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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels. By Robert Kerr, Travels in the Spanish Provinces of Anda- F.R.S. F.A.S. Edin. Part III. 6s. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ROYAL INSTITUTION. NEW discoveries in modern times WOL parted with some of its oxygen the as he reas tention of the scientific world, as that of the metallic nature of potass, soda, and ammonia; though this discovery has not hitherto been attended with any benefi cial practical application. It can how ever scarcely be doubted, that a more perfect acquaintance with the nature of metallic bodies, must be followed by improved processes in the modes of smelting the ores, and in the various arts of metallurgy. Potassium, or the metal of potass, has lately been procured in larger quantities, by heating iron fileings and potass together in a gun barrel, or iron retort coated with clay. The colour of potassium resembles that of tin, it is ea sily cut with a knife, and solders with itself at the common temperature of the atmosphere. Its most remarkable quali ties are its levity and combustibility. It is considerably lighter than water; if the weight of a given quantity of water were 10 oz. that of the same quantity of potassium would be only 7 oz. it is the lightest known solid substance. When it comes in contact with water, it immediately inflames with great violence, decomposing the water and absorbing its oxygen. It will burn with intense heat and vivid light under the surface of water, and will probably be found the most powerful agent in destructive naval warfare, that has ever been employed. The properties of sodium are nearly similar to those of potassium; except that when pure it does not inflame with water, but inoves in a rapid manner along its sur face, decomposing it, and absorbing the oxygen. Potass, or the vegetable alkali, in the purest state in which it is obtained by chemical means, retains 17 per cwt. of water, even after being kept in a red heat for several hours; it is properly an hydrait of potass. When potassium is burned in oxygen gas, it forms a substance containing more oxygen than potass, and is free from water; it is hard and almost infusible; but when it has ts c C been procured as a metallic ant united with mercury, or sodium. The manner of procuring it is, by placing a globule of mercury in a small cavity, made in a piece of muriat of ammenia, (sal ammonia) one wire from a voltaie battery is connected with the mercury, the other with the muriat of aminonia: the globe of mercury is increased in size, loses its fluidity, and becomes a solid metallic amalgam. The discovery of the metallic nature of the alkalies, potass, and ammia, has been followed by the discover, that all the earths are also metalsited with oxygen. These earths are silex, clay, lime, magnesia, barytes, strontian, and the newly discovered earths, zucon, uria, and glucine. * Lavoisier in his elements states his opinion that barytes, and some if not all the earths were metallic oxyds, but this opinion was not supported by any proof; and the experiments of Toudi, who as serted that he had procured globes of metal from barytes, lime, and magnesia, have generally been regarded as incon clusive, but perhaps they have not been properly investigated. By means of the Voltaic battery, Dr. Davy procured very small globules of metal from all the earths, but they explode almost imme diately after their formation, and absorb oxygen from the water, which is used to make the earths into a paste to be acted upon by the Voltaic battery in these experiments. Potassium, or the metal from potass, has the strongest affinity for oxygen of all known substances; when it is combined with the earths, and acted upon by the Voltaic battery, a larger globe of metal may be obtained from them. The attempt to decompose the earths by ignition with iron and charcoal * Vide Mr. Kerr's note in the 3d edition of his Translation of Lavoisier's Elements, p. 229. had cited * of nature, when the present mountains and continents are worn down and washed into the sea. In the course of these lectures, Dr. Davy again adverted to the meteoric stones which had fallen from the atmosphere. These he supposed might be small bodies revolving round had not succeeded in this country. The metallic nature of the earths will probably explain many facts in metallurgy and also in the natural history of our planet. In reducing metals from their ores, some of the earths are made use of as fluxes, and may probably affect the quality of the metals by uniting with them in a me--other planets, which came in contact tallic state. In the process of making with our atmosphere. The earths they malleable iron from cast iron, after heat contained, he said, probably existed in ing it for a long time, it is violently ham- a metallic state, and were inflamed and merse hich separates from it a brittle exploded by the oxygen or moisture ubstance; this Dr. Davy said which they met with in traversing the ustriou metal of silex combined with higher regions of the air. Of all the hywing we were not informed by what potheses which have been formed to account for these stones, we confess this appears the least probable. The prin cipal objection that was offered to these stones being formed by the explosion of inflamble gas, in which the metals were dissolved, was, that to form a stone of equal size and weight with the one which fell on Captain Topham's estate in Yorkshire, would require 1000 cubic miles of gas. This objection does not appear to us of much weight. One thousand cubic miles of gas, if collected, would fill a sphere of rather more than twelve and one half miles in diameter, or a cube of ten miles. The meteor which passed over Europe in 1783, was stated to be 56 miles above the earth, and to have a diameter and luminous tail 6 miles in extent. means this fact had been ascertained. To the union of silex with iron, Dr. Davy ascribed the hardness and brittle, ness of cast iron. There is a particular 'kind of steel manufactured in the East, which is so hard as to cut glass; some of this steel has been analysed, and is found to contain silex; but whether in a metallic state, or the earth of silex, Dr. Davy did not mention. The earths being metallic oxyds at the surface of the globe, is no proof that they may not exist in the metallic state in the interior of our planet; and the experiments of Dr. Mackelyne on the density of the earth, agree very well with the