The wires are now in perfect and proper connection with the
vessel containing the water; and you see the bubbles rising: let us
collect these bubbles and see what they are. Here is a glass cylinder (O);
I fill it with water and put it over one end (A) of the pile; and I will
take another (H) and put it over the other end (B) of the pile. And so now
we have a double apparatus, with both places delivering gas. Both these
jars will fill with gas. There they go, that to the right (H) filling very
rapidly; the one to the left (O) filling not so rapidly; and though I have
allowed some bubbles to escape, yet still the action is going on pretty
regularly; and were it not that one is rather smaller than the other, you
would see that I should have twice as much in this (H) as I have in that
(O). Both these gases are colourless; they stand over the water without
condensing; they are alike in all things--I mean in all _apparent_ things;
and we have here an opportunity of examining these bodies and ascertaining
what they are. Their bulk is large, and we can easily apply experiments to
them. I will take this jar (H) first, and will ask you to be prepared to
recognise hydrogen.
Think of all its qualities--the light gas which stood well in inverted
vessels, burning with a pale flame at the mouth of the jar--and see
whether this gas does not satisfy all these conditions.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89