Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 1.djvu/91

Rh geometricians ; but he further insists that, for the investigation of ab- struse and latent truth, and the evolution of intricate problems, the analytical method is on every consideration to be preferred to the geometrical.

The author introduces the subject of his paper by stating that Mr. Berthollet, having observed a large portion of common muriate of potash to be always produced along with the hyperoxygenized muriate, had formed an ingenious conjecture, that the quantity of oxygen, relatively to the acid, was greater in the salt than in dis- engaged oxygenized muriatic acid; but that no experiments having appeared since the year 1788 to prove this assertion, he was induced to examine the properties of the salt,- and the nature of the acid it contains. He next mentions such authors as have treated any part of his subject; and intimates that Mr. Hoyle of Manchester appears to him to be the chemist, who, after Mr. Bcrthollet, has approached nearest to the truth. He then proceeds to describe the means by which he has determined that the acid contained in his hyperoxyge- nized muriate of potash is, in fact, an acid sui generis ; and those by which he arrived at the proportion of oxygen. After which he treats of the saline combinations of oxygenized and hypetoxygenized mu- riatic acids.

To determine the proportion of oxygen in hyperoxygenized mu- riatic acid, he distilled one hundred grains of hyperoxygeniZed mu- riate of potash in a coated glass retort, and collected one hundred and twelve cubic inches of oxygen gas, = 38“3 grains. He then precipitated by nitrate of silver the salt which remained in the re— _ tort, and a small portion of it that had been volatilized into the tube, and obtained a quantity of muriate of silver, corresponding with twenty of muriatic acid; and hence he concluded that one hundred parts of hyperoxygenized muriatic acid contained,

Oxygen...... .. . . . . ................ 65 Muriaticacid. . . . ..................... 35 100

He then passed a current of oxygenized muriatic acid through a solution of potash, and distilled the liquor to dryness in an appara- tus, by which he could ascertain whether there was any disengage- ment or absorption of oxygen from the liquor or from the salt it held in solution. No oxygen was disengaged or absorbed; and hence it appears that the same quantity Was now condensed in the byperoxy— genized muriate of potash as was originally contained in a relative quantity of oxygenized muriatic acid. The salt thus obtained, Mr. Chenevix, for the sake of brevity, calls entire salt. He analysed it,