PROOFS OF THE PROPERTIES OF HIDROGEN GAS.

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points may be distant from each other, within the tube, aboutone-eighth of an inch or less. Into this tube standing in water,two parts in bulk of hidrogen gas, and live parts of atmosphericair, is transferred. The tube is then to be firmly held, and anelectric spark is passed, by means of the conductors, throughthe mixture of the gases; an immediate explosion takes place,the volume of the gases will be diminished, and the water willascend in the tube; for the whole of the hidrogen gas is con-sumed, and likewise all that part of the common air which con-sisted of oxigen gas, and there is formed a quantity of waterequal in weight to these two bodies.

Ration ale. ..The hidrogen gas robs the atmospheric air ofthe whole portion of oxigen gas it contained, this mixture beingfired by the electric spark disappears and forms water. The re-sidue therefore indicates the quantity of nitrogen gas which wascontained in the given bulk of atmospheric air with considerableaccuracy.

Remark.. ..If mixed in the proportion of one part in bulk ofthe former, and two parts of the latter gas, or more accurately,85 parts by weight of oxigen gas, and 15 of hidrogen gas, andthen exploded over water, the volume of the gases disap-pears, and the exploding tube in which they were contained, be-comes completely filled with water, on account of the total va-cuum which had been formed.

If the explosion be made in a close vessel, or over mercury,a quantity of water is always produced, equal in weight to thegases employed.

This water must be composed of the two gases; for it did notpreviously exist in the vessel, and no other substance besides thegases was introduced. Water then is composed of oxigen andhidrogen; and the combustion of hidrogen is nothing but theact of its combination with oxigen.

It has been with great plausibility conjectured that detonationsin the air, or claps of thunder, are similar effects of the combus-tion of hidrogen and oxigen gas, and that the rain which falls so