Volume 2

A system of chemistry of inorganic bodies / By Thomas Thomson.

  • Thomson, Thomas, 1773-1852.
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of chemistry of inorganic bodies / By Thomas Thomson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    20/968 (page 2)
    chap.I. Lavoisier endeavoured to prove that oxygen constitutes an ———— essential constituent in them all. And this opinion holds good with the greater number of acids which chemists were acquaint- ed with in his time, though not with the whole of them. Consist of It is now known that not merely oxygen, but all the other Rad simple supporters, namely, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluo- rine, are capable of forming acids, by uniting with several of the acidifiable bases, and indeed also when they unite with several of the alkalifiable bases; especially those belonging to the last family, and described under the name of noble metals. In fact the greater number of the metals belonging to this family, are scarcely entitled to the name of alkalifiable bases ; though they hardly possess sufficiently energetic characters to entitle their compounds, if we except their chlorides, to be considered as acids. Besides the five supporters, cyanogen, sulphur, selenium, and tellurium, have also the property of forming acids when they unite with the acidifiable bases. Indeed it is not impro- bable that this property may belong to most if not to the whole of the acidifiable bases, though at present it has only been ascertained to hold with respect to those which have been just named. ‘Thus it appears that the acids at present known may be divided into 9 classes, namely, 1. Oxygen acids, 6. Cyanogen acids, 2. Chlorine acids, 7. Sulphur acids, 3. Bromine acids, 8. Selenium acids, 4. Iodine acids, 9. Tellurium acids. 5. Fluorine acids, | These 9 classes of acids will be described in succession, so. far as the present imperfect state of the science will enable us to go. CLASS I. OXYGEN ACIDS. The acids which contain oxygen as an essential constituent, have been longer known and more carefully examined by chemists than those which constitute the other eight classes. This is probably the reason why they are at present so much more numerous than all the other acids put together. There ean be no doubt that the chlorine acids, and those belonging