more apt to fly away when expos'd to the Air. And that Vitriol may probably rise in the Form of a Vapour without losing it's Qualities is evident in Sublimate which consists of Mercury chang'd by an Addition of Salt and Vitriol for some Vitriolick Parts being carry'd up in the Preparation turn Opacous upon an Affusion of Spirit of Sulphur But further to make it evident that the Particles of Iron may be considerably expanded I dropp'd four Drops of a Vitriolick Liquor made use of in Copperas-works into twelve Ounces and a half of Water and found that it so much impregnated 1500 times it's Proportion of Common Waters as to make it strong enough to turn a Tincture of Galls Purple tho' by Evaporation we found that 3 Parts of 4 of that Liquor were Water 28. What Alterations the Earthy Parts of Mineral Waters undergo by Ignition and whether they may be Vitrify'd per se as also what Colours they impart to Venice Glass if mix'd with the Powder before Fluxion 29. Of what use they are in Baking Brewing Tanning or Dying of Colours c. 30. How many ways they may be made Artificially and with what Proportion of Ingredients CHAP. XI Titles for the Natural History of Mineral-Waters consider'd as a Medicine IT may be worth Observing in order to a more Compleat Natural History of Mineral-Waters what Constitutions they agree with and in what Distempers they are Proper or Dangerous What Sensible Operations they have and whether their Effects be alter'd by Drinking them Hot or Cold at the Well or at a Distance from it Whether Exercise or the Warmth of a Bed promotes their Operation Whether they have any Occult Qualities It may likewise be requisite to observe What good Effects may succeed a due Preparation of the Body that drinks them and what Advantage it may be to drop some Strengthening Stomachick into the First Dose What Quantity is enough for the First Dose and how it must be vary'd How long they may be Drunk and whether constantly or with Intervals whether Purging sometimes may contribute to their good Effects What Regimen in the Six Non-Naturals is to be observ'd whilst they are a-taking Which are the Signs that denote the kindly Operations of them or their future ill Effects What ill Accidents attend the taking of them and how they may be Remedy'd or Prevented Whether it be proper to Purge after the Taking of them What Effects they will have by Mixing other Liquors with them or by Boiling Meat in them Whether a Salt extracted will be of Equal Effect when Diluted in Fresh Water What External Effects they will have and of what use their Sediment is when Externally apply'd What Effects they will have on Dogs if injected into their Veins or if they be kept with such for constant Drink CHAP. XII Of the Natural and Preternatural States of Bodies especially the Air. IT is the General Consent of most Men that the Determinate States of Bodies are not only first fram'd by what they call Nature but that they are likewise preserv'd in those States by the Superintendency of that Power and that whenever they lose that State they are said to be put into a Preternatural One But if we consider that such Changes proceed from Natural Causes and that those New States depend on the like Catholick Agents The Common Distinction betwixt Natural and Preternatural States ill grounded and the Establish'd Laws of Nature it will appear That the Distinction Men usually make betwixt the Natural and Preternatural States of Bodies is but ill-grounded and that Preternatural is only a Relative Term intimating that that Body hath undergone a Change either by the Operation of some unheeded or more noted Agent For Matter being altogether void of Sense and Perception and not affecting one State more than another the Changes it undergoes depend on the Alteration of it's Textures and New Position of it's Parts alter'd afresh by that Agent which such a Body was last expos'd to As a piece of Wax is put into a New Form by the last Impression made by another Body upon it without affecting one Form more than another it self Ice a Natural State in some Places And that the States of some Bodies which are said to be Preternatural as truly depend on Natural Causes and the Establish'd Laws of Nature as others is evident in Ice and Water In which Bodies the Forms of each depend upon the Effects of External Agents for tho' in these Hotter Climates Water is Esteem'd a Natural and Ice a Preternatural State of that Substance yet I am inform'd that in Siberia a Province belonging to a Russian Emperour Water is froze most part of the Year and at a small Depth from the Surface of the Earth the Soil is froze throughout where Ice is look'd upon to be the Natural and the Alterations made by a Thaw and the Influence of the External Temperature of the Air and the Sun Beams are esteem'd Preternatural States of Bodies And further tho' Butter in our Clime be sold in a consistent Form and when it is melted is look'd upon to be in a Preternatural State yet I am inform'd that amongst the Europeans it is fluid and is sold by Measure and not by Weight as here in England And it is further observ'd That several Substances as Rosin of Jalap Gum Lacca and even Aloes it self are considerablely softened in their Consistence by the Temperature of the Air and the Force of External Heat whilst they pass under the Torrid Zone so that I am told that the former of the aforemention'd Drugs was melted into a sort of Balsam whilst it continued in Africa but when it was brought to Spain it put on a Consistent Form again And tho' Aloes was soft whilst carry'd through America and those hotter Climates yet when it approach'd our Climate it presently became hard But to bring further Instances concerning the Natural and Preternatural States of Bodies I shall observe That according the Receiv'd Notion of Natural and Preternatural States it is very difficult to determine the Natural State of the Air for not to insist on the different Temperature of the Air as to Heat and Cold in different Climes It may be demanded Since Heat and Cold rarifie and expand the Air what is to be esteem'd the Natural State of it in Reference to Rarity and Density And it is no less Questionable what Place is most fit to determine it's Natural State since the State of it is not only different in several Countries but in those Places at different Times And that the Changes as to the Density or Rarity of the Air are very frequent appears by the several Degrees of the Atmosphere's Gravity evident in the Torrecellian Experiments hereafter to be deliver'd A forced State the Natural State of the Air. But further Except the States of the Air be said to be Preternatural only in a Relative Sense with respect to the State it was in
bending P. in pressing up the Plug E. E. E. the Fingers might more vigorously draw up the Leaver L. T. T. A Rectangle of Iron compassing the Leaver L. L. and the Iron O. P. O. to keep it in such a Posture that the Plug may not fly out whilst the Air is compressed into the Globe A. A. I. I. An Elliptick Hole which is shut with a Valve that opens inward the Design of it is that what is amiss in the Globe may be seen and mended S. S. A Plate of Metal perforated with a Screw V. which sustains the Valve and keeps the Hole V. shut Q. A Hole for the Air which is to be pressed into the Globe to enter in at when the Sucker D. is pulled down to the lower End of the Tube C. C. The Method to press Air into this Globe is this I set my Foot upon the crooked End of the Sucker D. and then pulling up the Globe as soon as the Tube C. C. is full of Air I depress the Globe by which means the Air in the Tube is forced into it through the Valve F. and this Method being taken as long as the Air 's Spring would permit us to compress it any further the Air may be discharged if when the Plug D. is drawn out and a Bullet is put into the Tube instead of it the Plug E. E. E. be raised so that the End of the Iron Wire may open the Valve B. for the Air violently rushing out will drive the Bullet away with great Violence The Globe will be sooner filled with Air if half an Ounce of Water be put into the Tube C. C. before the Sucker D. for the Top of the Tube being filled with Water the Air will be forced clearly out of the Tube into the Globe And this Wind-Gun hath these Advantages above any other yet mentioned First that it is not so subject to be spoiled as those that have two Valves Secondly it is easily mended what is amiss being taken out at the Elliptick Hole Thirdly it is much more stanch the Crannies being stopped with Silver Soder which damages not the Leather on the Valve because it is put in after the Soder is cooled at the Elliptick Hole Fourthly several Bodies may be conveighed into it at the Elliptick Hole whereby we may be enabled to try several Experiments PLATE V. How Factitious Air may pass out of one Receiver into another A.A. A Metalline Plate perforated in the Middle B. B. To which a Stop-Cock is fixed the lower Orifice being made into a Male Screw D. C. Which is received by the Female Screw D. of the Copper Funnel D. C. See Fig. 2. E. E. A hollow Tube both of whose Ends are formed into a Female Screw to receive the Male Screw of the Stop-Cock B.B. See Fig. 1. F. F. The Receiver laid on the Plate A. A. and exactly fitted to it The Matter of which factitious Air is to be made is to be put into the Receiver F. F. and the Orifice of the Tunnel C. being placed on the Receiver and the Stop-Cock B. being open'd the Air is to be drawn out of the Receiver which being done the Stop-Cock is to be shut again and the Male Screw being taken out of the Female Screw in the Brass Tunnel the Receiver is to be immers'd in Water to keep External Air out As for the Degrees of Compression of the factitious Air they may be discover'd by the Mercurial Gage before mention'd To transmit this Air into another Receiver F. F. we make use of the small Tube E. E. Fig. the Second into each End of which the Stop-Cocks of two Receivers being screw'd and the Crannies stopp'd with Cement by turning the Stop-Cocks the Air may be let out of one into the other To discover the Rarefaction of the Air contain'd in which Receivers because they must be inverted we contriv'd the following Gage See Fig. 4. A. A. A Viol filled with Mercury up to the Superficies D. D. B. B. A Tube cemented in the Neck of it C. C. Another which passing through the Tube B. B. leaves room for a due intercourse betwixt the External and Internal Air the upper End of which must be seal'd and the other End open If this Gage be put into a Receiver when it is inverted both the Tubes will have the Air contain'd in them exhausted and will be ready to receive factitious Air as soon as the Stop-Cocks are turn'd to give an Intercourse betwixt them and then the Gage being inverted and the Mercury which lay below the Orifice of the Tube B. B. falling about the Pipe C. C. by rising up into it will shew the Degrees of the Compression of that factitious Air. PLATE VI. An Instrument by which Air may be filtrated through Water See Fig. 1. A. A. A Glass Receiver whose Orifice is adapted to the Plate B. B. which is perforated in the Middle by the Tubes C. C. D. D. which are cemented to it E. E. E. E. A Stop-Cock into which the lower Ends of the Tubes C. C. D. D. are inserted F. F. The Key of the Stop-Cock in which is made the Chink G. G. without any Perforation H. H. The Receiver to which the Stop-Cock is fix'd preventing an Ingress of outward Air and having a due Intercourse with the Pump I. I. L. L. A Glass Vessel M. The Stopple in the Top of the Receiver fasten'd with a Screw See Fig. 2. A Stop-Cock cut transverse so that the Insertions of the Tubes C. C. D. D. into the Stop-Cocks may be perceived The Use of this Instrument is as follows To try how much Air may acquire new Qualities in respect of a Body included with it we conveigh that Body into the Vessel and then pouring a sufficient Quantity of Water at the Orifice M. until the Receiver A. A. be half full and the Vessel L. L. swim up to the Top of it the Orifice M. is stopped up which being done and the Key so placed that the Tube C. C. may communicate with the Chink G. G. upon drawing down the Sucker the Air in the Receiver A. A. will pass through the Pipes C. C. and the Chink G. G. into the Receiver H. H. and from thence into the Pump Upon which the Chink in the Stop-Cock being turn'd so as to communicate with the Insertions of the Tube D. D. and then the Sucker being rais'd to the Top of the Cylinder the Air will be impell'd into the Tube D. D. and emerging through the Water will rise into the Top of the Receiver A. A. and by this Method we could strain it through Water as often as we had a mind to be inform'd what new Qualities it acquir'd in reference to the Bodies about it FIGVRE III. How the same Numerical Air may be sometimes condensed and sometimes rarified The Receiver A. A. being fix'd upon the Plate B. B. and the Stop-Cock C. C. being fix'd to the Perforation of the Plate B. B. The
high Octob. 16. 77. Three Ounces of bruised Grapes being included in an exhausted Receiver large enough to contain 30 Ounces of Water with half an Ounce of Spirit of Wine Octob. 17. The Mercury did not ascend much Octob. 18. It was not an Inch high Jan. 2. 18. The Receiver was quite full and some of the Liquor as it was poured out produced Bubbles in some Turpentine about the Orifice which broke outwardly Tho' Spirit of Wine promotes the Generation of Air in Vacuo yet in the open Air it hinders it See the II. VIII and XIV Exp. Art II. EXPERIMENT VII July 19. 78. MVST expressed From Must bruised Grapes were put into a Receiver when it was 10 Months old The 21. The Mercury was no higher 23. It was raised 3 Inches 24. Raised 5 Inches 25. In the Morning it was 104 in the Evening 137 and the Must made its way out 26. More Must got out The Air was further expanded but the Mercury was suspended at the same heighth 27. The Screw being left open half the Must got out From thence it appears that by keeping Grapes for some time their Fermentative Virtue becomes more powerful EXPERIMENT VIII Jan. 30. BOiled Apples being put into Receivers From boil'd Apples with and without Sugar they both presently filled them full of Air. Jan. 31. Raw Apples being shut up in Receivers in one of which was put a third part of Sugar and the other without Feb. 10. The former had yielded some Air. Feb. 14. The raw Apples and Sugar rais'd the Mercury 30 Inches Those which were boyled raised it two Inches In the other Receivers we had no Air generated Feb. 18. In the Receiver in which the raw Apples and Sugar were enclosed the Mercury was raised 56 Inches The Boiled Apples and Sugar raised it 3. The raw Apples had yielded little but in that which was almost full the Apples were very little Fermented but of a very pleasant Taste Feb. 21. The Cover was broke and the Apples and Sugar had lost some of their Juice but they were not Rotten March 1. In the great Receiver in which raw Apples were shut up the Mercury was rais'd 25 Inches In the little One not above 7. Where Boiled Apples and Sugar were contained it was raised 9 Inches March 8. In the large one it was 29. In the less 22 ½ That where the Boiled Apples were stayed at 9 Inches March 17. Some Juice got out of the large Receiver In the less the Mercury stood at 67 Inches and the boiled Apples and Sugar raised it 15 Inches From whence it appears that the Sugar and the largeness of the Receiver as well as the Crudity of the Fruit contributed to the Production of Air. ARTICLE II. Several ways to hinder the Production of Air. EXPERIMENT I. Decemb. 20. 78. DOugh made without Leaven From Dough. but with the same Meal with Bread-Corn being enclos'd in a Receiver where the Heat of a Fire kept it warmer than at Midsummer in 10 hours it yielded no Air So that if Dough be once too cold it hinders it's Fermentation for the future which I the rather believe because Dough being shut up in the Summer presently generated Air. EXPERIMENT II. May 23. THree Ounce of Dough Leaven'd being enclos'd in a Receiver large enough to hold 50 Ounces of Water I put Spirit of Wine to it May 24. The Mercury was Three Inches high May 26. The change was small May 27. None at all May 29. None at all June 2. It ascended a little June 14. Not at all Decemb. 14. Being taken out it smell'd subacid And being put into an Empty Receiver it swell'd so much as to take up twice as much space as before with a gentle Ebullition May 23. The same Quantity being of Dough shut up without Spirit of Wine May 24. The Mercury was 19 ½ Inches high May 26. It 's Heighth was 38. May 27. No alteration Decemb. 14. It continued at the same Heighth and the Dough smell'd subacid From whence it appears that Spirit of Wine prevented the Generation of it in the last Experiment EXPERIMENT III. August 29. PEars From Pears and a Mercurial Gage being clos'd up in a Receiver fill'd with Water such a Quantity of Air was pressed in as was able to raise the Mercury 26 Inches higher than it us'd to be In a little time they were all made like a Pultis for Consistence Aug. 30. In 24 hours the Mercury was depress'd an Inch and an half Aug. 31. It remain'd at the same Heighth Sept. 1. They began to yield Air the Mercury being rais'd to 27 Inches Sept. 2. In 24 hours it was rais'd 8 Inches higher Sept. 3. The Heighth of the Mercury was 17 Digits higher the heighth being 52 Inches Sept. 4. The Mercury was buoy'd up 7 Inches further rested at 59 Inches Sept. 5. The heighth of the Mercurial Tube was 64 Inches And a Pear broken in the Receiver was turned Black Sept. 6. It was rais'd 3 Digits and ¼ higher than what is usual Sept. 7. It was 3 Digits lower and rested again at 64 Inches Sept. 8. This day the Mercury subsided to 58 Inches Sept. 9. It was rais'd up 3 Digits higher again and was suspended at 67 Digits Sept. 10. In 24 hours it was rais'd 1 ½ higher being suspended at 69 Inches Sept. 11. It descended to 67 Digits again the Night being very cold Sept. 12. No Alteration happen'd at all Sept. 13. It subsided further to 64 Digits the Cold was sharper Sept. 14. It was 70 Digits high Sept. 16. It subsided to 69. Sept. 19. It stood at the same heighth Sept. 20. It was rais'd again to 71. Sept. 23. It subsided to 69. Octob. 1. It was buoy'd up again to 75 Digits Octob. 3. On the 2 there was no alteration To Day it stood at 70 the Weather being exceeding cold Octob. Yesterday the Mercury remain'd at the same heighth but this Day being Rainy it rose again to 75. Octob. 7. The Weather being the same the Mercury was at a stand Octob. 10. This Day it subsided to 69 Inches the Rainy Weather continuing Octob. 12. To Day it was Depress'd to 65 Inches Cold Weather coming on again Octob. 13. It was 64 Inches high Octob. 14 It was 69 Digits high Octob. 15 It was 74 Digits high Octob. 24 It was 68 Inches The Season being cold Nov. 2. It was 64. The Cold more violent Nov. 5. The Mercury was 80 ½ Inches high The Cold more moderate Nov. 2. It was 65 Inches high It was sharp frosty Weather Nov. 27. It was 68 Inches high A Thaw coming on Dec. 6. It was 61 Inches high The Weather being very Frosty From the former Experiment it appears that Fruits yield not Air plentifully when violently compress'd in the Air The Air afforded when they are compressed not being ⅛ of what they yield in the Empty Receiver But that the Cold might concur to hinder the Generation of Air will be evident from the following
Experiment EXPERIMENT IV. Feb. 22. 77. TEN Ounces of Paste being included in a Receiver which was large enough to hold 22 Ounces of Water From Paste I impress'd Air enough into it to sustain 73 Inches of Mercury above the length of a Cylinder which the Weight of the Atmosphere is able to bear up In two hours there was no sensible Alteration Feb. 23. In 18 hours the Mercury was rais'd 7 Inches And in 6 hours more it ascended 8 Inches higher being buoyed up to 83 Inches Feb. 24 It was 90 Inches high Feb. 25 It was 97 Inches high Feb. 26 It was 101 Inches high Feb. 27 It was 105 Inches high Feb. 28 It was 107 ½ Inches high March 1 It was 112 Inches high Water seemed to be expressed out of the Paste March 2 It was rais'd to 120 Inches March 3 It was rais'd to 121 Inches March 4 5 It remained at 121 Inches March 8. Upon a Thaw the Mercury ascended 4 Inches and rested at 125 Digits March 10. It rose 6 Digits higher being suspended at 131 Digits March 21. The Season being so long Cold no Air was generated except that in the three last Days the Mercury was rais'd 7 Inches and rested at 138 Digits April 4. One of the Iron Wires made use of to straiten the Receiver was broke and the sides of the Receiver started out of their Places 4 or 5 Foot From whence it appears that Cold and Compression hinder the Generation of Air. EXPERIMENT V. March 1. 77. TWO Raisins of the Sun being bruis'd were shut up in an exhausted Receiver with Six Ounces of Vinegar It afforded Bubbles plentifully March 2. It still yielded Bubbles but the Mercury was not rais'd half an Inch. March 25. The Vinegar seem'd to contain Bubbles but the Mercury was not rais'd an Inch. So that Vinegar hinders Fermentation and the Production of Air. EXPERIMENT VI. April 7. HAving put 10 Ounces of Paste into a Receiver able to contain 22 Ounces Paste included in a Receiver of Water as much Air was press'd in as sustain'd Mercury above its usual height 128 Inches In Six hours it was rais'd four Inches being sustain'd at 132 Digits April 8. In 16 hours it ascended 9 Inches higher but for nine hours after it rested at 141. April 9. Some Air broke out in the Morning the Mercury subsided to 130 Inches therefore thrusting in as much Air as rais'd it to 141 I clos'd it it up with a Screw Apr. 10 It was at 151 Digits Apr. 11 It was at 158 Digits Apr. 12 It was at 168 Digits Apr. 13 It was at 176 Digits April 14 It was at 183 Digits April 15 It was at 183 Digits April 16 It was at 187 Digits April 17 It was at 191 Digits April 27. Eight Days it's Station was unalter'd but the two last it was rais'd 7 Inches being rais'd to 198 Digits April 30. So much Air being let out that the Mercury was rais'd but 50 Inches above it's usual height to try whether the compress'd State of that Air hindred it from expanding the remaining Air being pinned up presently rais'd the Mercury sensibly and 3 hours after the Mercury was rais'd to 62 Digits from 50. In five hours space after rose 1 ½ May 1. In 15 hours it rais'd only an Inch. May 3. On the Second it was at a stand to Day it was rais'd 1 ½ May 4. The Mercury ascending no higher I let the Air go and the Screw being set again in five Minutes the Mercury was rais'd two Inches May 7. In 3 Days it was rais'd 2 Inches higher May 8. In the two last Days it was rais'd ½ an Inch. And the mass being shut up in Vacuo in 5 hours the Mercury was buoyed up an Inch. May 21. It had not been rais'd 3 Inches yet May 30. It rested at 4 Inches and ½ From whence it appears that all the Air that Paste will afford may be obtain'd from it tho' it be compress'd yet it is hindred in some Measure till that Pressure is taken off And from hence it appears that Air may be generated by repeated Turns and Reciprocations and that it is more slowly generated in compress'd than in free Air it usually yielding all that it will in two or three Days time EXPERIMENT VIII Artificial Air. July 30. 77. HAving included Plums and Apricocks cut asunder in a Receiver Plums and Apricocks I press'd so much Artificial Air of Cherries into them as rais'd 64 Digits of Mercury August 1. They yielded no Air but became Yellow as if too ripe August 3. The Mercury was rais'd a little higher and a whole Apricock appear'd full of Drops of Water August 7. The whole Apricock grew softer and the Mercurial Cylinder 59 Inches taller than it's usual Length August 8 It was 61 Digits high August 9 It was 65 Digits high August 10 It was 71 Digits high August 11 It was 74 Digits high April13 It was 78 Digits high April14 It was 80 Digits high April15 It was 80 Digits high April16 And till the 22 th it rested at the same height The 24th it was 77 Inches high On the 29th I open'd the Receiver and found that the Fruit was well Colour'd and smell'd Sub-acid the Flesh being Spongeous It emitted several Bubbles when first it was freed from the ambient Pressure Common Air. July 30. 77. The same Fruit being conveyed into a Receiver with Common Air some being cut and others whole July 31. The Mercury was rais'd 8 Inches high August 1. At six a Clock in the Evening the Mercury was rais'd 20 Inches August 3. The Fruit was much more firm than those Included with Artificial Air. The Mercury was rais'd to 35 Inches August 4. The Mercurial Cylinder was rais'd to 42 Inches August 6. The Apricock appear'd unalter'd The Mercury stood at 57 Inches Aug. 7 It was 81 Digits high Aug. 8 It was 95 Digits high Aug. 9 It was 113 Digits high Aug. 10 It was 124 Digits high The Apricock began to turn Yellow But did not in the least appear Moist Aug. 11 It was 131 Digits high Aug. 13 It was 157 Digits high Aug. 14 It was 163 Digits high Aug. 15 It was 171 Digits high Aug. 16 It was 171 Digits high Aug. 17 And for some time after it stood at the same height Aug. 27 It was 182 Inches high Aug. 29 The Receiver being open'd the Apricocks were more Acid and less grateful to the Taste than those in factitious Air The Pulp was well Colour'd but Spongy they yielded Bubbles as the others did From this Experiment we may be induced to think that the Artificial Air hindr'd the Apricock enclos'd with them from yielding Air yet it enriches their Colour and Firmness and is good to preserve their Taste EXPERIMENT VIII Grapes without Spirit of Wine AN Ounce and an half of unripe Grapes bruis'd being enclos'd in a Receiver capable of holding 10 Ounces of Water Oct. 11 The Ascent of the Mercury was small Oct. 12 The Ascent
the Water would subside in a stream through the Spirit In warm Water the Ice would swim but in Oyl of Turpentine and the rectify'd Spirit of Wine it would sink like a Stone 3. A piece of Ice which was clear from Bubbles for as much as we could discern and very transparent would not sink in Water but another piece which in a Microscope appear'd to be full of Bubbles was nevertheless transparent and would float on Water 4. That the levity and expansion of Ice depends on the number of Bubbles dispersed through it is unquestionable but how it comes by those Bubbles is a matter that deserves our Inquiry And tho' Mr Hobbes attributes it to the Intrusion of some external airy Parts yet we observ'd That Water defended from the Intrusion of external Air was not without Bubbles when froze in a Glass hermetically sealed but being expanded the numerous Bubbles dispersed through it gave it a whitish Opacity and the same Phaenomena were afforded by Ice froze in Metalline Vessels 5. And that the Ice froze in the hermetically sealed Glass received not its Bubbles from the Air shut up with it is reasonable to believe First Since the Water must be expanded before it could divide that Air into Bubbles Secondly That the Air in the sealed Glass cannot be dispersed through the Ice and thereby cause it to expand appears since oftentimes it is so far compress'd by the swelling Ice that it breaks the Glass which it would not do could it be mixed with the Ice and dispersed through the freezing Water But Thirdly Were the expansion of Ice to be attributed to the insinuation of airy Parts it may be question'd How when Liquors begin to freeze at the bottom first the Air which is so many times lighter than Water can dive into the bottom of it and that too without being seen Fourthly If the Bubbles contained in Ice were deriv'd from the external Air depress'd through freezing Water Ice thaw'd would yield Air enough to fill as much space as the frozen Water possess'd more than the thaw'd Water 6. That the Bubbles contain'd in frozen Water are not adequately fill'd with Air tho' sometimes the Air that they contain be afforded by those airy Parts dispers'd through the Pores of Water and that they are often generated numerously notwithstanding a recess of the greatest part of that Air will appear from the following Experiments I. Water freed from Bubbles in Vacuo Boyliano and afterwards convey'd into a frigorifick Mixture expanded not so much as common Water nor was the Ice near so full of Bubbles II. Water which had been freed from Bubbles in our Prismatical Engine being froze contain'd few Bubbles but being thaw'd and then pour'd into a Glass-Cylinder it was powerfully expanded so far as to burst the Glass III. A Glass-egg with a narrow Stem being filled so far with Water that the surface of it rose an Inch within the Stem it was convey'd into a Receiver and whilst the Air was exhausting Bubbles rose so plentifully that the Liquor seem'd to boyl Which when it was in a great measure cleared of we placed it in a mixture of Snow and Salt and observ'd that the expanded Liquor being froze had risen a great way above its first height When it was placed in the open Air of such a temper as made it thaw leisurely we observ'd That the exterior part of the Ice was full of Bubbles But when that was dissolv'd the Ice in the middle was of an unusual Texture being void of Bubbles and not unlike a frosted piece of Glass whose aspereties were very thick set When the Ice was almost thaw'd we convey'd the Bubble into the Receiver but tho' the Air was exhausted we perceiv'd not that the Ice was sooner melted but the Water afforded a few Bubbles and in a little time some few appear'd in the Ice When the Ice was wholly thaw'd we took the Glass-Bubble out of the Receiver and found That the Water had subsided to its first Mark if not a little below it so that the Water when expanded rising three Inches in the Stem and the weight of the whole Water being but two ounces and a half the Ice seem'd to take up about a twelfth Part more than the unfroze Water 7. A Cylinder of Water being immers'd in a Mixture of Ice and Salt and that convey'd into a Receiver we found That when the Air was exhausted and the Water in a great measure freed from Bubbles the surface of it was considerably rais'd the Water in the bottom being turn'd into Ice as far as the Mixture wrought in which we perceiv'd besides a few large Bubbles small ones enough to render it opacous 8. To shew that the Bubbles perceivable in Ice are not filled with true and springy Air I shall subjoyn the following Experiment We plac'd a Glass-egg which was about as large again as an ordinary Egg in a mixture of Ice and Salt the Cavity of it being fiill'd with Water which rising up into the Neck stood about an Inch above the superficies of the frigorifick Mixture which circumscribed it the Diameter of the Stem being large enough to receive the end of my Finger The Particulars afforded by this Experiment were I. The Water did not sensibly subside before it began to freeze II. Some part of it began to swell in a quarter of an Hour III. In an Hour the Liquor rose 4 2 9 Inches and continu'd to rise till it was above five Inches ½ when we took it out IV. The frigorifick Mixture being below the surface of the Water it froze at the bottom first leaving the top of the Water uncongeal'd V. No Bubbles appear'd in the Water tho' the Ice was full of them some being as large as small Pease VI. We pour'd as much Sallet-oyl upon the Water as wrought two Inches in the Stem and then hermetically sealing the end of it up the Water subsided a little but was presently rais'd again to its former height in the Mixture about an Inch and a half of the Stem remaining above the Oyl filled with Air. VII The Glass-egg being weighed first in Air was left in the Water poised with its opposite weight VIII Upon the thawing of the Ice several Bubbles rose which vanish'd at the top IX The Water being thaw'd the Aequilibrium continu'd the same and subsided to its first Mark and no lower tho' it had parted with so many Bubbles X. The Glass being inverted the seal'd end was broke off under Water upon which some of it being forced up into the Pipe press'd the contain'd Air into less room than before XI The Water and the Oyl possess'd the same Places that they did before XII The Oyl being thrown out and so much Water put into the Stem as rais'd the surface as high as it was rais'd by Glaciation the Glass weighed 4374 Grains When fill'd to the lowest Mark it weighed 4152 and when empty 1032 so that the Water contain'd betwixt the two
he expands himself CHAP. IV. Laudanum Helmontii Junioris Communicated in the Philosophical Transactions of October 1674. Preparations of Laudanum TAKE of Opium four ounces of the Juice of Quinces four pound cut the Opium small and digest it in the Juice of Quinces ten days or more then filtre it and having infused in it of Cinnamon Nutmegs and Cloves each one ounce let them infuse six days and then having let it just boil a little filtre it and evaporate the moisture till the Mass is of what consistence you desire and incorporate with it two or three ounces of Saffron well powdered and make it up into a Mass The Dose of this Laudanum if kept liquid is from five to ten drops or less and of the Pills a less quantity is required CHAP. V. Observations of an Earth-Quake made at Oxford and communcated in the Transactions of April 2. 1666. Observations of au Earth-Quake RIding betwixt Oxford and a Lodging in the Country which was four Miles off the first two Miles it was colder than at other times all that Winter but before I got home the Wind turned and Rain began to fall And in an hour after I perceived a trembling in the House where I was and soon after there happened a brisk Storm At Brill a place higher than where I was the Earth-Quake was more sensible the Stones in the floor of a Gentleman's House being perceived to move This Hill abounds with several kinds of Mineral substances and I am told that from that place the Earth-Quake extended it self several Miles CHAP. VI. Passages relating to the Art of Medicine Passages relating to the Art of Medicines THO' the following passages may be of small use to the Ingenious and Experienced Masters yet since they may be fervicable to younger Physicians I shall for their Information impart them EXPERIMENT I. A tall well set Gentleman about twenty four years old having by a fall broke his Skull in several places which were several times Trepaned and large Chasms made in it by the taking away of several pieces in about three days time he was seized with a Palsey on one side so violently as to be deprived of motion and almost of sense except that in his Leg he had some short remissions And this Palsie continued about twenty four weeks about which time his head being further laid open they found a Splinter of a bone much like the scale of a Fish which stuck so fast and close to the Dura Mater that an effusion of Blood accompanyed the taking of it away but that being stopped in about three days time his Palsie began to leave him and he is now very strong and healthy tho' the Callus which supplies the place of his Skull be very large From whence it appears what great effects may spring from a very slight cause But besides the aforementioned Observations it was further to be taken notice of that the Parts whilst the Palsie continued were not only deprived of sense and motion but were very much extenuated by a continued Atrophy which loss of substance they acquired again upon a Cessation of the Paralytick affection And it was further to be observed that all the difference betwixt those and other Parts was that they were more subject to be cold To which we may add that tho' he was frequently let blood he continued to have a good stomach nor did the affection of the Brain cause the least Vomiting or Convulsions EXPERIMENT II. To shew the great and terrible effects of sudden Passions of the mind I shall relate the following History viz. That a Woman having taken a Boy to a River side with her which she loved very well the Boy accidentally falling into the Water unseen by her when she missed him she was taken with a dead Palsie which could not be removed EXPERIMENT III. But to shew what contrary effects violent Passions of the mind may have I shall add that a Gentleman who was in his youth taken with so violent a Sciatica that he could not go but was carried to Church and look't upon as Incurable yet once when he was in the Church news being brought that the enemy was entred into the Town which was a Frontier Garrison and designed to Massacre all in the Church they all fled and left him behind them who being as much afraid of himself as the rest got off his seat and walk'd along like other Men and this I received from the Person affected forty years after the said fright who in all that time suffered not the least relapse of the Distemper It might be of no small advantage to Physick would Philosophers amongst those Experiments which they lay down as relating to what they write purposely about communicate those which they think of use to Physicians though they should be less pertinent to the Subject under Consideration for which reason I shall for the future communicate such desiring this short Advertisement may be my Apology A desined Chymical Medicine EXPERIMENT IV. Though Vomitive Medicines are not a little dangerous yet since in several Diseases they are altogether requisite I shall here lay down a Preparation which is as effectual and yet safer than any other Liquor and much to be preferred before an Infusion of Crocus Metallorum The Preparation is this Distill two parts of Antimony and three of Spirit of Wine in a Glass-Receiver 'till the distill'd Menstruum is succeeded with red Flores and filtrating the Liquor through Cap-Paper lay it up for use close stoped It may be given from four to eight or ten Drops in a spoonful or two of Wine Black-Cherry Water or Spring-Water drinking some of the same Liquor after it to wash it down it works very soon and evacuates plentifully and effectually without danger It hath had not only very good success in Surfeits and several other Cases but cured a Person of an intermitting Feaver which put on various Types and continued to afflict the Patient three Years notwithstanding great quantities of the Jesuit's Powder had been frequently given But here it is requisite to add this short Advertisement viz. That the Powder if kept long being apt to precipitate it must either be made use of whilst the Liquor is fresh or the Bottle must be shaked well when it is used A designed Chymical Medicine Considering the great esteem and value of Mineral Waters I contrived a way to imitate them by making use of Ingredients very harmless in themselves and likely to make no less innocent a Composition The Tryal was this Having digested in a Bolt-head two days one part of Filings of Iron with ten of distill'd Vinegar and then increased the Heat 'till the transparent Liquor appear'd to be of an Orange Colour we poured part of it off lest the Menstruum being too much impregnated the Metal should be precipitated This Orange-Colour Tincture being kept for use we dropped four Drops into eight Ounces and a half of common Water which made an
Forms for besides the aforementioned Instances I have observed that that bony Substánce so much esteemed by Physitians which is usually taken out of the Deer's Heart and is of a hard Consistence hath appear'd in one of those Creatures which I purposely look'd into to be soft and flexible like Cartilages And indeed Solidity seems so much to depend upon Texture that it may justly be doubted whether the most solid Bodies have not before their Concretion been in Fluid Forms since amongst other Rarities I have seen in the midst of Stones the exact Figures of Fishes with their Scales and Finns c. And I have known not only Wood but several other Substances as Lead-oar Minera Antimonii Marchasites c. found in the midst of stony Concretions which are strong Arguments that those Stones have been before their Indurations in the Forms of Fluids and from hence we may have ground to Question the Opinions of some who think that Stones and such like or more solid Concretions have been existent in the same Forms since the Creation since we may with probability enough presume that these Concretes are the Results of Matter newly modified and united after a different Manner from what they were before otherwise it would be impossible that such things should be lodged in such hard Concretes And these Considerations and Observations may farther confirm what we have elsewhere noted concerning the growth and increase of Minerals But the most eminent Instances to shew how much the Fluidity and Firmness of Bodies A very remarkable Instance to shew how much Fluidity c. depends on Texture is owing to the Texture and various Coalitions of their Parts are in those Waters which when permitted to rest instead of Fluidity acquire a stony hardness And it hath been observed in some hollow Caves that by the Coagulation of a certain Humor which issued out of the top of it several Concretes have been formed like Icicles of which I have some by me now gathered by a very ingenious Person which are of a perfect stony hardness being 8 or 10 Inches in Length and of a proportionable Thickness and I have also now by me certain stony Concretes sent me from a famous petrifying Cave in France And if we will give Credit to Aventinus as well as some other Authors he hath recorded in his History that several Men and Women were at once Petrify'd by a Terrene Spirit and changed into Statues that Petrifying exhalation operating much after the same Manner and altering the Texture of their Bodies as when by Incubation and the subtile Insinuations of calorifick Atoms the Parts of an Egg are so newly modifyed and disposed as to put on the Form of a Chick And it is Testified by Pamphilio Pixcentino of a Woman in Venice who upon eating of an Apple was turned into a very hard Stone after she had been hideously tortured for about 24 hours Mixture sufficient to produce Petrifaction which History together with Observations of my own which I shall add will be a good Argument to prove that even Mixture is sufficient to petrify some Bodies the Observation is in the following Experiment viz. If two Ounces of Quick-silver be mixed with two Ounces and a half of Verdigreese together with about an Ounce of common Salt and put into a Frying Pan when that Mixture hath been Boiled for a considerable time with an equal Quantity of Vinegar and Water gradually infus'd as it wasts by Effluviums the Mixture washed and cleansed from its Salts will afford an Amalgama not unlike Quick-silver which if Dexterously prepared may be cast into Moulds and formed into imbost Images and it is in this Amalgama very remarkable that tho' at the first it is so soft as in a great Measure to emulate a Fluid Body yet when for some hours exposed to the Air it becomes hard and as Brittle as Steel where the Induration seems to result from the Coalitions of the mixed Ingredients and their new Texture rather than from any innate Principle The Particles of the Fluid Mercury being so intangled and interwoven one with another as to lose their former Fluidity and to convene so closely as to unite into a Solid Body And that the Induration depends on a Mutual Combination of the Saline Ingredients with the Mercury is beyond doubt since not only a true and perfect Copper may be obtained from the Amalgama but when it hath been for some time exposed to the Air the Surface will be covered over with the Saline Parts of the Verdigreese which have freed themselves from their more intimate commixture with the metalline Particles of the condensed Quick-Silver But lest it should be Questioned whether the Particles of Salt can have any sensible Operation when mixed with a Body so firm as condens'd Quick-Silver I shall add that in Bodies much more firm it hath been observ'd viz. in those Stones from which Vitriol is got for it is remarkable in them that when they have been for some time exposed to the open Air the internal Agitation of the Saline Parts is so violent that several of them will not only swell but even burst asunder And I remember that having preserâ—'d a Mineral much of the same Nature with these Stones in my Chamber the Superficies was cover'd with a Powder both in Colour and Taste resembling Vitriol And that the Motion of the Parts of this Amalgama whilst it was Fluid which they might be put into by the external force of the Fire might contribute to their Concretion we have sufficient Reasons to believe from what is related and observ'd by experienc'd Masons viz. That the best Morter will not acquire it 's utmost compactness under 25 or 30 Years and that after a long time it becomes so hard as to be more unapt to break than the Stones it Cements But lastly that the Condensation of the Parts of the Quicksilver depends on the Mixture of the Ingredients and the Texture thence resulting is evident since the Proportion of the Ingredients being vary'd the Condensation of the Mercury was neither so speedy nor so firm And that it may appear That Nature and Art sometimes take Measures not unlike in the Hardning of Bodies I shall add a Passage from a Jesuit nam'd Pierre Belleprat who relates it as an Observation in the American Continent where he was sent to preach to the Indians A Strange Sort of Earth The Relation is That near the Mouth of the River there is to be found a Green sort of Clay which being soft and capable of being put into any Form whilst under Water grows so hard when expos'd to the Air as not to be much softer than Diamonds and this he says the Natives usually make Hatchets of which they cut their Wood in pieces with But A Concrete resulting from a Mixture of Spirit of Wine and a Solution of Coral To conclude this Discourse I shall add an Experiment which will be a farther Confirmation That
Qualities and stupendious Multitudes of adventitious Corpuscles which are mix'd with it Agitation requisite to preserve Sea Water from stinking But to proceed amongst the various Observations to be made about Sea-Water it is worth our Notice That if it be kept from Agitation it will in a short time stink which I have not only observ'd by keeping some of it in a Runlet for some time but also I am inform'd by one who in a Voyage was for some days becalmed that the Sea for want of Agitation stunk so much in twelve or fourteen days that the Smell was almost intolerable which continued till the Winds put the Water into Agitation Which agrees with what Sir John Hawkins hath observ'd who relates the following Story Were it not for the Moving of the Sea by the Force of Winds Tides and Currents it would corrupt all the World The Experience of which I saw Anno 1590 lying with a Fleet about the Islands of Azores almost Six Months the greatest Part of the time we were becalmed with which all the Sea became so replenished with several sorts of Gellies and Forms of Serpents Adders and Snakes as seem'd Wonderful some green some black some yellow some white some of divers Colours and many of them had Life and some there were a Yard and a half and some two Yards long which had I not seen I could hardly have believ'd and hereof are Witnesses all the Company of the Ships which were then present so that hardly a Man could draw a Bucket of Water clear of some Corruption In which Voyage toward the End thereof many of every Ship fell sick of this Disease and dy'd apace but that the speedy Passage into our own Country was a Remedy to the Crazed and a Preservative for those that were not touched The Saltness of the Sea differs As for the different Degrees of the Saltness of the Sea I shall deliver what I have been inform'd of as briefly as I can And First It hath been observ'd by one to whom I gave a Glass conveniently shaped to try the specifick Gravity of the Water that it grew heavier and heavier as he came nearer the Line till within about thirty Degrees Latitude from whence to Jamaica he observ'd no Alteration in the specifick Gravity in the least And in Confirmation of this I am likewise inform'd by one who for his own Satisfaction weigh'd the Water both under the Aequinoctial and at Cape of good Hope and found that the Weight of both was the same To which may be added that it is commonly observ'd at Mosambique one of the hottest Places in the World that the Sea is so salt there that it bears up the Ships a considerable Height out of the Water more than in other Places and that the Water may be much salter in one Place than another by having more Salt dissolved in it does not only appear from what hath been said but also from what is frequently observ'd in the different Strength of Brine-Pits But to pass from what I have learnt by Information to what I have observ'd my self concerning the Proportion of Salt to the Water it was dissolv'd in which I have observ'd in Sea-Water betwixt England and France The Proportion of Salt in Sea-Water The first Experiment I made to discover the Quantity of Salt was this that having in a Viol weigh'd an equal Proportion of Sea-Water taken up at the Surface of the Sea with common Water the Weight of the former exceeded the latter of forty fifth Part but these Liquors being more Hydrostatically try'd by weighing Sulphur in them that which in the Sea-Water weigh'd ℥ ss + 10 ½ gr in Sea-Water fetch'd from the bottom ballanced the same Weight but being weigh'd in common Water it weigh'd ℥ ss + 15 ½ gr so that the Sea-Water was a Fifty third Part heavier than the fresh the Difference in which way of trying it from what was observ'd in the former Tryal I could attribute to nothing but some grosser Saline Parts mix'd with the common Water or some evaporated Parts of the Sea-Water Another way we made use of to try the different specifick Gravity of these Liquors was by Distillation ad Siccitatem in a digestive Furnace in which a Pound Averdupoise Weight yeilded ℥ ss 10 gr of Salt so that the Proportion of the Salt to the Water was as 30 and 12 100 to one being near the Thirtieth Part. But suspecting that the Quantity of this Salt was much increas'd by imbibing Moisture from the Air I caus'd it to be dry'd in a Crucible and found it weigh'd ʒiij + ss which is about a Thirty sixth Part. How so much a greater Quantity of Salt should be obtain'd by Distillation is difficult to conjecture yet I am apt to think that it might proceed from some Parts of the Water detain'd from flying away by being enclos'd amongst the cubical Salts and this I am apter to believe First Because I have elsewhere prepar'd a Salt which would coagulate and embody it self with Water and Secondly Because I am told That a Sort of Salt is brought from the Coast of Spain which being here purify'd and dissolv'd will yield a double Quantity The Sea-Water salter sometimes than at others Whether the Sea-Water may at some times be more impregnated with Saline Parts than at others I conceive probable if we consider the Supplies that it receives both from the Earth which are carry'd to it along with Springs and also the sudden Additions it may receive from Subterraneal Exhalations but these Observations being very nice it most commonly requires other Measures than what Hydrostaticks afford for it may be observ'd That several volatile Salts which are of no considerable Weight above common Water may be mix'd with it without being perceiv'd so that one may easily be deceiv'd in judging of the Saltness of the Sea altogether by Hydrostaticks because that which violently affects the Taste may have but a small Influence in the Balance To confirm which I shall add That a Bubble of Glass having Metal in it weigh'd ʒiij ✚ 51 ¼ gr in Spirit of Sal Armoniack and but ʒiij ✚ 45 ¾ in common Water But further I weigh'd in the same Liquor an equal Proportion of Sea-Salt brought from the torrid Zone and Sal Armoniack and found that the Bulk of the former was to an equal Proportion of that Liquor as two and a quarter to one whereas the Sal Armoniack was not above a hundredth Part above one and 7 10 to one which is the more strange because Part of the Composition of Sal Armoniack is Sea-Salt But that I might be satisfi'd what was the greatest Degree of Saltness that Water would be impregnated with I shook a Lump of Salt in Water till it would dissolve no more and found that a Brine might be made so strong that the Salt would be dissolv'd in five times its weight of Water To conclude this Discourse I shall add one
