Among the phenomena accompanying the combustion of certain substances, the phenomenon of flame attracts attention. Sulphur, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, naphthalene, &c., burn like hydrogen with a flame, whilst in the combustion of other substances no flame is observed, as, for instance, in the combustion of iron and of charcoal. The appearance of flame depends on the capacity of the combustible substance to yield gases or vapours at the temperature of combustion. At the temperature of combustion, sulphur, phosphorus, sodium, and naphthalene pass into vapour, whilst wood, alcohol, oil, &c., are decomposed into gaseous and vaporous substances. The combustion of gases and vapours forms flames, and therefore a flame is composed of the hot and incandescent gases and vapours produced by combustion. It may easily be proved that the flames of such non-volatile substances as wood contain volatile and combustible substances formed from them, by placing a tube in the flame connected with an aspirator. Besides the products of combustion, combustible gases and liquids, previously in the flame as vapours, collect in the aspirator. For this experiment to succeed—i.e. in order to really extract combustible gases and vapours from the flame it is necessary that the suction tube should be placed inside the flame. The combustible gases and vapours can only remain unburnt inside the flame, for at the surface of the flame they come into contact with the oxygen of the air and burn.[42] Flames are of different degrees of brilliancy, according to whether solid incandescent particles occur in the combustible gas or vapour, or not. Incandescent gases and vapours emit but little light by themselves, and therefore give a paler flame.[43] If a flame does not contain solid particles it is transparent, pale, and emits but little light.[44] The flames of burning alcohol, sulphur, and hydrogen are of this kind. A pale flame may be rendered luminous by placing fine particles of solid matter in it. Thus, if a very fine platinum wire be placed in the pale flame of burning alcohol—or, better still, of hydrogen—the flame emits a bright light. This is still better seen by sifting the powder of an incombustible substance, such as fine sand, into the flame, or by placing a bunch of asbestos threads in it. Every brilliant flame always contains some kind of solid particles, or at least some very dense vapour. The flame of sodium burning in oxygen has a brilliant yellow colour, from the presence of particles of solid sodium oxide. The flame of magnesium is brilliant from the fact that in burning it forms solid magnesia, which becomes white hot, and similarly the brilliancy of the Drummond light is due to the heat of the flame raising the solid non-volatile lime to a state of incandescence. The flames of a candle, wood, and similar substances are brilliant, because they contain particles of charcoal or soot. It is not the flame itself which is luminous, but the incandescent soot it contains. These particles of charcoal which occur in flames may be easily observed by introducing a cold object, like a knife, into the flame.[45] The particles of charcoal burn at the outer surface of the flame if the supply of air be sufficient, but if the supply of air—that is, of oxygen—be insufficient for their combustion the flame smokes, because the unconsumed particles of charcoal are carried off by the current of air.[46]
The combination of various substances with oxygen may not present any signs of combustion—that is, the temperature may rise but inconsiderably. This may either proceed from the fact that the reaction of the substance (for example, tin, mercury, lead at a high temperature, or a mixture of pyrogallol with caustic potash at the ordinary temperature) evolves but little heat, or that the heat evolved is transmitted to good conductors of heat, like metals, or that the combination with oxygen takes place so slowly that the heat evolved succeeds in passing to the surrounding objects. Combustion is only a particular, intense, and evident case of combination with oxygen. Respiration is also an act of combination with oxygen; it also serves, like combustion, for the development of heat by those chemical processes which accompany it (the transformation of oxygen into carbonic anhydride). Lavoisier enunciated this in the lucid expression, ‘respiration is slow combustion.’
Reactions involving slow combination of substances with oxygen are termed oxidations. Combination of this kind (and also combustion) often results in the formation of acid substances, and hence the name oxygen (Sauerstoff). Combustion is only rapid oxidation. Phosphorus, iron, and wine may be taken as examples of substances which slowly oxidise in air at the ordinary temperature. If such a substance be left in contact with a definite volume of air or oxygen, it absorbs the oxygen little by little, as may be seen by the decrease in volume of the gas. This slow oxidation is not often accompanied by a sensible evolution of heat; an evolution of heat really does occur, only it is not apparent to our senses owing to the small rise in temperature which takes place; this is owing to the slow rate of the reaction and to the transmission of the heat formed as radiant heat, &c. Thus, in the oxidation of wine and its transformation into vinegar by the usual method of preparation of the latter, the heat evolved cannot be observed because it extends over several weeks, but in the so-called rapid process of the manufacture of vinegar, when a large quantity of wine is comparatively rapidly oxidised, the evolution of heat is quite apparent.
