Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/413

 PHO

( 8od )

JP HO

oristiy agitated ; a Cat's or Horfe's Back, duly rubb'd with It diflblves in all Kinds of diftill'd Oils; and in that

the Hand, &c. in the Dark ; nay, Dr. Crmm tells, that upon, ftate is call'd liquid Phofphorus.

rubbing his own Body briskly with a well warm'd Shirt, It may be ground in all kindsof fat Pomatums-, in which

he has frequently made both to fhine; and Dr. Shane adds, Cafe it makes a luminous Vnguent.

that he knows a Bristol Gentleman and his Son, both So that the Phofphorus fulgurans, Smaragdinus, Solid and

whofe Stockings will fhine after much walking. Liquid Phofphorus, and Luminous Vnguent, are all the fame

All Natural Pkofphori have this in common, that they Drug, under different Gircamftanc.es.

don't fhine always, and that they never give any Heat. It was invented by Mr. Kunkel, Chymift of the Eleaor

See Noctiluca. °f Saxony-, brought into France by M.Kraft, a Phyfician of

But that which of all Natural Phofphori has occafioned Drefden, by whom it was communicated to Mr. Boyle.

the moft Speculation is the Barometrical or Mercurial Phof- _ In 1676, M. ElzMolz, publifh'd a Treatife exprefsly on

phorus. *t> at Berlin; and in 1680, Mr. Boyle publifh'd another in

Barometrical or Mercurial? h o sp h o R u s. — M.Picard Enghfh under the Title of Noltiluca. See Noctiluca.

firft obferved that the Mercury of his Barometer, when M. Homberg firft made of it at Paris in 1679, and com-

fhaken in a dark Place, emitted Light; with this Circum- municated the Method of Preparation to the Publick.

fiance, that in (baking the Mercury with Rapidity, fome- Preparation of the Solid Phofphorus, or Phofporus of

times above and fometimes below its Equilibrium with the Vrine.

Air, the Light is only feen when below it, where it ap- Evaporate a good Quantity of Urine of Beer-Drinkers to

pears as if adhering to the upper Surface. the Confidence of Honev. Cover it up in an Earthen Vef-

But this Light is not found in the Mercury of all Baro meters, which occafions a great Difficulty.

fel, and fet it three or four Months in a Cellar to ferment and putrify. Mix a double quantity of Sand, or Powder

M. Bernoulli, upon examining the Circumftahces of this of Pot-fhards with one Part of this Urine ; put it into a Phenomenon, invented a Solution of the fame: He ima- Retort, fitted to a long-neck'd Receiver, with two or three

gines that upon the Mercury's defcending, the Vacuum in quarts of Water. Diftilit in a naked Fir; in areverbera-

the Tube increasing, there iflu.es out of the Mercury to fill tory Furnace ; at firft gently ; after two Hours, augment the

up this Excefs of Vacuity, a very fine fubtile Matter before Fire gradually, till all the black fetid Oil be drawn off.

difpers'd throughout the Pores of this Mineral; and that Raife the Fire to the higheft degree; upon which white at the fame time there enters thro' the Pores of the Tube Clouds will come into the Receiver and fix by little and little another finer Matter: Thus, the firft Matter emitted out of on one fide, in form ofayellowilh Skin; and another part will the Mercury and collected over its Surface linking int- precipitate to the Bottom in Powder — Keep the Fire thus vi. petuoufly againft that received from without, has the fame olent for three Hours till no more Fumes arife.— Let all cool, Effect with Des-Cartes's firft Element againft the fecond; and unloofe the Veffels; and throwing more Water into that is, produces the Motion of Light. See Light. the Receiver (bake all well about to loofen what (ticks to

But why, then, is not the Phenomenon common to all the Sides.— Pour the whole into a Glafs-Veffel to fettle. Barometers? To this he anfwers, That the Motion of the The Volatile Salt will now diffolve in the Water, and fubtile Matter out of the Mercury may be weaken'd, and the Phofphorus and Oil fink to the Bottom ; pour off the prevented by any heterogeneous Matter collected on its Water, and gathering the remaining Matter together, put upper Surface into a Kind of Pellicle ; fo that the Light it into a Glafs-Veffel with a little frefii Water; and digeft mould never appear but when the Mercury was perfectly it in a Sand-Heat ftirring it from Time to Time with a pure. wooden Spatula.