compared with that of common Water will shew what Quantity of Mineral Substance the Water hath dissolv'd in it and whether Metalline or more Volatile as it is heavier or lighter where we are to observe that Mineral Waters are sometimes lighter than common Water partly because they are impregnated with Volatile Parts and partly because they are void of Saline Parts which makes common Water something heavier But to discover the different Weight of several Mineral Waters I caus'd a Glass-Viol with a flat Bottom and a long Neck three Inches long to be blown which was so light as to weigh but ʒvi + 42 Grains tho' it was capable of containing ℥ iij ss and 43 Grains of Water which made it more proper for a Nice Ballance by which I found the following Mineral Waters to differ thus in Weight Waters Ounces Drachms Grains Common 3 4 43 Common distill'd 3 4 41 Acton 3 4 48 ½ Epsom 3 4 51 Dulwich 3 4 54 Staton 3 4 55 Barnet 3 4 52 North-Hall 3 4 50 German-Spaw 3 4 40 Tunbridge 3 4 38 Islington from the Musick-House 3 4 36 Islington from the Vault with Steps 3 4 39 Islington from the Cellar 3 4 39 3. Of their different Degrees of Transparency or Opacity 4. Whether without being exposed to the Air it will afford a Pracipitate By which Observation the different Soils through which they pass will not only be discover'd but hence we may learn to distinguish such from the true Caput Mortuum of the Water German Spaw Water yielded a good Quantity of yellowish Oker N. B. the Water so try'd must not be expos'd to the Air for if it be the Air will precipitate a considerable Quantity of Matter in most Waters 5. What Microscopes can discover in Mineral Waters N. B. those moving Corpuscles discernible in a Solution of Pepper c. in Water are Animalcula and not Portions of Inanimate Matter which swim up and down such Liquors which is apparent if those little Animals be touch'd with Spirit of Salt for being kill'd by it they move much more slowly 6. Whether there be any variety of Colours in several Mineral Waters 7. Of their different Odours These are to be perceiv'd at the Spring-Heads where not only a Bituminous and Sulphurious Smell may easily be perceiv'd but I am inform'd that there is a Mineral Spring in France which hath a manifest vinous Odour 8. Concerning the different Tastes of Mineral Waters 9. Whether taking it up or keeping it stop'd or unstop'd or whether freezing or thawing it will alter the Colour Smell or Transparency of it For tho' some Waters retain their Purgative Virtue a good while yet I have observ'd an Exhalation of some fugitive Parts from those which are lighter than Water and abound with Spirituous Parts so that tho' they were carry'd but a little way from the Fountain they presently lost their Power of turning a Tincture of Galls into a Purple and instead of that turn'd it red and even the Strongest Waters if kept unstopp'd or not kept close presently lose that Property 10. Concerning the different Consistency of such Waters 11. Whether they be more apt to Expansion and Condensation or Heat and Coldness than Common Water 12. Whether they are apt to Putrify and how soon and what Phaenomena they afford 13. What Alteration in Colours ensues the Mixture of Astringent Juices with them as also their Mixture with several Juices of the Body N. B. in trying of Mineral Waters it is usual to make use of a Tincture of Galls without considering the Alterations which may be made in the Tryal by an Uncertain Proportion of Galls Wherefore I usually make use of a settled Proportion as 5 Grains to an Ounce tho' Mineral Waters may be try'd with much more Expedition and Certainty by making use of the Powder it self suspending about three Grains of Powder in an Ounce of the Waters and I have found by Experience that so small a Quantity as a Grain hath given German Spaw-Water a deep Purple Colour But it is not always necessary to make use of Galls in such Tryals since Rose Leaves or the Flowers and Bark of Pomgranates will have much the same Effect affording a Cloudy and Blackish Tincture And it is further to be noted That I made it one Part of this Quaere what Colours would be produc'd by a Mixture of Mineral Waters with Animal Juices because I have observ'd the Root of the Tongue sometimes Blackish upon the taking of Large Doses But to return to what I have observ'd concerning the trying of Mineral Waters by an Infusion of Galls I not only doubt whether all Martial Waters will turn a Tincture of Galls black but whether all liquors which will are to be esteem'd Martial for I have found that a Mineral of a Different Nature from Steel would give it a Black Colour and that a Liquor which was a Preparation of Steel would not which induc'd me to think that such a Tincture was rather the Effect of some Acid Fumes which had work'd on the Mars with which those Mineral Waters are Impregnated To which it may be added That I have found that if a Vitriolate Water be impregnated with Copper instead of Iron instead of turning a Tincture of Galls Blackish it only would render it Muddy and Thick And I had a sort of white Earth which I found by Tryals to be Lead that would turn a Tincture of Galls Blackish tho' it was altoger void of Martial Parts and probably would have very bad Effects if taken inwardly To which I might further add That a Tincture of Gold in Aqua fortis likewise turn'd an Infusion of Galls Black And those Observations I have been the willinger to lay down because tho' I would not be thought by them to slight the Use of Galls in such Tryals yet I would thence urge them to make such Tryals to be more warily made Observations requisite in Trying Mineral Waters And because it may be of some Use to observe the different Colours exhibited by such Tryals I shall add the following Considerations as Requisite to be thought on by him who designs to make such Experiments 1. That he ought to observe the Changes of Colours made by such Tinctures in a good Light which may help a Curious Observer to distinguish what Minerals such Tinctures are impregnated with 2. It way be of Use to vary the Shades of Colours produc'd by Mineral Waters either by dropping such Waters upon Paper whose Pores are saturated with Vitriol powder'd or ting'd with a Decoction of Log-wood Several Variations in Colours may be also made by dropping other Medicinal Liquors either into the Mineral Waters or the Infusion of Galls before Mixture or after 3. I would recommend for such Tryals not only the Parts of Astringent Plants but also Animal and especially Mineral Substances For besides the Astringents I have contriv'd a certain Substance which would not only turn a Vitriol Water impregnated with Iron
black but also One saturated with Copper a Succedaneum to which may be made by adding to Sulphur as it melts over the Fire and equal Proportion of Salt of Tartar finely powder'd stirring them till they incorporate and become red Which Mixture being put into a Glass Retort with half it's weight of Sal-Armoniack dissolv'd in Water let it be distill'd in Sand shifting the Receivers as the Liquor drawn off is ting'd more or less so that the strongest may be preserv'd by it self And such Tryals as these will be of more use than those usually made with a bare Tincture of Galls since there are several Mineral Substances and other Bodies which Mineral Waters may be impregnated with which discover not themselves in an Infusion of Galls As Sulphur or Copper may be so lock'd up in these Waters as not to be perceiv'd till the Body of the Liquor is open'd by some proper Additament And even Arsenick it self may be so disguised as not to be perceiv'd when mix'd with the Waters yet if Spirit of Urine or Oyl of Tartar per Deliquium be dropp'd into a Solution of it it presently precipitates in the Form of a white Powder and so likewise if a Solution of Sublimate be added to it Whether Mineral Waters have Arsenick dissolved in them But to discover whether Mineral Waters be impregnated with Arsenick or not I put Dantzick or English Vitriol into a Solution of it either of which caus'd a dark precipitate gradually to subside 14. Whether Spirituous Acids volatile Alkalys or Lixivial Salts will precipitate such Waters 15. The Manner of Extracting Salts from such Waters and what Quantities may be extracted Guesses may be made concerning the Saltness of these Waters by trying whether they will Lather with Soap and if not what Quantity of Curdled Matter they will yield I have observ'd that even the lightest Waters will yield a small Quantity of common Salt 16. How to discover what Acidity is to be found without Evaporation Having taken a peculiar Method to try the Acidity of Mineral Waters by mixing them with an Infusion of Lignum Nephriticum in simple Water I found that tho' German Spaw yielded a small Quantity yet in that of Action there was none discernible 17. What may be observ'd by Distillation in Balnco 18. What and whether the same Quantity of Caput Mortuum be afforded by Evaporation and Distillation 19. Whether Mineral Waters will acquire the same Qualities and Texture by a Reunion of their Caput Mortuum when distill'd to such a Consistence in Glass-Vessels exactly luted which they had before 20. What Changes if any Mineral Waters undergo by being boil'd in Water in a Glass Hermetically seal'd From whence might be learn'd whether a Change of Qualities would succeed an Alteration of Texture without a manifest loss of Parts And whether an Agitation of Parts without the Influence of the Air would precipitate any thing or deprive it of it's Power to turn a Tincture of Galls Purple 21. How much the Mineral Waters exceed their Caput Mortuum in Proportien 22. What Parts are contain'd in the Caput Mortuum and whether dissoluble in Water 23. How much the Saline and Terrestrial Parts differ in Proportion 24. Whether in strong Fires the Salts be Volatile or Fix'd and to what Degree 25. Whether the Salts will Crystallize per se or with other Salts and what 's the Figure of the Genuine or Compounded Crystals 26. Whether Acid or Alkaline Qualities are most predominant The Acidity will either appear to the Taste or Smell or may be discover'd by turning Syrup of Violets red as also by making use of an Infusion of Lignum Nephriticum which upon a Mixture of Acids loses it's Blue Colour Their Acidity may likewise be discover'd by trying whether they will be precipitated by Alkalys or ferment with them And if Alkaly be predominant it on the contrary discovers it self by a Lixivial Taste and Smell and may be discover'd by turning Syrup of Violets Green or precipitating a Solution of Sublimate or Fermenting with Aqua fortis or lastly by increasing the Colour of a Tincture of Brasil or Log-wood in Common-water And tho' we have no such Springs here in England as afford Alkaline Salts yet without question in Egypt such may be found since their Latron or the Egyptian Nitre abounds with a Salt of an Alkaline Nature and I have obtain'd such an Alkaly from that Famous Water of Bourbon in France which would turn Syrup of Violets green and ferment with Volatile Acids If such Waters abound with Vitriol they 'll turn an Infusion of Galls black and Vomit those that drink them and if an Alkaly be added will yield a yellow Precipitate upon dropping of Spirit of Vrine or Salt of Tartar into them I have not found any of the Waters about London to be impregnated with Vitriol and I am told that in France the Mineral Waters are so far from being impregnated with Vitriol that there is a Vitriolate Spring in that Kingdom As for the Nature of the Salt which most Mineral Waters are impregnated with I think that it is not to be referr'd to any Glass but is either sui generis and a peculiar one or a Compound Salt made up of such as the Water is impregnated with in it's Passage through the Earth and that Purgative Salts may by a Change of Texture be made of Salts not at all Purgative I the rather believe because I have been told by an Ingenious Emperick That a Salt which I made of Salt of Tartar and Common Sulphur mix'd together had a gentle Purging Virtue 27. In what Menstruums the Caput Mortuum may be dissolv'd and in what it may not Whether Volatile or Fixt and what Qualities it hath in Respect of Colour or Smell What Proportion of Salt Mineral Waters afford It is to be admir'd what a great deal of Caput Mortuum some Mineral Waters yield in Comparison of others since those Waters which are purely Diuretick have very little if compared with the Caput Mortuum of Purging Waters For tho' a pound of Barnet Waters yielded a Drachm yet the same weight of Tunbridge afforded but a Grain And It is not a little strange that so small a Quantity of a Mineral should impregnate so much Water as I have by Tryal found a Grain of Iron Stone did enabling it to Tincture an Infusion of Galls deeper than Tunbridge or German Spaw Water would And I have try'd that half a Grain of Marchasite dissolv'd in Spirit of Nitre communicated a Tincture to 61440 Parts of Water tho' Part of that Marchasite was Sulphur and Part of it Caput Mortuum And here it may be seasonable to take notice That if so small a Portion of a Metalline Substance would when grosly dissolv'd impregnate so large a Quantity of Water how much more may it when rais'd in the Form of a Subtile Mineral Fume and as in such a Form it may impregnate a larger Quantity of Water so will it be
Receiver upon the Exsuction of the Air we observ'd that the Air which was contain'd in the Cavity of the Viol was so far expanded that tho' the Viol was able to contain above five Drachms of Water if filled and distended the empty Bladder which was large enough to hold five Ounces and half a Drachm In which Experiment the expanded Air possessed nine times as much space as it did before Expansion But to measure the Air 's Expansion more nicely we fix'd a Glass Bubble to one end of a Cylindrical Pipe hermetically sealed the Diameter of whose Bore was about a quarter of an Inch and having pasted a Piece of Parchment upon the outside of the Tube which was divided into twenty six equal Parts and mark'd with black Lines we fill'd the Cylinder almost full of Water so that after a few Tryals by inverting the Cylinder and stopping the open End with one's Finger we could perceive that as much Air might be permitted to rise up to the Bubble as was equal in Extension to the Breadth of one of those twenty six Divisions When this was done we fitted the open end of the Cylinder to a Glass Viol which was fill'd with Water to the Height of half an Inch all which being put together into a Pneumatical Receiver after a few Exsuctions the included Air was so much expanded as to extend it self to the Surface of the Water in which Experiment the expanded Air took up thirty one times as much Space as before And this Experiment being repeated in a Cylinder which afforded a larger space for the Air 's Expansion it took up above sixty times the space it did before And repeating the like Experiment with a Glass Pipe thirty Inches long part of it having a Hole in the Cover to stand out through by weighing the Water in a nice Pair of Scales together with the Pipe first with the Bubble of Air included and after when the Tube was wholly filled with Water we found That the Air which possessed but the Space of one Grain of Water had been expanded in the exhausted Receiver so much by its own 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as to take up 152 times its Space before Extension And since Marcennus affirms That the Air may be so expanded by Heat as to take up seventy times its Space I conveyed a Cylinder of the former Magnitude into the Receiver and found That upon the Exsuction of the Air in the Receiver that in the Cylinder descended down almost to the bottom of it the lower Surface of it being very convex and seeming several times to knock upon and rebound from the bottom of the Viol which was an Argument of the expansive Force of the Air since the Water it depressed upon the drawing out of the Air was much below the Surface of the Water contain'd in the Viol. EXPERIMENT VII What Figure best resists the Pressure of the AIR HAVING got a thin Glass Bubble which was large enough to hold about five Ounces of Water to which was fix'd a slender Neck about the Bigness of a Swan's Quill we moderately exhausted the Air out of the Receiver and then taking it out of the Pump we joyn'd the Neck of the Bubble to the lower Orifice of the Receiver stopping the Crannies with melted Plaster to prevent the Ingress of the Air and tho' the Glass was as thin as Paper yet upon turning the Key of the Stop-Cock and giving the Air included in the Bubble Liberty to expand the Bubble sustained the Pressure of the whole Atmosphere without being broke EXPERIMENT VIII The former Experiment illustrated WE took a Glass Alembick which was large enough to hold about Three Pints represented by the Seventh Figure The Rostrum E being hermetically closed In the Top of the Rostrum was a Hole into which one of the shanks of a Stop-Cock of an ordinary size was cemented the other being fixed with Cement in the upper Part of the Pump which being done and the upper Orifice of the Alembick being covered close with a Plate of Lead exactly adapted to it upon drawing the Air out of the Receiver the Glass presently cracked which Crack is represented by the Line a b and this Flaw extended it self further accordingly as the Air was more exhausted yet this Glass Vessel was near twenty times thicker than the Bubble And that the Figure of the former Glass enabled it so much better to sustain the Atmosphere was further confirmed by suspending one of the Bubbles hermetically sealed in the Receiver which so strongly resisted the Expansion of the Air contained in it as to continue whole when the Receiver was exhausted EXPERIMENT IX A Confirmation of the former Experiment An Experiment to shew that these Phaenomena exhibited in Vacuo Boyliano proceed not from a fuga Vacui c. A Confirmation of the former Experiment c. HAving put the end of a slender Glass Pipe into a Viol which was large enough to contain four Ounces of Water and fixed it to the Neck of the Viol with a Cement of Rosin and Pitch so that the end of the Pipe almost touched the bottom of the Viol as in Fig. 6 this Viol was conveighed into a small Receiver as much Water being put into it as wrought a little above the bottom of the Cylinder the upper End of the Pipe being most of it without the Vessel a Hole having been purposely made for it in the Top of the Receiver The Event of which Tryal was that upon drawing the Air out of the Pump the Weight of the Atmosphere internally pressing into the Pipe and the Spring of the Air within the Receiver not equally pressing against the sides of the Bottle which were exposed to it a Piece of the Bottle burst out of the side of it with such a Force as to crack the Receiver in several Places and having reiterated the Experiment with a round Glass Bubble the Leaden Cover of the Receiver was not only depressed by the Weight of the Atmosphere so as to thrust out one side of the Receiver but the Glass Bubble was cracked into Pieces with such violence as to tear a Bladder which it was encompassed with to keep it from breaking the Receiver in several Places Before I proceed to the next Experiment it may be requisite to advertise That though the larger Receivers are apt upon some Tryals to crack yet they are not rendered altogether useless since when the Air begins to be exhausted the ambient Atmosphere compresses the Lips of the Glass closer together But if the Crack be considerable it may be cemented with a Plaster made of Quick-lime and Scrapings of Cheese ground together very finely in a Mortar and made into a Paste with a little Water which being spread upon a Cloath about three Inches broad must be apply'd to the Crack EXPERIMENT X. Of the Flame of a Candle in a Receiver HAVING suspended a Tallow Candle in our Receiver we found That upon an Exsuction of
last mention'd Experiment it appears that it is possible Even by Weights to measure how far Nature is dispos'd to prevent or fill Vacuities since a small difference in Weight determin'd by depressing or permitting the Sucker to rise how far Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum depended on the Causes we have so often mention'd But here it may be requisite to advertise that by Vacuities I do not mean Spaces altogether void of Matter but void of such as may be perceiv'd so that I take the Word Vacuum in the Common not the strict and Philosophical Sense of the Word But lastly from this XXXIII Experiment it appears that the Weight of the Atmosphere we live in is stronger than what Men usually think it is And probably near the Northern Pole it is much stronger Since if what Varenius observes the Air is so condens'd in Nova Zembla as to hinder the Motion of a Pendulum except moved by a heavier Weight than what is usually made use of in our Climate EXPERIMENT XXXIV Attempts to weigh light Bodies in our Receiver TO try whether the Aequilibrium of two Bodies of an equal Weight in the Air but of unequal Dimensions would be lost in our Receiver as it usually is in Water by Reason of a greater Quantity of Water buoying up against that whose Dimensions are most extensive I took a Bladder half full of Air and ty'd it to one end of our Balance which turns with the 32 part of a Grain which being counterpois'd with a Weight in the other Scale we let it down into the Receiver and having clos'd it up upon an Exsuction of the Air we found the Bladder to dilate and manifestly to preponderate but upon admitting the Air into the Receiver again the Bladder was over-pois'd by the Weight but leaving them in the Receiver all night the Bladder imbib'd so much of the External Moisture as to weigh that end of the Balance down a good way yet the Bladder being dry'd a little they were both brought to an Aequilibrium And the like Experiment we try'd with a piece of Cork instead of the Bladder and observ'd that the Receiver being Evacuated as well as upon a reingress of the Air the Cork manifestly preponderated EXPERIMENT XXXV Of the Cause of Filtration and the Rising of Water in the Syphons c. The Cause of Filtration TO try whether in Filtrations the rising of the Water might not proceed from the Impulse of the Air we made use of a Syphon of Glass represented by the Third Figure which is made of two strait Pieces and a crooked one which joyns the other two together the Junctures being well clos'd The longer Leg of the Syphon was pervious only at the small End so as to suffer the Water to pass through it but both the ends of the shorter Leg were equally pervious the Diameter of their Bore being ¼ of an Inch. The length of these two Pipes was about a Foot and a half that the Rarifi'd Air in the Receiver when it was pretty well exhausted might not raise the Water included in the Pipe too high The shorter Leg of the Syphon being immers'd two or three Inches in a Vessel of Water the other end was fastned to the Cover which things being done and the Receiver clos'd up we began to pump The Result of which was that the Water dropp'd out of the lower Leg of the Syphon as if it had been expos'd to the open Air till the Receiver was in some measure exhausted and then several Bubbles rising in the Water gather'd together at the Top of the short leg'd Syphon where expanding themselves they stopp'd the Course of the Water that in the longer Leg being suspended in the Tube and ceasing to drop and the Water in the shorter Leg was so far depress'd as not to be above a Foot high But as soon as the External Air was let in again it enter'd in at the small Orifice of the longer Tube and ascending through the Water contain'd in the Pipe joyn'd with the former which was lodg'd in the upper Part of the short leg'd Tube But to prevent what Inconveniences ensu'd the rising of these Bubbles the two foremention'd Tubes were placed so as to meet in the middle of a Glass Viol the Neck of the Viol being clos'd up with Cement and the Tubes being thus fix'd and they as well as the Viol fill'd with Water the Syphon represented by the Fifth Figure was plac'd in the Receiver with its shorter Leg in a Vessel of Water upon which the Pump being ply'd the longer Syphon continu'd to drop much longer than before but at the last the Bubbles which rose in the Pipes were so dilated in the Viol as to press down into the Ends of the Tube and interrupt our Experiment tho' what we observ'd gave us Reason to believe that the Air contributed to the Motion of the Water through the Syphons And here I shall subjoyn that I once had a very slender Pipe which when held upon the Surface of the Water in a Perpendicular Posture the Incumbent Atmosphere press'd so much more on the Surface of the External Water than that contain'd in the Tube that the Water was rais'd in the Tube and this Pipe being bent into a Syphon and plac'd with the shorter Leg in Water as Syphons usually are the Water of its own accord rose up in the shorter Leg and ran down the other and this Syphon being plac'd in our Receiver to try what Alteration of the Phaenomenon would appear there we could not discern any sensible one But tho' in this Tube just now mention'd the Water rises of its own accord yet if such a Tube be thrust a little way into the Mercury instead of rising the Mercury in the Tube will be below that which is without it EXPERIMENT XXXVI The Weight of Air in the Exhausted Receiver The subtle penetrating Power of some Spirits above that of the Air. The Cause why Air will not enter the Pores of some Bodies which Water will The Weight of the Air examin'd by an Aeolipile The Proportion betwixt the Gravity of Air and Water Betwixt Water and Quicksilver Conjectures concerning the Weight of the Atmosphere The Weight of the Air. NOtwithstanding the several Methods propropos'd by Galileo and others to try the Weight of the Air being willing to be further satisfi'd we caus'd an Oval Glass with a small Tube at one End to be blown at the flame of a Lamp And this Glass Bubble being of the size of a Hen's Egg was fix'd to one End of a Balance being counterpois'd by a Weight at the other End which being suspended in our Receiver and the Pump set on work the Bubble after three Exsuctions continu'd to preponderate more and more till the Air was let in again and then the Balance was reduced to its former Aequilibrium But having repeated the Experiment with an additional Weight of three Quarters of a Grain in the Scale opposite to the
that upon the first Exsuction the Mercury was brought within an Inch of the Bottom and continu'd several successive Vibrations before it setled at 10 Inches high Secondly If instead of drawing any out Air be forced into the Receiver it will raise the Mercury higher than it 's former Station Thirdly The Receiver was so far exhausted as to make the Mercury subside to a Level EXPERIMENT XXII In Tubes open at both Ends when Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum cannot be pretended the Weight of Water will impell Quicksilver no higher in slender than in larger Pipes The suspension of Quicksilver equal in small and wide Pipes TO prove that the Weight of the Atmosphere may buoy up Mercury equall in large as in smaller Tubes I shall add the following Tryals The I. TRYAL Having put as much Mercury into a Glass Tube about two Foot and a half long as reach'd 3 or 4 Fingers the one End being sealed Hermetically we hung two Tubes by Strings to the Top of the former so that the lower Ends of them were immers'd in the Mercury which being done we pour'd Water upon the Mercury and observ'd the Mercury to be equally rais'd in the great Pipe as in the little one and the Water being suck'd out it proportionably subsided in each The II. TRIAL Having pour'd a Convenient Quantity of Quicksilver into a Tube of Glass near a Foot long and filled two Pipes of Mercury of an unequal Bore the one End of each being Hermetically seal'd we immers'd them in the large Tube contriving to open the lower Orifice when below the Stagnant Mercury and I observ'd that they not only both of them subsided to an equal Station but Water being pour'd upon the Stagnant Mercury the Weight of it buoy'd them up both alike in the Tube and the Water being successively suck'd out and put in again the the Mercury in the Tube proportionably fell and rose equally in both no difference proceeding from the Wideness of their Diameters in the Height of the Mercurial Cylinders EXPERIMENT XXIII At what Height Mercury Amalgamated with Tin as well as pure Mercury will be suspended HAVING fill'd a Glass Tube with Mercury Amalgamated with Tin and inverted it it did not fall below 31 Inches In trying this Experiment the following Particulars are to be noted First That if the Amalgama be too thick it will be apt to stick to the Tube and will likewise hinder several Aerial Corpuscles from flying away Secondly From hence it may be observ'd that as the Aequilibrium of Mercury and the Atmosphere varies so does it's Ascent in such Tubes Thirdly It would not be amiss here to consider whether these two Metals penetrate each others Dimensions as I have observ'd Copper and Tin to do and by forming a new Metalline Substance to render the Composition heavier than the Weight of the two single Ingredients EXPERIMENT XXIV A Method of making Barometers which may be carried to distant Countries TO make a Portable Barometer we took a Cylinder about 4 or 5 Foot long and having bent one End at the Flame of a Lamp so as to make the shorter Leg about a fourth Part as long as the other sealing up the End of the longer Leg we injected Mercury into the shorter Leg by a Tunnel till it was rais'd about 3 Inches in both Legs which being done and the Orifice of the shorter Leg being stopp'd with the Finger we inclin'd the longer Leg and so by successively filling the short Leg and inclining it so as to make it run into the longer we fill'd the longer Leg quite full of Mercury and by inclining it several times afterward and permitting the Bubble of Air which usually lies at the Top of the seal'd Head to run through the Mercurial Cylinder backwards and forwards we freed it from those Bubbles which are usually in it's Pores But besides this way of filling the Pipe we have with less Trouble done it by making use of a Tunnel which when the Pipe is a little inclin'd reaching a little above the Flexure of the Syphon will fill the Tube without much trouble And the Pipe thus fill'd with Mercury may by often erecting of it and shaking the Pipe so erected be freed from those Aery Particles which commonly lodge in the Pores of the Mercury See the whole Barometer Plat. 7. Fig. ig 2. The Barometer being thus order'd we contriv'd a Frame to carry it in which was made of a Piece of Wood in which a Gutter was cut for the Pipe to lie in the lower End of the Frame being likewise so contriv'd as to contain the short Leg of this Tube The Pipe being lodg'd in this Gutter we fix'd a Cover to one side of the Frame with little Highes the other when occasion requir'd being fastned with Hasps And because the Motion the Mercury would be put into would be apt to break the Pipe were there too much Liberty given it to move in or were there any Interstices betwixt the Pipe and the Gutter it is lodg'd in we took Care to lay Cotton both betwixt the Pipe and the Concave of the Frame and betwixt the Cover and it and that the empty Space which is usually above the Surface of the Mercury in Barometers might not be prejudicial we took Care to invert the Tube and to fill the remaining Space unpossess'd with Mercury either with an Addition of Mercury or with Water sealing up the Orifice of the shorter Tube Hermetically till it came to be us'd again and then the Superflous Mercury may be taken away by immersing a small Pipe in it which if the upper Orifice be stopp'd with ones Finger will take away so much as the Cavity of the immers'd Tube had receiv'd into it But if Water be made use of instead of Mercury it may be lick'd up with a Spunge And if by shaking of this Barometer in long Journeys any Particles should get out of the short Leg into the larger by successively inverting the Tube and permitting the Bubble of Air to pass backwards and forwards the Mercury in the long Tube may easily be freed from Bubbles Of what Use this Barometer may be in discovering the Weight of the Atmosphere in long Journeys both at Sea and at Land I shall leave to others to consider only I shall annex this Advertisement that sometime after I made this Barometer having carri'd it about 33 Miles I observ'd that it did not rise by ¼ of an Inch as high as it did before but whether it might be imputed to the narrowness of the Pipe or any other Accident I cannot yet determine EXPERIMENT XXV What Height the Mercury in Barometers will be suspended at at the Top of Hills Some Observations of the Height of Mountains especially the Pic of Teneriff HAVING observ'd the Height at which Mercury was suspended at the Bottom of a Hill and compar'd it with a Barometer made the ordinary ways it was observ'd that the Height it was suspended at at the Top
of the Hill was ¼ part of an Inch below the Mark it reach'd at the Latter and as the Barometer was brought lower the Mercury in the Pipe rose higher and higher But if such Observations could be made at the Top and Bottom of the Mountain Teneriff the Experiment would afford further Proof of our Hypothesis concerning the Air 's Spring and Weight An Appendix about the Height of Mountains The Height of Mountains NOtwithstanding some Ingenious Men have taught that the Height of the Atmosphere is of stupendious and others confine it to narrower Dimensions yet I shall add some Observations which may confirm what we have taught concerning it and tho' as Ricciolus takes notice the Jesuit Rector Melensius says that of all the Clouds whose Height he measur'd they did not exceed 5000 Paces yet if we allow Meteors and Comets to arise from Terrene Exhalations and that the Height of Clouds varies according to the different Degrees of the Air 's Rarefaction it will follow that the Height of most of them exceeds what Carden and Kepler allow But to proceed to what I have to relate concerning the Height of Mountains I shall relate what I have learn'd by Information And first the Ingenious Mr. Sydenham told me that the Mountain Teneriff is so high that the Top of it may be seen 60 Leagues off and that he himself had discover'd it at 40 Leagues distance like a blew Pyramid above the Clouds and he likewise told me that the Island of Madera might be seen from it tho' 70 Leagues distant and that the Great Canary seem'd so near it that one would think it possible to leap down upon it And indeed Ricâ—iolus observes that it might be seen 4 Degrees distance and Snellius also allows the Height of it to be Ten Miles tho' I believe that the way he takes to calculate the Height of it may be none of the truest he likewise by Refraction judging the Mountain Caucasus to be 51 Bolonian Miles high which is not believ'd probable since the Mountain Teneriff hath been observ'd by one who took it's Height in a Ship at Sea not to be above 7 Miles high in a Perpendicular Line yet it is esteem'd the highest Mountain in the World tho' if what Aristotle and others report of Mount Caucasus be true there may be others much higher than those For tho' if measur'd from the Foot or Level of that piece of Ground which they stand on they may be lower yet considering that the Ground they stand on may be much more protuberant from the Level Superficies of the whole Globe they may be much higher upon that Account EXPERIMENT XXVI The Pressure of the Atmosphere may be able to keep up the Mercury in the Torrecellian Experiment tho' the Air presses upon it at a very small Orifice IT being observ'd by several Learned Men That Mercury is suspended at an equal height in a close Room as in the open Atmosphere to prove that the Air having a Communication with the External even at small Crannies may have an equal Force as if the Mercurial Cylinder was immediately subject to the whole Atmosphere I shall add That if the Tube just before mention'd for a Portable Barometer be so drawn out at the Flame of a Lamp that the Orifice is but about a tenth Part as big as before the Mercury will be suspended at the usual Height and the like will succeed if instead of drawing the End of the Pipe out so a Cork be put into the End of the Tube leaving but a small part of the Orifice open to the Outward Air. EXPERIMENT XXVII An Oblique Pressure of the Atmosphere may be sufficient to keep up the Mercury at the usual Height in the Torrecellain Experiment and the Spring of a small quantity of Air may do the same IF the the Shorter Leg of a Syphon See Plate the 7th Fig. the 3d. being bent as represented by Fig. 3d. Plate the VIIth the Mercury be suspended at it's usual Height it appears that the Pressure of the Atmosphere hath as strong Effects if the End of the Tube through which it is convey'd only admits of the Pressure of the Air which it receives downwards But if instead of being so bent See Plate the 7th Fig. the 4th the End of the Shorter Leg be Hermetically seal'd as represented Fig. IV. Plate the VII the Mercury is sustain'd at it's usual Height it will appear that the Spring of a small quantity of Air is able to bear up a Cylinder of Mercury N. B. If the Tube thus Hermetically seal'd be shaken the Mercury will form some Vibrations upon the Included Air the Spring of it being compressed and expanded again successively for a while But the former of these Tryals may be made in a Pipe conveniently shapen before the Longer Leg is fill'd with Mercury and the latter by stopping the Orifice with a Cork and Close Cement which may be pierc'd with a Wire when this is us'd as a Baroscope which way may be taken with a Travelling Baroscope EXPERIMENT XXVIII A Baroscope of use but at some times TO shew that the Suspension of Mercury in a Glass Tube less than 30 Inches long does not proceed from a Fuga Vacui I caus'd one to be Hermetically seal'd at one End the Length of it being about two Foot and a half and fill'd it with Mercury a small quantity of Water being left upon it and when the Atmosphere was much lighter I found that the Mercury subsided and that there appear'd a small Bubble of Air in the Water which being no bigger than a Pin's Head was so far compress'd before as not to appear EXPERIMENT XXIX The Ascension of Liquors in very slender Pipes in an Exhausted Receiver HAving tinged Spirit of Wine with Cocheneel which bubbled in the Exhausted Receiver for some time several slender Pipes being put into it it rose highest in those whose Bore was narrowest but when the Air was let in again the Liquor in both subsided to a Level But two Pipes of different Bores being let down into that Liquor a second time tho' it answer'd the former Tryals in the Ascent yet the Surface in the slenderer Pipe remain'd something above the other when the Air was let in again But what was more Remarkable was that tho' the Liquor in the Vessel in this Tryal emitted no Bubbles yet that in the Ends of the Tubes did which were suppos'd to be caus'd by the sides of the Glass they were contain'd in EXPERIMENT XXX When the Pressure of the External Air is taken off it is very easy to draw up the Sucker of a Syringe tho' the Hole at which the Water should succeed be stopp'd FOR a further Illustration of the Doctrin of the Spring and Weight of the Air we made the following Tryals The I. TRYAL We took a Syringe of Brass see Plate 8th Fig. 1st whose Barrel was about six Inches long See Plate the 8th Fig. 1st and it's
of the Mercury was small Oct. 13 It was ½ an Inch. Oct. 17 It was 1 Inch. Oct. 18 It was 1 ½ Oct. 19 Near 4 Inches Oct. 20 The same but their surfaces seem'd mouldy Oct. 21 It was 4 ½ Oct. 22 The same the surface seem'd more mouldy Oct. 23 The same the surface seem'd more mouldy Oct. 24 The same the surface seem'd more mouldy Octob. 26 It was 5 ½ Inches high Octob. 27 It was 6 Inches high Octob. 28 It was 6 ½ Inches high No. 2 It was 7 ½ Inches high No. 6 It was 9 Inches high No. 8 It was 10 Inches high No. 9 It was 13 Inches high No. 12 It was 15 Inches high No. 14 It was 17 Inches high No. 18 It was 23 Inches high No. 21 It was 26 Inches high Dec. 8 It was 36 ½ Inches high Dec. 12 It was 39 Inches high Dec. 27 It was 39 Inches high Jan. 6 It was 36 Inches high The Air made it's way out Octob. 10. 677. Grapes with Spirit of Wine The Experiment being made with another Receiver into which was put 2 Drachms of Spirit of Wine along with the Grapes Oct. 11 The Mercury unalter'd Oct. 12 The Mercury unalter'd Oct. 13 The Mercury unalter'd Oct. 17 The Ascent was small Oct. 18 Not ¼ of an Inch. Oct. 19 It rose but little Jan. 6. The Grapes all this time afforded no Air So that Spirit of Wine hinder'd their Fermentation EXPERIMENT IX HAving conveigh'd a Peach into a small Receiver and so much Spirit of Wine as was just able to afford Vapours to rise about it March 28. 78. It had the same Colour but was the less Firm It had almost wholly contracted the Taste of the Spirit of Wine but yielded no Air. EXPERIMENT X. Air with Spirit of Wine I Conveigh'd 5 Peaches into a Receiver with as much Spirit of Wine as was sufficient to raise Vapours about them Octob. 18 The Mercury ascended not Octob. 20 It was 3 ½ Inches Octob. 21 It was 5 ½ Inches high Octob. 22 It was 7 ½ Inches high Octob. 23 It was 9 Inches high Octob. 26 It was 9 ½ Inches high Nov. 2 It was 12 Inches high Nov. 6 It was 14 Digits Nov. 12 It was 16 Digits Nov. 14 The same Nov. 16 The same Dec. 8 It was 18. Dec. 16 It was 19 ½ Dec. 27 It was 20 ½ Jan. 6 It was 23. March 8 It was 31 ½ Air without Spirit of Wine Octob. 17. Five Peaches being shut up in a Common Receiver without Spirit of Wine Octob. 18 it ascended not Octob. the 20th The Mercury was 5 Digits Octob. 21 It was 8 Octob. 22 It was 10 Octob. 23 It was 10 Octob. 26 It was 12 Nov. 2 It was 15 Nov. 6 It was 17 ½ Nov. 12 It was 20 Digits high Nov. 14 It was 20 Digits high Nov. 16 It was 21 Digits high Dec. 8 It was 26 Digits high Dec. 16 It was 26 ½ Digits high Dec. 27 It was 28 ½ Digits high Jan. 6. 78 It was 32 Inches high March 28 It was 33 ½ April 15. Liquor broke out and the Air after it From this Experiment it appears that the Vapours do not hinder Fermentation so much as Spirit of Wine it self EXPERIMENT XI Paste with Leaven HAving clos'd an Ounce and a half of Leaven'd Dough in a Receiver with so much Air as was able to bear up 23 Ounces ½ of Water April 28. The Mercury in the Gage was 2 ½ of an Inch high April 3. It was 3 ¼ of an Inch high May 4. The Mercury subsided and the Paste was Mouldy It was rais'd 2 ½ high May 6 It was 2 ¾ May 8 It was 3 May 10 It was 3 ½ May 14 It was 4 May 17 It was 4 ½ May 20 It was 5 May 24 It was 6 May 28 It was 8 June 2 It was 9 June 6 It was 10 June 41 It was 11 ½ July 5 It was 13 ½ July 19 It was 15 Paste without Leaven April 27. 78. An Ounce and a half of Paste without Leaven being contain'd in a Receiver large enough to hold 23 Ounces ½ of Water Without Leaven April 29. In the Afternoon it ascended ¼ of an Inch. April 30. There was no Alteration May 4. It ascended slowly and the Paste turn'd Mouldy May 6. It was about 4 Inches high May 8 It was 5 ½ May 10 It was 7 ½ May 14 It was 10 ½ May 17 It was 12 ½ May 20 It was 13 ½ May 24 It was 16 ½ May 28 It was 18 ½ June 2 It was 20 ½ June 6 It was 21 ½ June 14 It was 25 ½ From whence it appears that Leaven hinders Fermentation and the Production of Air. EXPERIMENT XII May 23. Paste with Spirit of Wine AN Ounce and a half of Paste on which Spirit of Wine was pour'd being shut up in a Receiver May 24th The Height of the Mercury was 1 Inch. May 26 It was near 2. May 27 It was near 2 ½ May 31 No Alteration June 1 It was 3 ½ Digits high June 6 It was 4 Digits high June 10 It was 4 ½ Digits high July 19 No Variation Decemb. 14. The Receiver being open'd the Paste smell'd subacid Paste without Spirit of Wine May 23. Without it An Ounce and a half of Paste being put into a Receiver large enough to contain 25 Ounces of Water without an Addition of Spirit of Wine May 24. The Mercury did not ascend May 26 It was 3 Digits high May 27 It was 4 ½ Digits high May 28 It was 5 ½ Digits high May 29 It was 7 Digits high May 31 It was 9 ½ Digits high June 2 It was 12 Digits high June 6 It was 17 Digits high June 10 It was 22 Digits high July 4 It was 30 Digits high July 19 It was about the height of 30 Digits The Air broke out Decemb. 14. The Mercury was rais'd 15 Digits again The Receiver being open'd the Paste was very acid From these Experiments it appears that Spirit of Wine prejudices the Production of Air And it likewise hence is evident that Paste which is made without Ferment will in time yield as much Air as that prepar'd with it EXPERIMENT XIII Octob. 11. New Ale enclosed in a Receiver NEW Ale was put into one Receiver so that the whole Cavity was taken up with it and another Receiver was likewise fill'd with the same Liquor except a small Part of it's Cavity which contain'd Air. Octob. 12. In the Receiver exactly fill'd the Mercury was rais'd a little the other had it's Cover burst and the Ale was conveighed into another large enough for the Purpose Octob. 13. In that wholly fill'd the Mercury was 12 Digits high In the other it was rais'd 13 Digits Octob. 14. The Mercury in the full Receiver was 13 Inches and the other 18. In the Evening the height of the Mercury in the full Receiver was 22 Inches and in the other 20. Octob. 15. The Height of the Mercury in the full
wholly freed from Air there was neither any Ebullition nor an appearance of Bubbles yet the Drops of Oyl mov'd in Vacuo after the same Manner as in open Air. Hence it appears that the Motion of the Parts of Oyl depend not in a Dissolution in Vacuo since all Dissolutions are company'd with a production of Bubbles EXPERIMENT VIII May 19. 76. Radishes in a Receiver with Claret HAving cut two Radishes transversly and suspended them all Night in Vacuo over a Vessel of Claret the small End of one being downwards and the other in a contrary Posture all being freed of their Air the next Day I freed two other Radishes from their thick Skin and cutting them transversly suspended them over the Wine as the others in Vacuo upon which immersing them all in the Wine they emitted Bubbles considerably especially those that had been longest in the Receiver From this Experiment we may urge that Bubbles are form'd of Particles of Air contain'd in Water and the Reason why those Radishes yielded most Air whose Skins were not pull'd off is because those Skins are full of Canals and Pores to contain Air in for the forming of Bubbles The Liquor ascended equally in all the Radishes notwithstanding their Postures EXPERIMENT IX May. 4. A small Tube immers'd in Water A Small Glass Tube open at both Ends being immers'd in Water the Water in Vacuo ascended as high as it usually does in common Air but in a little time it was rais'd higher by Bubbles of Water which divided and intercepted the Cylinder of Water in 3 several places besides several Bubbles of Water pass'd out at that End of the Tube which was immers'd One End of this Tube being Hermetically seal'd up the Experiment succeeded after the same manner as when it was open but in the open Air the Water ascended not One thing in this Experiment was very Remarkable viz. That the Water suspended in the Tube yielded no Bubbles but only at the Bottom of the Tube nor did the Cylinder of Water even at the Bottom yield Bubbles when it was rais'd above the Surface of the Water which it was before immers'd in May. 5. The Experiment was repeated but before the End of the Tube was immers'd in Water a Drop which ran over the Superior Aperture of the Receiver fell down to the open End of the Tube and was rais'd two Lines in the Cavity of the Pipe No Bubbles were form'd in half an hour till the Tube was immers'd in Water and then successively they rose one after another In trying this Experiment several times I observ'd that tho' whilst the Tube was immers'd several Bubbles appear'd about the End of it yet when it was rais'd above the Surface of the Water none were to be seen May 6. The Experiment was try'd with an Infusion of Nephritick Wood in which the Success was alike except that in the Infusion when the Bubbles were small they ascended to the Top of the Liquor which is an Argument of it's Thinness and that it hath no Viscocity May 10. I repeated the same Experiment with a Mixture of Spirit of Wine and an Oyl made per Deliquium In which nothing was to be observ'd different from the former but that the Liquor ascended not so high From these Experiments it may probably be inferr'd That the Formation of Bubbles in the Extremity of the Tube depends on aerial Particles which swim in the Water and meeting with some Impediment at their End are kept there till new ones joyning with them form Bubbles EXPERIMENT X. July 18. 76. Beans with Water in an Iron Tube BEANS such as Horses eat being shut up with Water in an Iron Tube 2 days ago to day seem'd unalter'd but the Stopple of the Tube being pull'd back Air and Water broke out which Eruption was succeeded by a bubling Noise which continu'd above an hour July 25. The Iron Tube was open'd a second time and a bubling Noise succeeded as before Whence it appears that Beans contain Air which cannot discharge it self in a Compression till that Compression is remov'd EXPERIMENT XI March 4. 77. Spirit of Sal Armoniack and Copper A Glass half full of Spirit of Sal Armoniack being included in Vacuo with Filings of Copper in it in 15 Minutes it was tinged with a diluted Blew which upon an Ingress of Air in 3 Minutes became vivid and thick April 4. The Liquor having been enclos'd in Vacuo had almost lost it's Colour which it regain'd when the Air was let in again EXPERIMENT XII May 8. Oyl per Deliquium with Spirit of Wine OYL made per Deliquium being shut up in a Receiver with Spirit of Wine swimming upon it when the Air began to be exhausted great Bubbles rose from the Spirit and small ones from the Oyl but in an hour the Oyl afforded Bubbles large enough to fill the whole Diameter of the Pipe in their Ascent and an hour after that they broke out so violently as to strike against the Top of the Receiver May 9. The Experiment being repeated in a Vessel which was longer and narrower I observ'd that the Bubbles which rose from the Oyl were not very large till ¼ of an Inch above the Surface of it and then they were suddenly expanded EXPERIMENT XIII May 3. 76. Aq. Fort. and Spirit of Wine A Mixture of Aqua Fortis and Spirit of Wine being divided into three Parts and each of those included in a distinct Vessel with a piece of Iron one of them was included in Vacuo upon which several considerable Ebullitions succeeded The Liquor when taken out was black and Turbid tho' in the other two it was not alter'd in Colour but only a black Powder was settled in the Bottom Wherefore one of those being included in Vacuo after Ebullitions less violent than those in the Vessel first included the Liquor in a quarter of an hours time being taken out was almost as black and turbid as that first put into the Receiver That in the open Air was not much alter'd May 4. The Liquors shut up in the Receivers appear'd clear and green But that in the open Air bubbled more than the day before and was of a red Colour And all three being shut up in Vacuo the red Liquor afforded larger Bubbles Hence it appears that Spirit of Wine promotes Ebullition in Vacuo EXPERIMENT XIV Jan. 21. 78. Spirit of Sal Armoniack with Filings of Copper A Glass half full of Spir. Sal Armon with Filings of Copper stopp'd with a Leather Stopple was put into a Receiver with unfermented Paste Jan. 22. The Air yielded by the Paste penetrated the Leather which is impervious to common Air which appear'd by the Tincture it gave the Liquor Jan. 25. The Liquor had almost lost it's Colour so that the Particles of Artificial Air are so minute as to penetrate Pores which common Air cannot Feb. 2. The Glass being shut up in a Receiver which admitted Air so
Phaenomena afforded by Frogs in an exhaust-Receiver EXPERIMENT I. Sept. 9. 1662. A Large Frog being shut up in Vacuo Frogs in Vacuo was but little swell'd and mov'd her Throat almost as fast as before the Receiver was evacuated Her Body swell'd more and she continu'd alive about 2 hours In a little more than 3 hours she seem'd dead but being left all night upon the Grass she recover'd again EXPERIMENT II. A Frog being enclos'd in a Receiver almost totally exhausted about 11 a Clock at the first seem'd unalter'd but in six hours dy'd EXPERIMENT III. Sept. 6. 62. A Slender and a large Frog being both included in a Receiver whilst it was exhausting the Lesser skipp'd up and down and some time after but in a quarter of an hour seem'd dead The Larger Frog swell'd a little and continued alive half an hour but the Receiver leaking we pursu'd the Experiment no further EXPERIMENT IV. A Small Frog being included in a Receiver at the first seem'd lively but after mov'd up and down as if very uneasie yet was alive when the Receiver was wholly exhausted for the Space of an hour but at the latter end of the time she wanted Respiration and her Belly and Throat were swell'd In 3 ½ hours time the Air being let in the Abdomen and Throat subsided and instead of a Swelling there remain'd a Cavity EXPERIMENT V. A Large Frog being shut up in a plated Receiver exhausted in seven hours was dead being much swell'd but upon an Ingress of Air was lanker than ever TITLE IV. Of the Phaenomena afforded by a newly kitten'd Kitling in Vacuo A Kitling in Vacuo A Newly kitten'd Kitling being included in a Receiver when it began to be exhausted in a Minute after Convulsions lay with the Tongue out as if dead but when expos'd to the Air in a Trice recover'd Another Kitling of the same Age being included in the same Receiver after it had been by turns convulsive six Minutes upon pumping out the Air seem'd dead and when taken out of the Receiver lay with its Tongue out without either Pulse or Respiration but being pinch'd it presently gave signs of Life and in a quarter of an hour gaping and straining to fetch Breath it recover'd A third being put into the same Receiver after violent Convulsions and want of Breath in a Minute and half seem'd dead no more Air being drawn out than what was done at 3 Exsuctions The Pump being still ply'd and the Kitling seeming to swell some time after gave signs of Life being violently convuls'd After it had been inclos'd 7 Minutes we let in the Air and put Aq. Vitae into the Mouth of the Kitling yet it dy'd in our Hands These Animals continu'd perhaps 3 times as long alive in Vacuo as others would have done TITLE V. Some Tryals about the Air usually harbour'd in the Pores of VVater c. Air conceal'd in the Pores of Water TO try how much Air is contain'd in a Quantity of Water in reference to their Bulk We fill'd a Chymical Pipe 36 Inches long with Water and inverted it in a Glass Vessel about ¼ of an Inch deep and 2 Inches Diameter These being included in a Receiver the Air was pump'd out and upon a Re-admission of it the Bubble collected at the Top wanted 8 10 of about 100 part of an Inch. Soon after a Tube to be describ'd by and by was fill'd with the same Water and inverted and when the Receiver into which it was conveigh'd was so far exhausted that the Water in the Pipe sunk even with the stagnant Water Air was let in and rose the Water within a Tenth part and ½ of an Inch to the Top. The Tube was 43 ¼ Inches above the stagnant Water this Experiment being twice try'd the first time the Space possess'd by the Air was ¼ of an Inch and more the second it was ½ and 1 15. The first time the Water subsided level with the stagnant Water In the second Tryal within 4 or 5 Inches of it In these Experiments it was observable that tho' the Air possess'd so little Room in the Pores of the Water that the Water seem'd not to subside when it was drawn out yet the Air in the Cavity of the Tube possess'd a considerable Space Quare Whether Water freed once of it's Air will yield Air again and whether there is not Air enough in the Pores of Water to be serviceable to Fishes when suck'd through their Gills To discover more nicely what Quantity of Air is contain'd in the Pores of Water we made use of a Pipe which consisted of a Globous Part 3 ½ Inches Diameter and a Stem 9 Inches long an Inch of which at the Top was melted and drawn out 2 or 3 Inches till it was as slender as a Crow Quill This Glass being fill'd with Water was with a Pedestal conveigh'd into a Receiver and upon evacuating of it Bubbles plentifully rose and made a kind of a Froth or Foam but breaking at the Top of the slender Pipe they did not run over When the Receiver had been pretty well exhausted we left off pumping till the Water had been pretty well freed from Bubbles and so we successively pump'd and left off again till the Water seem'd quite free from Air and then letting in External Air the Water did not seem a Hairs breadth lower than before The like Experiment was try'd with Claret which made us think it worth while to try what kind of Substances may be obtain'd from Aerial and Spirituous Bodies by handling them thus TITLE VI. Of some Phaenomena afforded by Shell-Fishes in an exhausted Receiver EXPERIMENT I. Oysters in Vacuo TWO Oysters in their Shells being shut up in Vacuo whilst the Receiver was exhausting several Bubbles got out of the Shell the Oysters were alive at the End of 24 hours EXPERIMENT II. A Craw-Fish in Vacuo A Craw-Fish being included in a Receiver when the Air was pretty well exhausted seem'd dead but reviv'd upon a Re-admission of the Air when the Air was again exhausted it was void of Motion the Experiment being 3 or 4 times exhausted and Air let in again when the Fish was taken out it seem'd not to have suffer'd much harm EXPERIMENT III. ANother Oyster being shut up in a Receiver and immers'd in Water that the Bubbles which might come out of the Shell might be visible if any we found that this Fish was so strong that no Bubbles could get out of the Shell EXPERIMENT IV. A Craw-Fish stronger than the former except one small Intermission continu'd in Motion whilst the Air was exhausting TITLE VII Of the Phaenomena of a Scale Fish in an exhausted Receiver A Gudgeon in Vacuo WE fill'd the Globous Part of a Receiver which was shap'd like a Bolt-head and large enough to hold a Pint half full of Water and put a Gudgeon 3 Inches long into it which swam up and down this being done we exhausted the
