An Introduction to Chemical Science Part 13

gases, a combustible and a supporter, are mixed in the requisite proportion, they form an explosive mixture, needing only the kindling temperature to unite them.

Chemical combination is always accompanied by disengagement of heat. Chemical dissociation is always accompanied by absorption of heat. The disengagement, or the absorption, is not always evident to the senses.

Combustion is the chemical combination of two or more substances with the self-evident disengagement of great heat, and usually of light.

The temperature of ignition varies greatly with different substances. PH3 burns spontaneously at the usual temperatures of the air. P takes fire at 60 degrees, but even at 10 degrees it oxidizes with rapidity enough to produce phosph.o.r.escence. The vapor of CS2 may be set on fire by a gla.s.s rod heated to 150 degrees, but a red-hot iron will not ignite illuminating gas.

Spontaneous combustion often takes place in woolen or cotton rags which have been saturated with oil. The oil rapidly absorbs O, and sets fire to the cloth. This is thought to be the origin of some very destructive fires.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

CHLORINE.

150. Preparation.

Experiment 87.--Put into a t.t. 5 g. of fine granular MnO2 and 10 cc. HCl. Apply heat carefully, and collect the gas by downward displacement in a receiver loosely covered with paper (Fig. 39).

Add more HCl if needed. Have a good draft of air, and do not inhale the gas. If you have accidentally breathed it, inhale alcohol vapor from a handkerchief; alcohol has great affinity for Cl. Note the color of the gas, and compare its weight with that of air.

MnO2 + 4 HCl = MnCl2 + 2 H2O + 2 Cl. How much Cl can be separated with 5 g. MnO2?

If preferred, a flask may be used for a generator instead of a t.t. Cl can be obtained directly from NaCl by adding H2SO4 (which produces HCl) and MnO2. 2 NaCl + 2 H2SO4 + MnO2 = MnSO4 + Na2SO4 + 2 H2O + 2 Cl. Try the experiment, using a t.t. and adding water.

151. Cl from Bleaching-Powder.

Experiment 88.--Put a few grams of bleaching- powder into a small beaker, and set this into a larger one. Cover the latter with pasteboard or paper, through which pa.s.ses a thistle-tube reaching into the small beaker (Fig. 40). Pour through the tube a little H2SO4 dilated with its volume of H2O.

152. Chlorine Water.--A solution of Cl in water is often useful, and may be made as follows:-- Experiment 89.--To 3 or 4 crystals of KClO3 add a few drops of HCl. Heat a minute, and when the gas begins to disengage, pour in 10 cc. H2O, which dissolves the gas.

2 KClO3 + 4 HCl = 2 KCl + Cl2O4 + 2 H2O + 2 Cl.

153. Bleaching Properties.

Experiment 90.--Put into a receiver of Cl, preferably before generating it, two pieces of Turkey red cloth, one wet, the other dry; a small piece of printed paper and a written one; also a red rose or a green leaf, each wet. Note from which the color is discharged. If it is not discharged from all, put a little H2O into the receiver, shake it well, and state what ones are bleached.

Experiment 91.--(1) Add 5 cc. of Cl water to 5 cc. of indigo solution. (2) Treat in the same way 5 cc. K2Cr2O7 (pota.s.sium dichromate) solution, and record the results.

Indigo, writing-ink, and Turkey red or madder, are vegetable pigments; printer's ink contains C, and K2Cr2O7 is a mineral pigment. State what coloring matters Cl will bleach.

154. Disinfecting Power.

Experiment 92.--Pa.s.s a little H2S gas from a generator into a t.t. containing Cl water. Look for a deposit of S. Notice that the odor of H2S disappears. H2S + 2 Cl = 2 HCl + S.

155. A Supporter of Combustion.

Experiment 93.--Sprinkle into a receiver of Cl a very little fine powder or filings of Cu, As, or Sb, and notice the combustion.

Observe that here is a case of combustion in which O does not take part. Chlorides of the metals are of course formed. Write the reactions. See whether Cl will support the combustion of paper or of a stick of wood.

Experiment 94.--Warm 2 or 3 cc. of oil of turpentine (C1OH16) in an evaporating-dish; dip a piece of tissue paper into it, and very quickly thrust this into a receiver of Cl. It should take fire and deposit carbon. C1OH16 + 16 Cl = ? Test the moisture on the sides of the receiver with litmus. Clean the receiver with a little petroleum.

