B I

'— *79 —

You will be sorry to see thc tone of this short note, butmy dearest husband is not quite so well as usual, but I hopeho will improve. May I add my kind remembrances to bisand sign myself Y ours very truly

S. Faradav.

Schcenbein to Faraday.My deak Faraday

To give \ 7 ou a sign of life I send you some linesthrough a former pupil of mine, Mr. Burckhardt of Bale. Inspite of all the revolutions and commotions which have takenplace around us these last eight months I have not given up myfavorite researches and been rather industrious in my labora-tory. Amongst other things I have made many experimentson the action exerted by Ozone upon mctals at the commontemperature and obtained pretty rcsults. 1 have found outthat with a few exceptions all metallic bodies are oxidized byOzone to thc highest degree they are capable of, Silver andLead for instance being transformed at once into thc peroxideof those metals, arsenic and antimony into arsenic and anti-monic aeid, without passing through their intermediate degreesof oxidation. Though Silver bc reputed to bc much lessoxidable than Copper, Zinc, Tin etc., it is more rapidly oxidizedby Ozone, than the metals mentioned. Polished plates of SilverCopper, Tin, Zinc being suspended within a strongly ozonizedatmospherc are very differently acted upon. After half anhour's Suspension the silvcrplate will have lost its metalliclustre and be covered with a layer of peroxide of Silver, whilstthe plates of the other mctals may remain for 24 hour's withinour atmosphere without losing sensibly of therc brilliäncy. Itmay thereforc be saiel that with regard to Ozone Silver isonc of thc most readily oxidable metals, providcd silver andthe other metals be exposed to thc action of our oxidizing

■ .- }

r ,-m

■S

-•I

i

•