shall alledge the following Experiment viz. That Experiments alledged against their Doctrine If a Bolt-head with a long Stem be made use of to try the Torrecellian Experiment with the space deserted by the Mercury in the Cavity of the Bolt-head and from whence the Mercury drove the Air continues void the Pendulous Cylinder remaining at 30 Inches without offering to ascend to prevent a Vacuum Nor will the Quick-silver rise ¼ of an Inch higher upon the application of cold Bodies outwardly tho' in a common Thermometer the same degree of Cold would make Water ascend several Inches To this I shall add another Argument taken from the consideration of sealed Weather-glasses see Plate 1. Fig. 3. in which it is observed See Plate 1. Fig. 3. That the Air instead of contracting upon an increase of Cold expands it self If it be said That the Water contracting the Air follows it to prevent a Vacuum it may be demanded Why since Nature causes the one to contract in common Glasses and the other in sealed ones to avoid a Vacuum she does not rather make the Air retain its natural extension than suffer it to be condensed and then put her self to double trouble in compelling the Water to ascend contrary to its nature But not to insist on these Arguments I shall rather urge that what is offered by them will not solve the Difficulty for whether the Water or Air be expanded into a large space since Glass is impervious to Air and Water I see not how a Vacuum interspersum and coacervatum can be avoided For if upon the expansion no other Body is added and penetrates the Glass to fill the space deserted by some Parts of the expanded Body there must remain Vacuities betwixt them Because it is impossible the same quantity of Matter should compleatly and adequately fill a greater space by being expanded the Parts of the Body being only able inadequately to fill it by receding from each other But were it allowed that upon the expansion of one of these Bodies and the condensation of the other a third Substance harboured in the space deserted by the one it may be questioned how such Matter should make its way out again Mr. Hobbes his Doctrine examined The second Opinion I shall take notice of is that of Mr. Hobbes which is to me partly precarious partly insufficient and scarce intelligible for tho' when he asserts That the coldness of Liquors depends on their being pressed with a constant Wind besides that he asserts it without Proof it will appear from an Experiment shortly to be alledged That Liquors sealed up in Glasses and suspended in Liquors not subject to freeze may be refrigerated tho' it appears not how they can be raked on by the Wind as his Hypothesis requires Secondly I see no necessity that the Cold should press upon the superficies of the Water in the Shank since by Cold it will be raised in a Weather-glassess kept in a still Place and void of any sensible Wind. Besides he ought to shew Why Air insensibly moved deserves to be styled Wind and how it is possible such a Wind should raise Water so many Inches by pressing upon it Nay further Water poured into a Bolt-head till it reaches into the Stem will subside when refrigerated and not rise And if the Ball of a Weather-glass be encompassed with a mixture of Ice or Snow and Salt the Water will readily ascend which how it will be explained by Mr. Hobbes's Hypothesis I do not see Thirdly Mr. Hobbes allowing not of a Vacuum I wonder he should tell us That by a bare Pressure the Water finding no other Place to recede into is forced to rise into the shank of the Weather-glass For since according to him the shank of the Weather-glass must be full before I see not how it should be able to receive the ascending Water except to use Mr. Hobbes's own words it can be fuller than full Besides it may be further alledged against Mr Hobbes his Doctrine that it gives us no account of the condensation of the Air by Cold in Weather-glasses in which the Water descends with Cold and rises with Heat Fourthly whereas Mr. Hobbes in explaining the depression of Water in Weather-glasses attributes it solely to it 's own Gravity it will easily appear that we must likewise have recourse to the spring of the included Air For if a Thermometer be placed in the Sun when the Water in the shank is but a little above the Surface of the Water without the Tube the rarified Air will depress the Surface of the Water in the Pipe below the other and sometimes so far that some of the rarified Air making it's way out of the Pipe as soon as the remaining Air is refrigerated again the Water will be able to rise up higher into the Tube than it did before A Modern Opinion examined The third and last Opinion I shall consider is one held by some modern Naturalists which ascribes the Ascent of the Water to the Pressure of the Air gravitating upon the Surface of that Water without the Pipe but supposes that the Air contained in it is contracted by Cold alone As for the first Part of this Hypothesis I readily Assent to it and the Author 's proposed but am apt to believe that the contraction of the included Air depends on the same Cause and that the spring of it being weakened by Cold it is condensed by the same Pressure of the Atmosphere the weight of the External Air over-powering the weakened Spring of the Internal In favour of this Opinion I shall add the following Experiments See Plate 1. Fig. 5. and First having filled a Vial capable of holding five or six Ounces half full See Plate 1. Fig. 5. and having inverted a Glass Tube into it about 10 Inches long much bigger than a Swan's Quill it being first sealed at one end and filled with Water the Orifice of the Vial was closed with Cement so that the External and Internal Air had no communication with each other It was placed in a Mixture of Snow and Salt till the Water in the Bottom of the Vial began to freeze yet notwithstanding so great a degree of refrigeration the Water in the Tube did not at all descend so that either the Air was not condensed by Cold or the Water descended not to prevent a Vacuum The Glass being left in this Posture in our absence the sealed end of the Pipe flew off being beaten out by the Intumescence of the freezing Water Having fixed another Pipe as the former which was some Inches longer and drawn very slender at the sealed end that it might easily be broken this was set to freeze as the other yet the Water descended not but as soon as the top of the Glass-Tube was broke off the external Air pressing upon the Water and by the intercourse of that upon the Air the Water in the Tube subsided 8 or 10 Inches but rose
again when the internal Air was rarified within half an Inch of the top and then the Apex being sealed up it was placed in Snow and Salt yet the Air in the top had it's Spring so weakened by refrigeration that it was not able to depress the Water tho' as soon as the Apex was broke off it subsided several Inches the external Air pressing upon it The Experiment being a third time reiterated with 3 ½ of Air in the Pipe when the Water in the Vial was in some measure froze it was able to expand it self a little But when the Apex was broke off the External Air depressed the Surface of the Water two Inches but being removed into a warm Room it ascended above an Inch higher than the uppermost Level Having put so much Water into a Vessel See Plate 1. Fig. 6. Such as Plate 1. Fig. 6. Delineates as was able to fill almost the whole Tube we caused a Mixture of Snow and Salt to be placed about the Ball of it yet we perceived not the Water in the least to rise but if at all it might well be ascribed to the the Intumescence of some airy Parts lodged in the Pores of the Water But the Apex of the Tube being broke off under Water the External Air forced the Water several Inches up into the Cavity of the Pipe Another Experiment we made with the following Vessel See Plate 1. Fig. 7 the Stem of this being no thicker than a Raven's Quill tho' several Inches long See Plate 1. Fig. 7. and the Ball being about as big as a Nutmeg we dropped a few drops of Water into the Stem which being suspended there betrayed very slight changes in the Rarefaction or Condensation of the internal Air. Watching therefore when the Air within had raised the Bubble up to the top of the Stem we immediately sealed it up and observed That tho' the sealed Glass was placed in a Mixture of Snow and Salt the Bubble did not in the least subside But if the Apex of the Stem was broke off the Bubble of Water would be sometimes depressed so low as to fall into the Ball of the Weather-glass And what was further remarkable was That when the Liquor was descending if the end of the Tube was sealed up the Water would immediately stop at the place it rested at when the Pressure of the Atmosphere was taken off Where it would continue till the Stem was broke open again and then the Water would be further depressed as the weight of the Atmosphere was able to over-power the Resistance made by the internal Air. Having made use of such a Vessel as Fig. 7. Plate 1. represents and conveyed a pretty Quantity of Water into both the Legs See Plate 1. Fig. 7. we sealed up the end of the bent Stem leaving so much Air above it as we thought convenient Which being done we placed the Ball of it in a frame in which the Tube hanging down we could cover the round Ball with Snow and Salt Upon which the Air in the Stem was able to expand it self so far that the Water in the longer Leg was raised the length of a Barly-corn higher than before and depressed as much in the other But when the end of the Stem was broke open the Water was raised 2 ¼ Inches in the longer Leg and depressed so low in the shorter that several Bubbles rose into the Cavity of the Ball. In which Experiment it cannot be supposed That the weight of the Water in the shorter Leg could be able to raise the Water in the other except by Virtue of it's Spring which being but small answerable to the Quantity of of it it cannot be expected that it should have any considerable Effect upon the Air in the other Leg tho' it's Spring were in some measure weakened by Cold. An Explication of the Figures in the first Plate Fig. 1. p. 12. A. The Ball or Egg. B C. The Stem D. The little Aqueous Cylinder Fig. 2. The open Weather-glass mentioned p. 16 22. Fig. 3. The Sealed Weather-glass or Thermoscope mentioned p. 16. Fig. 4. The Barometer or Mercurial Standard placed in a Frame B B. mentioned p. 17. Fig. 5. An Instrument mentioned p. 34. A. The Vial. B C. The Pipe cemented into the neck of the Vial open at C and sealed at B. Fig. 6. p. 35. A. The Bolt-head B. The small Stem B C. The Cylinder of Water enclosed Fig. 7. p. 36. CHAP. V. The Experimental History of Cold begun TITLE I. Experiments concerning Bodies capable of Freezing others BEfore we proceed to the natural History of Cold it perhaps may be necessary to consider what Bodies are capable of retaining such Qualities and what are not but that being a consideration not so necessary to our present purpose which is only to set down what Observations we have made in Bodies subject to be froze I shall only in short take notice That most Bodies except fire are susceptible of actual Cold and it is a Question whether even that be not rather a state of Matter in such a peculiar motion than a distinct and particular species of Natural Bodies since even Gun-powder and Spirit of Wine before they are set on fire by some other Body are actually Cold. But to proceed to what Observations relate to our Title Experiments of Bodies capable of freezing others 1. Bodies cold enough to freeze others are very few here in England Snow and Salt mixed being most remarkable which cool the Liquor contained in those Vessels which are closed up in such mixtures 2. Snow alone would not freeze Water as a Mixture of it and Salt does and tho' Water poured betwixt the Interstices of Snow or Ice freezes yet there is a great disparity betwixt exposing it to the Air and keeping it up in Vessels and tho' it is froze when covered with Snow in a Bottle all night yet that may proceed from the Coldness of the Air as well as the influence of the Snow 3. If Nitre Allum Vitriol Sal-Armoniack or Sugar be mixed in due Proportion with Snow they will enable it to freeze tho' not so intensely as common Salt 4. Spirit of Salt being shaken together with Snow in the Vials they caused a Dew which was gathered on the outside the Glass to be froze tho' the Mixture within was not and Oyl of Vitriol mixed with Snow in a thin Vial had the same Effect only more intensely 5. But not only these Acid Spirits had these Effects on the moisture of the Air condensed on the outside the Glasses but likewise Spirit of Nitre Spirit of Vinegar and Spirit of Sugar the former of these three being very powerfull tho' the latter were not so strongly frigorifick 6. Spirit of Urine mixed with Snow in a Vial froze the External moisture weakly but Spirit of Sal-Armoniack drawn from Quick-lime did it powerfully 7. Spirit of Urine and Oyl of Vitriol poured upon Snow froze moderately 8. Sal Gem with a
sublimate made with common sublimate and Sal-Armoniack nay and with both loaf and Kitchin-Sugar as likewise a strong solution of Pot-ashes mixed with Snow did freeze tho' very faintly And both a Solution of Salt of Tartar and Pot-ashes Agitated with Snow in a small Vial produced Filmes of Ice on the outside the Glass tho' very thin ones 9. A sweet Solution of Minium in Spirit of Vinegar mixed with Snow excited the frigorifick Quality of it yet some of that Solution being enclosed in Snow and Salt would not be froze by them Snow shut up alone thawed much more slowly than that which was mixed with Salts or Spirits No Salts will promote the frigorifick Quality of Snow so far as to enable it to freeze which quicken not it's Dissolution Neither Chrystals of Tartar nor Borax both beaten to powder nor Sublimate would enable Snow to freeze as well as the Powder of each lying undissolved in it 10. Water of Quick-lime being twice tryed would not freeze but only gather a dew on the outside yet the Liquor being kept up 12 Months the Spirits with which those Waters abound flew away 11. Oyl of Turpentine in which Ice dissolves slower than in several other Liquors enables not Snow to freeze Tho' Spirit of Wine shut up with Snow in a Bottle enabled it to freeze powerfully and to Chrystalize even Urine it self which might be taken off in Scales 12. Spirit of Nitre and Snow being mixed together in a just Proportion froze very powerfully and speedily not only Water but Spirit of Vinegar and weak Spirit of Salt the first of which retained it's taste when froze and the latter shot into Chrystals which lay across each other A Solution of Sal-Armoniack partly evaporated would shoot into Chrystals like combs and feathers and Sal-Armoniack distill'd from Quick-lime would shoot into Branches almost like those so nimbly that one's Eye might discern them to spread and increase The like Experiments being tryed with Wine and strong Ale succeeded but very faintly 13. Since Bodies generally help Snow to freeze which hasten it's dissolution we threw into a Vial which contained Snow heated Sand which enabled it to cause a Dew but not to freeze And warm Water poured into another when it had been shaken produced a considerable degree of Cold and gathered Dew but froze it not 14. Tho' it is generally believed That the Hoar-froast on Glass-windows is only exsudations through the Pores of the Glass and froze by the External Cold yet it will easily appear That it is rather on the inside the Glass the Steams which rove up and down the Room being condensed by the External Cold and froze 15. To shew That the Ice which appears on the outside of the Vial in the fore-going Experiments proceeds not from any subtil Parts of the Mixture penetrating the Pores of the Glass and settling on the outside we found that four Ounces and ¼ of the Mixture of Ice and Salt being shut up in a Vial by the access of Dew on the outside the weight of it was increased 12 Grains Another Vial which contained two Ounces six Drams and a half increased in weight 4 Grains the Vial being unsealed under Water it sucked in a good quantity of it Six ounces Snow and Salt being sealed up in a Glass the Hoar-Frost was wiped off but returned again and the Vial being counterpoised in a pair of Scales the Vapours condensed by the coldness of it in the time that the Snow was melting weighed 10 Grains A like quantity of Snow and Spirit of Wine being shut up in a single Vial the outside was presently cover'd with Ice and in all it became 7 Grains heavier than before Another time a mixture of Snow and Salt which weighed 3 ¾ ounces afforded 18 grains of condensed Vapours And a mixture of Snow and Sal-Gem which counterpoised 3 ounces and 70 grains upon an additional weight of condensed Vapours weighed 20 grains more than before TITLE II. Experiments and Observations concerning Bodies disposed to be Frozen Of Bodies disposed to be frozen WIthout any more than barely intimating that there are several Bodies disposed to be froze by one degree of Cold that are not with another I shall observe 1. That in very cold snowy Weather Water Urine Beer Ale Milk Vinegar French and Rhenish Wine were either totally or partly turned into Ice But besides these more obvious Instances we froze a Solution of Sugar and another of Gum Arabick in Water a Solution of Allum Nitre and Vinegar froze without affording any considerable Phaenomena A Solution of Vitriol was in part froze and in part unfroze that which was froze being not much different in colour from Water but the unfroze part was of a very high Vitriol-colour 2. Spirit of Urine and Spirit of Vinegar exposed to an intense Fire both of them froze 3. A drachm of Salt of Pot-ashes being dissolv'd in two ounces of Water presently froze in an intense Cold and Oyl of Tartar per deliquium or at least a Solution of the fixed Salt of Tartar was congeal'd in a mixture of Snow and Salt Appendix to the II. Title Oyl becomes much more hard in Muscovy than here in England in the most excessive Cold but will in neither be turn'd into perfect Ice And Captain James speaking of an Island where he and his Men were forced to Winter Pag. 58 says All our Sack Vinegar Oyl and every Thing else that was liquid was now frozen as hard as a piece of Wood and we must cut it with a Hatchet And Olaus Magnus Gent. Sept. Hist l. 11. c. 24 says speaking of the Fights wont to be made on the Ice in the Northern Regions Glacialis congressus fit in Laneis calcibus non pellibus aut coriis unctis Vis enim frigoris quodcunque fit unctuosum convertit in Lubricitatem glacialem There being a great similitude betwixt Spirit of Wine and Oyl in respect of their inflammability and being dispos'd to mix with oily Bodies and as great an aptitude in the Spirit of Wine to mix with other Liquors I enquir'd of the Russian Emperor's Physician what alterations he had observ'd to be produc'd by Cold in Muscovy To which he answer'd That Aniseed and other weak Spirits would be turned into an imperfect kind of Ice and that strong ones would turn Ice into a kind of Substance like Oyl Particulars referrable to the II. Title 1 In a very hard Frost in December a Solution of Minium near the Fire seem'd to be froze tho' it was made with Spirit of Vinegar and so strong that part of it was shot into Saccharum Saturni Some at the top which was yellow did not freeze tho' poured out 2. A Solution of Gold made with Salts was likewise froze As also a Pint-vial full of the Tincture of Lignum Nephriticum which being froze the Ice had no such colour as the Tincture 3. It is reported That in Russia Brandy will freeze but the Ice of it is
Spirit of Wine and immersed the Ball and part of the Stem in a Vessel of Water which was half buried in Snow and Salt and when the Water began to freeze at the bottom and about the sides the Liquor was Subsided to 5 2 ◠Divisions each Division being half an Inch and then the Weather-glass being taken out of the Water and applied to the Snow and Salt it Subsided to 1 ½ Division To this we shall add another which shews That the Water tho' froze was warmer than the Spirit of Wine when the Mixture of Snow and Salt was applied to it Jan. 15 the Weather-glass being kept in the Water till it began to freeze descended to 5 ½ but being removed into the Snow and Salt it Subsided first briskly and then more gradually till it sunk to the Bottom of the Stem but being removed into the Water again it ascended to the same height the Water had before depressed it to For a further Tryal how much Liquors may be condensed by Cold we took Oyl of Turpentine rectified in a gentle Heat and having weighed a Glass-ball with a long Stem it being one Ounce one Dram five Grains and a half we poured on it so much of the Turpentine as increased the weight to two Ounces seven Drams and thirty four Grains and a half which reaching a little way into the Stem we marked the Superficies with a Diamond after which we poured a Dram more in and successively more still marking how high each Parcel which was weighed exactly rought in the Stem till the Additional weight increased the former to three Ounces one Dram four Grains and a half and then taking a wide-mouth'd Glass with Water in it we immerged the Weather-glass in the Water as before the Vessel in which it was contain'd being first encompass'd with Snow and Salt When the Water began to freeze we mark'd the Stem of the Glass which contain'd the Oyl at the place to which it subsided and then conveying it into a Mixture of Snow and Salt when it had subsided as low as it could we mark'd the Superficies and then remov'd it into the Air till it rose to it's first station and then we pour'd so much of the Oyl out into another Glass carefully poised in a pair of Scales that the Superficies of the Oyl remain'd at the Mark which it subsided to in the Water and we found that the Oyl poured off weigh'd about 10 Grains And so much more being pour'd off as made it stand at the Mark to which the Snow and Salt depress'd it it weigh'd about as much as the former so that the Oyl was Artificially condensed so far That it subsided as much after it had been condensed by Cold strong enough to freeze Water as it was caused to fall by the force of that And by dividing the whole Proportion of Oyl by the number of Grains whose Bulk it seem'd to lose by subsiding in Water we found that it was condensed by the first degree of Cold to a 94th Part of it's Bulk and by dividing it by the Additional number of the Grains more we found that the Snow and Salt had condensed it a 47th Part of it's Bulk Having circumscrib'd Water moderately Cold with a Mixture of Snow and Salt what it shrunk was if not insensible inconsiderable To measure the differing weight and Density of the same Proportion of Water in the Heat of Summer and when extremely Cold we weighed a Glass-Bubble in it which was Heavier than Water moderately cool and by the Diminution of it's weight in that Medium we found according to the Rules of Hydrostaticks the weight of a Portion of Water of equal Bulk And then weighing it in Water cool'd by a Mixture of Snow and Salt we were inform'd by a new Decrement of it's weight of the weight of an equal Bulk of that Cold Water by which we were enabl'd to make an Estimate of the Gravity and Density acquired by the Action of Gold and by weighing the same Bubble in the same Water in hot Weather we Learnt further how much more dense and heavy Water moderately Cold and extremely Cold is than warm Water It would be of use to try such Experiments as these in Italy where they have the Conveniency of keeping Snow and of freezing warm Water speedily A Glass-Bubble which in the Air weighed 150 Grains being weighed in Water on a Day not frosty it weighed 29 ◠8 and being weighed in Water which was a little froze in a Mixture of Snow and Ice it was not above ⅛ Part of a Grain lighter than before so that the Water by Condensation lost not above a 230th Part of it's former Bulk How far it may be of use at Sea to make such Experiments as these and whether they may thereby learn to know by finding the Density of the Water in several Places what Loads to carry in their ships and what the Water will be able to bear I shall leave others to Judge But if such Experiments be try'd in several Parts our Seal'd Weather-glasses or that which contains the Pendulous drop of Water may be of use since they not being subject to be varied by the Alterations in the Atmosphere's Gravity and since they may be conveniently carried from one Country to another the different degrees of Cold in various Regions may be better Estimated a Register being kept of the degrees the Liquor or Pendulous drop stood at such times as the Tryals were made and where and when exposed to such a degree as was able to freeze To conclude this Title I shall add that in making these Experiments with the Thermometer in which the Pendulous Water is contain'd the Stem may for conveniency be held either Horizontal upwards or Perpendicular TITLE V. Experiments concerning the Tendency of Cold upwards or downwards What way or in what Line Cold acts most vigorously THAT Heat generally acts most powererfully on Bodies above it and that it's Tendency is upwards is self-evident But to discover in what Line Cold acts most vigorously and furthest we made the following Experiments A Glass-Bubble with Water in it having a flat Bottom was suspended within less than half an Inch over a Mixture of Ice and Salt but froze not A Bottle which contain'd a Mixture of Snow and Salt being held under Water it was cased with Ice especially about the Bottom so that the Action of Cold seems chiefly to tend downwards But I rely less upon this Experiment because it is observ'd That when a frigorifick Mixture is exposed in a Vial the Ice on the outside is always opposite to the Mixture not reaching higher or lower than that Mixture above half the Breadth of a Barly-corn and as the Mixture dissolves and that which swims upon the dissolv'd Part grows less and less so Proportionably the circle of Ice grows narrower on the outside till the Mixture is wholly dissolv'd and then the Ice vanishes And from an experiment shortly to be
of Ice and Salt 2 hours it made an oblique crack in the Barrel Six Inches long and the Ice being taken out seemed full of Bubbles but very small ones and the like success we had with another Barrel of a Gun whose Muzzle and Touch-hole were stopped up with Metal nor had we less success when we buried a Pewter Bottle in a frigorifick Mixture both the Barrel of the Gun and the Bottle being burst in a quarter of an hour TITLE XII Experiments concerning a new way of Estimating the Expansive force of Congelation and of highly compressing Air without Engines A new way of Estimating the Expanâ—…e force of Congelation HOW far we were able to compress the Air by the Incumbent weight of a Cylinder of Mercury we have else where shewn but to reduce it to a greater degree of Condensation I made the following Experiments 1. Having filled a Glass-Egg with Water till it wrought about an Inch into the Stem we placed it in a Mixture of Snow and Salt and in a few hours the Surface of the Liquor was raised about 7 Inches and the Apex of the Stem being sealed up by a fresh application of Snow and Salt it was raised 8 Inches higher So that the Air being compressed into the space of an Inch possessed about nine Parts of ten of what it did before Whereupon the Stem being inverted and the seal'd end opened the Air which when the Stem was inverted rose up to the Ice and separated the unfrozen Water in the Stem from it powerfully expanding it self forced out about ten Inches of Water with Violence and Noise besides a great number of Bubbles ascended from the Bottom of the Glass to the Top. N. B. when the Air was compressed beyond seven Inches we several times observ'd That the Glass just above the Water on the inside was full of little drops of Dew which when the Apex was broke off Disappeared 2. A Vial whose neck was drawn out into a slender Pipe being filled till it wrought an Inch within the Pipe in a little time by the Expansion of the Water the Air being too much compressed the head of the Pipe flew off and the same happened to a round white Glass whose Stem filled with Air was about 3 Inches Nor was the success otherwise when we repeated the Experiment in a large single Vial whose Stem was four Inches long and it's Basis an Inch broad 3. An Oval Glass about the size of a Turkeys-egg with a neck almost Cylindrical was filled with Water within four Inches and a half and then a piece of Paper being pasted upon the Stem divided into half Inches and quarters and the Apex being sealed up by a moderate Heat the Surface of the Water was raised considerably but the Oval Part of the Glass being covered with a Mixture of Ice and Snow the Air was compressed into a 17th Part of the space it possessed before And the Ball of the Glass bursting afterwards with a considerable Noise the Ice appeared full of Bubbles which rendred it white and Opacous In another Glass whose Ball was larger in proportion to the Stem the Air was compressed into a 19th Part of it's former space before the Glass flew in pieces 3. And this way of trying how far the Air might be compressed and Water expanded by Cold we thought least Exceptionable because the Pores of Glass are more impervious to Air and Water than some Metalline Vessels for having broken open the Apex of the Stem of one of our Glass-Eggs we found that tho' the Water was but a little expanded yet not finding a way out at the Pores of the Glass the Water rose up a quarter of an Inch. TITLE XIII Experiments and Observations concerning the Sphere of Activity of Cold. Of the Sphere of Activity of Cold. IN estimating the Sphere of Activity of Cold we are not only to consider the Degree of it in the cold Body but also the Medium through which it is to pass and the Consistence and Texture of it as likewise the Instruments employ'd to receive or acquaint us with the Action of Cold Since from what hath been before laid down it appears That Weather-glasses give us a more nice account of the Degrees of it and that our Sensories may mis-inform us upon the account of their various Predispositions Besides the Sphere of Activity may be vary'd by the Bulk of the cold Body 1. But to consider the Sphere of Activity of small Pieces of Ice we have found it very small in comparison of the Atmospheres of odorous Bodies insomuch that I am perswaded we can have no sense of Cold without the immediate Contact of a cold Body since Ice approaching our Sensory or a Weather-glass affects neither tho' held as near as possibly they may without touching And the like hath been observ'd at Sea where in foggy Nights the Seamen have not been able to discern neighbouring Mountains of Ice Tho' by a Merchant who made the Observation in Greenland I am told That he perceived a manifest access of Cold upon the approach of a floating piece of Ice 2. And I am told that in Ispahan the Capital City of Persia the Ice being never much more than a Finger thick they usually pour Water upon it which as it runs over the Ice is in part froze by which means they thicken the Ice and preserve it in proper Conservatories This Experiment having been tryed in England by pumping of Water upon Flakes of Ice I found That the Pump-water being warmer than the Ice thawed it instead of increasing the Thickness of it And tho' here in England Water poured upon Snow promotes its Dissolution yet in Russia and Muscovy I am told That Water thrown upon Snow freezes it which they therefore make use of to incrustate several Bodies with Ice yet one thing is to be observ'd that generally at the same time the sharpness of the Air is so violent as to incrustate several Bodies with Ice when only Water is made use of so that in trying such Experiments we are to consider the Temperature of the Air at the same time which hath a great Influence in promoting or varying the Effects of such Tryals 3. How deep Frost penetrates into Water and Earth will be a very hard thing to determine since Earth especially may be more or less disposed to freeze according to the several Degrâ—es of Cold and its Duration the Texâ—â—â—… of the Earth and the Nature of the Juices dâ—â—â—…ed through it or subterraneal Steams Whence large Tracts of Land that lye over some Mines are always free from Snow good quantities of Lime-stone being near the Surface of the Earth 4. But tho' it be so difficult to know to what Depth Frost will reach yet that we may contribute as much as we can to the general History of Cold we shall add the following Notes After four Nights hard Frost the Ground in the Orchard was froze about 3 Inches deep and in the
burning-Glass to concentre the Rays of the Moon I could neither perceive them cold or hot tho' Sanctorius tells us That they are hot and that being concentred and cast upon the Ball of a common Weather-glass the Water was sensibly depressed but since my Glass for as much as I can gather from the Narrative was better than his I must suspend my Assent 'till further satisfied by Experience for since he tells us that several of his Scholars stood by to watch the Event the Effect might in a great measure depend on the Warmth of their Breath One Particular referrable to the XXI Title The Samojedes cloath themselves with Renes Skins the Hair being outward and I have found a Pair of Cangies warmer than furred Gloves They are chiefly made use of for the Sledge tho' one may walk in the Snow with them it being so dry that a Scarlet being covered all over with it it will brush off without wetting or endammaging it To the XI Title The force of Expansion by Cold. 1. The Barrel of a Gun which was about a Foot long and of a proportionable Diameter had the Touch-hole riveted up and a Screw fitted to the Nose of the Barrel which being done it was filled full of Water and suspended in a Perpendicular Line The Screw having been thrust down as forcibly as a Man could in a frosty Night the congealed Ice raised the Screw considerably so that Ice had made it's way out at the sides of the Barrel But the Experiment being repeated and the Intervals of the Screw filled up with melted Bees-wax the expanded Ice not being able to raise it the Nose of the Barrel was cracked obliquely besides several other Flaws in other Places which gave way to the Wind blown into the Barrel to try it An Appendix to the XVII Title Of the Effects of Nitre in freezing Bartholinus citeing an Experiment wherein the Proportion betwixt Nitre and Water was 35 to 100 to try the success of it we mixed a Pound of Salt-Petre with 3 Pounds of Water and stirring it about constantly as Cabaeus directs in an Hour and half we perceived not the least Ice whereas according to him it ought to have been wholly froze in less time but we could not perceive the Vapours on the outside of the Glass in the least froze For a further Tryal we mixed two Ounces of Salt-Petre with six of Water in a Glass-Vial but by all the shaking we could not produce the least Ice tho' whilst the Nitre was dissolving the Mixture was sensibly colder and the same we have observ'd to happen upon a Dissolution of Common Salt tho' the Degree of Cold was not sufficient for Congelation which I was satisfyed in by removing a Thermoscope out of the Mixture of Nitre and Water into Water which was placed in Snow and Salt For by that means the Liquor in the Weather-Glass subsided in the latter about 3 Inches so that I am apt to think the Learned Cabaeus mistook Chrystals of Nitre for Ice It is believed by most Water-men That the Water begins to freeze at the bottom because they observe large Pieces of Ice rise from the bottom of the Water But the Truth of it is very reasonably question'd since we not only see that Water in Vessels but in Wells begins to freeze at the Top and several Arguments in proof of the contrary may be found in our Section of the Primum frigidum And as for those Pieces of Ice which they observe to emerge that Phaenomenon may easily be solved without supposing the Water to begin to freez at the Bottom For since the Water which runs along the sides of the Banks being froze several Stones may stick to it they by their Weight may cause it to subside when it is partly loosned by the Heat of the Sun and the Water by that Rarifaction becomes lighter Yet when the Water above is cooled and the Water below being warmer hath melted the Ice in some measure and loosned some of those Stones which were before froze to it the Ice becoming specifically lighter than the Water must consequently emerge On which occasion I shall here observe that Capt. James Hall takes notice That they found a Stone of three hundred weight upon a Piece of Ice In confirmation of our Solution of this Phaenomenon I might alledge the Experiments laid down in the Section of the Duration of Ice And it were to be wished that for a further Decision of this matter that either Divers were sent down or Instruments which would bring up Ice if any were there We took a seal'd Weather-Glass and having inverted the Stem of it when furnished with Spirit of Wine so that that being placed in a Hole purposely made in a Box the Ball of the Weather-Glass rested on the Box about that we placed a Mixture of Snow and Salt and found that presently the Spirit of Wine was retracted So that Liquors may be condensed without the assistance of their Gravity to depress and cause the Parts of the Body to sink together But whether in this case the Contraction was assisted by the Tenacity of the Liquor or the Springiness of some Elastick Particles will be inquired into in a more proper Place Frogs and Toads being taken up from under Ice were brisk and lively and it is observ'd that in frosty Weather they generally lye in the Bottom of Pits for their Security Paralipomena to the II and XX Titles of the frost getting into hard and solid Bodies Of the Effects of Frost on solid Bodies In England it hath been observ'd That Wood whose Diameter was a Foot through hath been froze and in Poland the Frost hath been so powerful that it hath rendred the Timber so hard that Hatchets would not cut it and the Wood with which the Houses were cover'd would give Cracks as loud as Pistols And I am told by one that his Bow being froze if he did not take a great deal of Care in thawing it it would break Marle and Chalk will be shattered with the Frost the Texture of those Bodies being by that means opened and rendered more fit to nourish Plants and Grass And I am told by an Experienced Mason that even free stone of which Houses are built will crack and flaw in frosty Weather And it is observed in England That stones dugg up in the beginning of Summer and seasoned in the Air are not near so subject to flaw as those that are dug up and worked whilst the Frost continues And it is further observed That both Earthen as well as Glass-Vessels are considerably impaired by the Effects of Frost upon them To which instances I shall add the Testimony of Maistre Bernard Palissy who says That tho' the stones of the Mountain Ardenne are harder than Marble yet for fear of Frost they are drawn out of the Quarries in the Winter And he further adds That in the Winter the Rocks sometimes crack and fall down without being cut
Air contained in it may be sufficient to hold as much Air as will keep the whole Stem from sinking under Water if the Ballast which is to keep the Vessel immersed in an erect posture is to be contain'd within the Vessel the Stem ought to be hollow but otherwise to consist of a small Cylinder without any Cavity and of a convenient length The Instrument I employ for Guineas hath its Ball as big as a Hens-egg and the Stem about four or five Inches long being soddered on to a hole in the Centre of the uppermost Convex part of the Ball and to the Centre of the lowermost is fixed a piece of Wire to lay the Guiny upon or a screwed stirrup to fix it in If you have a mind to try pieces of Gold of greater weight the stirrup ought to be fixed to a small Cylinder upon which several pieces of Metal being fixed and having holes in the middle that they may be put on or taken off as occasion requires the Instrument may be adjusted to any piece of Gold tho' twice or thrice as heavy as a Guiny To adjust this Instrument for the use of Guineas it must be lightned by the use of a file or made heavier by the addition of Ballast that it may be sufficiently immersed in the Water without sinking and then a mark being fixed on the Stem at the Surface of the Water a piece of Brass must be substituted in the place of the Guiny of the same weight or a grain or two heavier in the Air and a mark set at the Surface of the Water when it is immersed by that weight In which method of adjusting the following Particulars are to be minded First the Guinea must be placed exactly with its middle in the screw that it may not incline the Tube but let it stand erect Secondly Quick-silver Ballast in Metalline Instruments is apt to dissolve the sodder Thirdly the marks may be made of chewed Mastick fixed in small holes or by fixing a Silver or a Golden Wire in a nick made round the Stem Fourthly one of the heavyest Guineas is to be made use of in adjusting this Instrument and care must be taken that ½ of an Inch be left above the Water because all Waters themselves are not of an equal weight yet those circumstances vary not the success since the difference in the immerging this Instrument in several Waters is in considerable in respect of the difference betwixt a piece of Brass and Gold of an equal weight in the Air it being an Inch and three quarters Fifthly before we can determine by this Instrument whether the Gold be good it must be weighed in the Air to see whether it be of a just weight and then this will discover whether it be genuine for otherwise we may think the Metal not good when it only wants weight in the Air. The Explication of the Figures See Plate 1. Fig. 00. Fig. 1. A B. The Stem or Pipe C E. The two Parts of the Ball soddered together B C D E. The Ball it self F. The screw G. The stirrup somewhat out of its Place H. The mark to which Copper of the weight of a Guinea in the Air depresses it I. The mark to which the Gold sinks it Fig. 2. The screw by it self to be taken off or put on the undermost Stem of the Instrument Fig. 3. The Perforated Plates to be put upon the lower Stem as ballast Fig. 4. The lower Stem with a Perforated Plate upon it Fig. 5. The stirrup which my be made use of instead of the screw Fig. 6. A. B. C. The Glass Instrument D D D. The Coin supported by four Horse-hairs Fig. 7. The undermost Stem of a Glass Instrument to which a screw is fastned with Horse-hairs or otherwise Fig. 8. A B C D. The Instrument for estimating the specifick Gravity of Liquors E E The Quick-silver or Water employed as Ballast The third Section Representing the uses of this Instrument as relating to Metals The first Vse Is to distinguish true Guineas from Counterfeit The second Vse In examining a piece of Gold lighter than a Guinea so much Ballast may be added as will make that amount to the weight of a Guinea and if the Gold be heavier so many of the perforated Plates must be taken off the Stem that the Instrument may not be sunk by it and when a Coin but a little heavier than a Guinea is to be tryed it may be convenient to place a perforated Plate upon the upper screw so that it may lye upon the Ball and be taken off or lightned with a file as occasion requires That several pieces of Gold may upon some occasions be fix'd at once the aperture of the screw ought to be wider than what will just admit of a Guinea If the Instrument be well proportioned so that a piece of Gold a little heavier than a Guinea may not depress it under Water it may be examined without altering the weight of the Instrument And acording to the method above laid down a half Guinea may be tryed by placing a true half Guinea with it in the screw The third Vse This Instrument may be adjusted to try Silver Coins which are lighter than half a Crown by weighing Silver in it and marking the Surface of the Water upon the Pipe and then observing what difference there is betwixt that and an equal weight of an ignobler Metal in the Air. And tho' several Instruments would be more convenient for the trying of these different Metals yet by altering the Ballast Plates one may be made to serve the turn The fourth Vse And by the like method an Instrument may be adjusted to discover whether Tin be more or less adulterated with Lead since Tin being the lightest of Metals the Lead will depress the Instrument lower if mixed with Tin as Gold on the contrary is the heaviest Metal and is lighter upon the addition of another Metal The fifth Vse It may enable us to guess at the Qualities of Metalline Mixtures and the proportions of the ingredients for by adjusting how much such a weight of Gold will depress the Stem by afterwards trying how much lighter in Water the same weight of allayed Gold in the Air will be and at the same time observing what was the proportion of Silver in the Alloy we may be enabled to judge how much other pieces of Gold are alloyed by comparing their weight in Water with this Standard provided they be of the same specifick weight in the Air with the Gold unalloyed And the same measures may be taken to make an estimate of the alloys of Silver with Copper or of Copper with Tin CHAP. IX Observations of the growth and increase of Metals About the growth of Tin I am told by the Master of a Tin Mine that after a Tin Mine had been quite drained of its Ore by washing and vanning about 120 years after it yielded rich Ore again and that a good quantity
scarce discernable if at all as in Loadstones Ambergrease c. Those requiring a long time to make their Consumption discernible in which time we are not sure but the Weights themselves may have lost of their weight as well as the Counterpoise and consequently not be able to discover the loss those sustain But there are several other besides statical ways of trying whether Bodies emit Effluvia or not and there are several peculiar ways requisite to cause them to emit them as Glass c. affect the Nostrils upon an Attrition I had a Diamond as well as a Ruby which would be excited by a gentle heat in my Pocket or only by strokeing my Finger over the former tho' sometimes they would fail to be so easily or uniformly excited and it is not a little strange that upon the Tread of a Hare or Partridge Effluvia should be so long emitted as to give a Scent to Dogs several Hours after And if Load-stones and other Bodies may have Constant Atmospheres which are only to be discover'd by particular Bodies several other Substances not yet taken notice of may emit Effluvia which by peculiar Methods may be discover'd CHAP. IV. Of the Strange Subtlety of Effluviums Of the subtlety of Effluviums THE subtlety of the Effluviums will be most aptly represented by considering I. The strange extensibility of some Bodies whilst their Parts remain tangible II. The Multitude of visible Corpuscles that may be afforded by a small Portion of Matter III. The smallness of the Pores at which the Effluvia of some Bodies will get in IV. The small Decrement of Bulk or Weight that a Body may suffer by parting with great store of Effluvia And V. The great quantity of Space that may be filled as to Sense by a small quantity of Matter when rarify'd or dispersed And First I have observed that a Grain of Silver Wire amounted to 27 Foot or 324 Inches and since half an English Inch may be divided into a 100 Parts by diagonal Lines it must consist of 64800 true Metalline Parts which may be well conceived to be made of Parts yet more minute And I had a gilt Wire an Ounce of which made a Wire 1000 paces long allowing Five Foot to a Pace and 720 Foot above and had this Wire been drawn out to an equal smallness with the Silver Wire the Gold would have been divided to an indefinite number of Parts being sufficient to cover the superficial Area of so long a Wire And I have known Silk to be drawn out of the Mouth of a Worm which tho' it weigh'd but two Grains and a half was 300 Yards long But to evince the great extensibility of Matter we took six beaten Leaves of Gold the sides of whose Squares were 3 Inches and 2 8 which Number being reduced to a Decimal Fraction viz. 3125 100 and multiplyed by it self affords 10â—5â— 10000 for the Area of each and this multiplyed by 6 the Number of the Leaves amounts to 6313750 10000 square Inches for the Area of the six Leaves of Gold which weighed but 1 Gr. ¼ so that 4 Grains was extended to above 50 square Inches And if each of these Inches may by Lines drawn from opposite Points be divided each into 100 Parts one Grain of Gold must be divided into 500000 little squares discernable by a good Eye and if an Inch were divided into 200 Parts as I have one by me that is then a Grain may be divided into 2000000 of squares And to be satisfy'd further of the extensibility of Gold I enquired and was told that 8 Grains of Gold would gild an Ounce of Silver Wire as fine as a Hair and which would reach betwixt 90 and 100 Miles But supposing the Wire to be as fine as that first mentioned and that 8 Grains of Gold went to gild it a sheath of Gold weighing but 8 Grains may be extended so as to reach 60 times as much in weight of Silver Wire as it covers and consequently a grain of that Wire being twenty seven foot long the ounce of Gold would reach to 777600 foot i. e. 155 ½ miles and if this Gold Wire were cut into as small thongs or lists as posibly it might be it must reach to a stupendious length But secondly to shew into what a number of visible Corpuscles a Body may be divided we put an ounce of Water into an Aeolipile and having placed it upon a Chafing-dish of Coals we observed that Vapours streamed out or above sixteen minutes and considering a few intermitting gusts afterwards and what drops of Water were condensed in the top of it I guessed that had the whole been driven out in Vapours they would have continued twenty minutes N. B. to the Orifice of the Aeolipile we applied a long Tube twenty Inches long and an Inch in Diameter the remoter end being continued about six Inches longer and so far expanded that its Diameter was four or five Inches and by the help this Pipe we were able tho' not actly to measure the Extension of the rarified Vapours To this instance I might add the prodigious expansion of some Inflamable Bodies when turned into actual flame as Spirit of Wine c. Which being burnt in a Glass Lamp so contrived that the Surface of the Liquor was still Circular the waste made in ¼ of an hour was very small tho' the Physical superficies of the Liquor must needs be successively rarified and expanded and fly away in streams and if so little of this Liquor was able to afford matter for flame so long the same bulk of a more compact Body may easily be supposed to be capable of being expanded to much greater Dimensions And to these instances I shall add that half a grain of Gun-Powder being exploded under a Vessel whose Basis was eight Inches and its Altitude twenty and its figure such that it was more Capacious than a Cone of that size the exploded Gun-Powder was observed to fill the whole Cavity of the Vessel as to sense and successively issued out of the upper Orifice for half a quarter of an hour so that the Diameter of it being two Inches many Myriads of visible Corpuscles must be conceived to throng out in so long a time as they crouded out one after another But to make a kind of an estimate of the Expansion of this Substance we filled the Vessel full of Water and found that the weight of it amounted to 320000 half grains And if we suppose the specifick Gravity of the Gun-Powder to be as much again as that of Water we my probably guess the smoak to posses 500000 times the space that the Gun-Powder did And as a further Argument of the great minuteness of small Parts of matter I shall urge the smallness of Cheese-mites which being so small as not to be discernable to a naked Eye but when they move must be made of extremely fine Parts otherwise there would not be room enough for an Organical Body