Experiment 95.--Prepare a H generator with a lamp-tube bent as in Figure 41. Light the H, observing the cautions in Experiment 23, and when well burning, lower the flame into a receiver of Cl.

Observe the change of color which the flame undergoes as it comes in contact with Cl. Give the reaction for the burning. Test with litmus any moisture on the sides of the receiver. A mixture of Cl and H, in direct sunlight combines with explosive violence; whereas in diffused sunlight it combines slowly, and in darkness it does not combine. From these experiments state the chief properties of Cl, and what combustion it will support.

[Figure 41.]

156. Sources and Uses.--The great source of Cl is NaCl, though it is often made from HCl. Its chief use is in making bleaching- powder, one pound of which will bleach 300 to 500 pounds of cloth. Cl is very easily liberated from this powder by a dilute acid, or, slowly, by taking moisture from the air. Hence its use as a disinfectant in destroying noxious gases and the germs of infectious diseases. Cl attacks organic matter and germs as it does the membrane of the throat or lungs, owing to its affinity for H.

Cl is the best bleaching agent for cotton goods. It is not suitable for animal materials, such as silk and wool, as it attacks their fiber. It does not discharge either mineral or carbon colors. The chemistry of bleaching is obscure.

As dry material will not bleach, Cl seems to unite with H in H2O and to set O free. The O then unites with some portion of the coloring matter, oxidizing it, and breaking up its molecule.

Colors bleached by Cl cannot be restored.

Chapter x.x.xI.

BROMINE.

Examine bromine, pota.s.sium bromide, sodium bromide, magnesium bromide.

157. Preparation.

Experiment 96.--Pulverize 2 or 3 g. KBr, and mix it with about the same bulk of MnO2. After putting this into a t.t, add as much H2SO4, mix them together by shaking, attach a d.t., and conduct the end of it into a t.t. that is immersed in a bottle of cold water. Slowly heat the contents of the t.t., and notice the color of the escaping vapor, and any liquid that condenses in the receiver. Avoid inhaling the fumes, or getting them into the eyes.

MnO2 + 2 KBr + 2 H2SO4 = ? Compare this with the equation for making Cl from NaCl.

158. Tests.

Experiment 97.--Try the bleaching action of Br vapor as in the case of Cl. Bleach a piece of litmus paper, and try to restore the color with NH4OH. Explain its bleaching and disinfecting action. Try the combustibility of As, Sb, and Cu.

159. Description.--Bromine at usual temperatures is a liquid element; it is the only common one except Hg; it. quickly evaporates on exposure to air. The chemistry of its manufacture is like that of Cl; its bleaching and disinfecting powers are similar to the latter, though they are not quite so strong as those of Cl. Its affinity for H and for metals is also strongly marked. A drop of Br on the skin produces a sore slow to heal.

Bromine salts are mainly KBr, NaBr, MgBr2. These in small quant.i.ties accompany NaCl, and are most common in brine springs.

The world's supply of Br comes chiefly from West Virginia and Ohio, over 300,000 pounds being produced from the salt (NaCl) wells there in 1884. The water taken from these wells is nearly evaporated, after which NaCl crystallizes out, leaving a thick liquid--bittern, or mother liquor--which contains the salts of Br. The bittern is treated with H2SO4 and Mn02, as above.

For transportation in large quant.i.ties, Br has to be made into the salts NaBr and KBr, on account of the danger attending leakage or breakage of the receptacles for Br.

160. Uses.--Its chief uses are in photography (page 167), medicine, as KBr, and a.n.a.lytical chemistry.

Chapter x.x.xII.

IODINE.

Examine iodine, pota.s.sium iodide.

161. Preparation of I.

Experiment 98.--Put into a t.t. 2 or 3 g. of powdered KI mixed with an equal bulk of MnO2, add H2SO4 enough to cover well, shake together, complete the apparatus as for making Br, and heat.

Notice the color of the vapor, and any sublimate. The direct product of the solidification of a vapor is called a sublimate.

The process is sublimation. Observe any crystals formed. Write the reaction, and compare the process with that for making Br and Cl. Compare the vapor density of I with that of Br and of Cl.

With that of air. What vapor is heavier than I? What acid and what base are represented by KI?

162. Tests.