Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 095.djvu/362

328 precipitated from a neutral solution by prussiate of mercury, the precipitate thus formed has the property of detonating when heated. The noise is similar to that occasioned by firing an equal quantity of gunpowder, and accordingly the explosion is attended with no marks of violence unless occasioned by close confinement. The heat requisite for this purpose is barely sufficient to melt bismuth, consequently is about 500° of. The light produced is proportionally feeble, and can only be seen in the absence of all other light.

In endeavouring to dissolve a piece of palladium in strong colourless nitric acid for the purpose of forming the detonating prussiate, I found that, although the acid shortly acquired a red colour surrounding the metal, the action of the acid was extremely slow, and I was surprised to observe a fact that appears to me wholly singular: the metal was taken up without any extrication of nitrous gas; and this seemed to be the cause of the slow solution of this metal, as there was not that circulation of the fluid, which takes place in the solution of other metals until the acid is nearly saturated.

As the want of production of gas appeared to retard the solution of palladium, I tried the effect of impregnating a quantity of the same acid previously with nitrous gas, and observed its action to be very considerably augmented, although the experiment was necessarily tried in the cold, because the gas would have been expelled by the application of heat.

Beside those properties which are peculiar to palladium there are others, not less remarkable, which it possesses in common with platina. I have on a former occasion mentioned that these metals resemble each other in destroying the colour of a large quantity of gold. Their resemblance, however, in other