and if an Organical Body furnished with all the Parts requisite for the Preservation of Life be contained in so small a compass how minute must they be at the first since the Eggs out of which they are formed bear but a small proportion to them when perfectly formed and even comparative Observations tell us that a Mite being ten days a hatching the Rudiments of its Body at the first must bear but a small proportion to the bulk of that small Egg and to this I shall add that tho' these Creatures be so very small yet I have been able to discern single hairs growing upon their Legs Another instance of the Extension of matter minutely divided is this viz. We dissolved a grain of filings of Copper in Spirit of Sal-Armoniack pouring the Solution into a tall Cylinder four Inches in Diameter and successively filling it four times with distilled Water still pouring it off into a Conical Glass which being done and the weight of the Glass Cylinder deducted from the Joint weight of the Liquor contained in it we found that one grain of Copper was able to give à Tincture to 28534 times its weight of Water tho' its specifick Gravity is not half so much as that of fine Gold and if we estimate the proportion not by weight but the bulk of these Bodies the bulk of Water to Copper being as nine to one the aforementioned number multiplyed by nine will give us the proportion betwixt the tinged and tinging the Body so that one grain of Copper gives a colour to 256806 parts of Limpid Water and by prosecuting this Experiment further I found that it was able to give a manifest Tincture to above 385200 and a faint but discernable one to above 513620 times its bulk of Water To shew that the Effluvia of Bodies may enter in at very small Pores I shall intimate the effects of Cantharides held in the hands of some Persons and on the Neck of my own Bladder when applyed outwardly to my Neck And not only Scaliger tells us of Spiders in Gascony whose Virulent Poyson would penetrate the Shooes of those that trod upon them but Piso speaking of a Fish called Amoreatim and by the Portugals Peize sola he says Quae mira sane Efficacia non solum Manum vel levissimo attactu sed pedem licet optime calceatum Piscatoris incaute Pisciculum conterentis Paralysi stupore afficit instar Torpedinis Europeae sed Minus durabili Lib. 5. Cap. 14. And to shew that some Emanations even of solid Bodies may be subtle enough to get through the Pores even of the closest Bodies I shall add that a needle being Hermetically sealed up in a Glass Tube and that laid upon Water a Load-Stone would cause the Needle to leap up in it and by the help of the Load-Stone I could lead the Tube from one part of the Surface of the Water to another as I moved the Load-Stone And to shew that the Magnetical Effluvia of the Earth may penetrate so close and compact a Body as Glass I shall add that a Cylindrical piece of Iron being sealed up in a Glass Cylinder and held in a Perpendicular Posture it acquired such Magnetical Virtues as to become a North Pole and according to Magnetical Laws to drive away the North Point of a Needle but being inverted and held under the Point of a Needle it became a South Pole and attracted it Another Proof of the great subtlety of Effluviums may be taken from the small decrease of Weight by parting with store of such Emanations as Vitrum Antimonii Crocus Metallorum and Quick-silver the two first of which give a Vomitive Virtue to a vast quantity of Wine without growing sensibly lighter and so Quick-silver impregnates Water with a Virtue of killing Worms And a piece of Ambergrease which weighed about 100 or 120 Grains being suspended three days in the open Air lost not sensibly of its Weight notwithstanding the quantity of odoriferous Steams it must have parted with in that time Assa Foetida in about six Days lost about half a quarter of a Grain one Ounce of Nutmegs in six Days lost 5 Grains ½ and an Ounce of Cloves 7 grains â… And tho' Loadstones emit Effluvia without a sensible loss of weight yet I suspect that as these Magnetical Particles fly out of one Pole they enter in at the other and so make the Pores of the Load-stone their constant Thorow-fares To these Instances I shall add that a Grain of Copper being dissolved in a spoonful of a Menstruum and that put into a Glass-Lamp the Metal tinged the Flame which continued half an Hour and six Minutes so that supposing the Flame to have streamed through a Cylindrical Pipe so long that small parcel of Metal must be divided into a vast Number of small Parts for Water which ran through a Cylinder whose Diameter was but half as great as that of the Flame amounted to above Nine Gallons or Seventy two Pounds The last Particular I shall insist upon to shew the strauge subtlety of Effluviums is the great quantity of space a small parcel of Matter may be extended to and as to Sense possess it this we may be enabled to guess at by considering how long a Dog will distinguish the Scent of Partridges Hares c. after they have left the Place and will almost give one sufficient grounds to guess how long the Animal hath been gone from thence before And I am told that a Blood-hound will not only perceive the Seent of a Man that hath gone over a piece of Ground several Hours before but that the scent of a Deer will continue upon the Ground from one Day to the next And if we consider that the eighth part of a Grain can scarce be suppos'd to be left on the Ground where such an Animal hath stood and likewise at what distance it may be scented and how long that scent continues it will be sufficient to convince us of the extraordinary minuteness of those Parts of Animals which were rendered more apt to be dissipated in Effluviums by their having been first strained through the Pores of their Bodies Nor is it less remarkable that Birds especially Crows are able to discover the smell of Gun-powder at a considerable distance and that they are I am satisfi'd by my own Observations as well as the Relations of others And on this occasion I shall add That Julius Palmarius in his Tract de Morbis Contagiosis observes that Horses Beeves Sheep and other Animals have grown mad by eating the Straw that mad Swine have lain on which may give us Reason to suspect that the Feet of distempered Animals may leave an Infection upon the Grass they tread on But to prosecute the chief aim of our Discourse I shall add That since Corpuscles that are too minnte to be visible may affect an Organ of Sense it is not improbable but that there may be a great many which may be so fine
what it had before But to render our present Experiment more instructive I shall add another Attempt to sublime Gold after the following Method Having then dissolved laminated Gold in some of the above mentioned Menstruum we drew it off in a Retort placed in a Sand-Furnace by which means a considerable Quantity of Gold was elevated and either fell into the Receiver in the Form of a Golden coloured Liquor or shot into red Crystals like Rubies in the Neck of the Retort which in the Air would run per Deliquium Where we are to observe that by a new Affusion of the Menstruum upon the remaining Calx more of itwould still be elevated by Distillation But to make this Experiment more serviceable it will be necessary to Note that upon pouring running Mercury into this elevated Tincture the Particles of it were immediately Guilded and by degrees the Mercury being kept in Motion the whole Liquor lost it's Tincture which being decanted and the Guilded Mercury with a good Quantity of Borax Melted in a Crucible the elevated Gold was reduced into a Mass which evinces what I just now taught viz. that a Liquor might be Tinctured by having the Parts of that Body from whence it received it's Tincture conveniently interwoven in it's Texture without being wholly destroyed And here I think it seasonable to advertise that having elsewhere mentioned a Volatile Gold in some Oars where none of that Metal is to be found I would be understood to mean it Volatile in no other Sense than the foregoing Sublimation intimates viz. that it's Volatility depends on a mixture of Volatile Parts which carry it along with them when dissolved into very minute Parts so as to be capable of Swimming in that Vehicle EXPERIMENT VIII How so hard a Body as Silver c. may become a sowre substance by an alteration of Texture Having dissolved an Ounce of refined Silver in Aqua Fortis and permitted it to Crystalize we found that the Silver by the addition of Acid Salts was increased in weight several Drachms which distilled in a Retort with such a degree of heat as made the Retort red hot yielded a Phlegm eminently Sower Which shews that a very Bitter Body may yield a substance of a quite different Taste For the Liquor being cold in the Receiver Smoaked as well as Smelt and Tasted like Aqua Fortis and by corroding Copper turned it into a Bleuish Colour After wards we made a Solution of Minium in Aqua Fortis and having by Filtration and Evaporation procured a Saccharum Saturni we Distilled it in a well coated Retort over a naked Fire and obtained an offensive Acid which had the Smell of Aqua Fortis which being put upon Minium bubbled and making a considerable noise presently afforded a Liquor from which might easily be obtained a true Sugar of Lead Where it is observable that the Caput mortuum was neither Sweet as before Distillation nor Sower as the Body drawn from it but insipid and easily reducible by Fusion into a malleable Lead Phaenomena to be observed in this Experiment In which Experiments the following Phaenomena are also Remarkable First that the Salt which encreased the Silver in weight no more than a third or fourth Part was able to Sublime the greatest Part of that fixed Body Secondly that the Parts of the same Liquor being mixed with three several Metals may produce as many different Tastes tho' the same Aqua Fortis should be successively made use of in those three Experiments and howsoever varied in respect of Order in the Tryal And here we are to observe likewise that Part of the Distilled Spirit of Nitre being poured on the Caput Mortuum of Saccharum Saturni turned some Parts of it into a Vitriol and another Part of it being poured upon Filings of Silver the Silver being partly dissolved with a hissing Noise was Coagulated into a Bitter Salt EXPERIMENT IX Because Transmutation of Bodies whose Textures are esteem'd Primordial as those of the Elements and which are found to be Ingredients of most Compositions here below will be a further Confirmation of the Possibility of Altering the Textures of other Bodies I shall subjoyn what Progress I have made in order to turn Water into Earth A Transformation of Water into Earth Having therefore in a Glass Vessel distill'd Fair Rain-Water and several times re-distill'd it again we found that after every Distillation there was a considerable Quantity of white Earth remaining at the bottom of the Vessel which was more plentifully afforded in the latter Distillations than the first and therefore we had the greater Reason to believe it could be nothing else but a certain quantity of Water turn'd into Earth which afforded the following Phanomena viz. 1. Being put into a Microscope in the Sun-Beams Phaenomena exhibited it appear'd to consist of Parts exceeding fine which were as fine in the Microscope as Hair-powder usually is to the Eye yet not in the least Transparent 2. Being mix'd with Water it turn'd it into a whitish Colour as the Powder of white Marble usually does yet being settled in the Bottom it remain'd undissolv'd 3. After it had lain a considerable time in a Red-hot Crucible it was neither diminish'd in quantity nor did it in the least smoke 4. It exceeded Water in weight so as to be equal to twice its Bulk of Common Water being almost as heavy as Wood-ashes freed from their Salts which to its Bulk of Water is as 1 to 2 â…™ which does not much come short of the weight of white Glass which is twice and a half heavier than its weight of Water So that from these Phaenomena we had Reason to term the Foremention'd white Substance Earth considering likewise its fixedness and other Qualities But further it is to be Observ'd That the Glass in which it was distill'd was not in the least damag'd by this Process as also That an Ounce of Water yielded six Drachms of Powder Water almost wholly convertible into Earth a considerable quantity of Water still remaining behind So that this Experiment is no small Confirmation of our Hypothesis For if Elements themselves may be Transmuted and Artificially Destroy'd by an Alteration of the Texture of their Parts why may not Considerable Changes be effected also in other Bodies by a Local Motion and a New Manner and Form of Union of Parts of different Figures and Sizes since in this Experiment the Parts of Water being modify'd a-new form a Solid Body of very different Qualities from what belong'd to it before as want of Transparency Solidity c. How Water acquires the Form of a Solid Powder As for the Manner of its being so modify'd anew it may easily be conceiv'd That the Parts of Water being put into Motion and rubbing upon one another by violent Occursions might be so alter'd and adapted as to stick together and to form several little Moleculae which being more condens'd and consequently heavier than Water
observ'd That tho' such Vacuities are necessary to constitute Fluid Bodies yet they are only so to use School-Term as Removens prohibens i. e. they prevent the Inconveniencies which must be the Consequence of a Plentitude viz. Want of Liberty to move or in other Words as they dispose the Parts of a Body to yield to each other's Motion And here I would Note That tho' in most Liquid Bodies this Doctrin may take place yet I conceive it not altogether absurd to Question Whether Matter may not be so exquisitely agitated and divided as to fill up these Vacuities and to be squeez'd into any Figure as Occasion requires But not to spend Time in examining this Point at the present I shall proceed A Perpetual Motion if Parts requisite to Fluidity 3. To the Principal and last Requisite in Modifying a Fluid Body which is That all the Particles of a Fluid Body should be separately and variously mov'd up and down either by Virtue of some subtle Matter diffus'd through their Substance or an inherent Quality of their own For the Difference betwixt Solid and Fluid Bodies seems to consist in this viz. That the Parts of Solids are at rest and not so apt to yield to the Pressure of One's Finger as the Parts of Liquids are which are in Motion since the Latter being already agitated to and fro it is much more easy to guide that Motion than to put the Parts of a Body into Motion whose Parts according to the Laws of Motion must be at rest till mov'd by an Agent powerful enough to put them into Motion But when once they are put into Motion by the same Laws they must continue so till stopp'd by some other Body and consequently they must be in a perpetual Change as to their Places and Order so that hence it appears why some Bodies come to be so soft since such small Parts of Matter being in Perpetual Motion must needs yield very easily to the Touch and give way to the Impressions of other Bodies And also it cannot but dispose them easily to be confin'd by the Vessels they are contain'd in and as apt to disperse themselves when Liberty is given them Having premis'd this Brief Account of Fluidity I shall now proceed to illustrate it by Experiments And first by that concerning Salt-Petre The Doctrin of Fluidity illustrated by Experiments Salt-Petre then may become a Fluid Body either by having the Particles of it dissolv'd in Water so that they may move up and down and to give way to the Impression of an External Agent as the other Parts of that Liquid do or it may put on a Liquid Form by being expos'd to the Air in a moist Cellar where by running per Deliquium the Salt-Petre will be dissolv'd and put on so far the Form of a Liquid as to have all it's Parts in an Agitation sufficient to rank it amongst Fluid Bodies But Salt-Petre may put on a Liquid Form without the Addition of a Liquid Body as first It may be reduc'd to so fine a Powder as to resemble a Liquid in the pouring of it out of one Vessel into another besides the other Requisites of a Fluid Body viz. That it hath Vacuities betwixt its Parts and that they may be easily put into Motion only they differ from the Parts of Liquids in some Respects since the Powder hath not it's Parts always in Motion besides the Vacuities are more sensible But notwithstanding if by the force of Fire each of these Parts be again subdivided those insensible Corpuscles being violently agitated make up a Fluid Body So the Particles of Metals being by the same Agent seperated and put into Motion do not only move variously one amongst another but are sometimes toss'd a considerable height into the Air. And not only Fire but some other Bodies which are sensibly Cold may provided the Texture and Motion of their Parts be rightly dispos'd reduce several Substances to a Liquid Form so Camphire puts on the Form of an Oyl when swimming upon Aqua fortis And when Salt-Petre is by the Action of Fire endow'd with a Fluid Form it is equally a Fluid as when incorporated with Water there being very little difference betwixt these two States of Nitre only that in the Former the Agent which keeps the Nitrous Parts in Motion is more Volatile and Brisk and divides it into smaller Parts without making an Addition to its Bulk But perhaps it will be a Scruple Whether the Powder of Nitre be an Imperfect Fluid when pour'd out or rather like a heap of Sand not reduc'd to a permanent State of Fluidity To remove this Scruple we may take Powder of Alablaster or instead of it Plaster of Paris and we shall find that by putting it into a hot Vessel by the continued Action of the Fire the Parts of that Powder will be so agitated and by the Assistance of the more Spirituous Parts kept in Motion as to Boil and emit Steams like a Fluid Body and altogether resemble a Coherent Substance yet if it be remov'd from the Fire it again subsides in the Form of a Powder tho' for once again it will assume the Form of a Liquid if expos'd to a competent degree of Fire yet when the Ebullition of the Parts of it are most violent if a small Portion of it be thrown upon a piece of Paper it appears to be nothing but a very fine Powder From whence it is evident that Fluidity depends on a vehement and various Agitation of Parts which Fluidity the same Body may be depriv'd of by losing that Intestine Motion What the Motion of the Parts of Fluids depends on And thus it briefly appears how much Motion contributes to the Fluidity of Bodies And here tho' it would be very desirable to determine what is the Essential Cause of that Motion yet since it is a Matter of too much Intricacy it being by some held to be inherent in Matter and by others to be promoted by Impulse I shall rather pass it by than enter upon an Examination of those two Points especially since there would be the same Necessity of Discussing others which equally relate to the Cartesian Principles It may therefore suffice in short that neglecting the Unintelligible Doctrin of Substantial Forms we rather ascribe it to those Catholick Affections of Matter Motion Shape and Situation But to omit what we have elsewhere deliver'd concerning these Catholick Affections of Matter we shall observe what this Experiment further affords us We are therefore to take Notice That there is a difference remarkable betwixt a Fluid and a Body which hath a Quality of Wetting Bodies which are Contiguous to them since every wet Body is Fluid but not vice versâ For Air Flame Melted Liquors or Salt-Petre tho' fluid are all void of a Wetting Quality Humidity a Relative Quality Whence we are led to consider That Humidity is but a Relative Quality depending on the Congruity that one Body
those Vapours which Swim in our Atmosphere A Transparent Liquor may yield a Liquor Diaphanous and another Opacous Having said thus much of Fluidity it may not be amiss to subjoyn one Experiment which shews how a transparent Liquor may be divided into two the one Diaphanous and the other Opacous Pour into a warm Solution of an Ounce of Quicksilver with a double Quantity of Aqua Fortis about half an Ounce or an Ounce of Filings of Lead being cautious that it be not put in so fast as to make the Liquor Boyl over the Event of which will be that the Lead will be immediately precipitated in the Form of a white Powder the Mercury running together again into a Fluid Body immersed in the Aqua Fortis And here it is to be noted that if the success of this Experiment be frustrated the Mercury may by degrees be again recovered if the white Precipitate be diligently ground for some time with Water Motion in the Parts of some Consistent Bodies But to put a Conclusion to this Chapter it is highly probable that not only Fluid but some consistent Bodies have their Parts in a certain degree of Motion whence as we may conjecture proceeds that Dust which is the Effect of Putrefaction in some sorts of Wood And it is not absurd to imagine that from hence Worms in Fruit as well as Magots in Cheese derive their Original And that there is Motion amongst the Parts of some consistent Bodies is further made probable both by that Turpentine which I have observed to Sweat out of Deal Boards and the growth and increase of the Bones and other consistent Parts of Bodies but more particularly in those of colder Animal Substances as Oyster-Shells Crabs-Claws and such like consistent Substances Having said thus much concerning Fluidity it might not be improper to take notice how by the Mixture of Liquids their Fluidity is sometimes promoted and also sometimes destroyed But since we shall have occasion sometime or other in the following Chapter to make such Observations I shall to close this Chapter add an Experiment which may intimate that the event of Mixtures is not always certain The Experiment is the following We Evaporated a Solution of Copper in Spirit of Nitre from whence we obtained a Vitriol of a lovely Colour We likewise dissolved one Part of good Tin in a double Quantity of Spirit of Nitre and tho' Salt-Petre as well as Tin be both Fusible yet this Metalline Mixture would neither melt on quick Coals nor in a red hot Crucible Whereas the Vitriol of Copper would melt with the heat of ones Hand though the Metalline Ingredients be much more hard to be brought to Fusion than Lead or even Silver it self and we have sometimes obtained such a Vitriol as might be preserved in a Fluid Form by the Languid heat of the Sun in Winter either with Spirit of Nitre or a certain Aqua Fortis From whence it appears that the Textures of Compositions are to be considered as well as the Particular Consistence of the Ingredients CHAP. XII Experiments concerning the Superficial Figures of Fluids Especially of Liquors Contiguous to other Liquors COnsidering that the greatest Part of the Universe is made of Fluid Bodies especially if according to the Cartesian Hypothesis the Sun and fixt Stars consist of Fluids it may not be amiss to illustrate what we have only hinted at in the foregoing Chapter For the following Experiments made about the superficial Figures of Fluid Bodies may not a little contribute to illustrate as well what hath been before delivered as what hath been said concerning the Pores of Fluid Bodies besides they may be of no small use in accounting for several Phaenomena belonging to the Grand System of the World EXPERIMENT I. and II. The Figure of the Surface of a Nitrous Liquor To try whether the concave Surface of Fluids contained in a Pipe was wholly to be attributed to the Pressure of the Contiguous Air I poured Dephlegmed Spirit of Wine upon a strong Alkalizate Menstrum which was made of fixed Nitre run per deliquium in a moist Celler and contained in a Cylinder of Glass of about a quarter of an Inch Diameter I found that the Menstrum changed it's concave for a horizontal Superficies and the like succeeded in a Glass of a much greater Diameter And that Superficial Cavity was likewise almost destroyed by pouring on Oyl of Turpentine instead of Spirit of Wine EXPERIMENT III. Of Water If instead of the former Liquor common Water was put into the Glass Cylinder it retained it's former Surface tho' Oyl of Turpentine Swam upon it instead of Spirit of Wine EXPERIMENT IV. To try what Surface would be made by an Oyl heavier than Water Of Oyl of Turpentine by being contiguous to it I put pure Oyl of Turpentine into a Glass Cylinder and found that the Concave Superficies which it had whilst the Air was Contiguous became Convex and protuberant upon an Affusion of Water EXPERIMENT V. The Superficies of a Solution of Tartar c. Again having put Salt of Tartar deliquated into a Glass Cylinder and poured Oyl of Guajacum upon it we found that the Concave Superficies was not altred as it was by Oyl of Turpentine And having gently poured Water upon these two the Oyl of Guajacum Swam betwixt the Water and the Oyl of Tartar having a Convex Superficies at each end that next the Oyl of Tartar being most protuberant EXPERIMENT VI. Of Oyl of Cloves Having likewise put Oyl of Cloves into a Glass Cylinder by pouring Water upon it it 's Concave Superficies presently became Convex and this Oyl being too heavy to Swim upon Water we poured some of it upon Deliquated Salt of Tartar pouring upon it likewise a little common Water which being done we found the Oyl Protuberant at both Ends but more at that which was Contiguous to the Water EXPERIMENT VII Again having put a considerable Quantity of Quicksilver into a Pipe of the same Diameter Of Quicksilver but much longer than the former we found that the Superficies of it which was otherwise considerably Protuberant was in some measure Depress'd when Water instead of Air was Contiguous to it EXPERIMENT VIII Of the same Upon tryal whether a greater or less Quantity of Water would alter the Surface of the Mercury I found that the greater the Quantity of Water was the more it was depressed tho' it did not always succeed But when the Cylinder being of a considerable length was filled with Water the Mercury Contiguous to the Glass was depressed to a Level having in the Center of its Superficies a Protuberance Semicircular and raised above the other level Surface half it's Diameter which Protuberance gradually subsided as the Mercury was drawn off EXPERIMENT IX The Surface of Liquors in Vacuo Boyliano Having conveighed two of the afore-mentioned Cylinders one containing Water and the other Mercury into our Pneumatical Receiver
that the compact Texture of Glass may depend on a like Juxta-position of Parts since the Particles of Fire in the making of it may so divide the Parts of the Ingredients as to render them subtile enough for so strict and close a Union as is requisite to exclude Air from betwixt them for it is not only obvious That Air cannot penetrate the Pores of it when heated in Distillation but in blowing of Glasses where it hath not the least Vent through the Pores of it tho' impell'd with Force yet its Pores are fine enough to give way to the Beams of Light and Heat and likewise to the fine Effluvia of a Loadstone without damaging the Texture of it in the least nor would it be more absurd to conceive that the Parts of Salt-petre or Ice were after the like manner joyn'd together by a Juxta-position But to return to the Place from whence we have made this short Digression tho' from hence it appears that the Spring of the Air may contribute to the Cohesion of the Parts of Solids yet it is not altogether necessary since the same may be accounted for by the Air consider'd barely as a Weight for the Air being a fluid Body and pressing by its Gravity towards the Centre it must needs diffuse it self every way when resisted by the Surface of the Earth and consequently expand it self orbicularly by which means the whole Pillar of Air incumbent on it being virtually incumbent on the lower Superficies of the Glass whatever separates one from the other must out-balance that Pressure of the Air otherwise there being no Air betwixt the two Glasses they must needs stick together but it is not necessary that the contiguous Superficies of these two Glasses should be equal to the Horizon since if they be perpendicular the Sides of the Glasses have a collateral Pressure from the Pillars of Air pressing against them and consequently the Difficulty must be as great to separate them But to try more exactly How much the Pressure of the Air is concern'd in the former Experiments we took two polish'd Marbles as smooth as we could get and fastned Wires to the uppermost so that the lowest could not slide off the other Horizontally but if any way must fall Perpendicularly which Caution being observ'd we found the one would not only draw up the other but a Pair of Scales fixed to it with 16 Ounces of Troy Weight and to make the Experiment more compleat we found That when the Surfaces of the Stones were wet with pure Spirit of Wine the Air being by that Means kept from insinuating it self betwixt the Stones the uppermost would not only draw up the other with a pair of Scales but an hundred and sometimes a hundred and thirty Ounces of Troy Weight tho' the Diameter of the Stones exceeded not an Inch and two Thirds But having repeated the Experiment with Oyl of sweet Almonds instead of Spirit of Wine we found that it took up above four hundred Ounces Troy Weight And that it may not be suspected That this Difference proceeds from the more clammy Parts of the Oyl which caus'd the Stones to adhere more closely I shall add That the contiguous Surfaces being held perpendicular tho' they would easily slide off each other when moisten'd with Oyl yet would they not slip down when moistned with Spirit of Wine without an additional Weight joyn'd to one of them the Protuberances of one perhaps being fastned in the Pores of the other But to shew That the Adhesion of these polish'd Marbles is proportionably greater as the Diameter of them is larger and consequently as they are press'd together by a larger Pillar of Air I repeated the same Experiment with Spirit of Wine and took up about four hundred and seventy Ounces but when I made use of Oyl of Almonds the Weight rais'd was much more considerable being a Thousand three hundred and forty four Ounces of Troy Weight besides at the same time the Marbles were observ'd to stick close together And here again lest it should be suspected that the Oyl made the Adhesion more close I shall relate this Observation viz. That tho' it requir'd so great a Weight to separate these Stones when their contiguous Surfaces were in an Horizontal Line yet would they easily slide one upon another not unlike the contiguous Glasses before mention'd and for the same Reasons and if they were the least inclin'd either this way or that their own Weight was sufficient to separate them From whence it appears how much the Air may be concern'd in compressing the Particles of solid Bodies together And lest it should be further objected That the Cohesion of these Stones rather proceeds from Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum than the Cause assign'd by us I shall add these Considerations First That if it were so the same Reason would hold when a much more considerable Weight is fastned to the lower Marble yet we see that then notwithstanding Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum they presently part Secondly That the Pressure of the Air is sufficient to account for it Which to make it more plausible I shall add that tho' the Stone were fastned to the Ground yet it would require as much Force to separate the Uppermost from it in a Perpendicular Line as to lift up a weight aequiponderant with the Stone and the Pillar of Air incumbent on it since there is neither Air nor any other Body betwixt the two Stones to help to raise the Lower up and in part to sustain the weight of the incumbent Atmosphaere and therefore it needs not seem strange that when the lower Marble and the weight affixed to it is not sufficient to ballance the weight of the Atmosphaere it should rise along with the Uppermost when drawn up rather than be separated from it since it is usual for two Bodies when joyned together to move the same way if they be not separated by Weights or some other Force which is observable in trying of Load-stones for if the Load-stone be able to raise a Body more ponderous than it self the Knife will as soon raise the Load-stone as the Load-stone will lift up the Knife To Illustrate what hath been said I shall add an Experiment registred amongst my Adversaria which is this viz. Having immerged a Glass Syphon with a Brass Valve cemented on one end almost half a Yard in a tall Cucurbite till it touched the Bottom I filled it with Water till the Superficies of the Water in it was equal to that in the Cucurbite which being done I took a pair of Scales putting an Ounce weight into one Scale and fixing a String to the other one end of the String being likewise fastned to the Valve fixed to the bottom of the Glass Tube where it was to be observed that by that single Ounce I was able to open the Valve whereas when the Water was poured out of the Pipe and it was immersed again the Valve would not be open'd
Agents in Animal Bodies and the Effects of those invisible Spirits which move through the Nerves which by such weighty Masses of Matter as the Bodies of some Animals are violently mov'd up and down To which may be added that by the bare insinuation of Moisture into the Pores of a Rope it may be so contracted as to raise above sixty pound weight above the place those Weights were suspended at in dry Weather And tho' Metals will endure the Heat of a Red-hot Crucible yet may they easily be melred with the Flame of a Candle if the Heat and Activity of it be promoted by a Blow-Pipe And how much more able the Parts of an Agent are to operate upon a Body when they are intimately mix'd with that they are to work upon than Superficially appears from Tartar which is much sooner calcin'd if Nitre be so mix'd with it that upon Deflagration the Flame may be commix'd with all it's Parts than if it only acts immediately on the Outside The Effects of a Lead-stone upon Filigns of Iron But to alledge Instances which will be of more Force tho' the Effluvia of a Load-stone be very minute and the Body of Iron or Steel very solid yet I have seen a Magnet whose Effluvia were so powerful as to attract and sustain fifty times the weight of the Stone it self And to make it appear how probably the Effluvia of a Magnet may change the Texture of solid Steel and by that means endow it with those Qualities which Iron usually derives from it I plac'd Filings of Steel upon a piece of Paper holding under it the Pole of a vigorous Load-stone by the Effluvia of which the Filings were presently so rang'd as to representseveral Needles or Pikes made up of Particles of Iron sticking one upon another and these might be mov'd up and down by removing the Load-stone from one place to another but as soon as the Load-stone was remov'd from that place to such a Distance that it 's Subtle Emanations had no longer any Influence upon the Powder the Parts of it presently lost that order and fell into a confus'd Heap as before that Loadstone was apply'd Again tho' the Particles of Water be so small as to be Invisible and their Motion very weak yet is it so powerful that upon Freezing the Expansion of the Frigorifick Parts are strong enough to break Bottles not only of Glass but Metal and the Expansion oftentimes is so violent as to exceed the Force of any other Body in expanding except Gun-powder that I know of CHAP. XVI Of the Propagable Nature of Motion IV. It is usually not sufficiently taken Notice of Prop. VI. how Local Motion may be propagated through several Mediums and even Solid Bodies IT is usually thought because some Bodies when they strike against Solid ones commonly fly back That the Impulse of that Body is not able to put the other into Motion but that the Parts of a Solid may be put into Motion and that that Motion may be propagated through such Consistent Substances is evident if we strike a piece of Timber slightly upon one End For by that means the Motion caus'd by that Impression will be carry'd on to the other And I have by Experience found that having drawn the Point of a Pin upon the Brim of an Hemispherical Vessel which was made of Bell-Metal which is much harder than Steel I found it from a very slight Impression to produce such a lasting Sound as was an Argument that the Parts of the Metal were not only put into such a Vibrating Motion as to communicate it to the Air but to continue it successively round the Brim of the Vessel till the Sound ceas'd And the like Propagation of Sounds I found to succeed tho' the Point of a Pin were but struck upon that Vessel which was seven Inches in Diameter And indeed the Propagable Motion of Solids when they are acted on by Fluids is not less remarkable since the Parts of a Bar of Iron or Glass may be put into such a Motion by Heat as to have it continu'd to some Distance from the place where the Fire first work'd upon them tho' it be capable of being propagated much further in the former of the two which shews how much the Textures of Bodies dispose them to be differently work'd upon by the same Agent and how much a Convenient Texture disposes them to be work'd upon at all And it may be further observ'd That it is look'd upon as a Sign of the firm Connection of a House that upon the Clapping of a Door the whole shakes and it is likewise an Argument of the Communicableness of Motion whether it depends on the mutual Contact of the Door and the Posts it shuts against or upon the Impression made upon the included Air by the Door for the former shews how a Solid may propagate Motion amongst Solids and the Latter how it may give Motion to a Fluid and Vice versâ But further it is asserted by Seneca that upon the Explosion of those Subterraneali Exhalations which are the Causes of Earth-quakes the Tremulous Motion of the Earth is continu'd above two hundred Miles And Josephus Acosta witnesseth That it hath been continu'd for three hundred Leagues in the Kingdom of Peru And Learned Writers in the beginning of our Age 1601 witness that the Motion of the Earth was so violent as to shake most part of Europe being propagated through most part of Asia Hungary Germany Italy and France And I have frequently observ'd That the House I have been in hath sensibly shook by the Tremulous Motion of the Earth it stood upon propagated from some Coach or Cart which mov'd at some distance upon the Ground and some observing Scouts say That by the Motion of the Earth they can discover the Approach of a Troop of Horse at a good Distance And to conclude this Member of our Discourse if such Disproportionate Causes can produce such Effects in Inorganical Bodies well may they in those that are Organical where there is only wanting a small Cause to call in the Assistance and to determine the Cooperation of others as the Tickling of a Feather in the Nose by Determining the Tendency of the Spirits Causes Sneezing And I remember being once held with such a Distemper as depriv'd me of the use of my Hands If in the Summer a Hair were but blown upon my Face and continued there long it would put me into Convulsions and cause me to faint Motion may be propagated through different Mediums But to determine another Member of this Proposition viz. Whether Motion may be propagated thro' several Mediums or terminates at the utmost Limits of the Medium it was begun in I shall offer the following Experiment viz. I caus'd a Glass-Receiver to be blown with a Button upon that part of the Internal Superficies which was uppermost and suspending a Watch by a Chain which was fix'd to a Soft Body fasten'd upon
the Button I luted on a Receiver to prevent a Communication betwixt the External and Internal Air yet the Sound of the Watch might be perciv'd by holding One's Ears over that place where the Watch was suspended And I have often felt not only the striking of a Watch included in a double Case when I have worn it in my Pocket but even the gentler Motions of the Ballances To the Foregoing Instances I shall add That upon sudden Claps of Thunder the very Beds have been perceiv'd to shake by those that lay upon them And Agricola de Nat. eorum quae fluunt è terra Lib. 4. cap. 7. says Si Animal deijicitur in Antrum quod est in Carelia Regione Scandiae erumpit ut perhibent sonus intolerabilis magno cum flatu Si leve pondus in Specum Dalmatiae quamvis inquit Plinius tranquillo die turbini similis emicat procella But there are still some who are unwilling to believe That Motion is propagable through Liquid Bodies at least to any considerable Distance because of the easy Cession of their Parts But the contrary easily appears if we allow of the Corpuscular Notion of Light by Considering not only how far the Rays of Light are impell'd and propagated from a small Light but from the fix'd Stars which are plac'd at so immense a Distance But to proceed to Instances not so liable to Objections that the Parts of Liquids tho' in Motion and Separate one from another may communicate Motion and propagate it a considerable way is evident by casting a Stone into the Water which by that Impulse will successively propagate Motion in the Mass of Water which appears by the Curling and Circular Streams which flow from it And I am told by one who was us'd to Fish for Whales near Green-Land that sometimes upon the Thawing of the Ice it would give such Cracks as to cause Sounds much lowder than Claps of Thunder and when huge pieces of Ice upon a Thaw fell into the Sea they caus'd such a Disturbance in it as at two Leagues Distance to raise a considerable Storm And tho' some People are apt to think That the Air being a Body much more Fluid than Water Motion is less propagable in it I shall intimate that even in that Medium a very small Sound is propagated much further than we think of for tho' we are not able to take Notice of it beyond the Place where we stand yet we may learn from Ecchos that the Undulating Motion of the Air is continu'd a good way further and it is not improbable that it is continu'd further than the Place where the Eccho is made since the Learned Fromundus Professor of Philosophy at Lovain in the Year 1627 says That at the Siege of Ostend the Noise of the Cannon was heard an hundred and twenty English Miles To which may be added what Verenius Geogr. Gen. Lib. 1. Cap. 19. relates as observ'd by Traelichius at the Mountain Carpathus in Hungary His Words are these Explosi in ea summitate Sclopetum quod non majorem Sonitum primò prae se tulit quam si tegillum aut bacillum confregissem post intervallum autem temporis murmur prolixum invaluit inferioresque Montis partes Convalles Sylvas opplevit Descendendo per Nives annosos intra Convalles cum iterum Sclopetum exonerarem major ac horribilior fragor quam ex Tormento capacissimo inde exoriebatur hinc verebar ne totus Mons concussus mecum correueret duravitque hic Sonus per semiquadrantem horae usque dum abstrusissimas Cavernas penetrasset ad quas Herundique multiplicatus resiliit talia quidem objecta concava in summitate se non illico offerebant idcireo fere insensibiliter primum Sonus repercutiebatur donec descendendo Antris Convallibus vicinior factus ad eas fortius impegit V. The Effects of the Particular Modifications of the Invisible Motions of Fluids Prop. V. on Animal Bodies dispos'd to be work'd upon by them are not usually sufficiently noted Tho' it may be thought strange That the Impulse of so Slight and Languid Parts of Matter as those of Air should by their Motion produce any Sensible Effects yet if we consider what a number of those Parts succeed each other it is less to be admir'd that the Effects of their Joynt-Action should be considerable since we see that a Pendulum of a Clock is continued in a swinging Motion by a very Languid Force and the Air may be put into a Motion so powerful either by the Vibration of the Strings or the Mechanical Form of a Musical Instrument or Scraping the Edge of a Knife upon Metal as to cause an Involuntary Excretion of Urine upon a Body rightly dispos'd as it happened to a Knight of Gascony or to cause that Effect which is usually term'd Setting the Teeth on Edge Besides which Instances of the Effects of so Languid a Motion as that of the Air I shall add That I had a Servant whose Gums would presently bleed upon tearing of Brown Paper And Sir Henry Blount as well as Kircherus relates a Story of the like Nature the former having observ'd in Grand Cairo in Egypt a Nest of Serpents which upon the Sound of a Citron would presently crawl out of their Nests and upon a Cessation of that Sound run away again as fast and the Latter tells us of a Fish about the Streights which divide Sicily and Italy which will be entic'd to follow the Ships which pass by that way by the Sound of a Musical Instrument And that these Effects are produc'd by a sort of Disposition in those Bodies to be work'd on by such Sounds may be confirm'd by observing That a Man is sooner affected and awak'd out of Sleep by the Agreeable Sound of his own Name than any other And the Effects of a gentle if a Surprizing Sound are no less Remarkable which will raise a Body from the Ground which could not be so pois'd with some hundreds of Weights But the most Eminent Instance is in Persons bit by a Tarantula who upon the Playing of a peculiar Tune are compell'd to dance as long as it continues tho' other Tunes have no such Effects on them the Truth of which Relation is confirm'd both by Epiphanius Ferdinandus and several Others And I was acquainted with One who told me That a certain Lady could not forbear Weeping when she heard a particular Tune play'd and I have found several times a sort of Chilness upon my self upon the Repetition of two Verses in Lucan especially when I have been any thing Feverish To which Instances of the great Effects of Languid Motions may be added what is produc'd by the Subtile Effluvia the Rays of Light causing those that come out of a dark Place presently to Sneeze And Colours which are but several Modifications of Light have not less considerable Effects which is evident from the Influence Red Cloth hath upon Turky-Cocks And the Learned Valesius
thing which hath not been taken notice of by Hydrostaticians which is the weight of the Sea-Salt to its Bulk of Water which I have found to be almost as two to one and I likewise found that a piece of Sal Gemm which is more pure and weighty than Sea-Salt was to its Bulk of Water about as 2 2 8 to 1. CHAP. VIII Memoirs for the Natural History of Mineral Waters THE Use of Mineral Waters are so Universal and the Methods which some Physicians take to try them so slight that tho' I am satisfied it is difficult without Experience to Ascribe Virtues to them à priori by Reason of the Great Variety of Minerals which may impregnate them with Particles of various and very different Natures I cannot but think but that if we were furnish'd with a sufficient Number of Quaeres and several Methods in order to a Discovery of them more nice Tryals might much Contribute to the clearing up of a Natural History of Mineral Waters since by a competent number of Experiments it might be hoped that the Nature of those Metalline Salts with which Mineral Waters are Impregnated might be discovered Wherefore I have lay'd down such sorts of Experiments that might be most easily try'd viz. chiefly Chimical Ones which may be made at home without the Inconveniencies of attending those Mineral Fountains from whence they spring And because my Design is rather to improve Physick by the following Observations than to entertain Speculative Naturalists I have chiefly made it my Business in the following Papers to consider those Waters call'd Acidulae rather than the other term'd Thermae because the former are of more general Use The danger of an ill use of Mineral Waters But perhaps some may think that the Quares hereafter propounded may be too troublesome and more than requisite since the Use of Mineneral Waters are thought so innocent as to be of no ill Consequence if Unsuccesful To which it may be answer'd that tho' when skilfully given they do a great deal of good yet they are as prejudicial if unskilfully prescrib'd and therefore since there cannot be too much Caution we cannot be too inquisitive to inform our selves of their Virtues for there may be a great many hidden Qualities in them and they may be impregnated with several Metalline Properties which may not be discover'd to the Eye or by common Tryals Besides were such Experiments industriously prosecuted they might help to discover several other Qualities in Mineral Waters which are as yet unknown for from the following Experiments it is evident that the Earth which abounds with Minerals of a Martial Nature may be more apt to impregnate subterraneal Waters than we can otherwise imagine for upon pouring of a Tincture of Galls filtrated through Cap-paper upon filings of Steel The Effects of filings of Steel in a Tincture of Galls the Liquor in half an hour became Opacous and almost as black as Ink The like Phaenomena to which were exhibited by Steel in an Infusion of Brasil or Log-wood made in common Water To which we may add that several Waters have been discover'd under ground of very different Tastes some of which have been found to be corrosive and others as harmless being endow'd with several Medicinal and Useful Qualities and I am inform'd more particularly of one which is a Mine of Coral in Devonshire about 360 foot deep in which was found a Water very thick and red yet cool and Diuretick and not in the least nauseous to the Taste CHAP. IX Titles propos'd for the Natural History of Mineral VVaters consider'd whilst in their proper Channel Quaeries in order to a discovery of the Virtues of Mineral Waters IN order to a natural History of Mineral Waters they ought to be consider's in three different Capacities First as they are found in their natural Receptacles Secondly when drawn up for use and thirdly with Respect to their Effects on Human Bodies To the first of which Heads the following Quaeres may be refer'd 1. Within the Precinct of what Climate or Parallel and in what degree of Latitude the Mineral Waters are to be found 2. To what point these Waters lie open most in their Receptacles 3. Whether the Ground in which they are found be a Plain or how much it differs from a Plain 4. If the Ground be upon an Ascent how far they are from the botttom of that Ascent 5. Whether a Recrementitious Substance adheres to Stones long contiguous to these Waters 6. Whether subterraneal Fires be near such Waters and what Phaenomena such exhibit 7. Whether Brimstone or Sal-Armoniack c. be found about the Vents of such subterraneal Fires 8. Whether instead of subterraneal Fires there are other adjacent Aestuaries and whether such be constant or intermitting and if so whether periodical or irregular 9. Whether Mineral Fumes of particular colours or smells arise from such Aestuaries 10. Of what Temper the neighbouring as well as the Soil they pass through is of 11. Whether and of what Nature those Minerals are of which they pass through 12. Whether the Mineral Waters be originally fresh and derive their Virtues from the Soil they afterwards pass through 13. Whether if it acquir'd its Virtues so there were upon the Impregnation any Effervescence or whether any such Effect succeeded its Mixture with another Liquor 14. Whether there be a Spring of a contrary Nature near it viz. as to Heat and Cold as it is observ'd in France 15. Whether an oyly or bituminous inflammable Substance float in it 16. Whether the Seasons of the Year or Temperature of the Weather alters them and what Qualities they lose or acquire by such For after Rain I have observ'd such Waters incapable of turning a Tincture of Galls black But as to its Medicinal Virtues I have found that Rain after long Droughts hath rather increas'd than diminish'd their Strength by dissolving and diluting those Salts which were fix'd in the Earth for want of a Vehicle but if the Waters be weak and the Rain much those Salts being the more diluted render the Waters less Effectual 17. Whether the Qualities of the Waters may be Chymically and Mechanically discover'd as also of what Colour and Weight and with what Menstruums their Salts may be mix'd and likewise what Substances they will yield when expos'd to different Degrees of Fire and what other Chimical Tryals those as well as the Caput Mortuum may undergo CHAP. X. Containing Titles for the Natural History of Mineral Waters when drawn out of their Receptacles A Continuation of Qeaeries 1. WHether the Mineral Water propos'd be actually Hot or Cold From whence we may judge from what Depth those Waters rose and whether they were impregnated with a Salt-Peter or Sal-Armoniack in their Ascent And the several Degrees of Heat or Cold may be either try'd by immerging a Thermoscope or by trying whether they will Coagulate Oyl of Aniseeds or melt Butter 2. Of the specifick Gravity which being
