Nitrous oxide gas is generally known by the name of “laughing gas,” from the jolly sensations experienced on inhaling it. It may be procured by distilling in a glass retort a salt called nitrate of ammonia, which yields the gas in considerable quantities, and it should be kept standing in jars over water for some hours before it is used. It should be transferred into a silk air-tight bag, furnished with a stopcock and mouthpiece, from which the gas may be breathed; a little practice is required to do this easily, and more resolution to desist when the gas begins to produce its effects, as it appears to fascinate the experimenter, and actual force is often necessary to remove the bag from the mouth. The effects produced vary according to the temperament of the person inhaling it; they are, however, always of a highly pleasurable nature, muscular action being generally greatly exalted, compelling the individual to race round the apartment and execute leaps and pirouettes perfectly astounding. Some persons shout and sing, and I have seen one expend his superfluous animation in twisting his features into such ludicrous grimaces as would be the envy of the candidates at a grinning match, and beat them all out of the field. Sir H. Davy was the discoverer of this gas, and of its peculiar effects on the nervous system, and a full account of it may be found in his “Researches on Nitrous Oxide Gas.”
This gas is heavier than air, and supports combustion nearly as energetically as oxygen, as may be shown by introducing a piece of ignited phosphorus into a jar of this gas. It will not, however, support the life of small animals, such as mice, which introduced into it die very quickly.
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PLAN OF PNEUMATIC TROUGH.