Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/1005

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WAT

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WAT

of Water by Freezing. — Mr. Boyle having poured a proper quantity of Water into a ftrong cylindrical earthen Veffel, expofed it, uncover'd, both to the open Air in frofty Nights, and the Operation of Snow and Salt ; and found, that the Ice produced in both Cafes, reach'd higher than the Water before 'twas froze. Add, that it has been found, that the Rain foaking into Marble, and violent Frofls coming on, have burst the Stones : And even Implements made of Bell- Metal, carelefly expos'd to the wet, have been broken and fpoiled by the Water ; which entering at little Cavities of the Metal, was there afterwards froze, and expanded into Ice.

From the whole, we may be enabled to fettle fome thing as to the Nature of the component Particles of Water $ and, i Q, That they are, as to our Senfes, infinitely fmallj whence their penetrative Power : z", Exceeding fmooth and flippe- ry, void of any lenlible Afperities ; witnefs their Fluidity, and their being fo easily feparable from other Bodies which they adhere to : 3, Extremely folid : 4 , Perfectly tran- fparent, and as fuch invisible ; which we gather hence, that pure Water, inclos'd in a VefTel hermetically feal'd, projects no Shadow ; fo that the Eye fhali not be able to discover whether the VefTel have Water in it or not ; and in that the Gryftala of Salts, when the Water is leparated from them, lofe their Tranfparency. — 5 , Hard, rigid, and inflexible ;

as appears from their not being compressible. If it be

aflt'd, How a Body fo light, fluid, and volatile, and which fo eafy a Fire suffices to rarefy, fhould be fo stubborn and incompressible ? We fee no other "Caufe to assign, but the Homogeneity of its Parts. If 'Water be confider'd as confin- ing of fpherical or cubical Particles, hollow withinfide, and of a firm Texture; here will be enough to account for the whole : Its Firmnefs and Similarity will make it rcfift fufii- ciently ; and its Vacuity render it light enough, &c. — The little Contact between Spherules, will account for the Weak- nefs of its Cohefion, £=?c. See Particle, Cohesion, ££c.

Salt melted in Water, does not fill the VefTel in proportion to its own bulk : Whence it follows, that there are little Spaces between its Particles, to admit thofe of the Silt. — And hence, again, we gather, that the wairy Particles are extremely folid, and inflexible ; fince, tho they have inter- mediate Spaces, no force or weight can comprcis, or crowd them nearer. See Salt.

5°, Water is the raoft injifid of all Bodies; the Taste we fometimes obferve therein, arising not from the mere Water ; but from Salt, Vitriol, or other Bodies mixed therewith : And accordingly, all the fapid Waters recom- mended for Medicinal Ufes, are found to depoiite a Quan- tity of fome of thofe Fcflils.

6°, Water is perfectly inodorous, or void of the least Smell. — — Water, then, neither affects Sight, Taste, nor Smell, provided it be pure ; and confequently might remain for ever imperceptible to us, but for the Senfe of Feeling.

Whether Water be convertible into Air ?

It has been difputed, whether or no Water be convertible into Air ; there being numerous Instances of, at leafl, an apparent Tranfmutation. — In the Vapours daily raifed, we find Water rarefy 'd to fuch a degree, as to take place in the Atmofphere, and help to compofe a confiderablepart of what we call Air ; and even to contribute to many of the Effects afcribed to the Air. See Vapour, Air, and Atmosphere.

But fuch a Vapour-Air has not the Characters of true

permanent Air, being eafily reducible into #77 fe/* again. So, in Digeftions and Di filiations, tho Water may be rarefied into Vapours, yet it is not really changed into Air, but only divided by Heat, and diftufed into very minute Parts ; which meeting together, prefently return to fuch Water as they con- stituted before.

Yet, Water rarefy'd into Vapour in an jEolipyle, will, for a while, have an elaflick Power, the great and last Charac- teriflick of true Air, and ft ream out perfectly like a Blafl of Air : The elaflick Power of this Stream, is manifellly owing to nothing elfc but the Heat, that expands and agitates the aqueous Particles thereof; and when the Heat is gone, the Elasticity and other aerial Properties difappearlikewifc. See Elasticity.

Rapid Winds thus made, feem to be no more than mere Water, broke into little Parts, and put into motion ; fince, by holding a folid, fmooth, and cold Body againft it, the Valours condensing thereon, will prefently cover the Body with Water. — Indeed, tho no heat intervenes, Motion alone, if vehement, may perhaps fuSice to break Water into mi- nute Parts, and make them afcend upwards, in form of Air. — Mr. Boyle obferves, that between Lyons and Geneva, where thzRhone is fuddenly ftraiten'd by two Rocks very near each other, that rapid Stream, dafhing with greatimperuo- fity againft them, breaks part of its Water into minute Cor- pufcles, and gives it fuch a Motion, that a Mift may be ob- ferv'd at a confidcrable diftance, arifing from the Place, and ascending high into the Air.