Such slow processes of oxidation are always taking place in nature by the action of the atmosphere. Dead organisms and the substances obtained from them—such as bodies of animals, wood, wool, grass, &c.—are especially subject to this action. They rot and decompose—that is, their solid matter is transformed into gases, under the influence of moisture and atmospheric oxygen, and generally under the influence of other organisms, such as moulds, worms, micro-organisms (bacteria), and the like. These are processes of slow combustion, of slow combination with oxygen. It is well known that manure rots and develops heat, that stacks of damp hay, damp flour, straw, &c., become heated and are changed in the process.[47] In all these transformations the same chief products of combustion are formed as those which are contained in smoke; the carbon gives carbonic anhydride, and the hydrogen water. Hence these processes require oxygen just like combustion. This is the reason why the entire prevention of access of air hinders these transformations,[48] and an increased supply of air accelerates them. The mechanical treatment of arable lands by the plough, harrow, and other similar means has not only the object of facilitating the spread of roots in the ground, and of making the soil more permeable to water, but it also serves to facilitate the access of the air to the component parts of the soil; as a consequence of which the organic remains of soil rot—so to speak, breathe air and evolve carbonic anhydride. One acre of good garden land in the course of a summer evolves more than sixteen tons of carbonic anhydride.
It is not only vegetable and animal substances which are subject to slow oxidation in the presence of water. Some metals even rust under these conditions. Copper very easily absorbs oxygen in the presence of acids. Many metallic sulphides (for example, pyrites) are very easily oxidised with access of air and moisture. Thus processes of slow oxidation proceed throughout nature. However, there are many elements which do not under any circumstances combine directly with gaseous oxygen; nevertheless their compounds with oxygen may be obtained. Platinum, gold, iridium, chlorine, and iodine are examples of such elements. In this case recourse is had to a so-called indirect method—i.e. the given substance is combined with another element, and by a method of double decomposition this element is replaced by oxygen. Substances which do not directly combine with oxygen, but form compounds with it by an indirect method, often readily lose the oxygen which they had absorbed by double decomposition or at the moment of its evolution. Such, for example, are the compounds of oxygen with chlorine, nitrogen, and platinum, which evolve oxygen on heating—that is, they may be used as oxidising agents. In this respect oxidising agents, or those compounds of oxygen which are employed in chemical and technical practice for transferring oxygen to other substances, are especially remarkable. The most important among these is nitric acid or aqua fortis—a substance rich in oxygen, and capable of evolving it when heated, which easily oxidises a great number of substances. Thus nearly all metals and organic substances containing carbon and hydrogen are more or less oxidised when heated with nitric acid. If strong nitric acid be taken, and a piece of burning charcoal be immersed in the acid, it continues to burn. Chromic acid acts like nitric acid; alcohol burns when mixed with it. Although the action is not so marked, even water may oxidise with its oxygen. Sodium is not oxidised in perfectly dry oxygen at the ordinary temperature, but it burns very easily in water and aqueous vapour. Charcoal can burn in carbonic anhydride—a product of combustion—forming carbonic oxide. Magnesium burns in the same gas, separating carbon from it. Speaking generally, combined oxygen can pass from one compound to another.
The products of combustion or oxidation—and in general the definite compounds of oxygen—are termed oxides. Some oxides are not capable of combining with other oxides—or combine with only a few, and then with the evolution of very little heat; others, on the contrary, enter into combination with very many other oxides, and in general have remarkable chemical energy. The oxides incapable of combining with others, or only showing this quality in a small degree, are termed indifferent oxides. Such are the peroxides, of which mention has before been made.
