On Molecular and Microscopic Science, Volume 1 (of 2)

by Mary Somerville

It follows from the atomic theory that the number of atoms in equal weights of any two solid substances, is in the inverse ratio to the weights of these atoms. Now since the bodies that have the greatest specific gravities are the heaviest, if the specific gravities and atomic weights of equal bulks of two simple substances be known, the relative number of atoms they contain may be found. For the density divided by the atomic weight of the one, is to the density divided by the atomic weight of the other, as the number of atoms in the first to the number of atoms in the second. By the preceding law it is found that in equal bulks of the three metals, sodium, platinum, and potassium, platinum contains five times as many atoms as sodium, and ten times as many as potassium. When substances which have strong analogous qualities are compared in this manner, the results are either equality, or a simple ratio.

It has already been mentioned that the protoxides of iron, copper, zinc, nickel and manganese, have the same form, and contain the same quantity of oxygen, but differ in the respective metals that are combined with it; and by the preceding law it appears that equal bulks of these isomorphous bodies contain also the same number of atoms.

Mr. Hermann Kopp has proved that the atomic weight of a substance divided by the specific gravity, that is to say, its atomic volume, is the same for all isomorphic bodies simple and compound, and as a general law that the atoms of isomorphous substances are not only the same in form, but equal in dimensions. It follows, therefore, that any one of the preceding metals might be substituted for any other in the respective protoxides, and on that account, according to the modern theory, they are the chemical equivalents of each other, for that expression is used now in a different sense from what it formerly had. Chemical equivalency between two or more substances consists in their capacity for being exchanged one for the other. Direct or indirect substitution forms the basis of the modern doctrine of chemical equivalents.

Substances which are capable of replacing one another in compounds, and which are endowed with qualities mutually analogous, are said to be isomeric. Many isomeric compounds are formed of the same materials, in the same proportions, and yet differ essentially both in their physical and chemical properties; whence M. Daniel observes, that a specific and definite arrangement of the constituent molecules in space appears to be no less essential to the individual constitution of bodies than a certain proportion between their heterogeneous ingredients.

Successive substitution in isomeric bodies does not alter the character of the chemical formulæ of these bodies; thus chlorine, bromine and iodine, are chemically equivalent with an atom of hydrogen, for they may be put for one or more atoms of hydrogen in various compounds without changing the character of the chemical formulæ of these compounds. The peroxide of hydrogen consists of one atom of hydrogen and two of oxygen; hence if 32·5 parts of zinc, 28 of manganese, and 32 of copper be successively put for the atom of hydrogen, the result will be the peroxides of zinc, manganese and copper respectively. Here the character of the chemical formula of the original compound remains the same, and the three metals are chemically equivalent to one another, and to the atom of hydrogen. In many compounds organic and inorganic, one or more atoms of hydrogen may be replaced by an equal number of atoms of sodium, potassium, zinc, &c., without altering the character of the chemical formula of the compound.

Olefiant gas, olefiant oil and paraffin, form an isomeric series of a gas, a liquid and a solid, consisting of carbon and hydrogen. The gas contains 86 parts in 100 of carbon, and forms the most luminous part of coal gas.

M. Dumas has proved it to be a general law, that when three isomeric bodies are arranged in the sequence of their chemical properties, there will also be a sequence in their respective atomic numbers, and that whenever this symmetry of chemical properties and atomic weights obtains, any one of these substances may be substituted for the other without changing the chemical character of the formula.

Sulphur, selenium, and tellurium, form an isomeric group; that is, they form a sequence, with analogous qualities, for sulphur is the most volatile; selenium, a simple substance found in iron pyrites in Sweden, is less volatile; and tellurium is the least volatile and with regard to their atomic sequence, the atomic weight of sulphur is 16, that of tellurium is 64, and half the sum of these numbers is 40, the atomic weight of selenium, the mean term. Hence selenium might be put in any compound for the sulphur, and the tellurium for the selenium, without changing the chemical character of its formula.

The metallic group of calcium, strontium, and barium, are endowed with analogous properties, perfect harmony in their chemical qualities, and in the numbers expressing their atomic weights. That of calcium is 20, that of barium is 68, and the half sum is 44, the atomic weight of strontium. So calcium might be put for strontium, and strontium for barium, in any compound without altering the character of its formula. Professors Johnson and Allen have shown that the new metalloids cæsium and rubidium form an isomeric triad with potassium, for the atomic weight of cæsium is 133, that of rubidium 86, and that of potassium 39.

Transmutations of one isomeric substance for another may also be made in organic bodies, but chlorine, bromine, and iodine form an exception to M. Dumas’s law, because the arithmetical relation is wanting.