Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/1004

 WAT

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WAT

making Taracelftfs's Salfa?mis-famech, which is nothing but Sal Tartari dulcify'd by diftilling Spirit of Wine from it till the Salt be fufficiently faturated with its Sulphur, and till it fuffers the Liquor to be drawn off as ftrong as it was poured on ; when the Salt of Tartar, from which it is diftill'd, hath retained, or deprived it of the fulphurous Parts of the Spirit of Wine, the reft, which is incompara- bly the greateft Part of the Liquor, wilt turn to Phlegm. In effect, corrofive Spirits, according to Mr. Scyle's Obfer- vation, abound in Water ; which may be obferved, by en- tangling, and fo fixing their faline Parts, as to make them corrode fome proper Body ; or elfe by mortifying them with fome contrary Salt: which will turn them into Phlegm.

And as to Salts 5 Salt of Tartar well calcin'd, being laid to liquify in the Air, will depofite an Earth ; and if it be then committed to Diftillafion, will yield a considerable Quantity of infLid Water; infomuch, that if it be urg'd with a vehement Fire, the Salt will almoft all vanifti, and nothing faline remain, either in the Water, or the Earth. — Whence Helraont concludes, that all Salts might be convert- ed into Water. Add, that Sea Salt, recover'd from its own acid Spirit and Oil of Tartar, melts into Water, as much as into Oil of Tartar.

Laftly, Oils run, in great meafure, into Water 5 and 'tis probable, might be converted wholly into the fame. See Oil, Sulphur, t$c.

No Standard for the Weight and Turity of Water. ■

Water fcarce ever continues two Moments exactly of the fame weight, being always varying, by reafon of the Air and Fire contained therein. Thus, a piece of pure limpid Ice, laid in a nice balance, never continues hi JEquilibrio,- — • In effect, the Expansion of Water in boiling, /hews what effect: the different degree of Fire has on the Gravity of Water. — This makes it difficult to fix the fpecifick Gravity of Water, in order to fettle its degree of Purity ; but this we may fay in the general, That the pureft Water we can procure, is that which is 880 times as heavy as Air. How- ever, neither have we any tolerable Standard in Air ; for Water being fo much heavier than Air, the more Water is contain'd in the Air, the heavier of courfe muft it be : As, in effect, the principal Part of the Weight of the Atmo- fphere, fcems to arife from the Water. See Air, and At- mosphere.

Troperties and Effects of Water.

i°, Water is found the molt penetrative of all Bodies, after Fire, and the moft difficult to confine 5 fo that a Vef- fel thro' which Water cannot pafs, may retain any thing. 3Sfor is it any Objection, that Syrups and Oils will fome- times pals thro' Bodies which will hold Water 5 this not be- ing owing to the greater Subtilty and Penetrarion of their Particles, but to the Refin wherewith the Wood of fuch Vcflels abounds, to which Oils and Syrups areas Menftruums ; fo that dlflolving the Refin, they make their way thro' the Spaces left thereby ; whereas Water, not acting on Rcfins, is retained. See Resin.

And yet, Water gradually makes its way, even thro' all Woo.ls, and is only retainable in Glafs and Metals 5 nay, it was found by Experiment at Florence, that when fhut up in a fpherical Veffel of Gold, and then prefs'd with a huge force, ir made its way thro' the Pores even of the Gold ; fo that the moft folid Body in Nature is permeable to Water. See Gold.

Water is even found more fluid than Air; a Body be- ing reputed more fluid than another, when its Parts will find way thro' fmaller Pores : now Air, 'tis known, will not pafs thro' Leather, as is evident in the Cafe of an exhauftcd Receiver cover'd therewith ; whereas Water paffes with eafe. — Again, Air may be retain'd in a Bladder, but Water oozes thro'. In effect, 'tis found, that Water will pafs thro' Pores ten times fmalter than Air will. See Pore.

It muft not be omitted, however, that M. Homberg ac- counts for this pafTage of Water thro' the narrow Pores of animal Subftances which will not admit the Air, on ano- ther Principle, via. its moiftcning and diflolving the gluti- nous Matter of the fine Fibres of the Membranes, and render- ing them more pliable and diflractile ; which are things that the Air, for want of a wetting Property, cannot do. — As a Proof of this Doctrine, he filled a Bladder, and comprels'd it with a Stone, and found no Air to come out 5 but placing the Bladder thus comprefs'd in Water, the Air eafily efcap'd. Hi ft. de VAcad. Ann. 1700. p. 45.

2, Water, then, may even hence, vis, from its penetra- tive Power, be argu'd to enter the Compofition of all Bodies, both Vegetable, Animal, and Foflil ; with this peculiar Cir- cumftance, That it is eafily, and with a gentle heat, fepara- ble again from Bodies it had united with ; which cannot be faid of any other Body. — Fire, indeed, will penetrate more than Water ; but 'tis difficult to procure it again from the Bodies it is once fixed in, as is evident in Red Lead, &c. See Minium, &c.

