Abstract
THIS preliminary note is intended to give a very brief account of experiments which have been carried out during the past year to ascertain whether, in addition to nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, there are any gases in air which have escaped observation owing to their being present in very minute quantity. In collaboration with Miss Emily Aston we have found that the nitride of magnesium, resulting from the absorption of nitrogen from atmospheric air, on treatment with water yields only a trace of gas; that gas is hydrogen, and arises from a small quantity of metallic magnesium unconverted into nitride. That the ammonia produced on treatment with water is pure has already been proved by the fact that Lord Rayleigh found that the nitrogen produced from it had the normal density. The magnesia, resulting from the nitride, yields only a trace of soluble matter to water, and that consists wholly of hydroxide and carbonate. So far, then, the results have been negative.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
On a New Constituent of Atmospheric Air. Nature 58, 127–128 (1898). https://doi.org/10.1038/058127a0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/058127a0