supposition. The whole globe is about four and one half times as weighty as an equal bulk of water would be, and this is nearly the mean weight of all the metals. Were we to admit this supposition, Dr. Davy said, it would not be difficult to explain how volcanoes and earthquakes were produced. If a current of water should by any means find a passage and come in contact with any of the metals of the alkalies, or earths, they would instantly decompose the water, and absorb the oxygen; violent inflammation and explosions would take place, the metals united with oxygen would be thrown to the surface in the form of lava, earth, and mud. An experiment, giving a miniature representation of these effects was exhibited, in which potassium, lime, and iron were placed in the model of a mountain made of clay. On water being poured into a cavity or fessure in the mountain, a violent combustion ensued, attended with vivid flames, and the eruption of lava which run down the sides of the miniature volcano. In this manner also, we may conceive new continents to be raised according to some general law *This opinion we find was advanced by Baron Bern before the year 1796. If we suppose this inflammable metallic gas was extended in a stratum over all the countries where it was seen to explode, the quantity of gas existing over any one place at the same time, would not be very great, compared with the space occupied by a stratum of clouds. The stones which have fallen in different parts of the world, are all composed of the same substances. Several of these stones were exhibited. That which fell in Yorkshire weighed 56lbs, those from France, America, and Ireland, were smaller. They were all coated with a black incrustation, when this was broken off the interior of the stones is of a light yellowish brown colour. They all contain silex and magnesia, with metallic particles of iron and nickel, and some interspersed particles of iron pyrites. Several specimens of meteoric iron were also exhibited; these contain iron and nickel, in combination; the nickel giving to the iron a degree of hardness which makes it very difficult to work. The nu merous and well attested instances of the fail of these stones, which have occurred in our own times, leave no room for for doubting the truth of many narrations of antient historians, of stones which have fallen in Greece, and different parts of the world. The melcine stones are all of a similar kind, and contain a combination of earths and metals which is found in no other stones; the internal evidence from this similarity of composition, in all these substances which have fallen in Europe, in Asia, and America, is perhaps the most satisfactory that could be required with respect to their meteoric production. Great weight, or specific gravity, has been hitherto considered as one of the characteristic properties of metals; but this Dr. Davy observed would not apply to some of the newly discovered metals. Calicum, or the metal from lime; and barium, the metal from barytes, are, like sodium and potassium, lighter than water. The combustion of manganese in its metallic state, and the metals tellurium, cobalt, and nickel, was effected by placing them on a piece of ignited charcoal, and passing over them a stream of oxygen gas; being the first time these experiments had been exhibited. Tellurium burns with a blue flame, and rises in a dense smoke. Cobalt nickel and manganese burn like iron, throwing out vivid sparks. The acid, known by the name of oxymuriatic acid, and so important in the process of bleaching, has been stated by Lavoisier and the French chemists to be a compound of muriatic and oxygen; but Dr. Davy asserts that it is a simple sub. stance sui generis, not containing oxy gen, but possessing of itself an acidifying principle when combined with an inflammable basis. Muriatic acid is, according to Dr. Davy, a compound of this prin. ciple with hydrogen, Some of the experiments exhibited in support of this opinion are the following: Perfectly dry oxymuriatic acid gas and hydrogen gas were burned together without any water being produced, which must have been the case had this gas contained oxygen. The result of this combination is muriatic acid only. Phosphorus, and other inflammable substances, burned in this gas, yield results very different from combinations with oxygen. When the alka lies are heated in this gas, they form what are called muriats. The oxygen of the alkalies is given out. According to Dr. Davy, muriat of soda, or common salt, is a more simple substance than what is called pure soda; for the muriat of soda is the metal of soda, united with what is improperly called oxy-muriatio gas, but soda contains the metal united with oxygen and water. If this opinion were true, the class of muriats would be excluded from chemical compounds: but we confess we cannot see any reason why muriatic acid, whatever be its constituent parts, should not be as capable of uniting with the alkalies to form a salt as nitric and other acids. Many eminent chemists are still unwilling to admit Dr. Davy's conclusions respecting oxymuria tic acid, or what he now calls chlorine, from its yellow colour; and the question respecting its constituent parts may still be considered as sub judice. Dr. Davy has discovered a new gas, which is formed by the union of oxymuriatic or chlorine gas with oxygen, their affinity for each other is weak. When a stream of nitrous gass is passed into this compound gas, it unites with the oxygen, and forms nitrous acid, leaving the chlorine gas unaltered in its properties. The effect of oxymuriatic acid in bleaching he explained by the affinity of this gas for the hydrogen of water, forming with it muriatic acid, which acted on the vegetable fibre; the oxygen of the water acting at the same time on the colouring matter. The corrosive effects of muriatic acid during this process are lessened if the oxymuriat of lime be used. The oxymuriat of potass is the least pre judicial, but its price will prevent its ap plication to the purpose of bleaching." Dr. Davy stated, he had found that the oxymuriat of magnesia may be used with great advantage; though its bleaching property is not so rapid in its operations, it is much less injurious than oxymuriat of line, which is commonly used. The oxymuriat of magnesia will serve repeatedly for the same purpose. If heat be applied to it after it has been used, the hydrogen is expelled, and it is re stored to its former state. MONTHLY MAG. No. 213. S.N VARIETIES |