fill'd so full as not to admit of any Air betwixt the Finger and the Mercury Thirdly before the Tube is quite fill'd it will be requisite to invert the Tube that the Air included in it may by ascending to the Top and upon a Re-inversion back again gather all those little Bubbles of Air which are dispers'd through the Mercury as it passes from one end of the Cylinder to another and to drain the Mercury more exactly you may by applying a hot Iron cause those less Bubbles which are not excluded by the former Method to break forth which will be promoted by shaking the Vessel upon every Drop of Mercury put into the Pipe By which Method having in a great Measure clear'd the Tube of Air I have in one that was pretty short rais'd the Mercury to no less than 30 Digits and an eighth EXPERIEMINT XVIII The Variation of the Rise of the Mercury in the Glass-Cylinder and the Reason of it consider'd HAving fill'd a Tube about 3 foot long with Mercury and plac'd it in a wooden Frame in the Window I observ'd the Mercury was sensibly depress'd in hot Weather by the Expansion of the Air which swam about it and rais'd again in Cold the Altitude very often varying without any manifest Cause So that in five Weeks time it had ascended and descended about two Inches the utmost descent below the Altitude of it's first Suspension being 9 16 of an Inch and it 's utmost Descent being 7 16 and it is not improbable but that the Variation of the Altitude of the Mercury would have been more considerable had the Experiment been try'd in a longer Tube and in the open Air. And here it may be seasonable to take notice that could there be any sensible Variation observ'd in the Altitude of the Mereury upon the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea it would be of no small Moment in determining whether the Pressure made upon the Air by the Moon were any ways concern'd in causing the Ebbing and Flowing of it and such like Phaenomena But to return to what we observ'd further Having taken the Cylindrical Tube out of the wooden Frame on a snowy day we observ'd that the Mercury was rais'd Twenty nine Digits and three Quarters above the Basis which it lean'd on If it should be ask'd from whence these Variations in the Altitude of the Mercury proceeded I shall offer the following Considerations The Reasons why Mercury is not always equally suspended First That the Air above the Mercury being very weak and not able to make any strong Resistance to the Rising Mercury it may be esteem'd a Cause why it rises no higher because the Asmosphere is able to sustain no more of it forasmuch as the Mercury and the Atmosphere are ballanc'd in an Aequilibrium for the Resistance which the Air above the Mercury can make is so small that it would rise but very little higher were there none at all in the Top of the Tube Secondly We may consider that the External Air is subject to many more Alterations and Changes than the Internal contain'd in the Top of the Tube the latter being subject to be wrought on only by Heat and Cold But the former is subject to many and considerable Alterations besides those observable in this Experiment the Effect of its fainter Changes being evident by their Effects on bruis'd and feeble Bodies And that there are considerable Changes in the Air Considerable Changes in the Qualities of the Air. is further evident from what Kircherus during his Stay in Malta observes concerning Mount Aetna which he could see from that place on some days tho' on others which seem'd clear the Air was so condensed that he could not discern it and thet the like Changes of the Air have sensibly alter'd the Prospects of several Places is too commonly known to need further Instances And we our selves have often taken Notice of plentiful Steams and Exhalations in the Air by the use of Telescopes which could not otherwise be taken notice of which after a Showr of Rain would presently disappear And that such Steams do rise from the Earth hath been observ'd by Miners who are often too sensible of Damps which except timely prevented make the Air so thick and muddy as to put out their very Candles And that the Thickness of the Air may contribute to the raising of the Mercury in the Pipe appears from what hath been before observ'd in the Torrecellian Experiment And since the External Air is liable to be alter'd so many ways by the Mixture of insensible Corpuscles of Matter its Rarity and Density are sufficient to account for the several Variations in the Height of the suspended Mercury since accordingly as the Air is Rarifi'd its Pressure in Bodying up the Mercury must accordingly be varied EXPERIMENT XIX The subsiding of a small Cylinder of Water TO try whether a Cylinder of Water would subside in our Receiver as the Cylinder of Mercury did we fill'd a Cylinder of four foot long with it which being inverted and the lower end placed in a Glass Vessel we let it down in the Receiver and closed it up which being done and the Pump set on work we found that it did not in the least subside till such a Quantity of Air was exhausted as to leave the included Air so much weaken'd in its Spring as to be work'd upon and over-power'd by the weight of the Water and then upon every Suction it sensibly subsided tho' not so much as the Quicksilver for whereas the Quicksilver subsided till it fell within an Inch of the Basis the expanded Air remaining in the Receiver was able to bear up the Water a Foot high But the Experiment being try'd in a small Receiver the Quantity of Air included in that coming nearer to an Aequilibrium with the Cylinder of Water it sensibly subsided upon the first Exsuction and much lower upon the second and sometimes not much less than two foot and the Water in this as well as the former upon a reingress of Air rose to the Top of the Cylinder but with more Speed than the former EXPERIMENT XX. Conceening the Elater of Water TO evince that Water hath besides a notable one a languid Elater we fill'd a Glass Bubble with a long Neck term'd by the Chymists a Phylosophical Egg about a Span above the Bubble with Water where fixing a piece of Paper we conveigh'd it into the Receiver and found that after part of the Air was pump'd out the Water sensibly rose upon every Exsuction the breadth of a Barly-Corn and upon the ingress of the Air presently subsided to its former place Another Instance of the Air 's Expansion I obtain'd by filling a round Pewter Vessel with Water at a small Hole which being stop'd with Soder and the Vessel bruis'd in several places to compress the Water the Vessel being perforated with a Needle it spun out with Force enough to raise it a considerable height
into the Air. EXPERIMENT XXI Concerning the same HAving fill'd a Glass Viol with Water which contained something above a Pound I took a Glass Pipe about as thick as a Goose Quill and having put one End of it into the Neck of the Bottle and clos'd it with Cement I fill'd the Pipe half full with Water sticking a piece of Paper at the Superficies of the Water on the outside of the Pipe which being plac'd in the Pump after the Air had been pump'd a while above sixty Bubbles of Water as big as Pease rose out of the Water one after another and the Water in the Bottle so far expanded as to rise quite up to the Top of the Pipe and being permitted to subside several Bubbles of Air rose out of it afresh as soon as it renew'd its Expansion as before but upon a reingress of the Air it presently subsided almost to the Bottom of the Pipe Besides which the following Phaenomena were observable First That those Bubbles which ascended last were much larger than the former either because their Parts were more expanded than before or because more Bubbles of Air were united together but whatever was the Cause of it we observ'd that they ascended much slower than before Another thing to be observ'd was that tho' Bubbles are usually wont to rise above the Surface of the Water encompass'd with a thin Film yet in this Tube the Surface of the Water being Convex the less protuberant Parts of the Bubble were covered with Water Another Observation which occurr'd was that whereas those Bubbles which rose at the Beginning of the Operation divided the Water which they pass'd through in their Ascent these latter expanded Bubbles filling up the Cavity of the Cylinder in their Passage rais'd the Water before them till the Air was again permitted to re-enter the Receiver and then they wholly disappeared From which Observations it may Naturally be inferr'd First Bodies under Water may be press'd upon by the Atmosphere as well as incumbent Water Secondly It cannot be hence inferr'd that the Intumescence of the Water proceeded from any Elasticity in it since it might more probably proceed from the Elasticity of the Air lodg'd in the Pores of the Water And to make it probable that those Bubbles proceeded from small Particles of Air dispers'd through the Pores of the Water and not from any spirituous Parts of the Liquor expanded I shall subjoyn the following Experiment EXPERIMENT XXII The Bubbles prov'd to be Aerious and not Watery by observing the like Bubbles in î Mercury To which is subjoyn'd a Digression whether the Air is generated de Novo c. THO' it be generally alledg'd that the Bubbles which rise in the Cylindrical Tube in the foregoing Nineteenth Experiment are Particles of Water expanded upon a Diminution of the Incumbent Weight of the Air Yet I am apter to believe them really Parts of Air dispers'd through the Water because upon the re-entring of the Air the Water was not impell'd quite to the Top but was depress'd by the Air lodg'd above it almost an Inch which being collected together was able to resist the Pressure of the Air. The Bubbles which rise in Water Aerial proved But in order to a further Discovery whether the aforesaid Bubbles were Water or not We try'd the Nineteenth Experiment in a small Receiver and upon drawing out the Air the Water subsided upon which several Bubbles rising to the Top of the Cylinder prevented the Rising of the Water half an Inch being possess'd by the Bubbles of the Air collected at the Top of the Cylinder And we were further perswaded that those Bubbles were Aerial because the Air being a second time exhausted the Water contain'd in the Tube was by the Spring of that Air contain'd in the Cylinder depress'd below the Surface of the Water which was without the Tube having a Convex Superficies as Water expos'd to Air in such Tubes usually hath but rather more protuberant And to demonstrate that those Bubbles were really made up of Aerial Particles when the Air was almost exhausted and the Water had subsided near as low as the external Water by applying Water to the Tube which contain'd the Air we observ'd that it was so far expanded as to depress the Water down to the Bottom of the Tube several Inches below the External Water So that the Air which was before expanded to near a hundred times it's extent was capable of being further expanded by Heat But I was yet further confirm'd in my Opinion that those Bubbles were nothing but Air lodg'd in the Pores of the Water because the Air being exhausted out of the Receiver the subsiding Water yielded not Bubbles as before except a few small ones when it was near pump'd out And what I took for a stronger Argument was that the same Experiment being try'd with Mercury several Bubbles likewise rose to the Top of the Cylinder and the Mercury subsiding a second time upon the Exsuction of the Air several Bubbles appear'd in the Bottom of the Cylinder which grew bigger and bigger as the Surface of the Mercury descended lower From whence it appear'd that a Body The Expansion of Water depends on the Elater of the Air lodg'd in its Pores more ponderous than Water might contain Aerial Particles in it's Pores capable of expanding themselves when the Cause of their Compression is taken away so that we have Reason to believe that the Intumescence of the Water not only in these Experiments but also the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Water contain'd in the Pewter Globe before mention'd proceeded from the Expansion of the Aerial Particles contain'd in the Pores of the Water rather than from any Elasticity in the Water it self These things being premis'd it would be a Matter of some Importance and of no small Consequence Whether Air be a primogeneal bedy or not to determine whether what we have said of the Air be true to consider whether Air be really a Primogenial Body and inconvertible into Water and Vice versâ or not But it being as difficult as requisite we shall rather chuse to offer what may be urg'd of either the Affirmative or the Negative And first in favour of the inaptitude of Air to be turn'd into Water or of Water into Air it may be urg'd that besides that it hath been the Opinion of several Philosophers it hath likewise been found impossible by Experience to effect such a Change in either of them And the diligent Schottus Mecham Hydraulicopneumat Part 3. Class 1. relates that in the Musaeum Kircherianum Water hath been hermetically seal'd in a Glass with a long Neck and kept there this forty Years without undergoing any Change Nor indeed do we perceive the least alteration in the Nature of Air Hermetically seal'd in Glasses for Chymical Uses tho' it may acquire several Degrees of Heat in them And it may very plainly be seen that tho' Water is divided into
of pumping which ascended very swiftly and immediately disappear'd at the Top first lifting up the Surface of that spirituous Liquor so as to form a thin Film And it was further observable That the Motion of these Bubbles in their Ascent was in a strait Line whereas those of the Water and Wine made a Line which on each side appear'd like the Teeth of a Saw And lastly in this Spirit we took Notice That the order which these Bubbles ascended in was in Lines parallel and of an Equal Distance from each other the Bubbles likewise following each other in such an order as to form a sort of Bracelet one end of which seem'd to rise from a certain Point at the Bottom of the Glass When Air return'd into the Receiver the Bubbles on the Spirit of Wine gradually subsided yet neither that nor the Mixture of Water and Spirit were depress'd below the Mark But the Spirit of Wine continu'd expanded near half an Inch which I found to succeed upon several Tryals EXPERIMENT XXV Concerning the Air 's Gravity and Expansion under Water HAving fill'd a Wide-mouth'd Jar with about half a Pint of Common Water we sunk two Glass-Viols whose Shape and Size is represented by the Eighth Figure one of which contain'd just so much of a Ponderous Mercurial Mixture as was requisite to sink it when cover'd with white Wax the other being weigh'd down by Water and the Mouths being downwards the Quantity of Water contain'd in the former filling three Parts of four of the Glass the Air contain'd in the latter being equal in Dimensions to a Pea. These being let down into the Receiver upon plying the Pump at the last so many Bubbles rose up to that which swam upon the Water as were able by expanding themselves to cause some of the Water to fly out and make the Viol emerge to the Top of the Water contain'd in the Jar where at every Exsuction it continu'd to expand till it was able to raise up the side of the Viol and in part to evacuate it self upon which it presently swam upon the Water as before and eight times after discharg'd a Bubble of Air about the Size of a Pea but when we permitted the Air to enter in again it presently subsided to the Bottom As for the other it continu'd at the Bottom all the while But some time after the Pump being ply'd it rais'd it self considerably but about sixty Parcels of Air as big as Peas finding vent and getting out it presently subsided tho' upon a further Expansion of the Air it rose again and subsided which successive Ascent and descent it continu'd Nine times after after the Pump ceas'd working but when the Air was again let in it was presently fix'd at the Bottom From which Experiment that Hydrostatical Rule That a Body will swim in the Water if it be lighter than its equal Proportion in Bulk will appear to be likewise true when the Weight of the Atmosphere is taken off EXPERIMENT XXVI Concerning the Vibrations of a Pendulum IT being usually taught That the Motion of a Pendulum is something quicker accordingly as the Medium it moves in is thinner we suspended one which weigh'd about twenty Drachms in our Receiver fixing it to the Cover by a piece of Silk and having fix'd another of an equal weight without the Receiver we gave them both an equal Motion and observ'd that whilst the Latter made twenty Vibrations the Former counted twenty but the Pendulum being afterwards put into Motion in the exhausted Receiver and likewise in the same Receiver before it was exhausted continu'd it's Vibrations to an equal space of Time in both so that from what we could observe the Difference of the Vibrations in Air and that more rarify'd Medium viz. the exhausted Receiver was scarce sensible EXPERIMENT XXVII Concerning the Propagation of Sounds IT hath been the receiv'd Opinion of the Schools That the Air is the Medium through which Sounds are conveigh'd But the Industrious Kircher having observ'd that if a Bell be fix'd in the upper end of a Tube and upon making the Experiment de Vacuo be left there a Load-stone apply'd to the side of the Tube will attract the Steel-clapper which upon a Removal of that Load-stone will fall upon the other side of the Bell and cause an Audible Sound He thence infers That the Medium through which Sounds are conveigh'd must be much more subtle than the Air. But to evince the contrary we suspended a Watch in our Receiver by a Packthred and observ'd That the Sound was not only audible at the sides of the Receiver but that that which was likewise perceiv'd by the Ear held near the Cover was different from that which we heard at the sides of the Receiver but the Air being drawn out we could not perceive the least Sound tho' the Motion of the Minutes assur'd us that the Pendulum continu'd it's Motion yet upon admitting of Air again into the Receiver the Sound was again renew'd which Experiment seems to evince that the Air is the Chief Medium through which Sounds are conveigh'd Yet it is not a little strange that so slight a Stroke as that of the Pendulum should give such an Impulse to the Ambient Air as to inable it to communicate a Motion to the sides of the Receiver strong enough to put the External Air into an Undulating Motion But having supported a Bell in the Middle of our Receiver by a large Stick which reach'd from one side to the other the Diameter of the Bell being about two Inches we observ'd that tho' the Sound in the Receiver was not equally as sharp as in the open Air yet there was no considerable Variation when the Air was drawn out which evinces that a subtler Medium than the Air is not altogether incapable of propagating Sounds no more than Air however in the foregoing Experiment try'd with a Bell suspended in a Glass-Tube it may not without Reason be suspected that the Cavity of the Tube was not wholly void of Air since Experience informs us that it is impossible to fill the Glass-Cylinder so as to keep the Upper Part of the Tube void of Air since the Aery Parts lodg'd in the Pores of the Mercury fly up into it And further on this Occasion to shew how far the Air is the Principal Medium of Sounds we might alledge that it was observable in a former Experiment that tho' upon the striking of Fire with the Lock of a Pistol in our Receiver the Sound is audible yet it is much more dead than when made in the open Air And the like Variation is observable in all other Sounds made in our Receiver EXPERIMENT XXVIII The Eruption of Bubbles from Water upon the removal of the Air. FOR a further Confirmation of what hath been deliver'd in the XXth Experiment viz. That the Air included in our Receiver makes as strong a Pressure upon Bodies encompass'd by it as if they were
be observ'd That tho' the Receiver was but moderately exhausted and tho' it leak'd considerably yet the Weight supported by the Pressure of the Atmosphere amounted to ten Pound Nor indeed is it strange that it's Pressure should be so considerable if we do but think how large the Cylinder of Air that recoiling from the Ground presses against it is being extended to the utmost Superficies of the Atmosphere EXPERIMENT XXXIII Concerning the Pressure of the Air against the lower superficies of the Sucker what Weight will draw it down and how much it is able to raise A Discourse concerning the Nature of Suction c. The weight of the Atmosphere consider'd TO compute more exactly the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere we impell'd the Cylinder to the Top of the Pump taking off the Receiver and fixing just such a Weight to one of the Teeth of the Sucker as was able to bring it down to the Bottom of the Cylinder which being done and the Sucker impell'd up again to the Top of the Cylinder the upper Orifice of it was exactly stopp'd and a pair of Scales being fix'd to the Iron-Sucker by casting in so many Weights as were able to draw down the Sucker we were truly inform'd of the Weight of a Pillar of the Atmosphere of an equal Diameter with the Bore of the Cylinder By which Method we found that the Sucker which requir'd 28 Pound of Lead to draw it down was not drawn down with less than the Addition of an hundred Pound when the upper Orifice of the Cylinder was stopp'd tho' upon turning of the Key of the Stop-cock and letting in Air it would readily fall without that Weight which was an Argument that the Descent was hinder'd by the Pressure of the Air which buoy'd up against the lower Part of the Sucker What weight the Atmosphere is able to raise suspended at the Sucker This Experiment being try'd and the Sucker being forcibly drawn down to the Bottom of the Cylinder whose Diameter was about three Inches the Pressure of the Atmosphere was so considerable as to be able to raise above a hundred Pound weight besides the weight of the Sucker which was not a little admir'd by the Standers-by because they saw no Force used to lift it up And tho' by such Tryals we may not be able to discover exactly the weight of the Atmosphere yet as a Famous Poet says Est quoddam prodire tenus si non datur ultra But were this Experiment Try'd at several Seasons in the Year and in several Climes as well as in Cylinders of a different Diameter it might render our Guesses more certain as to the Height and Gravity of the Atmosphere and whether it varies considerably at such distant times For the Place where the Foregoing Experiment was try'd was about 51 Degrees Latitude being try'd in the Winter and about the Change of the Moon But not to spend so much time as would be taken up with all the Reflections that might be made on the Foregoing Experiment I shall consider some few Inferences which may be drawn from them And First From the Rising of the Sucker and the Weights fix'd to it we may call in Question what some teach concerning Suction viz. That there is a sort of Endeavour to draw the Body suck'd in the Parts of that Body which is said to suck for tho' when we suck a thing with our Mouths there is a Manifest Endeavour of our Mouth to draw the Body suck'd yet the Cavity of the Cylinder is not so dispos'd by any Endeavour in the Glass-Tube Nor can the Ascent of the Sucker be attributed to any sucking Force of every Part included in the upper Part of the Cylinder since it appears not how such Aery Particles should be hook'd in the Pores of the Sucker or how they should be able to raise such a Weight Nay that those Particles of Air do not draw it up is further evident since by admitting more Air in that supposititious sucking Quality is diminish'd and not increas'd And for the same Reason it is evident that it cannot proceed from a fuga Vacui for there is the same Reason for an Endeavour to prevent a Vacuum tho' a little more Air be let in as there was before since there still remains a Vacuity Nor can the weaken'd Attraction upon letting in of Air be attributed to the Resistance of the Vacuity but rather the Spring of the included Air since when in the former Experiment it was plain that the rising of the Sucker and Weights was not obstructed by the Cavity of the Cylinder when void of Air. Considerations concerning a Vacuum But to proceed From hence further we may be directed what to think of Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum which hath been so long held as an Axiom in the Schools For besides that the Insensible Parts of Matter can neither have Sense to perceive any ill consequences in the Universe which would ensue a Vacuum nor be able to know how as Intelligent Parts of Matter to prevent it for if they did Nature may be said in a great many Cases to act very irrationally to effect her Designs since in the XXXII d Experiment instead of rushing into the Receiver she less cautiously rais'd up the Valve and kept her self out But I say besides the Insensibility of Matter it may farther be urg'd against that Axiom that the Endeavour which those Bodies may seem to have rather is to fill than to prevent a Vacuum since upon the drawing down of that Valve the Air which rush'd in could not prevent what was already in Being Besides in our XIXth Experiment it might be demanded Why the Water which descended into the Tube upon the Exsuction of the Air did not rather keep it's place to prevent a Vacuum or why for the same Reason it did not ascend before the Re-ingress of the Air. Moreover the Air may rather be said to rush in again as being impell'd by the Spring of the Neighbouring Air than a Design to fill the Vacuities since from our XVIIth Experiment it appears That when the Receiver was suppos'd to be full we could by the help of the Sucker find the Spring of Subsequent Air impell'd by it still force more into it and even in Wind-Guns it is manifest that the Air compress'd as much as it is in our Receiver may be squeez'd into half the Room And from the foremention'd Experiments it may further be deduc'd That the Reason why Metaphorically speaking Bodies may seem to forget their own Natures to shun a Vacuum seems to consist in this viz. that the Weight of the incumbent Water or the Pressure of the subjacent Air were not strong enough to press down or buoy up one another for from our Nineteenth Experiment it appear'd that when the Pressure of the Air was taken away the Weight of the Water it self was sufficient to make it subside tho it left no Air behind it But further from this
Bubble the Weight of the Air included in the Bubble brought the Balance to an Aequilibrium when the Air was drawn out which Aequilibrium was again lost upon a reingress of it so that had the Air been wholly exhausted the Air contain'd in the Bubble might probably have weigh'd a whole Grain and to prove that the Weight of the Air did really depress the Balance to which the Bubble was fix'd we exhausted the Receiver when the Neck of the Bubble was open and did not perceive that End of the Balance in the least to preponderate But a Lamb's Bladder being equally pois'd with a correspondent Weight manifestly weigh'd down the Balance tho the Air included in it was considerably expanded when the Air was pump'd out of the Receiver The Penetrating power of some Spirits above that of the Air. But once having caus'd the Pump to be ply'd longer than ordinary the Air contain'd in a Glass Bubble expanded it self so powerfully as to cause the sides of it to fly in pieces which is a strong Argument of the Closeness of the Pores of the Glass which are too fine to permit the Air to pass through them And for a further Proof of the imperviousness of Glass even by so minute Particles as those of the Air I shall add that in all the Tryals I ever made I but once found that a Spirit whose Parts are much more subtle and volatile than Air I say I but once found that a Spirit drawn from a Substance abounding with volatile Salts and subtle Spirits made way through the Pores of the Receiver which unusual Phenomenon probably depended on the brisk Agitation of those spirituous Parts encreas'd by the more than ordinary Heat with which they were rais'd for the Motion of them was so violent as to fill the Receiver and almost burst it with their impetuous Steams so that the Pores of the Glass being open'd with the violent Heat several of them penetrated those Pores and appear'd on the outside of the Glass Why the Parts of the Air are more indispos'd to pass through the Pores of some Bodies than others But tho' by some the Particles of the Air are thought to be able to penetrate Glass yet by others they are thought to be Grosser than Water since from the following Experiment it appears that Water is capable of penetrating Bodies and of being compress'd into their Pores which Air is not For having conveigh'd a small Bubble of Water into the longer Leg of a Syphon whose Orifice was as small as a Pin that Air being incapable of passing through so small a Pore kept the Water above it suspended in the Tube but as soon as that Bubble by blowing into the wider Orifice of the short Leg was compress'd and squeez'd out Water pass'd through that small Orifice without any other force than the Weight of that which lay upon it And the Inability of Air to pass through such Pores which Water will readily enough will be further evinc'd by holding Water in a Tube the lower End of which being very narrow and perforated with a Pore no longer than a Hair for the Water will readily pass through it but if the Tube be inverted the Water in the narrower End of that Pipe will be suspended as if the End were wholly unperforated the Air not being able to get through so small a Passage And that Water will pass through Pores which Air will not may be further evinc'd by putting a little Alkalizate Salt into a Lamb's Bladder for by wetting the End of the Bladder on the outside the Water passing through it's Pores will presently dissolve that Salt The force of the Air 's Expansion But to return to what we have hinted before concerning the Expansion of Air in a Bubble so violently as to break it the Learn'd Jesuit Cabaeus says he saw a Pillar so thick that three Men could not grasp it and that 1000 Yoke of Oxen could not tear it in Pieces yet the Air included in the Crannies of it so violently expanded upon the burning of a Fire near it that it flew in pieces tho' the Pillar was made of so solid Stones as Marble And as for the Reason why sometimes the Bubbles included in our Receiver did not break as at others it probably proceeded from the Air 's Expansion by Heat when they were seal'd the included Air upon a Removal of that Heat contracting it self and losing part of it's Springiness but this Guess we cannot wholly rely on But The Weight of the Air. To determine more exactly the Weight of the Air we heated an Aeolipile of Copper as hot as we could conveniently and removing it from the Fire we stopp'd the Neck with hard Wax to keep out the Air which being Weigh'd when cold counterpois'd six Ounces six Drachms and Thirty nine Grains but the Air being permitted to rush in by perforating the Wax with a Needle the Aeolipile and Wax balanced an additional Weight of 11 Grains so that the Weight of so much Air as fill'd the Cavity of it weigh'd half a Scruple and a Grain And tho' Mersennus affirms that he had rarifi'd the Air to seventy times its Bulk in an Aeolipile yet I must confess it seems impossible to me except the Metal his were made of would bear a much greater Degree of Heat without melting than ours would to rarifie and expel the Air contain'd in them Besides the Method he took seems much less exact than ours since he weigh'd the Aeolipile whilst hot which might throw off a Considerable Quantity of Scales as we have often observ'd the Weight of which in weighing so light a Body as Air might be considerable Proportion betwixt the Weight of Air and Water c. As for the Difference in the Weight of an equal proportion of Air and Water tho' Ricciolus and Galileo have by different Methods made very different Computations and Mersennus hath asserted it to be as 1300 to 1. Yet by the most accurate Computation we could make in our Aeolipile the difference appear'd to be no more than as 1 to 938. I shall not wholly reject what Mersennus relates but rather endeavour to reconcile the Difference by representing that my Observations were not only made in this Climate in London where it is much colder than at Paris but also at a time when the Air was condens'd by the Winter 's Cold at which time it may be suppos'd to be a fifth Part heavier than at Paris when Mersennus made his Observations Wherefore it would be of no small use to make such Observations in several Countries and at several Seasons of the Year Conjectures concerning the Height of the Atmosphere Having said thus much about the Weight of the Air it may perhaps be expected that I should by the Assistance of the Observations already deliver'd determine the Height of the Atmosphere from whence the Pressure of the Air proceeds But tho' it may be no difficult Task to
Light to proceed from some Refractions from the Glass darkned within by those white Steams Secondly That since the Air abounds with Parts gross enough to appear in the Sun-beams and to reflect the Rays of Light which rise from Bonfires the Reflection might proceed from some gross Airy Parts within the Receiver Thirdly The Whiteness seem'd to proceed from the various Surfaces of the airy Parts reflecting one upon another like Looking-glasses so as to represent each other contiguous so Water or Eggs beaten to Froth lose their Transparency and appear white But further having immers'd the Neck of our Receiver in Water and set the Pump on work the Water being drawn in through a small Hole had its Parts so broken that the Receiver appear'd full of Milk rather than Water And if a Piece of Crystal be thrown very hot into cold Water it will crack and having so many new Surfaces within appears white Which Things being consider'd and weigh'd it may not be an improbable Guess That the aforementioned Phaenomena proceeded from the Parts of the Air displac'd as to their Posture and Situation as whilst in that Motion to disturb their former Continuity and Transparency And this Conjecture may be made probable by observing That the more Air was included the more conspicuous was the Whiteness but more especially by this viz. That having exhausted the Receiver and apply'd a Glass Bubble to the Hole in the Stop-cock so that there might be a Communication betwixt the Cavity of the Receiver and it upon the Exsuction of the Air out of the Receiver the Air in the Bubble was so disorder'd by so sudden a Disilition of it's Parts that it appear'd like Milk but upon a sudden Re-ingress of the Air became transparent again But if it should be objected That the Whiteness in Water turn'd into Bubbles may proceed from the Interposition of so Heterogeneous a Body as Air I should answer That I have in another Place mentioned two volatile Liquors which being mix'd produce a white consistent Body though both the Ingredients were transparent But having convey'd some Smoak into our Receiver and observ'd upon plying of the Pump That the Air remaining in the Pump became opacous we suspected that the Reason why the former mentioned Light sometimes appear'd and sometimes did not might proceed from some Parts of Matter swimming in the Air more at one time than another which was dispos'd more to cause such Reflections of the Rays of Light as to afford the fore-named Phaenomenon which is rendred probable by observing That the Receiver appear'd opaque when the Smoak settl'd about the Sides of it and it may further be illustrated by what we mentioned before of our smoaking Liquor where the Corpuscles of it being put into a new Motion became opacous instead of transparent And if it should be asked How the Air should abound with such various Parts of Matter I must answer That it is not an unusual Observation That the Air undergoes several and very frequent Changes for besides several Instances which might be added the Learned Josephus Acosta observes That in America There are Winds which naturally trouble the Water of the Sea and make it Green and Black others clear as Crystal Besides we observ'd That the Pendula as well as Scales suspended in our Receiver lost a great deal of their Brightness upon drawing out and letting in the Air. And I once made a Tincture of a certain Metalline Substance which would become turbid and clear successively for several times for which strange Phaenomenon no Reason could be given EXPERIMENT XXXVIII Of the freezing of Water and it's Expansion HAVING conveyed a Glass Vessel into our Receiver in the midst of which was contained a Cylinder filled with Water and enclosed with Snow and Salt upon plying of the Pump the Snow began to melt a little faster than we expected and the Receiver being pretty well exhausted the Water in the Cylinder began to freeze so that in a little time the Surface of the Ice was above that of the Water in which the Snow and Salt was dissolved and which swam about it The Superficies of the Water was concave and being held betwixt the Eye and the Light appear'd full of Bubbles And it is not a little strange That there should be so powerful an Expansion in Water froze as not only to burst Bottles in the Winter-time but as I am inform'd to separate the solid Parts of Metals so that Bell-Metal having been expos'd to the Wet and that Wet froze in the Pores of the Metal it would fly in Pieces and Cabeus in lib. 4. Meteor Aristot relates a no less memorable Account of Vessels made of Stone which would fly asunder upon the Expansion of the Moisture lodged in their Pores and froze there Where it is not a little strange That Cold should by freezing Water cause it to swell whereas the Effect it hath upon the Air is manifestly to condense it EXPERIMENT XXXIX A Phaenomenon taken notice of in the exhausted Receiver HAving put the End of a Glass Tube into an Oval Glass so that it almost touched the Bottom we cemented it to the Neck of that Oval and then conveying about six Spoons full of Water into the Egg we blew it so full of Air as to force the Water into the Pipe and to keep it suspended betwixt that Air shut up in the Viol and the external Air this Weather-glass represented by the Fourteenth Figure was plac'd in a small Receiver at the upper End of the Tube which was small being permitted to stand about five Inches above the Cover the middle of which it penetrated Upon pumping out the Air it was to be observ'd That the Water in the Pipe manifestly descended which was an Argument that no Sensible Heat was produced in the Receiver by the Action of the Pump since by barely applying my Hand to the outside of the Receiver that gentle Warmth so far rarify'd the Air in the Egg as to enable it to raise the Water in the Tube much higher than it was depress'd upon the Exsuction of the Air Tho' we will not thence infer that the Cavity of the Receiver was colder after than before the Air was pump'd out since the Pressure of the Air in the Egg together with the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere might in some measure cause the sides of the Glass to give way for want of an equal Pressure of the Air on the Convex and external Superficies of it which Guess may seem the more probable not only because the Springiness of Glass might contribute to the bending of it but likewise since upon a Re-ingress of Air the Water was rais'd up to it's former Height again But to return to our Experiment From hence it appears That if there be no Vacuum betwixt the concave sides of the Receiver and the Superficies of the Bubble every Substance fine enough to penetrate the Pores of Glass hath not it's Parts in an Agitation
into a Bottle and immers'd the End of a Glass Tube a little below the Surface of it which was about 3 Foot long the Interstices betwixt the Neck of the Bottle and the Pipe were fill'd with Cement see Plate 6. Fig. 2. and the whole was conveigh'd into a Receiver See Plat. 6 Fig. 2. And because the Pipe was too long to be contain'd in the Receiver another made of White Glass was Cemented upon the former to the middle of whose Cavity the upper End of the Pipe extended so that the Motions of the rising Water had more Space to move in when the Pump was set on work where it was observable that upon the first Exsuction the Pressure of the external Air being taken off that contain'd in the Bottle expanded it self so powerfully as to raise the Water in the Tube with such Force that it flew violently against the Top of the Receiver but as the Air in the Bottle was leasurely expanded and came nearer to an Aequilibrium with that in the Receiver the Spring of that in the Bottle being less powerful the Water in the Tube gradually ceas'd in its Ascent unless the Pressure of the external Air was taken off by a fresh Exsuction In which Experiment the following Particulars were to be noted First that as the upper Orifice of the Tube was narrower the Water would rise slower and the Experiment would be longer continu'd Secondly If a Pipe be Cemented upon the Top of the Tube and branch'd out into several small ones with Pin-holes in the Ends of them the Water will fly out as out of Artificial Fountains in Grotto's Thirdly If the Bottle to whose Neck the Tube was Cemented was larger the Water would rise so much the longer and the Experiment might be reiterated by first letting in the Air again and then exhausting the Receiver by pumping it out afresh From the Phaenomena exhibited by this Expement it appears that the Spring of the Air was able to raise the Water in the Tube to a much greater Height than the Pipe we made use of Secondly From hence it appears that Water contain'd betwixt two Parcels of Air may be put into Motion by its Spring without the Concurrence of adventitious Heat Thirdly we observ'd That when the Air was in a great Measure exhausted the upper Receiver being taken off the external Air press'd the Water quite down to the Bottom of the Tube and several Bubbles getting through the Water joyned themselves with the Air in the Bottle But what was more strange was that when the Receiver had been taken off a considerable time several Bubbles of Air continu'd to make their way through the Water as if the Spring of the Included Air being before expanded could not be brought again to its former State of Compression but like a Balance put in Motion continu'd several successive Vibrations resisting each Impress of the Atmosphere But the Chief Remark in this Experiment was that the Salient Water in the Receiver form'd several large Lines some of which were Parabolical when the Receiver was pretty well exhausted EXPERIMENT V. About the Production of Heat by Attrâ—â—tion in the exhausted Receiver IT being the Opinion of some Learn'd Men that the Incalescence of solid Bodies depends on the Attrition or violent Agitation of the intercepted Air To try how far this might be true I caus'd a strong Spring of Iron or Steel See Plate the Sixth See Plate 6. Fig. 3. Fig. 3. Figur'd much like the Lathe of a Cross-bow to be fix'd to a staple Trencher On the upper Part of the Spring was fix'd a Concave Piece of Brass like a Burning-Glass about 2 Inches Diameter and moderately slender to the Concave Superficies of which was fix'd a Convex Piece of the same Metal which had a square Handle on the upper Part to which was fix'd a square piece of Wood the other End being fix'd to the Basis of a Wooden Pillar made use instead of our Vertical Cylinder and the upper End of this Pillar was fix'd to the Turn-Key being of such a Size that when the Stopple was depress'd into the Socket made in the Brass Cover the Concave and Convex Superficies of the two Pieces of Brass contain'd betwixt the Wooden Pillar and the Spring were squeez'd together and the Spring in some measure expanded All things being thus provided and a Mercurial Gange conveigh'd into the Receiver a Wimble was fix'd to the Top of the Stopple which being turn'd round for some time and the Air being exhausted out of the Receiver we presently took off the Cover and perceiv'd that the contiguous Superficies of the Pieces of Brass betwixt which we had laid some powder'd Amel to make them move more easily one upon another were sensibly warm And the Experiment being repeated a second time and the Air so far exhausted that the Mercury was no further depress'd they grew so hot that I could scarce endure to touch them and a considerable Degree of Warmth succeeded when the Experiment was try'd with two Pieces of Wood the one of Oak and the other of Beech. From which Experiment it appears that Attrition of Solids may cause a considerable Warmth when the Air betwixt their Superficies is exhausted EXPERIMENT VI. About the disjoyning of two Marbles not otherwise to be separated without a considerable Weight upon a Removal of the Pressure of the Air in the Receiver HAVING several times suspended two flat Polish'd Marbles whose contiguous Superficies were moistned with Oyl to keep the Air from getting in betwixt them upon a considerable Exsuction of the Air they would sometimes fall asunder in the Receiver at the eighteenth Suction and sometimes at the eighth tho' a Pound Weight was only suspended at the lower yet in the open Air where they were compress'd by the ambient Atmosphere they were able to sustain 80 Pound without separating But having provided a Receiver with a Brass Conver See Plate 6. Fig. 4. and suspended two Contiguous Marbles in it See Plate 6. Fig. 4. with a Weight of a few Ounces at the Bottom of the lowest the String which suspended them being fix'd to the Bottom of the Brass Stopple in the middle of the Cover by turning the Stopple and by that means shortning the String the Marbles were rais'd up in the Receiver but upon drawing out the Air they presently fell asunder yet having so contriv'd the Matter that the lower should not fall too far the other was let down to it and upon the Re-admission of the Air they were so closely compress'd together again that they could not be separated as easily as before Yet if by turning the Stopple the uppermost was rais'd before the Air was let in it would leave the lowermost behind it EXPERIMENT VII A way to break Flat Glass speedily by the Weight of the Atmosphere TO make it appear that the round Figure of a Body enables it to resist a more violent Pressure from the Atmosphere than Bodies otherwise shap'd
rose at the first Exsuction to the Top of the Pipe and when the Stop-cock was open'd it would run down through the Exhausting Brass Syphon From whence it appears that the Rise of Mercury depends not on Suction or a Fuga vacui whatever some Learned Men teach but is rais'd by the weight of the Atmosphere since a Baroscope consulted at the same time made it appear that the Atmosphere was able to suspend it at such a Height And as this is an Argument against those that dispute for a Fuga Vacui so it is against those that hold that it depends upon the Attraction of a Rarify'd Substance in the Top of the Pipe for tho' we could rarify the Air further by continuing the Action of the Pump yet the Mercury would not rise one jot higher ANNOTATION BUT the Syphon here mention'd being elsewhere made use of it may be requisite to Observe First The Pipe which bends so much is made of Metal to make it less subject to break Secondly The End of it which is joyn'd to the Stop-cock must be a little wider than any other Part to admit the Shank of the Stop-cock Thirdly The Cement which joyns the Brass Pipe and the Stop-cock being apt to be loose I rather make choice of one to which a Stop-cock is fix'd together with a Glass Syphon about 10 Inches high see Plate 5. Fig. 2. where the whole is represented And tho' this Additional Glass makes the Experiment longer and more tedious yet it is more useful and secure EXPERIMENT XIV The different Heights to which the Liquors may be elevated by Suction accordingly as their Specifick Gravity varies See Plate the Fifth Fig. the Third FROM Experiments already laid down it appearing to what Height Mercury may be rais'd in a Tube we may guess at what Height Water might be suspended by considering that it is 14 times lighter than the former But to be further satisfy'd I caus'd a small Pipe which branched it self into two see Plate the 5th Fig. the 3d So that a Cylinder being fix'd to each Branch the Liquors contain'd in the Vessels in which the lower End of the Pipe was immers'd would rise proportionably as their Specifick Gravity enabl'd them to resist the Pressure of the Atmosphere which being done and the Pump set on work Water rose in one of the Cylinders to 42 Inches and the Mercury in the other Tube not above 3 Inches so that the Water was fourteen times higher than the Mercury And to make the Experiment more satisfactory we let Air into the Receiver till the Water subsided to fourteen Inches and at the same time the Mercury was sunk to about an Inch for in this Experiment it was observ'd That the Proportion was not so exact as 1 to 14 precisely Specifies but thereabouts From this Experiment we may draw Arguments not only against what is taught concerning Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum but it may likewise more nicely inform us of the Specifick Gravity of Liquors For having put into one of the Vessels under the Glass Tubes Fresh Water and into the other Salt Water when the Fresh Water rose to 42 Inches the Salt Water was but 40 Inches high But having made use of a Brine made of Sea-salt melted in the Air instead of Salt Water when the Fresh Water was rais'd to 42 Inches the Brine did not exceed seven I likewise put into one of the Vessels when this Experiment was over a Solution of Pot-ashes and Common Water into the other and when the Water rose to 42 Inches the Solution was rais'd but to 30. EXPERIMENT XV. To what Heights Water and Mercury may be rais'd proportionably to their Specifick Gravities HAving put Mercury into a Bottle and pour'd Water into the Bottle upon the Mercury we immers'd one Pipe so low as to have it's End in the Mercury and another Pipe was likewise immers'd in the Water only which being fix'd by the help of a Cement in the Neck of the Bottle the whole was convey'd into the Engin and the Pipes being each divided into Inches by hard Wax with which they were mark'd we observ'd that the Water rose 15 times as high as the Quick-silver EXPERIMENT XVI The Former Experiment Illustrated HAving put Mercury into a short Tube and Water into one that was longer both of them being Hermetically seal'd at one End we inverted them both the End of each resting in a Distinct Vessel which being convey'd into the Receiver the Water in the Cylinder did not in the least subside till by Pumping out the Air the Mercury subsided within 3 Inches of the Bottom which was sooner than it ought according to Statical Rules which we conceiv'd to proceed from some Aiery Parts lodg'd in the Pores of the Water which rising to the Top of the Cylinder depress'd it by their Spring yet the Water when the Mercury subsided to the Height of an Inch was near as high as before EXPERIMENT XVII The greatest Height to which Water may be rais'd by Suction c. TO try how high Water might be rais'd by Suction in a Pump I provided a long Tube about thirty Foot long being made of several Tin Pipes closely joyn'd together with Soder and cover'd over with a Black Cement which to keep it from sticking to our Hands we cover'd with Plaster of Paris To the upper End of this Pipe was fix'd a Glass Tube about three Foot long and to the Top of that was fix'd another Pipe consisting of two pieces which made a right Angle with each other part of which was Parallel to the Horizon See Plate the Seventh Fig. 1. and the other Perpendicular the lower End being fix'd to the Engin which was plac'd upon a Flat-roofed House And a Vessel fill'd with Water being put under the End of the Pipe below the Pump was set on work and the Water after a few Exsuctions was rais'd to the middle of the Glass Tube emitting several Bubbles which proceeded from the Air formerly lodg'd in the Pores of the Water But the chief Aim of our Experiment being only to try to what Height the Water could be rais'd I caus'd the Pump to be nimbly ply'd till the Water could rise no higher which being done and the Height of the Water measur'd by a String we found it to be 33 Foot and about six Inches Quick-silver in a Baroscope at the same time standing at 29 Inches and about 3 eights of an Inch so that the Water was near fourteen times as high as the Mercury In which Experiment that the upper part of the Tube was sufficiently exhausted appear'd from several Circumstances as First If any Air got in at Crannies in the Pipe it would rise in Bubbles easily to be distinguish'd from those which rose from the Pores of the Water and tho' the Quantity of those Bubbles was considerable yet more Air being thrown out by the Pump than could get in it must needs be empty enough But In this Experiment
it was to be noted That when first the Water appear'd in the Glass Tube they would be very numerous and form a Froth yet when the Pumping was further continu'd they grew less and less Secondly we observ'd that the Water made several Vibrations in it's Rise which tho' near a Foot at the first grew less and less Thirdly it may be observ'd that the Baroscope consulted before some time after was noted to have risen considerably so that had the Experiment been repeated again the Water would have been buoy'd up a good deal higher Now from this Experiment it appears how improbable it is what some Men teach concerning the Rise of Water in Spiral Pipes up to the Top of high Mountains since it is evident that it cannot be drawn higher than 36 Foot by a Sucking Pump EXPERIMENT XVIII About the Bending of a Springy Body in the Exhausted Receiver TO be satisfy'd how much the Elasticity of Bodies depends on the Influence of the Air I fix'd one End of a Whale-bone in a Trencher and ty'd a Weight to the other by which it was bent so low as almost to touch the Plane under it This being convey'd into our Receiver upon the Exhausting of the Receiver I could not perceive any Alteration EXPERIMENT XIX Concerning the making of Mercurial Gauges whereby to estimate how much the Receiver is exhausted SEveral Gauges have been made use of to discover when the Receiver is well exhausted as by suspending a Bladder which is almost empty of Air or by inverting a small Tube in which Spirit of Wine was contain'd but the former taking up too much Room in the Receiver and the latter not discovering whether the Receiver was exhausted or not till the Air contain'd was too much Rarefi'd for any Considerable Observations Therefore to enable me to make more Observations in the several Degrees of the Receiver's Exsuction I took a slender Pipe of Glass about 10 Inches long and as small as a Goose Quill and having melted it at a flame so as to soften it and make it apt to be bent I caus'd it to be put into the Form represented by Plate 5. Fig. 4. so that about an Inch of the lower Leg being fill'd with Air See Plate 5â— Fig. 4. and the rest of that as well as the greatest Part of the short one being fill'd with Quicksilver the Expansion of that Air might easily be perceiv'd by pasting a Piece of Paper upon that Tube divided into several exact Parts for as the Receiver is more or less expanded the Air in the longer Leg of the Gage will be extended to some of those Marks and if when the Air is so expanded the Experimenter desires to know at each of those Marks how much the Receiver is exhausted it will appear by letting in as much Water as the Capacity of the Receiver is able at that time to hold so that if when the Air is at any determinate Mark the Water be let in and it appears that the Air in the Receiver was so far Evacuated by observing how much Water will be admitted when the Air is expanded to each Mark the Gage for the future will not only inform us how much the Air is exhausted but by the help of the small Gage a larger may be made by putting both into an exhausted Receiver at once for by observing when the Air is expanded to each Mark in the little one how far it is expanded in the large one we may learn how much the Receiver is exhausted for the future by taking notice of the Expansion of the Air in the Leg of that larger Gage And This Gage is much more useful than some others First because the Mercury being a heavy Body the Air by expanding it self is less apt to make it run over or to make it's way in the Form of Bubbles through the Mercurial Cylinder as it would if other Fluids were made use of instead of it Secondly The longer Leg of the Gage is to be mark'd by sticking Wax or Knobs of Glass to the Pipe every Tenth being of a different Colour from the rest at equal Distances from each other which Divisions will be less subject to be rubb'd off than Papers which are also subject in some Experiments to be wet Thirdly The Leg of the Syphon in which the Air is included may be either seal'd up before it is divided by the aforemention'd Marks or after by drawing out the End of the Tube into a small Apex and when about an Inch of the Pipe is fill'd with Air it may be seal'd up by blowing a Lamp Horizontally upon the Apex Fourthly Where very Nice Observations are to be made and the Receiver admits of a longer Gage instead of Mercury we may make use of a Tincture of Roses or of Spirit of Wine with Cocheneel in which the Exsuction of the Air will be more nicely represented Fifthly We may vary the Mercurial Gage by ordering the shorter Leg so that it may have a Bubble about half an Inch Diameter at an Inch distance from the Basis of that Leg which Bubble must have a Pipe upon the upper Part of it to give way to the Air which Bubble hath this Advantage above the other that less Air may be contain'd in the Top of the longer Leg since the Mercury not being capable of being rais'd so high the Rarefaction of the included Air will be render'd more apt to be estimated by the Eye Sixthly This Gage is much more useful than those mention'd by other Authors because it gives us an Account of the several Degrees of the Air 's Rarefaction EXPERIMENT XX. An easie way to make the Pressure of the Air sensible to the Touch. The Pressure of the Air sensible to the Touch. THE Pressure of the Air will be made sensible to the Touch if a Tapering Tube of Brass whose Cavity at one end is an Inch and the other two Inches and an half wide be fix'd to the Pump instead of a Receiver for if when the larger Orifice is Cemented on the Pump one presses the Palm of ones Hand upon the smaller Orifice and the Pump be set on Work it will be a difficult Matter to take off ones Hand and not a little painful but the Pressure of the Incumbent Atmosphere will have a much more sensible Effect if the larger Orifice be upwards instead of the smaller EXPERIMENT XXI About the subsiding of Mercury in the Tube of the Torrecellian Experiment to the Level with the Superficies of the Stagnant Mercury THE lower Part of the Ball of a Bolt-head being circularly cut off we made use of it for a Receiver including a Baroscope in it and upon the first Exsuction the Mercury subsided from 29 Inches to 9 or 10 and by three Exsuctions more would be brought to a Level with the Stagnant Mercury but would rise to it's first Station again as the Air was admitted in flower or faster In which Experiment it is to be noted First
