Qualitative chemical analysis and laboratory practice / by T.E. Thorpe and M.M. Pattison Muir.

  • Thorpe, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1845-1925.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Qualitative chemical analysis and laboratory practice / by T.E. Thorpe and M.M. Pattison Muir. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    47/273 (page 25)
    Experiment I.—Lift one of the bottles from the tray, set it, mouth upwards, on the table, and plunge into it a lighted taper; the flame burns more brilliantly, but the gas itself does not take fire. Do this experiment quickly, and immediately replace the bottle, inverted, on the tray. Experiment II.—For this experiment you must pass the deflagrating spoon through a cork of a size to fit the mouth of the bottle ; below the cork on the spoon is fitted a small copper or tin plate, which prevents the burning phosphorus from setting fire to the cork. (See fig. 13.) Place a small piece of phosphorus on the deflagrating spoon, set fire to it, and plunge it into the jar of gas used in the last experiment, fitting the p,,, ,3 cork on the spoon into the bottle. The phosphorus burns very brilliantly, with almost as bright a light as when it burned in o.xygen. This confirms the teaching of the last experiment. When the fumes pro- duced in this e.xperimenthave somewhat subsided, plunge a lighted taper into the jar ; it is extinguished, the gas behaves therefore as nitrogen does : now pour a little blue litmus solution into the bottle, close the moutli with the palm of the hand, and shake well; the litmus is reddened, therefore an acid has been produced in this ex- periment. This result agrees with that obtained by burning phosphorus in pure oxygen (Lesson I.) or in air (Lesson IV.). But there is a difference between the powers of sup- porting combustion possessed by nitrous oxide and oxygen. Experiment III. Place a small piece of sulphur on the spoon, set fire to it, but let it be only just lighted and no more ; now bring it into the .second bottle of nitrous oxide ; the flame is extinguished. Had you employed oxygen in this experiment, you know that the sulphur would have burned with increased brilliancy.