This Reafoning was confirm'd from the Experiments of By this means the Phofphorus will feparate from the Oil, feveral Barometers which he made according to this Plan ; and fink to the Bottom : Pour off the Oil, and make up bat the Royal Academy of Sciences, who repeated the Ex- the Phofphorus, while hot, into Sticks for Ufe. periments with Barometers made after the fame manner, Boerhaave gives us other Ways of preparing Phofphorus^ did not meet with the fame Succefs ; the Light being found Recent Urine, he obferves, digefted three or four Days in a in fome not in others. tall Glafs, with a Heat no greater than that of a healthy

M. Homberg therefore conjectured, that the Difference Man, grows reddy, fetid, and cadaverous : This digefted confided in the different Qualities of the Quickfilver: In Urine being put to dift.il in a Retort, yields a clear fetid fome, he obferv'd, they ufed Quick-Lime to purify it ; in Liquor, then a yellow volatile Salt, which evaporated to others, Steel-Filings. The Mercury, then, railing in the the Confidence of a Sapa, and mix'd with four times its Diftillation, and paffing thro' the Lime, might take away Weight of dry Sand, and the Diftillation continued in a Parts thereof, capable, by their extreme Smallnefs, to lodge cover'd Retort, there fucceffively comes over, by greater in its Interftices. Hence, as Quick-Lime always retains and greater degrees of Fire, a fetid brown Oil, bluifh fome fiery Particles, 'tis poffible, in a Place void of Air, Fumes, and a grofs fhining Matter which finks in Water, where they fwim at Liberty, they may produce this Luftre. and is the folid Phofphorus.

Mr. Hauifbee has feveral Experiments of the Mercurial To make it more directly, and to the beft Advantage, it Phofphorus— pairing Air forcibly thro' the Body of Quick- may be proper to take a fufficient Quantity of human U- filver placed in an Exhaufted Receiver, the Parts were vio- rine, afforded by a Perfon not much given to drink Wine, lently driven againft the Side of the Receiver, and gave all and exhale it away in an open Veffel to a Rob, or the Con- around the Appearance of Fire; continuing thus till the Re- fiftence of Honey; then fet it to putrify for half a Year, and ceiver was half full again of Air. upon Difti Nation it will afford a large Proportion of Salt ;

From other Experiments he found, that tho' the Ap- after which, if fix times its own Quantity of Sand, or pearance of Light was not producible by agitating the Mer- Brick-Duft, be added to the Remainder, and the Diftilla- cury in the fame Manner in the common Air; yet that tion be continued, as in the Cafe lad mentioned, the Phof- a very fine Medium nearly approaching to a Vacuum was phorus will fall into the Water.— Or it may commodi- not at all neceffary. oufly be prepared, by fuffering the Rob of Urine to digeft

And, laftly, from other Experiments he found, that for two Years in an open Veffel in the open Air ; during Mercury enclos'd in Water, which communicated with the which time a (limy, feculent, unctuous, earthy Matter will open Air, by a violent fhaking of the Veffel wherein it was fall to the bottom; which being frequently wafh'd with enclofed, emitted Particles of Light in great plenty, like pure Water, wherein it will not diffolve, will leave a white little Stars. Matter behind it, neither of an Alkaline, Acid, Saline, or

By including the Veffel of Mercury, &c. in a Receiver, Terreftrial, nor fcarce of an unctuous Nature ; and this is and exhaufting the Air, the Phenomenon was chang'd; of it felf a proper Matter for the making of Phofphorus by and, upon fhaking the Veffel, inftead of Sparkles of Light Didillation with Sand, the whole Mafs appear'd One continued Circle of Light. Properties of the folid Phofphorus.

Artificial Phosphori are fuch as owe their luminous sH, With this Phofphorus one may write on Paper, as Quality to fome Art, or Preparation. with a Pencil, and the Letters appear like Fhme in the

Of thefe there are three Kinds : The firft burns and con- dark ; yet in the Light nothing appears but a dim Smoak. fumes every combuftible it touches ; the other two have idly, A little Piece rubb'd between two Papers, takes

no fenfible Heat. Fire inftantaneoufly If Care be not taken in the Manage-

The firft, or Burning Phofporus, may be made of Urine, ment of it, there is danger of burning the Fingers, the Pho- Blood, Hairs, and generally ef any Part of an Animal that fphorm being exceedingly inflammable. See FiRe. yields an Oil by Diftillation The Matter it is mod eafi- idly, Its burning is very vehement, and penetrates deep- ly drawn from is human Urine. er into the Flelh than common Fire ; and 'tis very difficult

'Tis of a yellowifh Colour, and of the Confidence of to be extinguifh'd. hard Wax, in theCondition 'tis left by the Diftillation ; M. Cajfmi happening to prefs a Piece in a Cloth between And in this State is call'd Phofphorus Fulgurans, from its his Fingers, the Cloth immediately took Fire ; he endea- Corrufcations ; and Phofphorus Smaragdinus, becaufe its Light vour'd to put it out with his Foot, but his Shoe caught the is frequently green or blue, efpecially in Places that are not Flame, and he was obliged to extinguifh it with a Brafs-Ruler, very dark ; and felid Phofphorus from its Confidence. which caft forth Rays in the Dark for two Months after.

The