• DOI:10.1098/RSTL.1814.0001
• Corpus ID: 96774986

I. A Synoptic scale of chemical equivalents

@article{WollastonIAS,
  title={I. A Synoptic scale of chemical equivalents},
  author={William Hyde Wollaston},
  journal={Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London},
  pages={1 - 22}
}

• W. H. Wollaston
• Geology
• Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London

When the nature of any saline compound is proposed as the subject of inquiry to an analytic chemist, the questions that occur for his consideration are so varied and so numerous, that he will seldom be disposed to undertake a series of original experiments for the purpose of satisfying his inquiries, so long as he can rely upon the accuracy of those results that have been obtained by the labour of others, who have preceded him in this field of patient investigation. If, for instance, the salt under examination be the common blue vitriol, or crystallized sulphate of copper, the first obvious questions are, (1) How much sulphuric acid does it contain? (2) How much oxide of copper? (3) How much water? He may not be satisfied with these first steps in the analysis, but may desire to know further the quantities (4) of sulphur, (5) of copper, (6) of oxygen, (7) of hydrogen. As means of gaining this information, he naturally considers the quantities of various reagents that may be employed for discovering the quantity of sulphuric acid, (8) how much barytes, (9) carbonate of barytes, or (10) nitrate of barytes, would be requisite for this purpose; (11) How much lead is to be used in the form of (12) nitrate of lead; and when the precipitate of (13) sulphate of barytes or (14) sulphate of lead are obtained, it will be necessary that he should also know the proportion which either of them contains of dry sulphuric acid. He may also endeavour to ascertain the same point by means of (15) the quantity of pure potash, or (16) of carbonate of potash requisite for the precipitation of the copper. He might also use (17) zinc or (18) iron for the same purpose, and he may wish to know the quantities of (19) sulphate of zinc, or (20) sulphate of iron that will then remain in the solution.