PROPERTIES OF OXIUF.NATED-MURIATES.

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PROPERTIES OF OXIGENATED MURIATES.

Tlicse salts are distinguished from all the rest by yielding oxi-gen gas when heated, and thus becoming converted into mu-riates. They detonate very violently by friction and percussionwith the easily inflammable bodies.

PREPARATION OF OXIGENATED MURIATES.

Preparation of oxigenated muriate of potash.

To prepare this salt, the usual materials for preparing oxi-genated muriatic acid gas, (voi. I. p. 304,) are put into a retortconnected with Pepys’s or Burkitt’s apparatus. A solution of pot-ash is put into the receivers, leaving the first empty, and thus sa-turating the potash by passing a current of oxigenated muriaticacid gas through it. When the saturation is nearly complete theoxigenated muriate of potash separates in crystals.

When three parts of oxigenated muriate of potash and one ofsulphur are triturated in a mortar, the mixture detonates violent-ly, the same effect is produced when the mixture is struck witha hammer on an anvil. Phosphorus detonates with oxigenatedmuriate of potash with a prodigious force. Similar effects areproduced with other inflammable substances, or with metallicbodies. Some of them may be inflamed by the affusion of sul-phuric or nitric acid.

Remark. ..It is singular that the oxigenated muriatic acid gasdoes not combine directly with the alcali, but suffers a partial de-composition ; one part of it becomes actually converted into mu-riatic acid, and consequently forms muriate of potash ; the otherpart receives the oxigen with which the former parted, and com-bines with another portion of potash, forming a salt in which theacid exists, with a larger proportion of oxigen than in its usualstate of oxigenated acid. This salt, therefore, is properly speak-ing, not an oxigenated muriate, but a hyper-oxigenated muriate