Pillars to which the Feather is fastened being joyn'd to the upper Basis of the Bellows with Cement we fix'd a Weight to the Lower Basis and convey'd it into the Receiver See Fig. the Eighth where we observ'd upon the exhausting of the Receiver that the Air in the Bellows rais'd up the upper Basis together with it's Weight and the Air rising out at the Vent manifestly mov'd the Feather But when the Receiver was quite exhausted and the Weight upon the Upper Basis depress'd it violently we could not perceive that the Feather was in the least mov'd and the like was observ'd upon repeating the Experiment EXPERIMENT XXXVI The great and seeming Spontaneous Ascent of Water in a Pipe filled with a Compact Body whose Particles are thought incapable of imbibing it WE took a slender Pipe and having ty'd a Linen-cloth to the Iower Orifice we fill'd it with Minium and immerging it in Water in a Wide-mouth'd Glass about an Inch the Water ascended about 30 Inches and the Experiment being again repeated in another it rose 40 Inches In which kind of Experiments the following Particulars were to be observ'd First That other Powders being made use of instead of this the Experiment did not succeed so well nor was the Success much better when we made use of Ink instead of Water Secondly Our Experiment succeeded the better the finer and closer the Minium was But if the Pipe be too small the Event will not always be successful Thirdly We observ'd That the Water ascends not to it 's utmost under 30 Hours and sometimes longer Fourthly From hence it appears That the Water in our Tube rose without any swelling of the sides of the Tube which some Learn'd Men ascribe the Cause of Water's Rising in Filtres to Fifthly From hence it may be urg'd as probable That the Sap in Trees may rise after the like manner being promoted by Heat and a due Texture of Parts EXPERIMENT XXXVII Of the seeming spontaneous Ascent of Salts along the sides of Glasses with a Conjecture at the Cause of it I Have several times observ'd that the watery Part of a Solution of Sea-Salt or Vitriol being evaporated the coagulated Salts would creep up the sides of wide-mouth'd Glasses in which the Solution was contain'd and not only so but if the Experiment were longer continu'd they would rise over the sides of the Glass and cover the external Superficies with a Crust of Salt As for the Cause of so strange a Phaenomenon tho' I will not be positive in it yet it may not improbably depend on the like Cause as the Ascent of Water in the Tube mention'd in the foregoing Experiment For we may observe that the Edges of Water are not only above the Superficies of the rest of the Water but Sea-Salt as well as several others chrystallize at the Top of the Liquor they swim in and near the sides of the Glass their Coagulation being promoted by the Coldness of it which Salts when once the sides of the Glass is beset with them the Water may rise to the Top for the same Reason that it does in the slender Pipe before mention'd and Salts carri'd up to the Top of those and coagulating there still lay a further Bottom for their Ascent and so successively till they rise to the Top of the Viol And that there are Passages betwixt these saline Parts for the Water to ascend through appears since they may be broke off in Flakes separate from each other And if it should be thought that the Water in such an Ascent would dissolve the Salt it may be answer'd that the Water being so much impregnated with Salt already can imbibe no more and consequently for that Reason when it runs down the outsides of the Vessels coagulates by the way being too thick and full of Salts to continue long fluid EXPERIMENT XXXVIII An Attempt to measure the Gravity of Cylinders of the Atmosphere so that it may be known and express'd by common Weights The Weight of a Pillar of Air of a determinate size BEING desirous to know what was the Weight of an Atmospherical Cylinder of Air of a determinate Diameter I caus'd a Pipe to be made of Brass whose Diameter was an Inch and it's Length three one End of which being clos'd up with a Plate of Brass I counterpois'd it in a nice pair of Scales and found that it was able to contain about 137 Drachms 45 Grains of Mercury which being multiply'd by Tens a Cylinder of Mercury of 30 Inches and consequently an Atmospherical Cylinder able to counterpoise it must amount to 12 Ounces and about 6 Drachms And by weighing Water in this Tube before the Mercury was put into it the Water weighing 10 Drachms 15 Grains the Proportion of Water to Mercury seem'd as 13 18 41 to 1. But in estimating the Weight of a Cylindrical Pillar of Air it may be here requisite to advertise that I made use of a Brass Cylinder because the Cavities of a Glass Tube are unfit for such an Experiment since it is a hard thing to know whether the Bore of such Tubes be equal throughout their Diameter The Weight of a Cylinder of Mercury being thus found it will not be very difficult to know the Weight of a Cylinder of a different Diameter by the Assistance of the Doctrin of Proportions and the 14th Proposition of the 12th Book of Euclids Elements For since according to that Cylinders of equal Bases are to one another as to their Heights and since by the second Proposition of the same Element such Circles as the Bases of Cylinders are to one another as the Squares of their Diameters and since Mercurial Cylinders will bear the same Proportion in Weights as they do in Bulk The Rule will be That as the Square of the Diameter of the Standard Cylinder is to the Square of the Diameter of the Cylinder propos'd so will the Bulk of the former be to that of the latter and the Weight of that to the Weight of this so that the Square of one Inch being 1 and the Square of 2 being four the Weight of the latter will be four times the Weight of the former EXPERIMENT XXXIX The Attractive Virtue of a Load-Stone in the Exhausted Receiver TO try how far the Account given of the Attraction of a Load-Stone depended on what some Modern Philosophers teach viz. That the Effluvia of a Load-Stone pressing away the Air betwixt the Body attracted that Air helps the Attraction by pressing against the opsite side of the Stone We plac'd a vigorous Load-Stone in our Receiver having adapted a Cap of Steel to it to the lower side of which a Scale with 6 Ounces of Troy Weight was fix'd which being all the Load-Stone besides the Steel and the Scale was able to keep up all which being suspended at a Button which was on purpose on the inside of the Cover of the Receiver we observ'd that tho' the Receiver was exhausted as much again as
condensed is able to lift up more than the Air in it's Natural State 3. When the Bladder was taken out of the Cylinder the Figure of it was proportionable to the Cavity which it was contained in being 2 Inches Diameter and 2 Inches and ½ long 4. From the Experiments now mentioned it appears that the Air is able at it's first Expansion to raise a Weight proportionably larger according to the different Bores of the Cylinders made use of but when it hath been a little more Expanded the Proportion is not so exact because a small Quantity of Air being to fill up ¼ or ½ part of an Inch more the smaller Quantity of Air must be much more rarified and consequently lose of it's expansive Force But comparing the expansive Force of Air in different Bores at it's first Expansion some may think the Proportion not exact since the small Bladder being able to raise no more but 10 Pound and the Weight which the larger raises being 42 it is more than a Duplicate Proportion-of what our Hypothesis requires but if we consider that comparing the Diameter of each Cylinder the Bladder in the less proportion ably takes up more Room than in the larger it may be sufficient to account for the Difference 5. Considering that the Bladders in which Air is Included may straiten the Cavities of the Cylinders the expansive Force of the Air might be more exactly determined could Cylinders be contrived stanch enough without such helps 6. And it will not a little contribute to render the Force of the Air 's Spring difficult to be determined that the Air it self at different times varies in it's degrees of Pressure Yet from what hath been said it seems probable that were it possible to contrive an exact Cylinder very tite one of an Inch Bore would be able to raise above 10 pound Weight EXPERIMENT X. An easie way of making a small Quantity of Included Air raise 50 or 60 Pound or a greater Weight in the Exhausted Receiver TO demonstrate more obviously the Air 's Spring we took a * See Plate the second Fig. 4. Brass Cylinder whose Depth was 4 Inches and it's Diameter 4 Inches and ¾ to which we adapted a †See Plate short Plug to whose upper Basis was fixed a broad Rim for Weights to stand on more firmly which being done we pressed a Bladder into the Cylinder that it might adapt it self to the Cavity of it and then observing how much the Plug was above the surface of the Cylinder we laid the Weights upon it see Plate the 2d Figure the 5th and observed that the Air in a Cylinder about 4 Inches broad lifted up 75 pound at the 5 Exsuction so high that one might discern the Mark See Plate 2. Fig. 5. and at 2 Exsuctions more it was elevated 3 10 above the Top of the Cylinder and at the same time in a Mercurial Gage the Mercury that usually stood at ⅛ above the highest Glass Mark subsided to ⅛ below the Second When the Air was let into the Receiver again after some time the Bladder subsided again and being taken out exactly answered the Cavity of the Cylinder The Receiver being again exhausted at the 24th Exsuction the Mercury in the Gage was depressed to the lowest Mark and at the 35th to ⅛ below it And the former Experiment being tryed in a small Receiver in which we heaped flat Weights one upon another the Air raised 100 pound Weight and would probably have raised much more had it not been that the Bladder was so much strained as to give way for some Air to get out at a Leak And here it may not be improper to advertise that the Orifices of such Receivers must not be very wide for if they be they will be subject to be crack'd by the violent external Pressure of the Atmosphere EXPERIMENT XI TO Compare the Gravity of Air and Water I weighed a Glass Bubble in the Receiver which I found to weigh above half a Grain more in the exhausted Receiver than before the Air was drawn out and this Bubble being weighed in the open Air counterpoised 68 Grains and an half upon which the Bubble being immersed in Water we found that the Air in it had been so far rarified by the Heat employed in sealing it up that the Nip being broke off it sucked in 125 Grains of Water the Glass together with the Water sucked into it weighing 193 ½ Grains The whole Cavity of the Bubble being large enough to contain 739 Grains of Water it weighing 807 ½ Grains so that the Proportion betwixt the Weight of the Air and Water did not quite amount to 1228 to 1. Having weighed a Glass Bubble in the Receiver whose Weight was 60 Grains the Air contained in it in Vacuo weighed 27 92 of a Grain and the Weight of such a Quantity of Water as it would contain weighed 720 ¼ Grains In which Experiment the Proportion of Air to Water in Weight was as 857 17 27 to one But Galileo says Water is but 400 times heavier than Water tho' Ricciolus is as much mistaken on the other side who says it is 10000 times heavier To inform my self further of the Weight of the Air I took the following Measures having exhausted a Receiver and when it was void of Air counterballanced it upon turning the Stop-Cock and a Reingress of Air it weighed 36 Grains more than before which succeeded when tryed a second time and likewise a third And then the Receiver being exhausted was immersed in Water and the Stop-Cock turn'd to give way to an Ingress of Water and when as much Water as was able to enter into the Receiver had succeeded in the Place of the exhausted Air we turned the Cock again to keep that Water in and the Receiver being again weighed the Water weighed 47 Ounces 3 Drachms and 6 Grains so that the Water was heavier than its bulk of Air near 650 Grains the Mercury in a Baroscope at the same time being boyed up to 29 Inches ¾ so that the Weight and condensed state of the Atmosphere being greater then than usually was the Reason why the Disproportion was not as great as at other times tho' we may reasonably suspect that the Quantity of Air contained in the Pores of the Water joyning with that in the Receiver might hinder so much Water from getting in as was requisite to fill the Space deserted by the Exhausted Air besides several Particles of Air might probably get in at the Stop-Cock whilst the Experiment was trying which joyning with the Air remaining in the Receiver might contribute to prevent a sufficient Ingress of Water From all which Experiments it appears that tho' the Weight of the Atmosphere is so various that it is impossible to know exactly the Proportion betwixt it and Water yet it is evident that Water is to Air some Number betwixt 600 and 1100 to 1 being greater or less as the Atmosphere is more or less condensed But
suspended by a Wire in the Neck in 2 ½ hours we found it dead and with much ado recover'd when Air was blown in with a pair of Bellows the seal'd end of the Glass being broken off The Station of the Mercury in the Receiver was not alter'd EXPERIMENT II. THE same Experiment being try'd with a small Bird in half an hour it was sick and drooping and in 2 ½ hours a difficulty of breathing gradually increasing it dy'd The Gage was not sensibly alter'd EXPERIMENT III. TO shew that it is not a defect of Cold in an exhausted Receiver that kills Animals included in it We hermetically seal'd a small Bird in a Receiver large enough to hold 3 Quarts of Water In a few Minutes it began to be sick and pant and continu'd so half an hour The Viol was immers'd 6 Minutes in Water refrigerated with a Solution of Sal Armon but the Bird was not refresh'd it vomited and purg'd when taken out of the Water and continuing to pant as before in an hour from her first Imprisonment dy'd TITLE VI. Of the Use of the Air to elevate Steams of Bodies The usefulness of Air to raise Steams from Bodies contiguous to it TO prove that the Air carries off the fuliginous Steams from the Lungs in Respiration We prepar'd a Red Liquor consisting of such Saline and Spirituous Parts as the Mass of Blood yields This Liquor well stopp'd up in a Bottle tho' it be but half full emits no Steams but when the External Air comes to it it emits white Exhalations which rise up into the Air. Whence it appears that the Contact of the Air may enable Bodies to emit Vapors In this Liquor there are two things worth our Notice the First is that when the Viol hath lain quiet and stopp'd a competent time the upper Part will appear void of Fumes so that the Air will retain but a certain Quantity which may help to give a Reason why the same Air which will be clogg'd with Steams in a short time becomes unfit for Respiration The Second is that in Vacuo for want of Air tho' the Bottle was unstopp'd these Exhalations would not rise but as soon as it was let into the Receiver they rising up plentifully were drawn out along with the Air a second time exhausted This Experiment hath some Affinity with that Mentioned in the 29 of the Experiments of the Spring and the weight of the Air in the first Volume that being made with Corrosive Ingredients and this of Medicines good for the Lungs TITLE XVII Of the long Continuance of a Slow-worm and a Leech alive in the Vacuum made by our Engin. EXPERIMENT I. A Slow-worm and a Leech alive in Vacuo WHite Snails without their Shells being shut up in Vacuo had store of Bubbles sticking to them but they put out and drew in their Horns at pleasure in some Hours they became void of Motion and Tumid And in the space of Twelve hours seem'd like blown Bladders the substance of their Bodies being consumed The External Air being let in they sunk together like two Skins no signs of Life appearing EXPERIMENT II. ANEft being included in an Exhausted Receiver 48 hours it seem'd swelled in it's Belly it 's under Jaw moved the first Night but not after The Receiver being opened under Water and half filled the Animal was very much revived EXPERIMENT III. A Leech being included with a little Water in a Receiver large enough to hold 12 Ounces when the Air was Pumped out the Leech keeping under Water several Bubbles rose from distinct parts of it's Body yet it was not much indisposed It continuing well five days by opening the Receiver under Water I found that it had been all the time well exhausted TITLE XVIII Of what happen'd to some Creeping Insects in our Vacum EXPERIMENT I. SIX Caterpillers being shut up in Vacuo two hours after Creeping Insects in Vacuo moved up and down 8 hours after they seemed quite dead but being exposed to the Air in the Morning were alive EXPERIMENT II. CAterpillers being Shut up in two Receivers to one we added the Air which was drawn out of the other Receiver Those which had Air with them were alive two days the others in Vacuo seem'd dead in a little time TITLE XIX Of the Phaenomena suggested by Winged Insects in our Vacum EXPERIMENT I. Winged Insects in Vacuo FLesh-Flies whose head were cut off being included in a Portable Receiver furnished with a large Pipe and a Bubble at the end of it When the Air was drawn out they lost their Motion two hours after Fire not being able to excite Motion in them I let in the Air and then they began to move and were observed to move the next Morning EXPERIMENT II. SEveral Ordinary Flies and a Bee or Wasp lay as if dead in the exhausted Receiver except some which for a few Minutes were Convulsive after 48 hours they neither Recovered when exposed to the open Air nor the Meridian Sun EXPERIMENT III. A great Flesh Flye being put into a Portable Receiver was very brisk and lively till the Air was drawn off but then was taken with Convulsions the Air being let in again she Recovered but it being a second time exhausted she lay as dead till the Glass was stirred and then she moved a little the next Night after neither heat nor any thing else would recover her of a long time but at the last when she was well being shut up again 48 hours and placed in a Warm place she grew so ill as to be past Recovery EXPERIMENT IV. A Grass-hopper whose Body was an Inch long being shut up in an oval receiver large enough to hold a Pint when the Pump was first Plyed he was very uneasie and several Liquid drops came from his Abdomen to the quantity of a quarter of a Spoonful when the Receiver was pretty well exhausted he fell on his back and lay as dead But the Receiver being plac'd in the Sun-shine he moved a little and soon after lay as dead 3 hours But the Receiver being open'd and placed after he seem'd dead half an hour some time in the Sun beams in a short time he recovered EXPERIMENT V. A Rose-Flie being shut up in a receiver strugled much whilst the Receiver was exhausting but in 6 hours time seem'd dead the Receiver being opened Four hours after the Beetle was lively enough The Receiver being a Second time exhausted the Animal in the mean time seemed much disquieted EXPERIMENT VI. SEveral Butterflies being Shut up in Vacuo were not able to flye in so thin a Medium but when the Receiver was inverted would fall from one end to another rudely enough TITLE XX. Of the Necessity of Air to the Motion of such small Creatures as Ants and even Mites themselves Air requisite to the Life of very Minute Animals ANts being shut up in Vacuo in Seven hours time seem'd dead but the Receiver being opened about 14
Mercury being too heavy to be buoy'd up so high it will not be elevated higher than an Atmospherical Cylinder is able to raise it But those Modern Philosophers who allow not a Fuga Vacui ascribe the Ascent of such Liquors to an Impulse or Propagation of Motion by the Dilation of the Thorax for they think that the Lungs drawing in the Air the dilated Thorax propagates the Impulse till it reaches successively the Body suck'd for such thinking the Universe totally a Plenum think that such Matter not finding any other Place to move into does upon that score buoy up the Water or Mercury in the Pipe But if we consider how vast the Dimensions of the Air are and comparatively how inconsiderable an Impulse the Thorax by dilating can make it will scarce be thought that so slight a one will compress the whole Air so much as to make it impel the Body suck'd vigorously enough to rise to that height which Liquors may be rais'd to by Suction But the Ascent of such Liquors evidently depends on this that by Suction the Pressure is taken off the Surface of the Water within the Pipe and consequently it must rise and be buoy'd up by the Pressure of the Atmosphere on the stagnant Water To countenance my Opinion and to refute the others I have mention'd I shall offer the following Experiment viz. A small Bubble with a Stem being seal'd up when the Air was forc'd out by Rarefaction the Stem was broke under Water upon which the Water rush'd into the Cavity of the Bubble where if it be said to go into the Bubble to prevent a Vacuum those that say so allow dari Vacuum and subvert their own Principles and as for the Plenists upon the same Account we may ask them what became of that Air which was expell'd out of the Bubble and remain'd so till the Stem was broke since were the World an absolute Plenum before there could be no room for it without nor could there be such an empty Space within to receive the Water Besides if they say the external Air being condens'd and compress'd by that which is forced out of the Bubble occasions the Re-ingress of Water when the Stem is broke off it may justly be wonder'd that a cubic Inch of Air should be able to condense the Air so much that a Mile's distance from the place the Bubble was evacuated in it should be able to press the Water thus in again But by our Hypothesis it is accounted for without these Difficulties since the Resistance of the rarifi'd Air within the Bubble being disproportionable to the Pressure of the less rarifi'd Ambient Air it must consequently yield to it and give way to the Ingress of Water Our own Opinion propos'd and prov'd From what hath been said it plainly appears what our Hypothesis is which that I may confirm by the following Experiments I shall briefly intimate That the Ascent of Liquors by Suction in a Word depends on the External Pressure of the Air when it is taken off the internal Superficies of the Liquor in that Tube what that Pressure depends on we have elsewhere prov'd in our Physico-Mechanical Experiments of the Air 's Spring and Weight and therefore shall proceed to Experiments to confirm what we teach of Suction We took then a crooked Syphon whose shorter Leg was parallel to the longer which being hermetically seal'd and so much Water conveigh'd into the crooked End that it was of an equal Height in both Legs so much Air was contain'd in the Cavity of the shorter Leg as possesses an Inch and ½ The Instrument being thus prepar'd one was order'd to suck at the Top of the longer Leg and by all the Force and reiterated Suctions he was not able to raise the Water higher than the Air in the shorter Leg depress'd the Surface of that for when the Spring of that Air was so far weaken'd that it could not depress the Water subjacent the Water kept at the same Station being not above four Inches high which was not two Inches and an half higher than at first But as soon as the External Pressure of the Atmosphere was again admitted to the Surface of the Water in the longer Tube it was presently depress'd and the Air in the shorter Leg condens'd till the Water likewise rose in that to it's first Station For a further Confirmation of our Hypothesis about Suction I shall subjoyn Experiments to prove the following Propositions Our Hypothesis reduc'd to Propositions I. That a Liquor may be rais'd by Suction when the Pressure of the Air neither as it hath Weight nor Elastacity is the Cause of the Elevation II. That the Weight of the Atmospherical Air is sufficient to raise up Liquors by Suction III. That in some Cases Suction will not be made as according to the Hypothesis I dissent from it should although there be a Dilatation of the Suckers Thorax and no danger of a Vacuum tho' the Liquor should ascend The first Propositions prov'd To make out the first Proposition I made the following Experiment viz. I took an inverted Tube such as was formerly made use of for a Travelling Baroscope but something longer which being fill'd with Mercury it was inverted and the Mercury in the longer Leg stood above the Mercury in the shorter Leg as high as it usually does in an ordinary Barometer and then one was order'd to suck at the shorter Leg upon which the Mercury subsided in the longer and rose in the shorter the Mercury in the longer by it's own Weight depressing the subjacent and raising that when the equivalent Weight of the Atmosphere was taken off The second Proposition prov'd As for the second Proposition laid down viz. That the Weight of the Air is sufficient to raise Liquors in Suction It may easily be prov'd by Arguments drawn from our Physico-Mechanical Experiments and therefore here I shall only take notice of Phaenomena exhibited by our Travelling Baroscope for having got a Baroscope whose shorter Leg was something longer than ordinary we caus'd one by Suction to raise the Mercury up to the Top of it and then hermetically sealing it up we mark'd the place to which the Mercury had subsided in the longer which being done we unseal'd the shorter Leg and observ'd that the Pressure of the Atmosphere elevated the Mercury in the longer Leg 5 Inches The third confirm'd For a further Confirmation of the Doctrin laid down in this Proposition I shall subjovn the following Experiment We made use of a Travelling Baroscope whose shorter Leg was 2 Inches above the Surface of the stagnant Mercury and having seal'd up the End of the shorter Leg we open'd the End of the longer upon which the Weight of the Atmosphere being added to the Pressure made by the Cylinder of Mercury the Air contain'd in the shorter Leg was compress'd into half the Space it possess'd before This Experiment being try'd a second time had the like Success To
should be thought to subside only for want of the Internal Air to bear it up we continu'd pumping till the Bubble in the Egg expanding further depress'd the Surface of the Water in the Stem below the Surface of the External Water The Air being thus far rarifi'd we compar'd the Diameter of the Bubble with the Diameter of the Glass and found it to be as 1 to 20 and consequently according to Euclid the Proportion betwixt Spheres being triplicate to that of their Diameters the Diameter of the lesser being one the Diameter of the other must be 8000. So that the Air expanded possess'd 8000 times the Space it possess'd before The Glass Egg being fill'd with such Water again and no Air included in it tho' the Receiver was in a great measure exhausted yet the Water did not subside till a Bubble at the last rose to the Top whose Diameter was to the Diameter of the Glass as 1 to 14 so that according to Euclid's Rule before-mention'd the Bubble expanded possess'd 2744 times as much Space as before But Dr. Wallis observing the great Thinness of the Glass thought that the expanded Bubble possessed 8232 times it 's former Dimensions N. B. Water being let into the Exhausted Receiver till it would receive no more we found that by reason of some Leaks the Receiver had not been perfectly exhausted EXPERIMENT II. June 2.62 Air expanded to 10000 times it 's former Bulk ASmall Bolt-head which was able to contain 80 Grains of Water being inverted into a Jar it was shut up in the Receiver and when the Air was exhausted Bubbles which rose out of the Water expanding themselves presently drove all the Water out of the Bolt-head but when the Air was let in again the expanded Air in the Bolt-head form'd a Bubble no bigger than a Pin's Head After this we fill'd the Bolt-head with Water clear'd of Air and when the Receiver was pretty well exhaufied a Bubble ascended to the Top of the Bolt-head which when the Air was again let in was almost invisible yet the Receiver being again exhausted it expanded it self so far as almost to drive all the Water out of the Bolt-head yet when the External Air was again admitted into the Receiver it shrunk into a Bubble whose Diameter was 1 22 part of the Diameter of the Bolt-head so that to fill the whole Cavity it expanded it self 10648 times but considering the Cavity of the Neck of the Vessel which it likewise in some measure fill'd it was expanded to 13769 times its Bulk The Diameter of the small Bubble retracted was 1 27 of an Inch. The Diameter of the outside of the Head of the Glass was 29 36 of an Inch. The Water that fill'd the Head was 60 ½ Grains The Water that fill'd so far of the Neck as the expanded Bubble possess'd was 17 ½ Grains The Bolt-head weigh'd 15 Grains EXPERIMENT III. THE foregoing Experiment being repeated we found that a Bubble whose Diameter was 1 16 of an Inch in Diameter when expanded possessed the whole Space of the Ball as well as Neck of the Bolt-head and depress'd the Surface of the Water within the Pipe below the Surface of the stagnant Water From these Experiments it appears that according to the most moderate Estimate Air expanded will possess 2744 times it 's natural Space and according to our most successful Experiments 13000. So that we may justly admire the Minuteness of those Aerial Instruments that she employs even about Visible Operations CHAP. XI New Observations about the Duration of the Spring of Expanded Air. Observations about the Duration of the Air 's Spring IT having not been as yet attempted to shew whether a Portion of expanded Air would retain it's Elasticity and it's Power of Restitution or not nor how long nor whether a Portion of Air inclos'd in a Receiver would have it's Spring vary'd upon Full or the Change of the Moon tho' I cannot much boast of the Progress I have made yet I shall subjoyn the following Attempts on that Occasion A Glass Bubble newly blown and whilst it contain'd none but rarifi'd Air had it's Stem imediately clapt into a Flame and Seal'd up Many Months after it was inverted into a Basin of Water and the Seal broke off under the Surface of it and tho' Water was violently impell'd into the Cavity of it yet the included Air had so far retain'd it's Spring as not to suffer the Cavity to be quite filled with Water Another Method I took to shew the Durableness of the Air 's Spring was the following viz. Leaving a small Portion of Air in the Folds of a Lamb's Bladder whose Neck was closely ty'd it was inclos'd in another Vessel and conveigh'd into our Pneumatick Engin and when the Receiver was exhausted the expanded Air distended the Bladder so that it fill'd the whole Cavity of the Vessel by whose sides it was guarded from the Pressure of the outward Air so that the expanded Air kept the Bladder distended two Years For further Satisfaction I contriv'd an Instrument by which I could learn whether and how long Air variously expanded will retain it's Spring by which I could not discover that the Air lost any thing considerable of it's Spring in ten Weeks time Another Instrument I made use of by which I could find that Air expanded to 1000 times it 's usual Dimensions would be sensibly affected by Heat and lose the Expansion it gain'd thereby upon a Removal of that Heat March 18. We try'd the following Experiment A Cylindrical Glass having a long Stem at the unseal'd End was fill'd with Water and inverted into Water which lay in the bottom of a large Pipe seal'd at one End and 3 or 4 Foot long which being done the large Pipe was so far exhausted that the Air the inverted Pipe possess'd the whole Cavity of it down to the Stem upon which the larger Tube being clos'd up the expanded Air possess'd the same Space 3 Months after except that betwixt the Pipe and the Stem upon extream Cold the Water rose ⅛ or near ¼ The clos'd Apex being broke open under Water it gradually fill'd the whole Cavity except a small Space possess'd by a little Bubble The Diameter of the Cylindrical Part of the Pipe was ⅗ of an Inch and its Length 3 Inches the Bubble was about 2 10 in Diameter and 2 100 in Depth so that the Bubble was according to Dr Wallis his Computation to the Space it possessed when expanded as 1 to 1350. CHAP. XII New Experiments touching the Condensation of the Air by mere Cold and it's Compression without Mechanichal Engins Of the Air 's Condensation by Cold c. TO try how far the Air is capable of being condens'd by mere Cold when the Season of the Year hath not pre-affected it I try'd the following Experiment in Autumn In the middle of September about Noon on a Sun-shiny Day we placed a Bolt head in a Frame so that the Stem was
exprimit per Tubum C. D. primum quidem vehementius subinde remissius prout Aeris vis elastica sensim conquescit Hoc idem quod de Aere intra Vas comprimendo ad aquam evibrandum comminisci placuit servatâ analogiâ dicendum est de Aere tum conatu manûs rectâ trusillum impellentis tum ope Cochleae similiter conformatae intra conceptaculum comprimendo ut ex fistula deinde multa vi emittatur plumbea Glans ubi reseratus Aeri exitus illum subito dilatari permiserit Quin Pneumatica hujusmodi tormenta citra conceptaculum Aeris compressi construere non inutile accidat si quemadmodum nostrates pueri surculos sambuceos fungosa medulla exhauriunt utraque Tubuli extremitate papyraceis Globulis obstructa alterum Globulum congruo Cylindro propellunt atque inclusum Aerem densant quoad Aeris vim elasticam impellentis manûs Conatum non ferens extremus alter Globulus edito scloppo expellatur ita ferream fistulam longiorem paraveris cujus alteri extremitati immittatur plumbea Glans obducta papyro aut simili Materia ut exquisitè Tubi osculum implens demum universam Aeris vim excipiat alteram extremitatem aliquot Spiris ambiat cava Cochlea quam impleat Cylindrus ferreus in congruentem Cochleam deformatus si enim hujusmodi Cylindrus vis brevior fuerit quam fistula apto Manubrio convolutus in fistulam sensim immittatur totum Aerem quo fistula replebatur ad exiguas spatii angustias adiget ex quibus magna vi demum qua data porta erumpens ejacul abitur plumbeum Globulum Casati Mechanicorum Lib. 8. Cap. 5. p. 792. 793. c. TITTLE V. Of the Magnetical Particles in the Air. TITLE VI. Of the Destruction Generation Absorpsion and Extrication of the Air. Concerning the Production of the Air. AIr being a body not only concern'd in agreat many Phenomena of Nature but likewise so necessary to the Preservation of Animals Is thought it of no small use to thy whether it might be Artificially prepar'd and obtain'd from Bodies which seem'd not at all to abound with Air for could it be done it would not only be considerable in helping to explain several Phaenomena of Nature but to preserve Divers much longer under Water To try therefore whether it might be effected and whether that which seem'd to be Air were truly so I made use of the following Experiments taking a durable Springiness or Elasticity as the Criterion by which I should judge whether the Air generated were Genuine or not EXPERIMENT I. Jan. 17. Air generated by a mixture of Oyl of Vitriol and Filings of Steel FIlings of Steel and a conveniently shap'd Glass which contain'd Oyl of Vitriol and was seal'd at both Ends but with a Hole open'd near one of them were coveigh'd into a long and large Tube so much Water being put in with them as was sufficient to dilute the Oyl This being done and the External Tube and the Water exhausted till the Mercury in the Gage was so far rais'd in the open Leg that little remain'd in the seal'd Leg we clos'd up the External Tube exactly and observ'd that when the Oyl was caus'd to run out of the internal Tube by acting upon the Metal it caus'd several Bubbles and a sensible Heat when this Conflict had continu'd some time so much Air was generated as depress'd the Mercury in the open Leg down to the Bottom and rais'd it so much in the other that the Air above it was more compress'd than when the Atmosphere had free Liberty to press against it The Spring of this newly produc'd Air was so strong and durable as to keep the Mercury at â—he same height 3 or 4 Days and some Days after a Boy having heedlesly remov'd the Tube from its usual Station the Mercury in the Gage ascended an Inch and a half at which Height it continu'd till the 25th of January EXPERIMENT II. March 8. Flower moisten'd with Water A Glass Viol which was large enough to hold a Pint was fill'd with Flower of Wheat drench'd with Water and the Orifice being clos'd with a Cork and strong Cement after the Glass had been placed 13 Days in a warm Place it was burst by the Violent expansion of the included Matter tho' the Night before part of the Glass below seem'd empty The Taste of the included Matter seem'd to me only a little sowrish but to another manifestly acid EXPERIMENT III. March 9. Raisins included in Vacuo with Water BRuised Raisins with a little Water being put into a Bolt-head when it was exhausted I plac'd it in a warm Place In four Days no Air was generated but some time after the Bolt-head was burst in pieces and the Raisins thrown about EXPERIMENT IV. Feb. 22. A Glass which would hold about 3 Pound of Water having a sufficient Quantity of Raisins put into the Water a Bladder was ty'd to the Neck of it which had all the Air squeez'd out and in two Days time it was so fill'd with Air that we could not tye it up without losing some of the Water EXPERIMENT V. April 28. SPirit of Salt and Filings of Steel being put into a wide mouth'd Glass we cover'd it with a Receiver fitted with an Eel-Skin and a Wire to the latter of which a thin Glass Vessel was ty'd hermetically seal'd at the Bottom and furnish'd with a sufficient Quantity of Filings of Copper This being done and the Receiver exhausted we thrust the Glass which contain'd the Filings against the Bottom of the Viol and broke it off whereupon the Filings falling into the Menstruum a considerable number of Bubbles were generated The Viol being kept ¼ of an Hour longer in Vacuo the Liquor acquir'd not the least Greenness EXPERIMENT VI. Air shut up in Oyl of Turpentine and Spring Water A Bubble of Air about the Size of a Pea being left at the Top of a round Viol with a long narrow Neck the Cavity of it being fill'd with fine Oyl of Turpentine and then inverted into a Viol fill'd with the same Liquor Another Viol which had a Bubble in the Top was fill'd with Alcohol of Wine and inverted it into the the same Liquor On the sixth Day the Bubble in the Oyl disappear'd and on the seventh that in the Spirit of Wine vanish'd EXPERIMENT VII May 23. Frog 's Spawn A Receiver which had been three Years exhausted was open'd and a black opacous Liquor which we judg'd to be Frog's Spawn which was contain'd in a Viol being taken out was of a stinking Smell but not mouldy It had yielded some Air. EXPERIMENT VIII IT is observ'd that when Miners meet with running Waters under Ground they are by those supply'd with Air enough for Respiration tho' it is observ'd that standing Waters do not afford Air. Experiments about the Production of Air and the Examining thereof propos'd Sect. I. To produce Air by Fermentation in Receivers exactly clos'd and in
with London and at the most not exceeding 52 Degrees The Ice was near six Foot deep and the Frost so violent that Bottles of Brandy would have a fourth Part turn'd into Ice the unfroze Liquor being much stronger than before The Ice which swam upon the Water was fresh from whence they supply'd themselves with fresh Water either by melting it in their Pots or by gathering it from large Cavities in floating pieces of Ice where it was melted by the Sun-Beams A Traveller told me that upon the Top of a Pyrenean Mountain in the Summer it was very hot tho' the same Day it was cover'd with Snow and another told me that the Winds at Morocco were so hot as almost to stifle him And it hath been observ'd upon the Tops of high Pyrenean Mountains that below them there were Clouds which yielded Rain plentifully out of which Lightning flash'd upwards as well as downwards Dr. Stubbs told me that in a Bolt-head about 2 Foot ½ long about 7 or 8 a Clock in the Morning which is the faint time of the Day the Water would rise but ¼ of Inch and half a quarter after which time it would subside till that time the next Day He further added that in 8 or 10 Months time in that hot Country Water would not decrease in Quantity tho' kept unstopp'd I am told by another that in the Torrid Zone near the Coast of Sumatra tho' Ice nor Frost nor Snow are ever observ'd yet he hath known Hail to fall And I am told that in the Island of Ceylon which lies betwixt 6 and 10 Degrees North Latitude in that Torrid Climate it would be so cold at the Top of some Hills to whose Tops they could ascend in half an hour that they would almost shiver And Capt. Knox told me that having spent 18 Years in that Island he observ'd a kind of Meteor in Winters Mornings between a Dew and a hoar Frost which presently vanish'd and that once there happen'd a shower of Hail which were about the size of a black Cherry but were presently melted upon the Ground The Heat is so violent in the Island Suaquena that it excoriates the Skin melts Indian Wax in a Cabinet and sears your Shoes like a red hot Iron Yet on some Mountains in Aethiopia they dread Cold more than Heat tho' no Snow falls but only a little Hail now and then which soon melts and Tellesius witnesses that in many Regions in Aethiopia the Air is more mild than in Portugal so many Degrees distant Northward At Tripoli in Barbary it is observ'd that when the Wind blows over a long Sandy Desart it as well as the Wind it brings along with it seems as hot as the Steams from an Oven And and the same hath been observ'd near the Island of St. Lovis on the Coast of Africk where it was further remarkable that the Ground was so hot that the Gentleman who related it could scarce endure to stand upon it and he further told me that when the Wind blew from a Wood in which the dead Bodies of Wild Beasts lay it stunk so that it could scarce be endured In summo ejus montis Idae sc fastigio sacellum est quod aedificiolo duntaxat constat saxis sibi invicem impositis sine calce cohaerentibus fornicis in modum constructo ad tectum praebendum Sublimi adeo loco est à vehementioribus ventis interdum ita perflato ut lapilli inde transferantur Petri Bellonii lib. 1. cap. 16. Paulo infra id sacellum planities conspicitur montibus undique cincta in quâ multa sunt pascua ubi Arietes Caprae Cretenses aestate pinguescunt Si quis ex summo montis vertice undique prospiciat pâ—â—â—… aberit quin totius Insulae ambitum videat cum 〈◊〉 vicinis Insulis Miso Cerigo sive Cythera 〈◊〉 Archipelagi Aeris intemperies in hoc â—â—â—…te adeo magna est quemadmodum ut in caeteris praeâ—â—â—… montibus ut in ipsis Caniculae ardoribus â—…ridie nullo etiam spirante vento ingens senâ—â—â—tur frigus qua de causa nec hyeme nec aslâ—…te 〈◊〉 eum incolit Nam licet pastores interdâ—…â—â—iâ—â— greges ad pascua agunt noctu tamen in valles se recipiunt In the next Chapter Latè porro patet hic mons ejusque radices 〈◊〉 maris littora ut ante diximus attingunt nam licet urbi Candiae sunt vicinae meditullium tamen insulae occupat ipse mons adeo in sublime evectus ut nives ejus verticem perpetuò tegnant tamque frigida aâ—ra mediis etiam astatis ardoribus isthic est ut vix ferri queat tametsi in convallibus magnus sit aestus Jacobi Zabarelli de-Regionibus Aeris c. 8. Contigit id meae experientiae quod etiam aliis contigisse audivi ut ascenderem ad summutatem usque montis Veneris qui omnium in Patavino agro altissimus est ibi per totum diem habui Aerem serenissimum sed infra circiter medium montis vidi nubes quae me visione vallium prohibebant vesperi autem postquam de illo monte descendi inveni factam eo die infera parte magnam pluviam cum in montis cacumine nihil pluisset ex eo intellexi me transiisse per mediam Aeris regionem in qua est facta pluvia nec tamen eam sensi frigidissimam imò vix aliquam animadverti differentiam frigidioris calidioris Aeris nam aestivum tempus erat pro aestivo tempore eram vestitus nec tamen tantum frigoris quod me laederet ex eo loco percepi pars igitur illa non est absolutè frigida sed solùm comparatione inferi Aeris calidioris Idem de Alpibus proprio exemplo edoctus testatum reliquit Bartholinus Syst Phys Instit Succinct de Terra Aere Igne C. 4. Resp 1. Mount Atlas in the Heat of Summer hath been seen cover'd with Snow and several People who have visited the Tops of high Mountains such as the Alpes and Teneriff have found it exceedingly cold I am told by one that he never heard of Snow or Ice in Guinea but in Barbary where the Plains were excessive hot the Tops of Mountains were cover'd with Snow and the like hath been observ'd in the Island Ceylon and the Mountains of Congo In the Summer 88 I plac'd a Glass in a Cave which faced the Sea it being cover'd with 80 Foot of Earth and cut right in about 130 Foot the Mercury stood ½ above Temperate and at the same time in another Glass in the open Air it stood at hot About Christmas following the Mercury in the Cave vary'd not but that without stood at Frost In New-Hampshire in New-England it is observ'd that in the Winter the North-West Wind is very cold and in Summer intensly hot It is ascrib'd to a large Tract of Woody Land which in the Winter is cover'd with Snow and in the Summer the Valleys being close keep in the Heat till
whilst it was stirred about the Spirit of Wine in the Weather-glass gradually subsided EXPERIMENT IV. Another immersed in Spirit of Roch Allom c. Having poured as much rectify'd Spirit of Roch Allom into a wide mouth'd Glass as was sufficient to cover the globulous part of a Thermoscope when the Spirit of Wine was equally cooled with the Air about it we poured into it a volatil Salt obtain'd by Sublimation from Sal-Armoniack and a fixt Alcali and tho' upon the joint Action of these two Bodies a considerable Noise was raised with Bubbles and Froth yet the Spirit of Wine began to subside and continued to do so 'till the Spirit of Allom was wholly glutted with the volatil Salt the whole Descent being the length of an Inch. From this Experiment and the foregoing it appears That when Alcalies and Acids produce Heat upon a mutual Conflict which ensues their Mixture they have not that Effect precisely consider'd as such since it is evident that an urinous Salt mixed with an acid Spirit viz. of Roch Allom produces Coldness and not a true Effervescence EXPERIMENT V. A Thermoscope in a Mixture of Oil of Vitriol and Sal Armon One part of Oyl of Vitriol being shaken together with twelve parts of Water the Mixture acquir'd a little Warmth but when it was cool being poured into a wide-mouth'd Glass and a Thermometer immersed in it when the Liquor in the Thermoscope was equally cool with the external we poured in a sufficient quantity of Sal-Armoniack to glut the Acid The effect of which Mixture was that upon a cold Ebullition the Spirit of Wine descended an Inch. EXPERIMENT VI. Heat produced by a Mixture of Salt-peter and Oyl of Vitriol Tho' Salt-Peter usually produces a Coldness in Liquors yet eight Ounces of it being mixed with six of Oil of Vitriol the Mixture acquired a considerable degree of Heat emitting Fumes copiously EXPERIMENT VII The effect of Gun-powder mixed with Water Though Gun-powder be a Body so inflammable yet it evidently imparts a Coldness if mixed with Water If a small quantity of Oil of Vitriol be mixed with the Salt formerly made use of before the Oil hath been mixed with Water it acquires a considerable degree of Coldness A Digression about Potential Coldness Potential Coldness Mechanically explained Potential Coldness is usually looked upon to be a Quality so absolute as not to be explicable without the Doctrine of Substantial Forms But it will easily appear That it may without any great difficulty be clearly explained by Mechanick Principles if we consider that the Figure Shape and Texture of Bodies may be so contrived as to lessen the usual and natural Agitation of Humors about our Sensory and consequently the Perception of this Imminution may cause such a Sensation as is usually term'd Potential Coldness which account being allowed it will follow That Potential Coldness is only a relative Quality depending on the dispersion of the Agents through the Bodies to be cooled by them According to which Notion the cold Fitts in Agues may easily be conceived to arise from an Intermixture of the Parts of some clammy Matter which before a Dissolution were unable to cause any considerable Effect in the Mass of Blood but presently after being mixed with the Blood produce such a change in the Motion of its Parts as affects the Sensory with such a Sensation as is usually esteemed Potential Coldness which Sensation may not only be so produced in Agues but by a like Cause in other Distempers and in several Parts of the Body as in Hypochondriack and Hysterical Cases To render which Account more probable I shall subjoyn That I have learnt by the Effects of Poysons that the small Parts of them being interpersed through the Parts of Humors previously disposed may cause a notable Refrigeration And I my self have prepar'd a penetrating Chymical Liquor a Drop of which being given to an Animal would cast him into a seeming Sleep and a little larger Quantity being by Mischance applyed to an akeing Tooth gave the Person a sort of trembling and almost an universal Refrigeration And that Coldness may be produced by the Mixture of some subtile Parts of Matter with the Mass of Blood appears from the following Histories Famulum habui says Benivenius Cap. 56. Abditorum apud Schenk Lib. 7. de Venen Obs 24. qui a Scorpione ictus tam subito ac tam frigido Sudore toto Corpore perfusus est ut algentissima Nive atque Glacie sese opprimi quereretur verum cum algenti illi solam Theriacam ex Vino potentiore exhibuissem illico curatus est And to this I shall add another related by Amatus Lusitanus Cent. 6. Obs Vir qui a Scorpione in Manus digito punctus fuit multum dolebat refrigeratus totus contremebat per Corpus dolores Cute tota quasi aut puncta formicantes patiebatur c. What Refrigeration depends on Whether such Refrigeration depends on a sort of Coagulation of the minute Parts of the Blood or whether it may be produced by a different Determination of the motion of the Parts of those Liquors as to the Lines they move in I shall not now examine but shall rather offer it to be considered since the internal Constitutions of several Parts of the Body are different from each other and since the Size and Textures of several Agents are also various whether they may not upon that account have different Effects upon distinct Parts of the Body for all the Qualities of such Agents do not wholly depend on the Action of the Corpuscles of the Medicine only but depend on some adventitious Qualities which they acquire by being mixed with particular Humors and which they may dispose to be more or less worked upon by the other Efficients of Heat or Cold. And these Conjectures may not be render'd a little probable by observing That tho' Spirit of Wine inwardly taken causes Heat yet externally it abates the Heat of inflamed Parts but hath different Effects on a tender Eye And though internally five Grains of Camphire may diffuse Heat through the whole Body yet externally it is used in refrigerating Medicines How far these Observations may be of Service in determining whether Camphire c. be hot or cold I shall leave to Physicians to consider and shall here only offer in Proof That Potential Coldness is only a relative Quality the following particulars viz. That from the VI. and VII Experiments it appears that according to the Dispositions of Bodies to be worked on the Agent may have different Qualities As Fumes of Lead may coagulate Mercury tho' it hath not a like Effect on other Liquors And further although Sal-Armoniack and Nitre be when separate cool and tho' the latter melted in a Crucible takes not Fire of it self yet upon an addition of Sal-Armoniack it flashes vehemently But I shall leave this Digression and proceed to Experiments about Cold. EXPERIMENT VIII Oyl of