This Property of Water, join'd with its Smoothnefs and Lubricity, fits it to ferve as a Vehicle, for the commodious

and eafy ConVeyance of the Nutritious Matter of all Bd- dies : being fcf fluid, and paffing and repairing fo readily* it never ftops tip the Pores, but leaves room for the follow- ing Water, to bring on a new Supply of nutritious Matter; See Nutrition.

3, And yet the fame Water, as little cohefjve as it is; and as eafily feparated from moft Bodies, will cohere firm- ly with fome others, and bind them together into the moft folid Mafles : Tho it appears wonderful, that Water, which will be fhewn an almoft univetfal Diffolvent, ihould withal be a great Coagulator.

Water, we fee, mixed up with Earth or Afhes, gives them the utmoft Firmnets and Fixity. — The Afhes, 'e.g. of an Animal, incorporated with pure Water into a Paite, and bak'd by a vehement Fire, grow into a Coppei 5 which is a Body remarkable for this, that it will bear the utmoft Effort of a Refiner's Furnace. — 'Tis, in effect, upon the glu- tinous Nature of Water alone that our Houfes ftand ; foe take but this out of Wood, and it becomes Afhes ; or out of Tyles, and they become Duft.

Thus, a little Clay dry'd in the Sun, becomes a Pouder* which mix'd with Water flicks together again, and may be fafhion'd at pleafure; and this dried again by a gentle Fire* or in the Sun, and then baked in a Potter's Oven, by an in- tenfe Fire, becomes little other than a Stone. — So the Chi- nefe or Japan Earth, whereof our Porcelain Vcffels are made, which hold all Liquors, and even melted Lead it fell, is diluted and wrought up with Water. See Porcelain.

To fay no more, all the Stability and Firmnefs feen in the TJniverfe is owing to Water alone. — Thus, Stone would be an incoherent Sand, did not Water bind it together ; and thus, again, of a fat gravelly Earth, wrought up with Wa- ter and baked or burnt, we make Bricks, Tyles, and earthen Veffels, of fuch exceeding Hardnefs and Qofenefs, that Water it felf cannot pafs thro 1 them. And thefe Bo- dies, tho to appearance perfectly dry, and deftitute of Wa- ter, yet, being pulverized and put in a Retort, and diftill'd, yield an incredible quantity of Water.

The fame holds of Metal 5 for the Parings or Filings of Lead, Tin, Antimony, &c. by Dirt illation, yield Water plentifully ; and the hardeft Stones, Sea Salt, Nitre, Vitriol, Sulphur, &c. are found to confift chiefly of Water, into which they refolve by force of Fire.

The Lapis Calcaritts, or Lime ft one, being expos' d to the Fire, affords a prodigious Quantity of pure Water; and the more of this Water is exprels'd, the more friable does it become, till at length it commences a dry Calx or Lime 5 wherein, in lieu of the Water fo expell'd, the Fire, in the Courfe of Calcination, enters ; which is expell'd again, in its turn, by pouring on cold Water. Yet, the fame Water and Calx, temper'd together, produce a Mafs, fcarce inferior, in point of Solidity, to the primitive Lime-ftone. See Heat.

4, That Water is not elajlick, is evident hence, that it is incompreflible, or incapable, by any Force, of being reduced into lefs compafs : This eafily follows from that famous Ex- periment abovemention'd, made by order of the great Duke of c tufcany. — The Water, being incapable of Condenfation, rather than yield, tranfuded thro' the Pores of the Metal, fo that the Ball was found wet all over the outfide 5 till at length, making a Cleft in the Gold, it fpun out with great

vehemence.- From this laft Circumftance, indeed, fome

have weakly concluded it was elaftick. For the Impetus wherewith the Water darted forth, was more probably ow- ing to the Elafticity of the Gold, which communicated that Impreffion to the Water.

And hence we fee the Reafon why Blocks of Marble fometimes burft in cold weather ; and why a Veffel fill'd with Water, and afterwards, by any means, reduced to a lefs compafs, burfts the Veffel, tho ever fo ftrong. — This is obfervable in a piece of brafs Canon, which being filled with Water, and the Mouth exactly ftop'd, fo as to prevent all egrefs of Water ; if a cold Night happens, fufEcient to con- tract and conftipate Bodies ; the metallick Matter undergo- ing the common Fate, and the Water refuting to give way, the Cannon is burft afunder with incredible violence.

Some bring an Argument for the Elafticity of Water hence, that hot Water takes up more room than cold ; but no legitimate Conclufion can be form'd from hence ; for in the hot Water there is a g^od quantity of Fire contain'd, which interpofing between the Particles of the Water, makes it extend to a greater Space, without any Expanfion of Parts from its own Elafticity. This is evident hence, that if Wa- ter be once heated, there is no reducing it to its former Di- menfions, but by letting it cool again : which plainly fhews, that the Expanfion depends not on the Elafticity of Parts, but on the Prefence of Fire. — Water, then, tho incapable of Compreffion or Condenfation, may yet be rarefied by Heat, and contracted by Cold. See Rarefaction, &c.

It may be added, that a further degree of Cold, that is, fuch a one as congeals Water, or turns it into Ice, does ex- pand it. — There are other ways to mamfeft this Expanfion

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