Full text: Vol. II (2)

PROCESSES FOR NITRIC EETHER. 
323 
if one-half be added, it is almost unmanageable. Mr. Navier, a French 
phyfician, was the firſt, I believe, who publiſhed a practicable and suc 
cessful process, founded, 1 presume, on similar observations. He pre 
scribes the cautious and gradual mixture of one-half of acid with the 
alcohol, in a very ſtrong glaſs veſsel, which he immediately corks up, 
and fecures the cork with leather, tied hard over it, and secured by 
packthread; and the bottle is kept in cold water. Thus are the elas 
tic steams prevented from forming, by the great prefsure produced by 
those already generated. The fluids gradually act on each other, and 
an aether is produced, which, like the vitriolic, floats a-top. As all this 
goes on under a very great prefsure, it is plain that if we pull out the 
cork, or even untie the packthread, the elastic explosion will take place 
in an instant, through the whole liquor, and it would be thrown out. 
Mr. Navier, therefore, directs the cork to be pierced with a pin, and 
the vapour allowed to escape. After this, the æether may be separated 
by a funnel. It amounted to one-third, or one-half of the alcohol. 
This procefs was ſtill hazardous, for the bottle often burst. Mr. 
Beaumé, of the French Academy of Sciences, improved this process, 
by carefully investigating the best proportion and manipulation. He 
found that two parts of acid to three of spirits gave the greatest pro 
duce of æther from the same alcohol, and directed both ingredients to 
be used in the coldest state, by keeping each in melting ice, or water 
and ice, and by setting the corked-up bottle in the fame situation. 
This proportion of ingredients secures us against the chance of explo 
sions wholly ungovernable, and the low temperature greatly moderates 
the action that is unavoidable. He also directs us to give the liquor 
in the bottle a brisk whirling motion immediately before pouring in 
any more acid. This prevents any accumulation in a particular spot. 
By this process we obtain, in three or four hours, a considerable 
quantity of æther, which is observed to form in little drops all over 
the liquor, and rise gently to the top. By allowing the bottle to re 
main undisturbed for eight or ten days we obtain about half the 
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