than the Air. Amongst several Tryals made with these Weather-glasses the following were remarkable Having caused a Glass-Egg with a Stem such as Fig. 1. Plate 1. Delineates to be blown at a Lamp the Stem being dipped in Water admitted into it a Cylinder of Water about half an Inch long which when the Pipe was erected would subside to the Bottom of the Cylinder just where it rises from the Egg and there it would stand but if the Glass-Egg was immersed wholly in Water or but half way in Quick-silver the Water would ascend up to the middle of the Cylinder and subside again when taken out In this Experiment several times repeated I observed That when the Glass-Egg was suddenly removed out of the Water and immersed in the Quick-silver the Cylinder of Water would be raised higher but if it was first immersed in Quick-silver and thence removed into Water it would subside but not near so much as in the open Air. These Tryals were made the 26th of June the Weather being moderate But being repeated another day when it was windy and rainy the Aqueous Cylinder upon the immersion of the Thermometer subsided June 27 in the morning the Aqueous Cylinder would subside when the Thermometer was immersed in Water but ascend when it was depressed into Mercury yet when the water had been kept in a warm Room some time till it was as warm to the Touch as the Quicksilver they would both of them immediately raise the Mercury in the Pipe The like Experiment being tryed in January in Frosty Weather the Internal Air being of an equal temper with the External when the Thermometer was immersed in a shallow Vessel of Water the Aqueous Cylinder was raised half an Inch and when it was immersed in a deeper Vessel it was raised as high again but soon subsided when taken out into the free Air. From whence it appears That we may be differently informed of the degrees of Heat and Cold when we Employ our Organs of Touch and when we make use of proper Instruments On this occasion I shall subjoyn that not only Water but moist Vapours in the Air may cause it to seem Colder to our Sensories than commonly Weather-glasses discover it to be And tho' it be generally agreed that a Themometer only more exactly measures the Effects which Cold hath upon it and our Sensories yet I my self have taken notice that at the same time the Weather hath seemed cold to me when the Weather-glass agreed not with the Information my Senses gave me which that it did not proceed from my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was apparent since others were sensible of it at the same time From what hath been said it appears That it is requisite to take notice when Birds and other Animals whose Perception is more delicate than ours seem to be affected with Cold and likewise to examin the degrees of Coldness as well by Experiments as by the Touch. For a further Confirmation of what I have delivered on this occasion I shall add what Martinius in his piece of Geography called Atlas Chinensis says speaking of the Air of that Populous Country his words are these Ad Coeli solique temperiem quod attinet majus in hac Provincia frigus est quam illius poscat poli altitudo vix enim illa excedit gradum secundum supra quadragesimum tamen per integros quatuor saepe Menses Flumina omnia adeo duro concrescunt gelu ut currus equosque ac gravissima etiam onera glacies ferat innoxie ac securissime transeant Ex iis etiam ingentia glaciei frusta excinduntur quae in futuram aestatem ad delicias servant His Mensibus omnes Naves ita in ipsa Glacie defixae sunt ut progredi nequeant ubicunque illas frigus occupat quod certo certius circa medium Novembris ingruere solet per quatuor illos Menses immotae ibi perstare coguntur neque enim resolvitur Glacies ante Martii initium haec plerunque Glaciei concretio uno fit die cum non nisi pluribus fiat Liquefactio To which he adds what is more for our present purpose Omnino illud mirum tantum non videri aut sentiri illud frigus ut Europaeos ad bypocausta subeunda videatur posse cogere aut in Europa ad Glaciem producendam sufficere unde ad subterraneas illic exhalationes pro harum rerum Causis indagandis omnino recurrendum est c. But tho' I have urged the necessity and usefulness of Weather-glasses as preferable to the Informations we receive from our Senses yet tho' they are not obnoxious to the same Causes of uncertainty they are apt sometimes to deceive us since in common Weather-glasses besides that the external or internal Air may be rarified or condensed by Heat and Cold the incumbent Atmosphere being contiguous to the suspended Liquor it may be boyed up by an additional Gravity as well as Heat in the Atmosphere and Vice versâ as we have experienced by a statical Baroscope whose Ballance would turn with the 500th part of a Grain And likewise by conveying a common Weather-glass into the bottom of a deep Pit and at another time by raising it up to the top of a Church or Steeple and comparing it at the same time with a more exact Thermometer for by this Method it appeared that the rising and falling of the Water in the common Weather-glass depended not on the temperature of the Air as to Heat or Cold but on the different altitude of the Atmospherical Pillar of Air incumbent on the Water But besides the Gravity of the Atmosphere there may be other Causes of the ascent and descent of the Liquor in common Weather-glasses as well as Heat and Cold. For not to urge that tho' the height of the same Atmospherical Pillar of Air should seem unaltered the Weather-glass remaining in the same place yet the weight of the Air may be increased by the copious dispersion of Vapours and heavy Steams through the Air and also may be diminished upon a precipitation of those by Dew or Rain which Effects may perhaps be falsly attributed to different degrees of Heat or Cold. To be satisfy'd of the truth of what I have here hinted I tryed the following Experiments I took two Weather-glasses of a more than ordinary length See Plate 1. Fig. 2d and 3d. the divisions of one of which were half Inches and those of the other not much less The one which was furnished with good Spirit of Wine see Plate 1. Fig. 3. was sealed The other see Plate 1. Fig. 2. was not sealed but was so contrived that the Air being shut up in the lower part of the Instrument might rise with Heat and fall with Cold. In these Thermoscopes I observed That in that which was sealed the Liquor regularly ascended in warm Weather and subsided in cold But in the other there being a little hole left open at the top it was remarkable That tho' when the
their In doing of which instead of Liquors made use of in common Glasses we employ Spirit of Wine tinged with Cochineele opened by the most Volatile Spirit of Urine which is not only in less danger of being froze but susceptible of the slightest degrees of Cold impressed upon it by external Bodies But tho' we think these Weather-glasses subject to fewer Exceptions than common ones yet in estimating the several degrees of Cold we look upon them as Instruments to be employed by our Reason and not quite exempt from those Imperfections we have imputed to Weather-glasses since I suspect that some sort of Steams penetrateing the Pores of the Glasses may have other effects upon the Spirit of Wine than what they have in reference to Heat and Cold For I once observ'd that having immersed the Ball of a Weather-glass in a strange kind of a Luke-warm mixture the Spirit rose up slowly 8 or 9 Inches in a Tube not above a foot long and subsided not again much above half an Inch when exposed to the Air a good while after it had been immersed in Water 5 hours The Chymist Orthelius in his Theatrum Chymicum Vol. 6. tells us That the Liquor Distilled from the Oar of Magnesia or Bismute will swell considerably in the Glass it is kept in at the full Moon and subside at the New which observation the Jesuit Casatus makes use of as an Argument And I have observed my self a Tincture of Amber made with rectified Spirit of Wine undergoe several changes when stopped up in a Bottle which other Liquors abounding with Spirit of Wine did not so that not unlikely if Weather-glasses furnished with different Liquors were kept together in the same Place there would be some disparity which could be ascribed to nothing but the peculiar Natures of the respective Liquors which tho' of different kinds may receive the same Colour from the same Metals So Copper gives the known Colour to Aqua fortis and affords a fair Solution in Aqua Regis as well as gives a lovely Blew to Spirit of Urine or Sal Armoniac and I have found that it would give a good Tincture to Chymical Oyl of Turpentine And to shew that even Spirit of Wine in Weather-glasses may be worked upon and influenced by external Bodies I shall add That I have observed in one that lay by me some time emergent Bubbles Which whether they were only made up of united Bubbles lodged in the Pores of the Liquor or some Parts of the Wine disposed to Elasticity by frequent alterations I examin not But sometimes they have been so great as to possess many Inches of space in the shank of the Weather-glass which Bubbles if they be small and lurk about the juncture of the Ball and of the Cylinder may by dividing the Spirit in the Stem from that in the Ball hinder it from rising according to the Changes of the Weather a Bubble of Air being more dicffiultly removed up and down in the Stem of the Glass than the Spirit it self in favour of which we have else-where shewn That Water will pass through a narrower space than Air except the latter be forced But to draw near to a conclusion tho' I have mentioned all these difficulties about sealed Glasses I would not be thought to do it with a design to set Men upon greater Nicities than are necessary but rather to excite us to take into our Consideration as many collateral Experiments and Observations besides those made by our Sensories on Natural as well as Factitious Bodies in judging of the degrees of Cold as we can For tho' Water be thought to be most susceptible of such an intense degree of Cold as destroys Fluidity yet besides Oyl of Aniseeds I have distill'd a substance from Benzoin which becomes fluid and consistent upon much slighter alterations as to Heat and Cold than would freeze Water or thaw it And I have observed likewise That Amber-grease dissolv'd in highly rectified Spirit of Wine or in other Sulphereous or Resinous Concretions dissolved in the same Liquor will shoot into fine figured Masses in cold Weather and re-dissolve in warm others being more rudely congealed And even in Chymical Preparations of Harts-horn and Urine I have observed That sometimes the Spirits would be clear and at other times would suffer a greater or less quantity of Salt to Chrystallize at the bottom according to the various alterations of the Weather in point of Heat or Cold. But to bring Instances from more obvious Liquors it is observed in some Parts of France by the Water-men That their Boats will carry greater Loads in Winter than Summer and on frozen Coasts in several Countries it is observed That Ships draw less Water than on our British Coasts which is an Argument that the Water is heavier and thicker in Winter than in Summer And I my self have poised a Bubble so exactly with Water in it that tho' it would swim upon the top of the Water at Night yet in the Day when the Sun had rarified the Water it swam in it would subside to the bottom And sometimes was so exactly of a correspondent weight with and so equally poised in the Water that it would neither subside nor swim upon the top but move up and down till the Water was either more rarified or further condensed From what hath been said in this Chapter it appears 1st That by reason of the various predispositions in Bodies the testimony of our Senses is not to be taken in judging of the several degrees of Cold. 2dly Tho' Weather-glasses are subject to fewer alterations than our Senses yet they may misinform us except we at the same time measure the Air 's Gravity by other Instruments 3dly Our sealed Weather-glasses are highly preferable before common ones 4thly To conclude this Chapter I shall add That I would not have Men easily deterred from making Experiments about estimating Cold because they may seem disagreeable to vulgar Notions since I doubt not but that the Theory we have is not only very imperfect but ill grounded CHAP. IV. Concerning the cause of the Condensation of the Air and ascent of Water by Cold in common Weather-glasses COncerning the Reason why Water in common Weather-glasses descends upon Heat and is raised by Cold there are three Opinions which may deserve our Consideration The Opinion of the Schools concerning the ascent of Water in Weather-glasses examined The first is that of the Schools and common Peripateticks which teaches That the external Air condensing that included in common Weather-glasses it rises to fill up that space deserted by the Air to prevent a Vacuum But not to urge That they have not yet proved that Nature will not admit of a Vacuum or that it is contrary to the Notion a Naturalist ought to have of Matter to suppose it to act any thing contrary to its own natural tendency for a publick Good I say not to urge these Arguments which we have elsewhere made use of I
not so hard as common Ice And I am inform'd that in Moscow the Spirit of Wine would freeze leaving some dissolv'd in the middle which was much stronger than ordinary Brandy And I am told that in Russia it is usual to have Wine froze French Brandy being exposed to the Air in Russia froze and Sallet-oyl become as hard as Tallow but Water at the same time did not freeze TITLE III. Experiments touching Bodies indisposed to be frozen Bodies not disposed to freeze 1. THE subtil parts of several Bodies being brought over by distillation would not freeze by such an application of Snow and Salt as froze other Bodies Of this sort were Aqua-fortis Spirit of Nitre of Salt Oyl of Turpentine and almost all the Chymical Oyls we had then in possession Spirit of Wine and of other fermented Liquors and Sack if good would scarce freeze but the inflammable Part being spent by burning it would easily freeze 2. Two drachms of Salt of Pot-ashes being dissolv'd in an ounce of Water the mixture would not freeze tho' the outside of the Vessel was cover'd with Ice At another time a strong Solution of Salt of Tartar would not freeze tho' at the same time Salt of Pot-ashes being dissolv'd did 3. That common expressed Oyls of Vegetables will freeze after their manner and curdle in cold Weather is commonly observed yet Train-oyl which is usually made of the Fat of Whales by the help of Fire continued fluid in Weather that was very sharp but in an excessive cold night it lost its fluidity which seems to disfavour what Olaus Magnus writes who says That in the Northern Regions it is usual to cast Train-oyl upon the Water in their Ditches to keep the Water from freezing and thereby unpassable the Oyl as he says not being subject to congele with Cold but it may be worth while to enquire Whether the Train-Oyl he speaks of be the same as is used by the Swedes Laplanders and Muscovites and whether they have a different way in keeping of it or not 4. Tho' a Solution of Sugar would freeze yet a strong Solution of Sugar of Lead would not in a mixture of Snow and Salt which is remarkable since the Spirit of Vinegar it self would freeze Besides there must needs be some Water in the Solution and the Sugar being but a Vitriol of Lead it is not a little strange that it should not freeze as well as common Vitriol tho' in this latter concrete Metal be corroded by a Spirit which if we may judge by the Liquor afforded in Distillation is very much sharper and stronger than Spirit of Vinegar 5. Quick-silver would not freeze in the sharpest Air tho' expos'd to it in very thin Glasses and in such a manner that a little quantity of it made a large Surface 6. A very sharp Frost was not able to freeze a strong Brine tho' at the same time other saline Solutions were congeal'd But a Solution consisting of twenty Parts of Water and one of Salt was froze in a very sharp Night the Ice swimming at the top in Figures almost like Broom spreading from the surface of the Water downwards The Salt dissolv'd in this Water is double the proportion of that which is usually in Sea-water I thawed Ice of Salt-water to try whether the dissolved Ice would be fresh or not but it retain'd a little brackishness which I suppose it receiv'd from the contiguous Brine tho' I am inform'd That in Amsterdam they make use of thaw'd Ice instead of common fresh Water in Brewing And Bartholinus de usu Nivis Cap. 6. p. 42. says De Glacie ex marina aqua certum est si resolvatur salsum saporem deposuisse quod etiam non ità pridem expertus est Cl. Jacobus Fincbius Academiae Nostrae Senior Physices Professor benemeritus in Glaciei frustis è portu nostro allatis Particulars referrable to the III Title 1. Spirit of Sal-Armoniack made with Quick-lime volatile Oyl of Amber a small quantity of Oyl of Vitriol being exposed two Nights and a Day froze not A Solution of Silver in Aqua fortis was and Spr. Sanguinis Humani being froze swelled so much as to force out the Cork 2. Unrectify'd Oyl of Turpentine exposed to the Cold in a Bottle would not freeze but another Portion being contain'd in an earthen Porringer did 3. I am inform'd That there is a Lake of Water in Scotland out of which a small River runs the Water of both which is never froze but dissolves Snow or Ice if cast into it 4. Sallet-oyl being made use of to keep the Locks of Guns from freezing hinder'd them from being discharg'd but Oyl of Hemp or Train-oyl kept them from freezing TITLE IV. Experiments and Observations concerning the degrees of Cold in several Bodies Of the degrees of Cold in several Bodies TO discover the different degrees of Cold we have proposed several Thermometers in the preceeding Chapters concerning which we shall add this Advertisement viz. That tho' those which are to be immersed in Liquors have the Ball end round yet when we are to try the degrees of Cold of consistent Powders it is better to make use of such as have flat Bottoms that they may be able to stand on their own Basis For so it will be pleasant to see the suspended Bubble in one of our Thermometers rise and fall as it is removed from one Body to another 2. Freezing hath been so generally esteemed the utmost Effect of Cold That most have been content without examining strictly the several degrees of it Nor indeed is it very easily done since if we do it with common Weather-glasses it will be a hard thing to distinguish whether the Cold of one Day exceeds that of another since there intervening so much time betwixt the Observations the Alterations may be caused by an increase in the weight of the Atmosphere And should we make an estimate by the Testimony of our Senses we should easily be mistaken since it is believed That the different sensations of Cold which we perceive depend on the various Dispositions of our Bodies But allowing that vulgar Thermometers might give us a true Information of the degrees of Cold which Nature affords yet they acquaint us not whether Art may not produce greater much less will they help us to make an estimate of this Disparity And though we may make some guess by the Operation of Cold on Liquors exposed to it yet some as Aqueous Liquors freeze too soon and vinous Liquors here in England will not freeze at all except French Wine which happens seldom and leaves too great an Interval betwixt the degrees necessary to congeal Wine and sufficient to freeze Water besides the uncertainty proceeding from the several strengths of Wines Wherefore to discover the Intensity of Cold produced by Art above the highest degree that Nature affords See Plate 1. Fig. 1. we furnished a sealed Weather-glass Such as Plate 1. Fig. 1. Delineates with
condensed by Cold the Air breaks in to prevent a Vacuum For that Water is expanded by Cold appears from what I have said besides nothing is more commonly observ'd than that Water being froze in a Vessel whose sides are strong enough to keep it from bursting them the Superficies of the Ice is generally protuberant and convex And that the breaking of Bottles depends not on Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum appears since should we suppose That the Fluid contain'd in a Bottle would be so far condensed as to possess less space than before it is possible there might be a Vacuum there and the Bottle not burst since Glass-Bubbles much thinner than ordinary Bottles will endure the frost tho' stopped close with Air in them But not only Water expands it self upon freezing but other Aqueous Bodies so Eggs being froze burst their shells asunder And Milk Urine Rhenish Wine and good Spirit of Wine being set to freeze in distinct Glass-Eggs the Wine being froze swell'd an Inch above the first Surface the Milk two Inches and the Urine six or seven And a Solution of Dantzick-Vitriol did not only become Opace but rose considerably higher in a Cylindrical Pipe upon Congelation Whether more stable and consistent Bodies are capable of being expanded by Cold would be worth enquiring since it hath been observ'd That in Nova Zembla the very Clocks have been froze so that they would not goe and the like hath been observ'd by Capt. James in his Voyage at Charlton-Island his Watch being froze as well as his Clocks Whether these Effects depended on any Swelling of the Ropes or whether the Spring of his Watch might be weakned by Cold or whether some Iceicles stuck to the Internal Parts of it I shall leave as bare Conjectures to be further examined into by Experience The Phaenomena of an Experiment about Freezing referrable to the VII Title read before the Royal Society Having filled a Bolt-head which was as big as two Turkey Eggs with Water till it rought a pretty height into the slender Stem being put into a Mixture of Snow and Salt it subsided a little but when it began to freeze it would sensibly swell The Experiment being repeated with a Glass whose Stem was as thin as a Raven's Quill when first the Ball of it was immersed in the frigorifick Mixture the Water presently ascended the height of a Barly-corn and presently subsided again which the Florentine Virtuosi would attribute to a Constriction of the Glass upon the Application of the frigorifick Mixture Secondly And tho' the Florentine Virtuosi relate That they have observ'd the Water after it had subsided a little to rest and then subsided again yet in all the Tryals I made I did not observe it Thirdly When the Water had subsided a little it would be at a stand till the Liquor began to freeze Fourthly The Experiment being try'd with Glasses whose Stems were unequally big upon Glaciation the Ascent of the Water in the large ones would be indiscernible but in a slender one it would ascend several Inches in a Minute till it rose up to the top of the Stem Fifthly Tho' the Forentine Academians say they have observ'd the Water to rise again before Glaciation yet I could never see such a Phaenomenon Sixthly If the Glass was taken out of the Mixture when first it began to freeze as soon as the small Iceicles were melted it would subside again yet if reapply'd to the Mixture a second time it would freeze in half a Minute TITLE VIII Experiments concerning the Contraction of Liquors by Cold. Of the Contraction of Liquors by Cold. 1 THO' the Liquors we have mention'd expand themselves upon an Intense degree of Cold yet we are not thence to couclude that all will since we have found it by experience not only in Spirit of Wine Aqua fortis Oyl of Turpentine and several other Liquors which would not be brought to freeze but also in Oyl congeal'd by the vehemence of the Cold. 2. Amongst the several Experiments made of the Efficacy of Cold to condensed Liquors I shall lay down the following 3. Spirit of Wine being put into a small Glass-Egg with a slender Stem in a Mixture of Snow and Salt subsided ¾ of an Inch. 4. Mercury being freed from Air and placed in a Bold-head in a Mixture of Snow and Salt subsided 2 Inches Common Oyl placed in the same Mixture subsided till it froze but if it were immediately thaw'd near the fire it would expand it self so much as to rise about the Mark. The Experiment succeeded a second time and being try'd a third time the Lumps of the congeal'd Oly would sink in the fluid Oyl Oyl of Aniseeds artificially froze subsided considerably in a small Pipe Empyreumatical Oyl of Gaujacum being exposed to the utmost degree of Cold would not freeze but evidently subsided Particulars referrable to the VIII Title 1. Two seal'd Weather-Glasses the one made of a Tincture of Cochineele in Spirit of Wine and the other of a blew Tincture of Spirit of Man's Blood and Copper in Spirit of Wine were immersed in Water till it began to freeze and then being remov'd into Oyl of Turpentine set in a Mixture of Snow and Salt we observ'd That the Liquor in both Thermometers subsided Oyl of Aniseeds being put into a small Glass with a large Stem and placed in a frigorifick Mixture made by a Solution of Sal-Armoniack subsided 3 Inches the substance of the Oyl being turn'd into a white Concrete which when it was leasurely dissolv'd the fluid Part emitted several Bubbles and it was further observ'd in this Concrete That tho' when thaw'd it swims upon Water yet when congeal'd it will not TITLE IX Experiments concerning the Bubble from which the Levity of Ice is supposed to proceed Of the Levity of Ice and its Cause 1. IT is usually accounted an Argument of the levity of Ice above Water that it swims upon it For tho' the superficies of small Portions of it are not sensibly emergent above the Surface of the Water yet in Greenland where huge Rocks of Ice float in the Sea they are observ'd to be as high above the Water as the Masts of Ships which could we suppose to float in an erect Posture and to be of a prismatical Form that Part immersed would be nine times as much as that above the Water As for the Reason why Ice is born up above the surface of the Water so much in Greenland more than in our Climate besides that the size of those pieces of Ice contributes to the rendring the Observation more remarkable the Water's expansion in that cold Climate may cause it to be further expanded there than here and consequently lighter 2. Pieces of Ice free from Bubbles floated in Spirit of Wine drawn from Brandy and likewise from Quick-lime and tho' if that Spirit were warmed it would presently subside yet as it cooled the Ice would ascend nevertheless some part of it being thaw'd
Marks was about the 15th Part of the whole 10. A large Glass-egg with a proportionable Stem being so far fill'd with Water that it wrought up an Inch into the Stem the next Day the Water was rais'd 15 Inches The whole contain'd in the Cavity of the Egg being froze the frozen Water continuing to swell was rais'd 4 Inches higher a few drops running over the top of it but when the Ice was wholly thaw'd it subsided again 11. Another Egg about the same height being plac'd in beaten Ice and Salt the Water rose an Inch in an Hours time and several Laminae of Ice appear'd at the Jointure of the Ball and the Neck but after an Hour and a quarcer those disappear'd and the Ball seem'd to be fill'd with white Ice the Water in the Neck being rais'd 4 ½ Inches above the first Mark. Several small Bubbles ascended through the Neck till it was wholly thaw'd and the white Ice was full of Bubbles The Experiment being further prosecuted the Water swell'd till some of it ran out at the top of the Tube Upon which the top of it being seal'd up we plac'd it in a warm Room till the Water was quite thaw'd so much Air only-remaining above the Water when froze as in dimensions equall'd a small Pea. When the Ice was wholly thaw'd the Water subsided to its first Mark and then the top of the Stem being broke off under Water so much of it was impell'd by the external Air as when the Pipe was re-inverted again rose 7 Inches above the first Mark and left about an Inch ¼ above it so that the Air which caus'd the Water when froze to swell and which was generated there took up one Inch and ¼ Which being expanded through the Cavity of the Cylinder above the surface of the Water when thaw'd so far appear'd not to be Air that it wanted a Spring to resist the ingress of the Water 12. Another time the tip of a seal'd Stem being broke under Water it receiv'd 10 Inches and above ½ 13. In the same Bolt-head wherein the greatest condensation of Air was try'd the Water being froze was rais'd a Foot above its former station and then being seal'd up and leasurely thaw'd it subsided again to its former Mark And then the Seal being broke off under Water so much of that contain'd in the Basin was forc'd into the Tube as sill'd 11 Inches of it near â…› of an Inch of Air being generated in the former part of the Operation 14. Another time the Water swelling 10 Inches in the same Glass we broke off the Neb under Water and it receiv'd as much of the external Water so that in this no Air was generated 15. The like Experiments being try'd with aqueous Liquors the Neb of one that contain'd Milk being broke off under Water it was manifestly impell'd by the outward Air. And another being likewise open'd under Water which contain'd Urine it receiv'd about five or six Inches of Water 16. Another Glass which contain'd Claret-Wine being open'd under Water the Water was impell'd near an Inch above the Mark which would not have happen'd had the Bubbles been fill'd with true and permament Air. TITLE X. Experiments about the Measure of the Expansion and the Contraction of Liquors The expansion and contraction of Liquors measur'd TO measure the expansion of the Air we took a Bolt-head and pour'd in so much Water that it rose a little way into the Stem which being done and the number of Ounces it contain'd set down to those we successfully added one Ounce after another marking how high each of them wrought Which being done we pour'd out a convenient quantity and froze the remaining Water from the bottom upwards and the Ice that consisted of 82 parts of Water filled the space of 91 and ½ so that the congeal'd Water possess'd a 9th part of space more than it did before In another Experiment 55 Parts of Water being froze were extended to 60 ½ 6 of those remaining unfroze 2. Another way we took to measure the expansion of Water was by marking a Cylindrical Pipe at the superficies of the Water contain'd in it which when it was froze was rais'd a tenth part higher than before Another more exact Cylinder being made use of we found that Water froze expanded to about a ninth Part of the space it possess'd before 3. But perhaps this Method of measuring the expansion of freezing Water may suggest a difficulty to those that are acquainted with Hydrostaticks since Archimedes hath made it appear as well as Stevinus That floating Bodies will so far and but so far sink in the Liquor that supports them till the immersed Part of the Body be equal to a bulk of Water weighing as much as the whole Body 4. For Capt. James hath observ'd Ice to float a great deal above the Water and the Hollanders in their Voyage to Nova Zembla take notice of a Hill of Ice which was 16 Fathom above the Water tho' but 36 below it And Janus Munkius in his Account of Gâ—…enland observ'd That one that was but 4â— Fathom under Water was 20 above it whereas according to our Computation of the expansion of Water the Part under Water ought to be 8 or 9 times as deep as that above it 5. But to clear this difficulty I have these things to represent First That the Ice which we take notice of floats in fresh Water but that observ'd by Navigators being fresh floats in salt Water yet this is to be likewise consider'd That near the Poles the Seas are not so salt as ours or those under the Line and consequently will not be able to bear up the floating Ice so high except the coldness of that Region recompenses the want of Salt 6. But besides these Considerations that which I would chiefly insist upon for the removal of this difficulty is That these huge Piles of Ice are made up of vast Lumps betwixt which are large Vacuities which are only fill'd up with Air so that we are not to judge of their weight by the bulk they appear to be of to the Eye but by the specifick weight incumbent on that part immers'd in the Water For we see in Barges that sometimes they carry Loads which consisting of light Matter may be piled a great height above the Water without depressing the Vessel so much as heavier Bodies of less bulk which are more ponderous in Specie for the greatest part of these floating pieces of Ice as Bartholinus takes notice are compiled of store of Snow frozen together Besides it is observ'd That most of those stupendious Mountains which lay so much above Water below rested on the Ground so that probably they might have sunk much lower had the Water been deep enough for them for Mr. Hudson in his Voyage takes notice in a Bay that bears his Name of a piece of Ice sevenscore Fathom deep 7. Having said thus much of the expansion of Water it perhaps may
be expected that I should say something of the expansion of aqueous Humours and also of the degrees of the Condensation of Water and watry Humours But as for the first I doubt whether there be any expansion except of the watry Parts of them but if it may be of any use to direct us in making an estimate of the different Proportions they contain of Phlegm or other more spirituous Ingredients I would not discourage those whose Curiosity shall prevail with them to prosecute such Experiments And as for the condensation of Water by Cold tho' perhaps in hotter Climates it may be considerable yet I have not found it very sensible in all the Tryals I have made here Particulars referrable to the X Title 1. A Bolt-head whose Stem was 17 Inches above the Water being seal'd up and placed about 9 hours in a frigorifick Mixture the Water ascended 15 Inches ½ and afterwards ½ of ¼ of an Inch being neglected for an hour the seal'd end was blown off and the Bottom of the Glass broke in peices 2. Water freed from Air in our Receiver and seal'd up in a round Bolt-head in which the seal'd Apex was about 5 Inches above the Water afforded an Ice very free from Bubbles and having stood in a frigorifick Mixture about 2 hours it was raised 4 Inches and ⅜ The Conical Apex being broke with a noise and a seeming smoak we found Water unfroze under the Pipe and that the Air was condensed to a 20th Part of the space it possess'd before 3. The Globous part of a Glass-Egg 3 Inches Diameter was filled with Water and froze from the Bottom upwards after it had been Hermetically seal'd it rose 8 ½ Inches the length of the whole Stem being 10 Inches and a half But being a second time sealed up and froze with Ice in it it wrought not 4 Inches above its first station TITLE XI Experiments touching the Expansive force of Freezing Water Of the Expansive force of freezing Water 1. TO help us to make an estimate of the Expansive force of freezing Water We filled a Pewter-Bottle full of Water it being large enough to hold half a Pint In a frosty Night it crack'd the Bottle and the like success we had with frozen Water in a Pewter-box such as they keep Salves in And we found the Expansive force of Frost so strong That it burst a Bottle the thinnest part of which was 1 14 of an Inch and the thickest ◠86 It also broke an Earthen Bottle of Flanders-Metal the thinnest part of which was as thick as the strongest of the other 2. To make a more Determinate Estimate of the Expansive force of Frost we made use of a Brass-Cylinder to which we adapted a Plugg which falling a little way within the Cylinder rested upon the edges of it The length of the Cylinder was about 5 Inches and the breadth 1 ¾ The Experiment made in this Instrument was by filling it full of Water and then laying 56 pound weight upon the top of it And tho' it was a hard matter to cause the Mixture to freeze yet we were at the last able to do it and then we observ'd That the Expanded Ice lifted up the one side of the lower so high that the weight fell down but at another time it succeeded so well that the lower was uniformly raised the breadth of a Barly-corn Upon a gentle thaw the Superficial Parts being taken out the Ice appear'd full of Bubbles And in the Morning when it began to melt before the fire the weight being taken off several drops of Water dilated into numerous Bubbles issu'd out like a kind of Froth 3. Another way we took to measure the Expansive force of Cold was by driving a Wooden Plugg so fast into the end of the Brass-Cylinder That half a hundred weight and a quarter of a hundred might be suspended at it without pulling it out yet in two frosty Nights the expanding Water was able to raise it a quarter of an Inch. 4. There is one thing in these Tryals deserves to be taken notice of viz. That the Expansion of Air by Heat being sufficient to make it possess 70 times it 's former space yet the utmost degree Water by Glaciation will extend it self to is a ninth So that the former by Expansion acquires 60 times the space that Water does taking Mersennus his account of the Air 's Expansion to be true which comes short of what we have shewn it capable of being Expanded to 5. We endeavoured likewise to measure the force of Waters Expansion when congeal'd by enclosing it in a Iron-Globe whose Diameter was about 3 Inches and which had a Female Screw continued from it's Cavity to the out side to which was adapted Male a screw so close That we were forc'd to use a Vice to screw it in but our hopes were frustrated the Compactness of the metal as we suppos'd keeping the Liquor from freezing 6. It would be worth while to consider the cause of so powerful an Expansion since neither the Cartesian nor the Epicurean Doctrine are able to explain this Phaenomenon For the first only accounting Cold to be a Privation of Heat and depending upon the recess of those subtil Parts which he supposes Expansion to depend on according to him they should rather continue an Inactive Mass than retain such a Springyness And since according to Epicurus Expansion depends on an Insinuation of frigorifick Atoms It may well be question'd how parts of Matter which have such a free entrance into such Vessels should not rather find as easie a Passage out again as in without breaking them Besides in several Oyls and other Liquors which must receive those frigorifick Atoms we perceive not the least Expansion at all but they are rather condensed 7. How great the Expansive Force of congeal'd Wine Milk Urine and other Liquors is I shall leave it to others to enquire and shall only take notice That undoubtedly it is considerable since in the Dutch Voyage to Nova Zembla it was observ'd That even Iron-hoops were burst by the forcible Expansion of included Liquors And in Russia it hath been observ'd that tho' Beer and Wine would not burst Wooden Vessels yet Glass and Stone-Vessels would be often broken Particulars referrable to the XI Title 1. We took a Brass-Cylinder 2 Inches Diameter and having put a Bladder with Water ty'd close up in it so that upon Expansion it could not get out into the Cavity of the Cylinder we put a Plugg into it upon which were placed several weights which amounted to 120 Pounds yet the frigorifick Mixture being apply'd to the Cylinder the Water expanded rais'd the Plugg near half an Inch and the Experiment being repeated again the next Day the freezing Water raised 130 Pound-weight 2. An Iron-Barrel 14 Inches long and ⅜ of an Inch in Diameter whose sides were at the thickest Part 1 16 and at the least ◠16 was filled with Water and being buried in a Mixture
and Superficial Region of the Earth 3. But if against what hath been said it should be alledged That by the Primum Frigidum they only mean some Earth Mixed with the common Parts of the Terrestrial Globe I should be glad to know how we must discover this But tho' I have brought these Arguments against this common received Notion I cannot agree with Gassendus who thinks that the Earth is no more Cold than Hot Since it being naturally a Body whose Parts are inclined to rest it without the assistance of some Extrinsick Agent to put it's Parts in Motion must consequently affect our Sensory with a greater degree of Coldness than Air or Water whose Parts are more Agitated 4. And if those that argue for the Earth's being the Primum Frigidum had only urged that it was the Summum Frigidum Earth the Summum Frigidum I could have more easily agreed with them Since in the Straits of Weigats the Seas are froze but not in the Northern Seas nor that of Tartary for the main Seas never freeze but only near the Land where it is much Colder than in the Ocean Water not the Primum Frigidum 5. It is the Opinion of Aristotle and the Schools That Water is the Primum Frigidum but in all Waters that are Froze by Cold we always see they begin at the top where the Air is Contiguous which argues the Air Colder than the Water since it congeals it Whereas if Water was the Coldest Body it ought always Naturally to be Froze or to begin to freeze rather in the middle than at the top and rather in the main Ocean than in Gulfs Straits and small Rivers For it is observ'd That those vast heaps of Ice that float in the Sea and which we have so often mention'd depend not on the Penetration of Cold to that depth they sometime sink to but vast pieces of Ice being gathered together from the shore and small Rivers and cemented together depress each other by their own weight upon which the falling Snow gradually increases their Bulk 6. But tho' I am far from taking Water to be the Primum Frigidum yet I cannot agree with Gassendus who thinks it indifferent as to Heat and Cold For except where some adventitious cause Concurs the Parts of Water being less Agitated than the Humors about our Sensory by it we must adjudge it Cold. And tho' by the Heat of the Sun the superficial Parts of the Water are a little warmer yet all Divers Unanimously agree That it is Colder at the depth of a few Fathoms Besides it is observ'd in warm Regions to be much warmer at Land than Sea and those Countries that lye near the Sea are generally cooler But as Cold as it is there they don't find That it is able to congeal the Water tho' at the top it is often Froze Air not the Primum Frigidum 7. By the Stoicks and many of the modern Philosophers the Air is looked upon to be the Primum Frigidum Yet considering how great a Part of it lies under the Torrid Zone and that it is for the most Part very Hot and likewise that Water enclosed in a Mixture of Snow and Salt will freeze at the bottom and not where it is contiguous to the Air I say considering these things it will appear That the Air is so far from being the Primum Frigidum That it is not the Summum Frigidum Besides Air condensed to the utmost degree it was possible by the Coldness of the Air and shut up in a convenient Glass hath been condensed further by the Application of other Bodies Whence it appears that the Coldness of the Air depends on the Mixture of some frigorifick Corpuscles with it and not on the Specifick Texture of it's own Parts Besides Water may be Froze when inclosed in Substances not apt to freeze and when the Air is not Contiguous to it Nitre not the Grand Efficient of Cold. 8. The next Opinion I shall consider is That of the learned Gassendus who ascribes the frigorifick Virtue of Bodies to the admixture of Nitre But tho' I allow Nitre to be a substance dispersed through most Bodies yet since Cold is only a Privative Quality and an absence of Heat there are other Agents which by stopping the motion of the Insensible Parts of a Body may deprive it of it's power of Heating Besides it must be a prodigious Quantity of Nitre That would be able to render every Part of the Sea so Cold as it is found to be rot to mention That Nitre is scarce ever found so deep in the Earth as some Seas extend besides the Seas afford us very little Salt-Petre but a great deal of common Salt 9. And tho' Gassendus asserts That Bodies receive the Impressions of Cold from Nitrous Exhalations swimming in the Air yet amongst all the Experiments I have made to resolve Nitre into Vapours I have not found that it was able to effect more in the Production of Cold than other Saline Bodies And Spirit of Nitre is so far from having an actual Coldness greater than other Bodies That it is potentially Hot. And whether the Exhalations of Nitre will congeal Water or not Spirit of Nitre I have observ'd will dissolve Ice as soon almost as Spirit of Wine And tho' Nitre mix'd with Snow or Ice may promote Congelation yet it proves not that the Parts of Nitre are frigorifick since the Experiment will succeed with Spirit of Wine 10. Having said thus much of Gassendus his Opinion we shall in the next place propose some Experiments which will be a further Confirmation of what we have been saying 11. Rock-Petre and Ice being put into a Bottle congeal'd the Vapours on the outside but pieces of Salt-Petre laid upon Plates of Ice dissolv'd it Water being satiated with Salt-Petre and exposed to the Cold in a Bottle broke it several Chrystals of Salt-Petre having shot in the Bottom of it From these Experiments it appears That there are Colder Bodies than Salt-Petre and that it dissolves Ice and it is rather Hot than Cold in respect of Ice 12. On a windy and a cloudy Day having suspended a Weather-Glass in Water satiated with Salt-Petre we observ'd That when it had stood a considerable time and was raised by the string up into the Air the Liquor contained in it was raised about 2 divisions and being again immersed in the solution of Nitre it was presently raised so that the Air was Colder than the solution of Nitre 13. But to conclude this Title tho' I am far from thinking Nitre to be the Summum Frigidum yet I doubt not but that Parts of it rising from the Earth in the form of Vapours may contribute to the refrigeration of the Air. Not but that there are several other Bodies in the Bowels of the Earth whose Effluvia being mix'd with the Air and dispersed through it may cool the Air according to their Proportions as much as
And it hath been observed That Iron-Instruments brought out of the Cold into a warm Room have been covered over with a white Hoar and it is not only confirmed by foreign Artists but several here That Cold hath so great an Effect on Steel as to make several Pieces of Metal more brittle than in the Summer so that they are then forced to work them another way and to give them a different temper Hot Water does not freeze sooner than Cold. It being a Tradition and also taught by Aristotle That Hot Water is sooner froze than Cold to determine the matter I made the following Experiments Cold Water being exposed to freeze in one Porringer boiled Water cooled in another and Hot Water in a Third at 8 a Clock the Cold Water began to freeze at ¼ after ten the Boild Water cooled at ¾ past ten and the Hot Water at ¼ an hour past Eleven And the like success happened when the Experiment was tryed a second time in Metalline Vessels And the Experiment being again tryed with greater exactness the Cold Water and the rest being exposed to freeze at ¼ after 6 the first beganto freeze ¼ after 7 the Water heated and cooled again ¾ after 7 and the Hot Water was not froze ½ an hour after Eight The like Experiment being tryed with Water contained in Glass-Cylinders of an equal Bore sealed at one end we found that there was very little difference in the time of their Congelation when immersed in a Mixture of Snow Salt and Water but once when the end of one of the Cylinders was drawn smaller than Ordinary the smallness of the Pipe occasioned the Hot Water to begin to freeze sooner than the Cold Water Postcript Accidentally looking upon the Circulus Pisanus of Berigardus I found That tho' that Author opposes Aristotle in other Points yet he agrees with Him That Hot Water cooled will sooner freeze than ordinary Cold Water but having tryed the Experiment I observ'd That both being exposed to freeze when by a Weather-Glass I found them of the same temper my Domestick who attended them took notice also that they both began to freeze at one time And tho' Berigardus further wonders That warm Salt-Water should be less subject to freeze for being Salt yet from Experiments already laid down it abundantly appears That tho' Salt Externally applyed promotes it yet Internally being dissolv'd in Water it prevents Congelation Particulars referrable to several Titles For a further Confirmation of the VI Title I shall add that Purchas relates Lib. 4. Cap. 19. That the Samojeds when they Bury their Dead only cover them with a Pile of stones and tho' the Dead Bodies may be seen through them yet the Coldness of the Air preserves them from stinking And the same Author tells us That in a certain Island they preserve their Fish and Flesh by hardening it in the Air better than if it were corned with Salt In Confirmation of what hath been delivered under the VII Title I exposed several Vials filled with Water and unstopped to be froze and found that the Bottles were broke in pieces by the Expansion of the frozen Water so that the Phaenomenon could not be attributed to Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum For if either the Expanded Water could have made it's way by stretching the Glass or leaving the Superficial Ice congealed at first in the Neck or any other way easier than to break the Vessel the Vessel would probably be left intire I say probably because sometimes in such Experiments something may intervene which requires further Tryals and Observations to discover Since I have in other Experiments made it appear That the Water beginning to freeze at the Bottom rose a considerable height in the Stem without breaking the Bottle and I have sometimes had a good deal of a Liquor froze in a stopped Vial without breaking it as if the success were varyed by some uncommon Properties in the Glass or some peculiar softness of the Ice In Confirmation of what is delivered in the VII Title of the Expansion of freezing Water I shall add That the Capacity of a large Bottle being filled with Water except the Neck and that filled with Oyl the expanding Water not only elevated the Cork but raised it several Inches it being supported by a Cylinder partly consisting of Oily and partly of Watry Particles of Ice It is a General Tradition amongst Fisher-men That when Ponds or Rivers are froze up except several holes are broke up for the Air to communicate with the Water the Fishes will be suffocated and Olaus Magnus tells us That Fishes are usually found suffocated when a thaw comes where Veins of living Water do not enter But I am not satisfyed whether if the Tradition be true they may not be killed either by some Subterraneal Steams or their own Excrementitious Effluvia prevented by the Ice from making their way out of the Water and it may be questioned further whether this Phaenomenon may not be caused by excessive Cold as well as for want of Air. Wherefore to satisfie my self whether the Vulgar Opinion be true or not I enclosed some Gudgeons in a large Glass with a long Neck and having froze the Water in the Neck by applying a Mixture of Snow and Salt I found That the Fishes lived a considerable time And the like I observed when the same Fishes were contained in an Earthen Vessel with a little Water frozen over Where the External Air was wholly separated and prevented from communicating with the Water under the Ice yet one thing observable was That there was a large Bubble of Air under the Ice which I suppose came from the Fish For I have observed not only these sort of Fish but Lamprels take in Air and then being immersed under Water emit Bubbles both at their Mouths and Gills Gudgeons frozen up in Ice in a Basin recovered when it was thawed but some that continued 3 Days in Ice revived not Frogs froze in Water till they were all enclosed with Ice and till one of them was stiff with it recovered when it was thawed and Swam about tho' before some of them lay with their Bellys upwards and void of Motion As for the weight of Bodies frozen Capt. James tells us That Wood that had lain all Winter under Ice would sink when cast into the Water And he likewise tells us That the Ice of Wine is so durable that a Butt of Wine which was froze in the Winter continued unthawed in May. Purchas tells us of two pieces of Ice which they found lay fast on the Ground the one of which was 20 fathom under Water and 12 above and the other 18 fathom below the Surface of the Water and 10 above it It is observed by Purchas and several others That the Snow lying upon the Ground in Russia as well as in England makes it fruitful Of the separation of Liquors by Cold. It would be worth while to try what Effects Cold
