On the results of a series of experiments on the decomposition of water by the galvanic battery : with a view to obtain a constant and brilliant lime light / by N.J. Callan.

  • Callan, N. J. (Nicholas Joseph), 1799-1864.
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the results of a series of experiments on the decomposition of water by the galvanic battery : with a view to obtain a constant and brilliant lime light / by N.J. Callan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    From the Philosophical Magazine for February 1854. *r/£. ON THE RESULTS OF A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS ON THE ' ?»/ v.-va • \e\ DECOMPOSITION OF WATER BY TH| GALVANIC BATTERY,jjh*. JJ WITH A VIEW TO OBTAIN A CONSTANTSA! BRILLIANT LIME LIGHT. BY The Rev. N. J. CALL AN, PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE, MAYNOOTH. SOON after I had discovered the nitric acid cast-iron battery, and before I had completed the large one which I made for the College, I began to make experiments on the decompo- sition of water with a view to obtain a lime light which might answer for lighthouses. I soon succeeded in obtaining a steady and brilliant light. In a paper on our new galvanic battery, dated April 6, 1848, and published in the London Philosophical Magazine of the following July, I stated that “ I got the lime light by igniting mixed gases as they were produced by the decomposition of water and throwing the flame on lime.” I believe I was the first who obtained a constant lime light by means of the galvanic batteiy. My experiments were frequently interrupted on account of the state of my health. They were at one time suspended for more than two years, and several times for five or six months. The same cause which obliged me to interrupt them now compels me to bring them to a close before I could complete all the experiments I intended to make. These experiments have led to the following results:—First, a new apparatus for applying with perfect safety the mixed gases, oxygen and hydrogen, to the production of a flame of the most intense heat, which, when thrown on lime, produces a most dazzling light. Secondly, a new voltameter, to which a common jet may be screwed, and the gases inflamed as they issue