The class of oxides capable of entering into mutual combination we will term saline oxides. They fall into two chief groups—at least, as regards the most extreme members. The members of one group combine with the members of the other group with particular ease. As representative of one group may be taken the oxides of the metals, magnesium, sodium, calcium, &c. Representatives of the other group are the oxides formed by the non-metals, sulphur, phosphorus, carbon. Thus, if we take the oxide of calcium, or lime, and bring it into contact with oxides of the second group, combination very readily ensues. For instance, if we mix calcium oxide with oxide of phosphorus they combine with great facility and with the evolution of much heat. If we pass the vapour of sulphuric anhydride, obtained by the combination of sulphurous oxide with oxygen, over pieces of lime heated to redness, the sulphuric anhydride is absorbed by the lime with the formation of a substance called calcium sulphate. The oxides of the first kind, which contain metals, are termed basic oxides or bases. Lime is a familiar example of this class. The oxides of the second group, which are capable of combining with the bases, are termed anhydrides of the acids or acid oxides. Sulphuric anhydride, SO3, may be taken as a type of the latter group. It is a compound of sulphur with oxygen formed not directly but by the addition of a fresh quantity of oxygen to sulphurous anhydride, SO2, by passing it together with oxygen over incandescent spongy platinum. Carbonic anhydride (often termed ‘carbonic acid’), CO2, phosphoric anhydride, sulphurous anhydride, are all acid oxides, for they can combine with such oxides as lime or calcium oxide, magnesia or magnesium oxide, MgO, soda or sodium oxide, Na2O, &c.
If a given element form but one basic oxide, it is termed the oxide; for example, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, potassium oxide. Some indifferent oxides are also called ‘oxides’ if they have not the properties of peroxides, and at the same time do not show the properties of acid anhydrides—for example, carbonic oxide, of which mention has already been made. If an element forms two basic oxides (or two indifferent oxides not having the characteristics of a peroxide) then that of the lower degree of oxidation is called a suboxide—that is, suboxides contain less oxygen than oxides. Thus, when copper is heated to redness in a furnace it increases in weight and absorbs oxygen, until for 63 parts of copper there is absorbed not more than 8 parts of oxygen by weight, forming a red mass, which is suboxide of copper; but if the roasting be prolonged, and the draught of air increased, 63 parts of copper absorb 16 parts of oxygen, and form black oxide of copper. Sometimes to distinguish between the degrees of oxidation a change of suffix is made in the oxidised element, -ic oxide denoting the higher degree of oxidation, and -ous oxide the lower degree. Thus ferrous oxide and ferric oxide are the same as suboxide of iron and oxide of iron. If an element forms one anhydride only, then it is named by an adjective formed from the name of the element made to end in -ic and the word anhydride. When an element forms two anhydrides, then the suffixes -ous and -ic are used to distinguish them: -ous signifying less oxygen than -ic; for example, sulphurous and sulphuric anhydrides.[49] When several oxides are formed from the same element, the prefixes mon, di, tri, tetra are used, thus: chlorine monoxide, chlorine dioxide, chlorine trioxide, and chlorine tetroxide or chloric anhydride.
The oxides themselves rarely undergo chemical transformations, and in the few cases where they are subject to such changes a particularly important part is played by their combinations with water. The majority of, if not all, basic and acid oxides combine with water, either by a direct or an indirect method forming hydrates—that is, compounds which split up into water and an oxide of the same kind only. It is well known that many substances are capable of combining with water. Oxides possess this property in the highest degree. We have already seen examples of this (Chapter [I].) in the combination of lime, and of sulphuric and phosphoric anhydrides, with water. The resulting combinations are basic and acid hydrates. Acid hydrates are called acids because they have an acid taste when dissolved in water (or saliva), for then only can they act on the palate. Vinegar, for example, has an acid taste because it contains acetic acid dissolved in water. Sulphuric acid, to which we have frequently referred, because it is the acid of the greatest importance both in practical chemistry and for its technical applications, is really a hydrate formed by the combination of sulphuric anhydride with water. Besides their acid taste, dissolved acids or acid hydrates have the property of changing the blue colour of certain vegetable dyes to red. Of these dyes litmus is particularly remarkable and much used. It is the blue substance extracted from certain lichens, and is used for dyeing tissues blue; it gives a blue infusion with water. This infusion, on the addition of an acid, changes from blue to red.[50]