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The Substance of this "Phosphor us may be made as Transparent as äny Resr-rous Body, and will Melt like Wax in warm Water : And when cold it isexceeding Tough, and cuts like Lttm Cornea , or rather somewhat harder.When ’tis all under or covered with Water, it Ceafes to fune ; but when-ever any part of it chanccs to Emerge or get into tbe Air, though the Glasibe Hermetically sealed or perfectly shu r , yet it will ßune.
In a large Glast 1 bave kept it without Water for scveral Days, and yetcontinually Sbining with litrle or no Diminution of its Ught or fVeight .
Of this Solid 1 have had forne parcels much more Vigorous and InHamma-ble than others. When I made tome Experiments last Summer with thisSolid Phosphorus , every one bandled it without any Danger: But I havelinee had forne Parcels that would ßarce endure the touch of a WarmHand, without taking Fire and Burning. Such misithances have happenedto stveral, that extorted this Curiösity out of my Hand.*, who would notbelieve such a Cold Body, would of it seif turn into fo Fierce a Fire. Thusmaking some Experiments in the Company of a very worthy and ingeniousGentleman, I laid down a pieccofthis Luminous Substance (about zDracbmsin weight) and it teok Fire when no Candle was in the Room, and we wereall at a good distance, and it Blazed like a Faggot, and Burnt the Carpet andBoard it lay upon. This fort is only for the Experienced and Careful to medrdie with.
The leß vigorous, as I was fpeaking of, did afford us this Experiment ;We writ with a Pointed end, what Words we pleascd in the Light, andthen we removed into the Dark, and had very Radiant and Legtble Cha-racters, which looked like Words written with a Beam of Light : I havemade this continue so for a considcrable time, by laying it on with Ad-vantage.
If wecarry thefe Glorious Letters to th# FVre-side, and tuber ihem thereto grow Warm, they will presently turn into Dark Lines , and remain aslong as good Inkmay be thought to do.
This Light is very diffusive of it self, for 1 have marked down above aioo Characters with this lllustrious Peneii, and found nota 2 oth partConsumed.
In like manner I weighed out half a Gratn, and I spread it over my Handat Night, which it gilded ali over, and continu’d Light all the Night, forso I found it next Morning.
As a further Proof of its Diffusive Quality, having Weighed out oneGram, and counterpoiscd it in good Scalcs, it continued to Flame in theopenAirfor 7 or 8 Days, insomuch that fhutting my Study Windows byDay, I could always lee a Bead of Fire, and when I looked intent upon it, itsent upa White Flame into the Ambient Air; which a large picee does very.remarkably.
After all was Burnt out, we had no Ashes or Recrementi, fave only a littleMoisture which Tasted Subacid. Having liiffered a larger piece to burn ouf,1 had more Moisture, which tasted like a weaker Oleum Sulphuris per Campa-nam. This puts mc in mind, that roostof my Friends, when they have leen
this