters and fhells, as pearls, oyfter-fhells, cuttle-fifh bones, the fhells or coats of lobfters, crabs, &c. 3. The parts of animals which, by length of time or fome other caufe, are become ftony, or even earthy, as the foflil unicorns horn, &c. 4. Laftly, almoft all ftony marine plants, as coral. Homberg, in Mem. Acad- Srienc. An. 1708. p. 411.

For the proportion of the diflblving power in the aqua regia$ and : aqua fort is, clafles of acids, fee the article Alkaly. The chemifts have divers Alkaline concretes of great ufe, as cauftics, folvents, &e. fuch is that made of equal parts of nitre and martial regulus of antimony, ignited together in a crucible : another of the martial regulus of tartar ; another of nitre calcined with quick lime, Stahl. Philof. Princ. Chem. P. 2. Seel;. 1. p. 146 — 149.

Alkaline is more peculiarly applied to falts which will perfift in., and bear a ftrong fire, without flying away and va- nifhing fn the air. In which fenfe thefe Alkaline falts arc faid to be fixed. Merct, Obferv. on Neri. c. 6. p. 263. Stahl. Philof. Princ. Chem. P. 2. Sec. I. p. 137. feq. Tech- mey. Inftit. Chem. C 13. p. 170. feq.

ALKALY, or Al k a l 1 ( Cycl.) The opinion that Alkali's ferment only with acids, feems too haftily taken up; for the different Al- kali's will ferment with one another : fpirit of hartfhorn, fpirit of urine, fpirit of fal armoniac, and other volatile fpirits of the al- kaline kind, when in the dry form of falts, all ferment with fait of tartar, or other fixed Alkali's of the lixivial kind. Nor are the acids wanting in properties of the fame kind. Spirit of fait is an Alkali, in regard to fpirit of nitre, and ferments with it; and many of the acids ferment with fulphur. A fpirit of fulphur, may be prepared fo concentrated, that it wilt ferment violently with water, which will become hot, and as it were boiling, on the mixing itwithit; yetwater is certainlynei- ther an acid nor an Alkali. This concentrated fpirit of fulphur is made by rectifying by diftillation, in a retort, the oil of fulphur made by the bell : this being placed in a retort, in a fand heat, there rifes firft an infipid water, and after that an extremely acid liquor ; every drop of which as it falls into the water, has the fame effect, as a piece of red hot iron would have. When the veflels are cold, the liquor re- maining in the retort will be found clear as cryftal, and al- moft as heavy as quickfilver : this is the concentrated oil of fulphur. Mem. Acad. Par. 1714. Terrejirial Alkali isatermufed to diftinguifh the common alka- line fubftances, fuch as chalk, coral, and the like, from the fixt lixivial falts of plants, and other Alkali's which are faline, and diftinguifhed from thefe by that appellation. Mr. Homberg ob- ferving that the Alkali's of this kind were much prefcribed, and greatly depended upon in medicine, entered on fome experiments in regard to them, to prove in what degree each of them poflefled that quality, that the pbyfician might know how far to depend on each in his prefcriptions. This he attempted to afcertain by diflblving them in feveral acids ; whence it appeared plainly that all the acid fpirits produced by chemiftry, were far from being of the fame nature, fome of them diflblving cer- tain bodies, which, the others would not touch ; and others diflblving more or lefs of the fame body. The acid liquors, however, he obferves, may be divided into two clafles, the one containing all thofe of the nature of aqua fortis, and the other all thofe of the nature of aqua regia. It fhould feem alfo, that the feveral acid humours which oc- 5 cafion