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PROPERTIES OF COLUMBIC ACID.

COLUMBIC ACID.

PART XC.

CoLUMBIC acid exists in the new discovered ore called co-lumbate of iron.

PROPERTIES OF COLUMBIC ACID.

Columbic acid appears in the form of a white pulverulent sub-stance, whose colour does not become changed, when boiled innitric acid. It is soluble in sulphuric and muriatic acid. Thesolution in sulphuric acid, when mingled with water, deposits awhite precipitate, which, when suffered to dry, acquires first ablue and then a grey colour. All the acid solutions are decom-posable by alcalies. Columbic acid has scarcely any perceptibleflavour, nor does it appear fo be soluble in water; but whenmoistened with this fluid, and placed in contact with litmus paper,it very soon reddens it. It expels the carbonic acid from carbo-nated alcalies, and forms salts with potash and soda, which arecolourless, soluble in water, permanent in the air, and decom-posable by nitric acid. Dissolved in water they form a precipitate,when mingled with solutions of tungstate and molybdate of pot-ash, with cobaltate of ammonia, and alcaline solutions of iron.Columbic acid does not combine with ammonia, nor does it unitewith sulphur, bv fusion. It forms a purplish blue glass withphosphate of ammonia. For a fuller account of this acid, werefer our reader to Mr. Hatchett’s paper in the Philosoph. Trans-actions, 1802, p. I. p. 40 . The method this philosopher madeuse of for separating this acid from its natural combination, hasbeen noticed already, page 24.