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Preparations and Compositions. Part III.
f.
It
nel was very long, and its extremity was immersed in the al-cohol in the retort. This simple contrivance not only en-abled me to add to the acid as I pleased, but also acted asa tube of safety.
The method of forming nitrous ether, now directed by theDublin college, is indeed said to be preferable to those men-tioned. It was first practised by M. Voigt.
When alcohol is converted into ether by the action of ni-trous acid, the change produced on it is nearly the same withthat produced by sulphuric acid ; but, in the latter case, it iseffected by the affinities which form water, and charcoal isprecipitated; and in the former, by the affinities which formcarbonic acid, and no water is produced.
Nitrous ether seems to differ from sulphuric ether only inbeing combined with nitric oxide, at least it is highly in-flammable, pungent, volatile, and is not soluble in water,while it gives a deep olive colour to green salts of iron, andhas a considerable specific gravity. When simply washedwith water, I found its sp. gr. to be 0.912; when the acidwhich it evidently contained was removed, by saturating itwith potass, it became 0.896 ; and when rectified, by re-distilling it, it became 0.866, but recovered decidedly acidproperties, probably from the nitric oxide being acidified bythe air of the apparatus.
SPIRITUS -2ETHERIS NITROSI. Ed.
Spirit of Nitrous Ether.
Take of
Alcohol, three pounds;Nitrous acid, one pound.
Pour the alcohol into a capacious phial, placed in a vessel fullof cold water, and add the acid by degrees, constantly agi-tating them. Let the phial be slightly covered, and placedfor seven days in a cool place; then distil the liquor, withthe heat of boiling water, into a receiver kept cool withwater or snow, till no more spirit comes over.
cPIRITUS iETHEREUS NITROSUS. Dub.
Nitrous Ethereal Spirit.Add to the matter which remains after the distillation of thenitrous ether, the rectified spirit of wine, which was em-ployed in that operation for condensing the elastic vapours,and distil, with the greatest heat of a water-bath, to dry-ness. Mix the distilled liquor with the alkaline liquorwhich remained after the separation of the nitrous ether.