Volume 2

Experiments and observations on different kinds of air, and other branches of natural philosophy, connected with the subject ... / being the former six volumes abridged and methodized, with many additions. By Joseph Priestley.

  • Priestley, Joseph, 1733-1804.
Date:
1790
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Experiments and observations on different kinds of air, and other branches of natural philosophy, connected with the subject ... / being the former six volumes abridged and methodized, with many additions. By Joseph Priestley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    139/496 (page 123)
    more than two ounce meafures in this way, but: received all the remainder, which was almoft two pints, in water. Far the greateft part of this was fixed air, being readily abforbed by water, and ex-- tinguilhing a candle. There was, however, a con- fiderable refiduum, in which the flame of a candle burned with a crackling noife, from which I con- cluded that it was true dephlogifticated air. In this experiment I had molftened the red lead with fpirit of nitre feveral times, and had dried it again. When I repeated the experiment, 1 moifben- ed it only once with the fame acid, when 1 got from it not quite a pint of air j but it was almoft all of the dephlogifticated kind, about five times as pure as common air. N. B. All the acids made a violent effervefcence with the red lead. Though there was a difference in the refult of thefe experiments, I was now convinced that it was the nitrous acid which the red lead had acquired from die air, and which had enabled it to yield the dephlogifticated air, agreeably to my original conjecture. Finding alfo, as will be feen in the following feCtion, that the fame kind of air is pro- duced by moiftening with the fpirit of nitre any kind of earth that is free from phlogifton, and treat- ing it as I had done the red lead in the laft-men- tioned experiment, there remained at that time no doubt in my mind, but that atmofpherical air^ or