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PROOFS OF THE PROPERTIES OF SILVER.

SECT. II.

EXPERIMENTAL PROOFS

OF

THE PROPERTIES OF SILVER.

Experiment I.

Silver unites to -phosphorus by fusion.

(Phosphuret of silver.)

Mix two parts of glacial acid of phosphorus and one ofsilver filings, with half a part of charcoal dust; introduce themixture into a crucible, placed in a forge or furnace, and exposeit to a red heat for about an hour.

When the fusion is complete, the silver appears at the bottomof the crucible in the middle of the fused acid and small jets ofphosphorus project themselves from it; remove the crucible intothe open air and the metal will speedily cease to be fluid. Thebutton obtained is phosphuret of silver, from which the phos-phorus may be again separated by heat, leaving the silver very-pure.

Experiment II.

Silver unites to sulphur.

(Sulphuret of silver.)

Put plates of silver and sulphur reduced to powder into a cru-cible, in alternate strata, beginning with a stratum of sulphur,