WATER, in Geography, Hydrography, &c. is a com- mon, or general Name applied to ail liquid tranfparent Bo- dies, gliding or flowing on the Earth. See Fluid, Li- quid, £S?c.

In this Senfe, Water and Earth are faid to constitute one terraqueous Globe. See Earth.

Some Authors have raflily and injurioufly taxed theDiftri- bution o\Water and Earth in our Globe as unartful, and not well proportion 'd : Supposing that the Water takes up too much room. See Terraqueous.

An Inundation, or Overflowing of the Waters, makes a ^Deluge. See Deluge.

Various Kinds of Waters.

Water is diftinguifh'd, with regard to the Places where it is found, into Marina, Sea-Water ; <PluviaUs, Rain-Water ; Fluviatilis, River-Water; Font an a, Spring-Water; i Putea- lis, Well-Water ; Cificrnina, thofe of Cijlerm ; Tallitjlris, that of Lakes, Morajfes, &c.

Thefe forts of Water are each more impure, and hete- rogeneous than other.

JfizAVATER. See Sea, and Ocean.

Sea-Water, is an Aflemblage of Bodies, wherein Water can fcarce be faid to have the principal Part : 'Tis an uni- verfal Colluvies of all the Bodies in Nature, luftain'd and kept fwimming in Water, as a Vehicle. Dr. Lifter con- siders it as the Fund or Source, out of which all Bodies arife. He gives, in fome meafure, into the Opinion of 'Thales and Van Helmont ; and imagines the Sea-Water to have been the only Element created at the Beginning, before any Ani- mal, or Vegetable ; or even before the Sun himfelf. — Frcjb- Water, he fuppofes to have arofe accidentally after the Crea- tion of thefe ; and to owe its Origin to the Vapours of Plants, the Breath of Animals, and the Exhalations raifed

from the Sun. 2)e Font. Med. Ang. Dr. Ualley is of

another Opinion — He takes it for granted, that the Saltnefs of the Sea, arifes from the saline Matter disTblved and im- bib'd by the Rivers in their progrefs, and difcharg'd, with their Waters, into the Ocean ; and confequently, that the degree of Saltnefs is continually and gradually increasing. — ■ On this Hypothesis, he even propofes a Method for deter- mining the Age of the World : For two Experiments of the degree of Saltnefs, made at a large Interval of Time, will, by the Rule of Proportion, give the Time wherein it has been acquiring its prelent degree. 'Philof. ^tranfatT:. N° 344.

The Water of the Sea is liable to feveral periodical Chan- See Tipes.

See Flu

£&.

See Rain,

Rain -Water, is the Water of the Sea, purified by a fort of Distillation : or rather, it is the 'watery Vehicle, fepara- ted from the faline, and other Matters residing therein, by Evaporation. See Evaporation.

The Water which defcends in Rain, is, of all others, the pureft, in a cold Seafon, and a flill Sky ; and this we mull be contented to take for Elementary Water.

The Rain Water in Summer, or when the Atmofphere is in Commotion, 'tis certain, must contain infinite Kinds of heterogeneous Matter : Thus, gathering the Water that falls after a Thunder-Clap, in a fultry Summer Day, and let- ting it fettle, a real Salt is found flicking at the bottom. — But in Winter, efpecially when it freezes, the Exhalations are but few, fo that the Rain falls without much Adultera- tion : and hence, what is thus gather'd in the Morning- time, is found of good ufe for taking away Spots in the Face ; and that gathered from Snow, againfl Inflammations of the Eyes. See Snow.

Yet this Rain-Water^ with all its purity, may be filtered and diflill'd a thoufand times, and it will flill leave fome Faeces behind it.

Spring- Water, See Spring.

The Water of Springs is the next, in point of Purity. — < This, according to Dr. Ualley, is collected from the Air" it felf; which being flvturated with Water, and coming to be condenfed by the Evening's Cold, is driven againft the cold Tops of the Mountains ; where being further condenfed and collected, it gleets down, or diflills, much as in an Alembic.

This Water, which before floated in the Atmofphere in form of a Vapour, being thus brought together, at firfl forms little Streams ; feveral of which meeting together, form Ri- vulets ; and thefe, at length, Rivers.

River-W ater. See River.

This, on fome occasions, is to be efteem'd purer than that of Springs. — If the Stream, in defcendii^ from its Spring, chance to flow over Strata, or Beds, wherein there is Salt, Sulphur, Vitriol, Iron, or the like, it diflolves and imbibes part thereof. — Otherwife, Spnng-Water becomes purer and better ; for while the River drives on its Waters in an unin- terrupted Stream, all its Salts, with the Vegetable and Animal Matters drained into it either from Exhalations, or

from