hath upon occult Qualities as well as manifest ones and likewise upon Fermentation since it is observ'd to retardate the working of Ale extremely and it is observed That Must may be preserved sweet a long time in a deep Well or if let down into the Bottom of a River and will when taken up be less apt to ferment than other parcels of Must kept in the warmer Air. It hath been observed in the Northern Countrys That the most Spirituous Parts of Liquors have been separated and Collected together by a Congelation of the Phlegm wherefore to try what Cold would Effect in our Climates I hung out a Bottle of Beer in a sharp Night and found That most Part of it being froze the Liquor which was not froze was very strong and Spirituous the frozen Part being Spiritless But Rectifyed Spirit of Wine tinged with Cochineel being mixed with Water Congelation separated not their Parts nor did it separate the red and the Watery Parts of Claret I made several Tryals upon Milk and Blood as also on Vinegar in which my Attempts proved insatisfactory But a Solution of Salt being made in 24 Parts of Water so that it was as strong as the Sea-Water about us I caused it to be exposed to freeze in a flat Vessel which was the larger That the Superficies of the Water might be considerable and when it was covered with a Cake of Ice that being taken off it acquired another which when dissolved yielded Water not near so Salt as that which remained unfroze and being Hydrostatically weigâ—ed was considerably lighter Having exposed several Vegetable and Animal Substances to be froze I found That by that means I could discover their succulent juices and squeez them out in the form of Ice which being done by cutting them transversely and length ways I could discover also the Figure and Size of the Pores in which those Juices lodged Amongst the Animal substances exposed to freeze were the Eyes and the Brains of Animals which by being froze would be fitter to be dissected the latter when cut in two seeming like an Apple froze the Ventricles and iâ—… whole substance being filled with Icy Particles Nâ—ither an Eye nor a Liver lean flesh or fish nor a living Frog would be crusted over with Ice as Eggs and Apples are when put into Water after they had been froze As for the Reason why flesh is usually much impaired by being froze I suppose it to proceed hence viz. That the Alimental Juice being expended by freezing hath not it's own texture altered only but even the solid Vessels which contain it are thereby bruised and crushed for from several Experiments it is evident That Eggs will be burst by the freezing of the Alimental Juice and that the Textures of Stones and Vegetables will be destroyed by the Powerful Congelation of their respective Juices which will be less wondered at if we consider that Aqueous Parts by their Expansion were able to burst the Barrel of a Gun Had I had leasure and conveniency I would have tryed what Effects Cold hath upon Animals froze to Death but having exposed a Rabbet to the Cold all Night I found that only one Leg was swelled and a little stiff But a strangled Rabbet being exposed to be froze Ice was produced in several Parts It is affirmed by several Modern Writers That if Water be impregnated with the Salts of Vegetables upon Congelation they will represent the shape of the Plant they belong to But notwithstanding I have several times tryed the Experiment I found it either false or very contingent since it did not once answer Expectation But having exposed a Lixivium of Pot-ashes to freeze I found That the Chrystals upon the Surface of the Water were Prismatical and that under those lay a great many thin Parallel Plates of Ice but not ranged in such an order as to represent the shape of Trees And tho' Bartholinus tells us That if a Decoction of Cabbage be froze it will represent a Cabbage yet I could never find That the Experiment succeded except that once there appeared the faint resemblance of a single Leaf But I have found That fair Water froze would represent the shapes of Vegetables oftner than their Decoctions And tho' Berigardus also affirms the same yet I suspect That he only wirt without trying the Experiments himself And yet I deny not but that prepossessed Spectators may fancy they see such things when they do not for tho' Sea-Salt and Allum consist of Parts of determinate Figures yet when dissolved in Water they exhibit Figures too various and extravagant not to be referred to Chance And on this occasion to what hath been said I shall add That by Distilling and rectifying Oyl of Turpentine from Sea-Salt in a Glass-head as the degrees of Heat were varyed so would the Figures of Trees be represented different on the inside the Glass And I have several times produced the shapes of Trees from Bodies belonging to the Animal Kingdom And I have found That tho' Figures curious enough would be represented by Spirits Solutions Decoctions Vinegar Milk and even common Water yet it was in vain to hope for the same success and that the like Figures should always be afforded by the same Liquor since very small Circumstances would vary them considerably And in trying of such Experiments as these it may not be amiss to advertise That it will be convenient that the Liquor should be as shallow as it possibly may That it may be more speedily froze A frozen Egg being Put into Oyl of Turpentine instead of common Water it gathered not about it any crusty Film It is observed by Mr. Wood That tho' New-England be 10 or 11 degrees remoter from the Pole yet the Winters are much more piercing and Cold than ours And to what hath been delivered in the XVIII Title of the infrigidating Power of Wind I shall add That sometimes it hath been so much more Cold than at others That being blown through the frigorifick Mixture it would cause not only the Spirit of Wine to subside but being blown upon the Ball of another Weather-Glass not only the Liquor but even Mercury it self would be forced to ascend tho' the Vicinity of the frigorifick Mixture could not cause that Effect And I have often tryed That when the Temperature of the Air was such that tho' when first blown upon the Ball of a nice Thermoscope it would not cause the Liquor to ascend yet at another season the Tinged Liquor ascended as if the Air by being more than ordinarily compressed in the Room had some sensible Effect in compressing and contracting the Air included in the Thermoscope To try whether Liquors by losing their fluidity and becoming consistent would acquire a greater degree of Coldness I caused the Ball of a Weather-Glass to be immersed in Sallet-Oyl and a Solution of Minium in Vinegar or of Quick-lime in Water either of which will coagulate the Oyl but I did not find That
colour and taste of Wine In thirty eight hours Canary exposed in a spoon was covered with a thin film which grew no thicker in four days But neither Claret or Canary would freeze in Tubes or Bottles Two ounces of Spirit of Wine exposed in a spoon all evaporated in twelve hours but the same quantity of Brandy left about a spoonful of Ice void both of taste and it 's Inflammable Quality but being held betwixt my Eye and a candle it discover'd several bubbles An Ox and a Sheep's Eye were both frozen through in one Night the three Humours being Opacous hard and inseparable The Chrystalline humour was white like Whitings boil'd the waterish and glassy humour seemed to be made of flakes of Ice Sheeps Blood exposed to freeze the Serum was turned to Ice which being separated from the Blood and thawed at the fire congealed a second time into a Membranous substance but the Blood was not in the least froze The Heart and Blood in the Vena Cava of a Dog and Cat exposed dead to the Air were both froze Milk froze into white flakes being soft and with few bubbles in it and retaining the proper taste of Milk The yolks and Whites of Eggs were froze in one Night they thaw best by lying on New-Castle Coals or in a deep Cellar I am told that Eggs tho' they have been froze will produce Chickens-Eggs held near the Surface of the Water when froze will acquire a crust of Ice on the outside the inward Parts of it still remaining froze and if those Eggs whilst froze be poched they will be very tough An Egg and an Apple being suspended two Foot deep in a Cistern and taken up after twenty four hours tho' both of them were full of Ice within yet neither of them had contracted Ice on the outside Horse-Radishes and Onions froze yet Beer in which Horse-Radish and Scurvey-Grass are infused will not freeze so soon as strong Beer without them Oranges and Limons froze have a hard and tough rind and lose their genuine taste and when thawed they soon become rotten Apples Cut in the middle will have a thin Ice on both plains which may be discerned by a knife or the touch The skins of these Apples soon turn brown and they begin to corrupt there Oyl exposed look'd like Butter melted and coagulated again but in Caves and Cellars it would never appear more than Candied White Wine-Vinegar froze in a Tube without apparent bubbles Whatever hath a watry humour in it will coagulate But what will not the next Paragraph contains Spirit of Wine Aq. Mariae Coelestis c and Canary in large Vessels Soap-Boilers Lees Spirit of Salt Vitriol Salt-Petre Aqua fortis Spirit of Sulphur and Spirit of Soot will not freeze but the two last afford a Precipitate the first of the colour and taste of Brimstone but not inflammable the latter a yellowish powder more bitter than the Spirit and inflammable But tho' these Spirits would not freeze yet being mixed with twelve Parts of Water all of them froze except Spirit of Salt Nitre and Aqua fortis I am told that one having dissolv'd Ice in the North Seas found it Salt As for the figures of Liquors froze Allum appear'd in lumps Salt-Petre Tartar Milk Ale Wine and Sal-Armoniack in plates And other Liquors which composed a soft Ice seened to be composed of Globuli adhering to each others Water Kelp and Frits resembled the fibres of an Oaken leaf the interstices being filled up with smoother Ice and the middle Fibres as in Plants appeared larger than the others and made acute Angles at the lesser end of the leaf But as for the figures of frozen Urine those having been accurately describ'd by the curious Mr. Hook I shall pass that part of my task by I took the Salts of Rosemary Rue Scurvey-Grass Mint and Plantan and putting ½ or ¾ of an ounce of each into ½ of a pint of their distilled Waters the Rue and Plantan being sealed up none of them froze resembled the Plants they belong'd to but the Aromatick Waters were much enriched in their scents especially the Rosemary Kelp froze represents the leaves of Alga Marina A Recipient full of Water being froze and the top of the Ice broke there appeared a Cavity within which was thick set with Plates of Ice from which Stiriae appeared on each side like the Teeth of Combs some of which stood at such a distance that I could put my finger betwixt them A flask full of Water being froze it appear'd full of bubbles like tailed hail-shot the sharp points of all of them pointing upwards They had Cavities which would admit a Pin into them and might be discerned in the Ice appearing like black spots And in the middle of the Ice was contained a Cavity filled with Water in which were several of these bubbles imperfectly formed All the Liquors I made Experiments with did sensibly rise above the mark before they froze and more after congelation Vinegar and Urine rose ½ an Inch and Lees made of Salts of Rosemary Kelp and Frits about ½ of an Inch. Solutions of Allum and Copperas less and Saline Liquors in general less than Water which rose a full Inch and small Beer in a narrow Tube four Inches Oyl of Vitriol alone subsides below the mark hot Water subsides till it is cool and then rises again Water being froze in Beer-Glasses rises up and forms solid Triangles but the rising of it is more visible in narrow Glasses Ice in a flask rose four Inches above the Water-mark and hung two Inches out of it but in a Bolt-head it rose five Inches above the Water-mark If Glasses be filled about ⅔ full they seldom break Round Spherical Glasses usually break uniformly A Bolt-head being filled up to the neck with Water the top which was twelve Inches above it was sealed up upon which the Water being froze was raised three Inches into the neck and the Glass breaking in the thinnest Part from that point several Lines ran as from a Pole to the Meridian but none of them went round the Glass nor were they all of the same length In a flask cracked in many places the cracks were irregular Glass Bottles and stone-Jugs kept little order in breaking and Metals none at all but Woods cleave with the Grain Two oval Boxes one of Box and another of Maple containing each two ounces were fill'd full and by the Frost in one Night were cracked from the bottom to the top A Pepper-Box of Latin had its neck broke off and the joints at the bottom loosned Lead-Pipes above ground were broke in many places and some that lay a foot under ground Brass-Locks and Barrels of Pumps usually break with the Frost A Copper-Box of the shape of a Pear was cracked the fourth time it was froze The Cylinder of a silver Ink-horn bore the Frost but a silverball was considerably extended by the Frost Tobacco-Pipes and Earthen Ware were burst with the
not that that acts positively upon them but imbibes the moisture And I have seen a Cold Liquor acquire a hardness its moisture being imbibed by a piece of Bread immersed in it as also Spirit of Wine dephlegmed by a Mixture of Salt of Tartar without so much as Heat the Aqueous Parts finding a more ready and easie passage into the Pores of the Alkaly than through the Spiritous Liquor And I know a saline Body which when incorporated with Water the Water will leave this a consistent mass and be imbibed by the Spirit of Wine And for a further illustration of the Cartesian Explication I shall add that Camphire by floating upon Aqua fortis will become a fluid Oyl and continue in that form till the subtle Spirit which by pervading it kept it fluid flyes away and evaporates for being put into Water the Spirit leaving the Camphire and being imbibed into the Pores of the Water it becomes a consistent mass again which that it depended not on the Coldness of the Water was evident since the same would happen on warm Water But tho' Cold should depend primarily on the influence of frigorifick Atoms yet since those by acting on the Body cooled may produce their effect by expelling calorifick Atoms the privation of those calorifick Atoms is the cause of freezing so tho' a Bullet kills a Man yet the issue is a privation of life and when a Room is darkned by extinguishing the light the darkness depends on the privation of light A sixth The last Argument of Gassendus is this Tametsi multa videantur ex sola caloris absentia frigescere nibil ominus nisi frigus extrinsicus inducatur non tam profectô frigescere quam decalescere sunt Censenda Esto enim Lapis Lignum aut aliquid aliud quod nec calidum nec frigidum sit id ubi fuerit ad motum Igni calefiet sane at cum deinceps calor excedet neque frigidum ullum circumstabit non erit cur dicas ipsum frigefieri potius quam minus calidum fieri rediere in suum statum But to this it may be answered that if we speak of Coldness with respect to sense I see not why any Body that grows hot by the action of the fire may not be said to grow Cold rather than Decalescere since Heat being only too brisk an agitation for our Sensory when upon a removal of that Cause and a declining of that motion it became less agitated than the Humours about our Sensory we may not then say it grows Colder and Colder till it become Ice But to conclude this Chapter I shall add that tho' I have offered these Arguments against Gassendus yet I shall wave determining the Controversie till further satisfied in some Speculations and in the Phaenomena of some Particular Experiments besides I would first know from those that would have Cold to be a positive Quality whether and on what account those little fragments of matter are Cold Whether their frigorifick Atoms have weight As also what is their Texture and whether that Quality may be destroy'd and whether they be primitive Bodies or not And why Coldness ensues the Mixture of two warm Bodies And in order to the solving of some of which it would be requisite to enquire how Water comes by its expansive force upon congelation And since Cold is a Privation of motion why upon the Mixture of certain Bodies Cold ensues tho' their Parts be thereby put into motion CHAP. XI Two Problems about Cold. An attempt to measure the great expansive force of freezing Water Of the Production of Cold by the conflict of Bodies appearing to make an Ebullition The first Problem THE first Problem I shall propose is how upon the Mixture of two or three Bodies there should ensue a great and tumultuary agitation of small Parts and yet even during this conflict not any sensible Heat but a considerable degree of Cold be produced Concerning which I shall only propose the question whether local motion be not Generical and whether the figure and size of Parts variously moved may not be able to cause a sensation of Heat and when variously modify'd a sense of Cold or whether the sense of Cold depends not on some frigorifick Atoms which are let lose in the Ebullition and affect the Sensory which would otherwise perceive a hot sensation by the effects of the motion of those Parts with which cold Aoms are mixed and which they over-power The second Problem The second Problem is Whence the vast force of freezing Water proceeds For since Cold depends on an Imminution of local motion it is not a little strange how it should be able to break resisting Bodies which require local motion to separate their Parts And tho' Gassendus tells us that they proceed from the ingress of frigorifick Atoms yet till Glaciation succeeds notwithstanding Water grows colder gradually it subsides and does not expand And Spirit of Wine and Chymical Oyls the greater degree of Cold they are exposed to contract the more and some Oyls even when coagulated are condensed instead of being expanded And as for what the Cartesians offer for the removal of these difficulties it may well be questioned how their Eel-like Particles being relaxed and their spring weakned they should be able to expand in spite of Opposition So that considering that Water when expanded is full of bubbles I was apt to suspect that the Air contained in them contributed to the effect and that a constipation of the Pores of Water might give them a springiness The great expansive force of Water froze To try the expansive force of freezing Water we convey'd a Bladder full of Water into a Brass Cylinder and fitting a Plugg to it upon that we placed a flat Board to hold Weights on and then the Cylinder being encompassed with a frigorifick Mixture upon the freezing of the Water in one Experiment the Plugg raised 115 pound weight and in another 100 pound Averdupois and in a third 254 pound weight Three saline Bodies each purify'd by the fire being mixed together Of the Production of Cold. produced a cold Effervescense with a hissing noise and a considerable Intumescense And in the mean time the Glass which contained it would grow colder than before and gather a Dew on the outside which would reach as high as the Mixture but on the concave bottom of the Glass there was no Dew that being not sufficiently exposed to the Air so that the Mixture could not be supposed to sweat through the Pores of the Glass since it tasted not in the least of saline Ingredients But least our Senses should misinform us of the degrees of Cold in this Mixture we at another time immersed a Weather-Glass in which the Liquor subsided above four Inches lower than in common Water Tho' the Acid Liquor it self being kept all Night in a Room with Water was of the same temper with it which appeared by a Weather-Glass immersed
convenient for the more commodious discerning of the Phaenomena of this Experiment to try it in a dark place And fourthly it is convenient to advertise that the Sulphur frequently so obscures the Glass with its fumes which partly stick to it that sometimes it is very difficult to discern what happens within the Glass Fifthly it is requisite the Heat of the Iron should be considerable that the Flame of the Sulphur may be more lasting the flaming of it depending on the Heat of the Iron and not the force of its own Flame EXPERIMENT III. A very volatile and saline piercing Liquor being dropped upon filings of Steel the Mixture grew hot and emitted out of the Vial it was contained in very fetid steams which would kindle at the flame of a Candle and continue to burn a good while where we convey'd it into our Receiver and upon the first Exsuction of Air it flamed brisker than before and likewise upon the second and third but after it went out it would not be kindled again tho' the Air was let in upon it EXPERIMENT IV. Spirit of Wine being impregnated with a Mineral which tinged its Flame I convey'd it into the Receiver in a small Glass-Lamp with a slender wick and observed that in half a minute after the Pump was plyed the Flame was extinguished But letting Air in and out as occasion required I observ'd that when the Flame began to decay the Turn-Key being successively drawn almost out the Flame lasted a minute and a half and sometimes longer The Turn-Key being taken out in the beginning it lasted two minutes or better A Pipe being bedded in the Cement at the bottom of the Glass and having at each end an open Orifice almost of the bigness of that which the Turn-Key usually fills the Flame burnt very well and would have continued longer than it did if we would have permitted it The Orifice at the top being stopped the lower was left open yet the Flame began to decay but Air being blown in with a pair of Bellows it was presently refreshed again yet in a minute after it was quite extinguished EXPERIMENT V. Flame preserved under Water Tho' it is taught that Naptha and Camphire will burn under Water yet I could never find that they would but three ounces of Gun-Powder a drachm of well burnt Charcoal good Sulphur half a drachm of choice Salt-Petre near a drachm and a half being all powdered and mixed together a Quill or a Tobacco-pipe stopped at one end being filled with this Mixture and kindled in the Air would burn till it was wholly consumed under Water the force of the Flame keeping the Water from breaking in upon it at the open end In which Experiment Flame seems to be continued without Air there being no Air to preserve it under Water but what may be lodged in the Pores of the Water except some moist Particles betwixt the Particles of the Nitre in favour of the necessity of Air to preserve Flame may be supposed to be rarified and form Air for a time as the rarified exhalations which flow out of an Aeolipile which are not true and permanent Air but presently return to Water again EXPERIMENT VI. Of the flaming of a Metal in Vacuo Having placed the piece of Iron so often made use of in our Receiver we designed to let a parcel of Sulphur fall upon it but when we went to drop the Sulphur down by accident it fell on one side the Iron and whilst we were considering what to do we discerned a a blue Flame in the middle of the Glass which continued much longer than that of ordinary Sulphur and when we opened the Receiver we found that it was afforded by a metalline substance which lay melted in the middle of the concave superficies of the Iron being a composition of Lead and Tin but tho' these Metals mixed so opened the Bodies of each other as to yield a Sulphureous fuel for Flame in Vacuo yet in the open Air they would not The III. TITLE Of the difficult Propagation of actual Flame in Vacuo Boyliano EXPERIMENT I. HAving kindled some Sulphur which was of a peculiar sort upon the Iron so often mentioned I let down a piece of Spunk upon it when the Receiver was exhausted and by being contiguous to the flames it was turned into a substance as black and brittle as Tinder and disposed to kindle when touched with fire EXPERIMENT II. Another parcel of the same Sulphur being kindled in Vacuo Boyliano Camphire tho' in the open Air disposed to draw the Flame of Sulphur yet it was not kindled by hanging in the Flame of it And a Match being partly dipped in Sulphur and let down upon the hot Iron burnt as far as the Sulphur raught but no further EXPERIMENT III and IV. Having placed a piece of Paper upon the Plate of our Pump and whelmed over it a very clear and thin Receiver we laid a train of Gun-Powder upon the Paper and observed that tho' by a good Burning-Glass several grains would be exploded yet those would not kindle those that were contiguous to them the Propagation of Flame so much depends on the free access of Air. And to confirm this I shall add that a little Instrument made to try Gun-Powder being charged and primed and suspended in Vacuo tho' by the help of a Burning-Glass the priming would be exploded yet that would not kindle the Powder contain'd in the Box but when the exhausted Air was let in again and the Pan new primed tho' the Receiver was shut it would in that close Air go off readily and also in the open Air. EXPERIMENT V. Gun-Powder being put into two Bubbles one of which was exhausted and the other not they were placed upon Live-coals upon which when they had stood a while they where both burst in pieces but without the appearance of any Flame which effect seemed to depend on this viz. That the Heat of the coals acted not only on a few grains of Powder at once but upon the whole Area so that every Particle being equally acted on as to sense they were exploded at the same time so the Focus of a Burning-Glass acting uniformly on Aurum Fulminans causes it to explode at once but it may be so ordered that the Focus not sufficiently warming one Part a partial explosion will only ensue CHAP. XVIII New Experiments about the relation betwixt Air and the Flamma Vitalis of Animals EXPERIMENT I. Animals included in Receivers with Flame and Air. REctified Spirit of Wine contained in a Glass-Lamp with a thin Wick and at the same time a small Green-Finch being both conveyed into a Receiver eighteen Inches high and which was large enough to contain about twenty pints of Water the Flame of the Lamp was extinguish'd at the end of two Minutes but the Bird being brisk at the end of the third Minute was taken out And when the Bird recover'd again the Experiment being repeated
that for that reason I called it the Icy Noctiluca But tho' generally it was colourless and transparent yet some small Pieces were Opake and of various Colours compared with each other 2. This Noctiluca is heavier in Specie than Water and tho' consistent yet not so hard as common Ice but it is brittle and may be spread upon a solid Body like the unmelted Tallow of a Candle it may be melted in hot Liquors without waste but in the Air a great Part of it will be consumed As to sense it is Cold but is of such a Texture that it easily becomes hot upon agitation 3. When held in the Air it yields a vivid Light if wet over and when first exposed to the Air it not only shines but emits store of Effluvia as long as it is kept there when it is immersed in Water it ceases to shine and also to smoak but as soon as it is taken out it begins a-fresh and if part be immersed and part above Water the latter will shine vividly tho' the other will not The Qualities of Water in which it had been immersed 4. The Water in which this Noctiluca had been sometime immersed had a strong and penetrant taste like a Mixture of Brine and Spirit of Salt and relished a little of Vitriol Being held in a small Concave Vessel of Silver over lighted Coals and ashes it evaporated very slowly and would not shoot into Crystals nor afford a dry Salt but coagulated into a substance like a Gelly or the whites of Eggs which would be easily melted by Heat When kept on a hot fire it would first boil and then make a crackling Noise and the Explosions would be accompanyed with flashes of fire and light which if they were small were generally blue like flames of Sulphur but more vivid and sometimes bluer but the greater flakes appeared yellow and very Luminous and these Phaenomena appeared likewise for some time after the Vessel was taken off When this matter was almost melted by Heat if it was permitted to cool it acquir'd a rosinous Consistence and tinged the Flame of a Candle blue By the Fire working upon it it acquir'd a Garlick Smell and being left in the Air all Night it turned to a Liquor almost as strong as Spirit of Salt Being put upon the Fire again it would afford the same Phaenomena as before but some of the Matter which before broke out in Flashes sometimes rose only in the form of Smoak of a rank Smell And tho' the quantity of this Matter was small yet it afforded Flashes plentifully for an Hour What Liquors it would be dissolved in and what not It would not dissolve in cold Water tho' the Water would be thereby impregnated so Crocus Metallorum impregnates Wine or Water without having its Bulk diminish'd It fermented not with Spirit of Sal-Armon nor did it lose its luminous Virtue but would shine when exposed to the Air again Oyl of Vitriol when cold would not dissolve it but when hot would melt it and it would lye at the bottom of so heavy a Liquor Aqu. fortis had no visible effect on it nor Oyl of Turpentine when cold but the latter being hot it wholly vanish'd in a Night's time without making any alteration in the Oyl Being put into Oyl of Cloves and melted by a Fire when it was cool and the Vial unstopped it yielded not only a Light that was render'd more acceptable to the Standers-by by its grateful Smell and the like succeeded with Oyl of Cloves in which Liquor when impregnated with the Noctiluca it was observable that the Vial being open'd in a dark place it would yield a flash of Flame very vivid which would last a Minute and sometimes if a Candle were in the Room the shining fluid would appear of a pleasant blueish Colour and another thing observable was that the Light would vanish whilst store of white Fumes remain'd upon the Liquor as if the Light chiefly depended on the finest and purest Part. In Oyl of Mace it did not appear luminous nor in Oyl of Aniseeds This Noctiluca continu'd in Spirit of Wine a considerable time undiminished 6. This Noctiluca being included in rectify'd Spirit of Wine was partly dissolved and left some earthly Parts at the bottom of the Liquor but did not discolour it upon unstopping the Vial no Light appeared but being dropped into cold Water the Drops were kindled by it but those Flashes immediately disappeared the Water not being luminous which Phaenomenon lest it should be thought to be an effect of Antiperistasis I dropped the impregnated Spirit upon hot Water and found that the same Phaenomenon succeeded And this Noctiluca diffuses its Virtue so far that one Grain impregnated a thousand of Spirit of Wine As for the reason why these Flashes so suddenly disappeared it might proceed from a sudden dispersion of the Particles of the Spirit through the Water and the Avolition of the luciferous Matter So Camphire dissolv'd in Spirit of Wine and dropped upon cold Water is left upon the Surface of it the Spirit being immediately dispersed through the Liquor Experiments discovering a strange subtlety of Parts in the Glacial Noctiluca Having dissolv'd a Grain of our Noctiluca in a Drachm of Spirit of Wine and added gradually fifty times its weight of Water the Noctiluca rendred the whole light when shaken in the Dark so that one Grain rendred 100000 times its weight of Liquor luminous and what was more strange was that not only the Steams appeared luminous but the Light seemed in some measure diffused through the whole Water which I am apt to believe proceeded from the Exhalations which shined through that Diaphanous Water tho' when the Glass was shaken the whole Mass appeared luminous And the Experiment being further prosecuted a Grain of the Noctiluca dissolved in Alkohol of Wine and shaken in Water it render'd 400000 times its weight luminous throughout And at another Tryal I found that it impregnated 500000 times its weight which was more than one part of Cochineel could communicate its Colour to the utmost being 125000 parts of Water In which Experiments â…› of the Noctiluca was undissolv'd And had we to the aforemention'd Estimate added the Proportion of the illuminated ambient Air the Expansion of this Noctiluca would have been incomparably greater than the above-mention'd number denotes But to demonstrate further the strange Subtilty of our Noctilucal Matter I shall add that three Grains of our Noctiluca being placed upon a flat-bottom'd Glass that was broader at the Top than the bottom and shallow that the Matter might be more fully exposed to the Air it was placed in a shelving Posture that upon its resolution in the moist Air it might presently run down and not hinder the free Evaporation of the remaining Matter The Vessel being thus placed all the Fragments about ten a Clock at Night began to shine briskly and continu'd to do so 'till reduced to very small Parts so
Mace as with Oyl of Cinamon yet upon further Tryals I found that it succeeded And to what hath been deliver'd on this Subject I shall further add when the Noctiluca was wholly consum'd to a Caput Mortuum that as soon as it was turned with the other side upwards it would immediately take Fire a-fresh THE WORKS Of the HONOURABLE ROBERT BOYLE Esq EPITOMIZED BOOK V. PART I. CHAP. I. New Experiments of the Positive or Relative Levity of Bodies under Water Arguments against the Positive Levity of emerging Bodies WHEN any Body that is lighter in Specie than Water is immersed in it and upon the removal of that force which depressed it it rises again it is usually attributed to the Positive Levity of that Body but since the instance of Wood emerging is that which is usually offered as an Argument to it I shall answer That Wood being a Body full of Pores except some which will not swim in Water and upon that account specifically lighter than Water the Water by the Pressure of that which is incumbent getting betwixt the Superficies of the Vessel and the Body immersed causes it to rise the Water which succeeds it in its place making a more powerful Pressure against it than its Specifick Gravity enables it to resist And that Bodies Specifically lighter than Water will be thus buoyed up by it will appear from the Hydrostatical Paradoxes hereafter to be laid down And tho' it be usually urged that the Bodies imimmersed are too closely contiguous to the bottom of the Vessel for the Water to insinuate themselves betwixt yet from the following Experiment it will appear that were the contiguous Surfaces so close the positive Levity of the Wood would not be able to raise it for two black Marbles being so exactly polished as to be as contiguous as possibly they might we tyed a Bladder full of Air to the uppermost and then causing them both to be immersed in Water the positive Levity of the Bladder would not cause the Bladder to rise but as soon as by a servant the uppermost Marble was gradually slipped half off the Polished Surface of the lowest the Water which before was not able to insinuate it self betwixt the Surfaces of the contiguous Marbles and to separate them presently caused the Bladder to rise with a considerable swiftness and force above the Surface of the Water Which Event that it did not depend on Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum is evident since that would have an equal force when the Polished Surfaces were wholly contiguous the Power of Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum being held by its Assertors to be unlimited And that it was not the heaviness of the upper Marble nor want of lightness in the included appeared since when the Surfaces of the polished Marbles were not contiguous the Bladder was able to lift up a weight of six or seven pound besides the Marble And to shew that the Bladder might be raised by the Pressure of the Water according to the laws of Hydrostaticks usually buoying up Bodies Specifically lighter than it self having pressed out the greatest part of the Air contained in a Bladder I tyed a piece of Iron to it and immersed it in a wide-mouth'd Glass which was so deep that the Bladder was totally immersed and yet not far below the Surface of the Water and this being convey'd into our Pneumatick Engine when by exhausting the Air part of the Pressure was taken off the Air in the Bladder expanding it self and takeing up more Room in the Water and consequently becoming so much more Specifically lighter and the resistance of the Water which endeavours to buoy it up becoming respectively greater it was together with the suspended weight raised to the Surface of the Water and continued there till the outward Air was let in again and then the Air being contracted into its former dimensions it subsided again In which Experiment the positive Levity of the Air was not varyed but only its relative and respective weight in reference to its proportion of Water And that Rarefaction alters not the positive Levity of Bodies may appear from the following Experiment for having oyled a Bladder and when the Air was expressed tyed it to the neck of a Vial I found that in the exhausted Receiver tho' the Air in the Vial was so far expanded as to fill the whole capacity of the Bladder yet the Vial neither rose higher nor subsideded lower when the Air was drawn out or let in again CHAP. II. New Experiments about the Pressure of the Air 's Spring on Bodies under Water The Pressure of the Air 's Spring on Bodies under Water TO shew that the Spring and Weight of the Air hath manifest effects on Bodies separated from an immediate contact by the Interposition of Water I shall subjoyn the following Experiments EXPERIMENT II. We luted the neck of a Vial which was capable of containing above a point of Water upon that pipe which conveys Air out of the Receiver into the Pump which being done we whelmed over this Receiver our large one and having poured in a sufficient quantity of Water we closed it up with the Turn-key that no Air might get out that way and then the Air being exhausted out of the Vial if flew into a great many peices the sides of the Glass being not able to resist the Pressure of the Air that lay upon the Surface of the Water in the large Receiver EXPERIMENT II. The greatest part of the Air being squeezed out of a Bladder and the Bladder tyed to a weight which kept it something below the Surface of Water contained in a wide-mouth'd Glass this being convey'd into a Receiver the Air in the Bladder expanded as the Air on the Superficies of the Water was extracted EXPERIMENT III. A Brass Plug being fitted to a Cylinder which was closed with a Plate of the same Metal at one end we put a Bladder half blown into the Cylinder and placing the Plug upon it with a weight of a Conical figure upon that we poured so much Water into the Receiver in which it was placed as covered the top of the Conical weight but left the Ring which was fixed to the top of it and which was fastned to the Turn-key by the help of a string and things being thus ordered when the Air above the water was considerably exhausted the Spring of the Air in the Cylinder raised the Plugg and Weights a considerable height tho' the whole weight amounted to twenty eight pounds EXPERIMENT IV. A Glass Vial being closed with Cement and immersed in a deep Brass Cylinder of Water this was convey'd into our Receiver and when the Air which pressed upon the Water was drawn off the Vial in the bottom of the Water was violently shattered in pieces by the Spring of the included Air for want of a sufficient Pressure of the Air incumbent on the Water to resist the force of that Spring EXPERIMENT V. To shew that the Expansion
or Rarefaction of Air increases not the positive Levity of Air we suspended a Bladder half full of Air with a Counterpoise at a ballance in our Receiver and tho' when the Air was exhausted the Bladder was sufficiently distended yet it seemed to retain the same weight whether dilated or contracted CHAP. III. New Experiments concerning an effect of the varying weight of the Atmosphere upon some Bodies in the Water Communicated in the Transactions of Feb. 24.1672 3. Of the Effects of the differing weight of the Atmosphere on Bodies under Water COnsidering that the Pores of most Liquors are plentifully stocked with Aery Particles and that upon that account the Atmosphere may according to its several degrees of weight have considerable Effects on them I caused three small Glass-Bubbles with slender Stems to be blown which were so equally poised in Water by their weight that a little thing would make them emerge or sink And I observ'd that these being put into Water contained in a wide-mouth'd Glass sometimes they would emerge and sometimes subside and sometimes emerge again as the Atmosphere varyed in weight or degrees of Heat and Cold. And it was easie to observe that when the Heat of the Air raised one of these Bubbles the heat of the Sun-Beams would so rarisie the Water included in them as to cause some of it to get out upon which the Bubbles emerged but when those Beams were intercepted the Water being condensed and getting into the Bubble again it would subside But when their subsiding depended on the weight of the Atmosphere if the Mercury in the Baroscope stood high the Heat of the Sun would not raise the Bubbles N. B. 1. That the Bubbles not being all equally poised sometimes one and sometimes two would rise as the Air was heavier or lighter and consequently capable of affecting the lightest only or all 2. The Success did not always answer for when the subsiding depended on some occult cause they would continue there as if some airy Parts had insinuated themselves into the Water 3. The fittest time for these Experiments and in which they best succeed is in the Spring the Air being more subject to vary in its Weight as well as other things CHAP. IV. New Experiments about the differing Pressure of heavy Solids and Fluids Of the different Pressure of Solids and Fluids ONE great reason why some Learned Men believe that the Air hath no such a considerable Pressure on subjacent Bodies as we teach is because they think it would be too heavy for Animal Bodies to live or move under it but since we have positive proof of it we may as well doubt whether the Load-stone be endewed with an attracting and other Virtues because we cannot understand how they are perform'd Besides Men being born under such a Pressure their Bodies seem not only accustom'd to it but proportionably strong But could we suppose a Man born somewhere without the incumbent weight of an Atmosphere doubtless such Bodies would not be so able as ours to resist its Pressure But it is urged by some that were there such a Pressure of the Atmosphere it would cause Pain but to this it may likewise be answered that our Bodies being from the Birth accustomed to it we only feel Pain upon some new unaccustomed and additional Pressure so when we are accustomed to wear heavy Cloaths we are not sensible of their weight nor are we sensible of the Heat of the Blood in our Heart because it 's habitual to those Parts whereas if our finger be put into the Heart of a newly dissected Animal we shall find it sensibly hot But further from what I have elsewhere laid down it appears that a Cubick Inch of Air will be able to resist the weight of the whole incumbent Atmosphere and that a little quantity of Air resists a further compression as well as a greater and I have likewise shewn that the Pores of the Parts of Animals whether fluid or consistent are plentifully stocked with numerous Aerial Bubbles which cause those Bodies to swell or expand in our exhausted Receiver And as for those membranous and fibrous Parts which are not altogether so porous they are of so strong and firm a Texture as to resist external Pressure upon that account Besides there is a great deal of difference betwixt the partial Pressure of a solid Body and the Pressure of an Ambient Fluid which presses uniformly and is resisted either by the solidity of the Parts or the Spring of those Airy Particles contained within their Pores And that the uniformness of the Pressure makes it less sensible is evident since it hath been observed that tho' the Atmosphere is so much lighter upon the tops of some high Mountains as not to elevate Mercury so high in a Baroscope by three Inches as at the bottom yet those that have been upon those Mountains tell us that they perceived no considerable difference in the Pressure of the Atmosphere above and below nor are Miners sensible of any great weight upon them tho' in deep Mines in Mountainous Countrys nor are Divers sensible of any Pressure when under Water but that Air weighs in Air and that Water weighs in Water I have elsewhere made it evident yet I don't think that a Diver is violently depressed by the weight of the incumbent Water since from what we have elsewhere delivered it appears that if a Man's Body were of an equal specifick Gravity with the Water the subjacent Water would sustain him but his Body being heavier than an equal bulk of Water the Surplusage of weight depresses it for which Reason in some Sea-Water which is near of the same specifick Gravity with their Bodies Divers find it very difficult to dive However it is not a little strange that at so great a depth as one hundred fathom Divers should not perceive a sensible Pressure especially upon their Thorax and Abdomen But I am apt to believe that the inadvertency of some of them rather than any thing else makes them not take notice of it or else the haste which they rise and sink in since I have been told by some that they have perceived a manifest Pressure when they sunk leisurely And I was likewise told by another that when he descended a great depth under Water the Blood was squeezed out of his Nose and Eyes and another who dived in a Leathern-case told me that it was so much pressed against his Thorax and Belly that he was forced suddenly to come up again But since these Relations are not altogether to be relied on I shall endeavour to give a Reason why the Pressure is no more sensible which I take to be the strong Texture of a Human Body and the uniformity of the Pressure As to the first to what I have said of the Resistance made by our Bodies to external Pressure I shall only add that a Bladder being tyed upon the end of a Cylinder about an Inch in Diameter
incumbent on the other parts of it which will appear from the following Experiments And first If a Cylindrical Pipe open at both ends be held in a perpendicular Posture and the lower end be immersed three Inches in Water the Liquid within the Tube having a free Communication will be of an equal height with the external Water and in thin Tubes a little higher But if Oyl be gradually poured upon the Water without the Pipe the superficial Plain will have a greater Pressure upon it without than within and consequently the Water under the Tube finding not so great a Pressure within the Pipe as without it gradually rises 'till the external and internal Pressure upon the imaginary Plain be equal But since this will be further evident from what is contain'd in the following Paradoxes I shall proceed to them as soon as I have laid down the following Experiments to shew Air is not a Body devoid of Weight as some Peripateticks suppose The first is that a Glass Bubble being blown whose Capacity was short of two cubical Inches it was instantly hermetically sealed whilst hot and when it was cool being placed in a nice pair of Scales and then the Apex of the Stem being broke off the Air rushing in with a noise caused the Bubble to preponderate half a Grain tho' by breaking of the Stem under Water it appear'd that the rarify'd Air remaining in the sealed Glass possess'd one fourth of its Capacity Another time the same Experiment being tryed the Air contain'd seem'd to weigh near three quarters of a Grain and the Capacity of the Receiver being filled with common Water it weighed 905 Grains So that allowing the Air contain'd to take up one fourth and that the weight of the remaining Part was ¼ probably the weight of the whole was about a Grain and consequently the Water weighed little more than nine hundred times as much as an equal Bulk of Air. PARADOX I. paradox 1 That in Water and other Fluids the lower Parts are pressed by the upper If in a Glass of Water See Plate 2. Fig. 1. A B C D see Plate the second Fig. the first a Cylindrical Tube be immersed which contains Oyl of Turpentine and that Oyl be suspended there by keeping the upper Orifice close after it hath been suck'd up to a convenient height 'till the Pipe is depress'd to a convenient Depth in the Water if the lower end of the Pipe B Q be immersed 'till it reaches to the imaginary Surface G H and the Oyl X Q presses no more upon that imaginary Surface than the Water without the Tube then the Oyl will be suspended there and not be able to depress the Surface of the Water below it but if the Surface of the Oyl in the Tube be much above the Water and it presses more upon the imaginary Surface G H than the Water without then it will make its way through that Surface 'till the Oyl within and the Water without are brought to an Aequilibrium again so that they both equally press upon the Surface G H and the like will happen if the Tube be raised to the Surface D S and gradually on to the Surface L M for as the Pressure of the external Water grows less and less as the imaginary Surface is nearer the top of the Glass so the Oyl in the Tube growing preponderant falls out at the lower end of the Tube 'till the Tube T V being almost raised to the Surface L M but a little Water pressing upon that Surface the Oyl is almost wholly fallen out of the Cylindrical Cavity of it But if instead of raising the Pipe P Q it be depressed to the Position N O the Water incumbent on the Surface E F on the outside the Pipe being more powerful than the Cylinder or Oyl W AE which is only aequiponderant to a Cylinder of Water leaning on the Surface G H the Oyl must be buoyed up by the Pressure of the external Water and the Space O AE filled with Water so that the Oyl betwixt W AE and AE O being both aequiponderant to a Cylinder of Water they may equally press upon the Surface E F with the Water on the outside And agreeable to what hath been said it is that the Cylinder of Oyl X Q will be something above the Surface L M when the Tube is only immersed to the Surface Q. Since Oyl of Turpentine being specifically lighter than Water the Cylinder must be longer to press upon the Surface G H equally with a Cylinder of Water no longer than from the Surface L M to G H. And if a heavier Liquor than Water were made use of the Surface X must be more above L M than in Water otherwise it would not press equally upon the subjacent Surface From whence appears the Truth of the Proposition for if the Oyl be kept suspended at a different Height as the external Water is deeper to countervail it and if as it is raised from G H to I K the Oyl in the bottom of the Pipe is pressed out it must needs follow that it is pressed down by the weight of the incumbent Oyl since then the surface of the Water I K being not equally pressed upon from without as by the Oyl it is able to break that Surface and make its way out But before I proceed to the following Propositions I shall subjoin the following Advertisements First What we say of the Pressure of Fluids upon one another is to be attributed to heavy Fluids in general except some reason appears for a particular exception in some Places Secondly That in slender Pipes the Surface of the Liquor within is generally above the Surface of the external Thirdly Small Pipes are the fittest for these Experiments because in larger the emerging Oyl passing through the Water obscures the Light of what is design'd to be visible Fourthly We make use of Oyl of Turpentine rather than any other Liquor because clear and colourless and not apt to stain ones Cloaths and as for the offensive Smell that may be corrected with Oyl of Rhodium or any other odoriferous Oyl tho' any other Liquor may be made use of that will not mix with Water Fifthly Oyl of Turpentine may be tinged with Copper to render the Phaenomena within more visible for which reason we often employ a Decoction of Brasil instead of clear Water or of Log-wood or red Ink it self Sixthly the Figure of the Glasses may be what you please but the Pipes must be broader or longer as occasion requires Seventhly The Pipes are to be filled by sucking up the Air to a convenient Height and then stopping the Orifice above with ones Finger but if it be too high the Experimenter may let it out as he pleases by admitting a convenient quantity of Air in at the Top by gradually removing his Finger Lastly In such Experiments as require a considerable disparity betwixt the two mingled Liquors we may make use of Oyl of Tartar per
Water are raised by it as Wood and drops of Oyl the Reason of which seems to be this that there is a greater Pressure upon the lowest part N than upon the upper part of the drop M because that upon all the Surface K L there is an uniform Pressure of the Water A K. B L and upon all the Parts of the Surface H I there is a greater weight of Water A H. B I except at the part N for there the Oyl G being not so heavy as so much Water it is consequently unable to resist the ascent of the Water beneath it for which Reason it is buoyed up and the case being the same with that and any other Parallel Plain where-ever it is in its ascent it must be by the same Reason gradually raised up for the Oyl being pressed against by two Pillars of Water the one above and the other below and the lower being longer by the thickness of the rising Body than that which lyes upon it it must consequently be buoyed up and more or less swiftly as the lower Basis presses more or less on the subjacent superficies And for the like Reason when two pieces of stick of a different length are immersed in Water the longest rises the fastest for if O P were two foot high and Q R but one and both rested upon the same imaginary Plain the one hath a Pillar of Water a foot longer to resist its rising than the other and as the emerging Body rises slower as the proportion betwixt the upper and the lower Pillar of Water is less so thence may be deduced a Reason why in some Liquors whose whiteness depends on the intermixture of drops are so long a rising the minuteness of them rendering the difference of the upper and lower Pillar of Air inconsiderable but as these drops by moving up and down unite into larger the difference growing more considerable they are accordingly buoyed up in less time and swim upon the top of the Water And for the same Reason See Fig. 3. Plate 2. that these Bodies float upon Water a Cubick Inch of Wood is by its specifie Gravity only so far depressed into the Water contained in the Vial A B. C D till the Water about it makes an equal Pressure upon the imaginary Surface X W and because the Wood is not so heavy in Specie as Water therefore part is kept emerging above the superficies of it But to shew further that the weight of a floating Body is equal to as much Water as its immersed Port takes up the Room of I shall subjoyn that having placed several Marks upon the Surface of a floating Glass and when it was taken off the Water put just so much Water into it as filled it up to those Marks by that means I found that the weight of the Water which was sufficient to fill the space possessed by the floating Vessel below the Surface of the Water was equal to the weight of the whole floating Vessel and all that was contained in it And the same end may be obtained another way viz. By first filling a Cistern or Pond with Water by a Vessel of a known capacity and then having emptyed it again for if the Vessel be placed in that Cistern or Pond and Water put into the Cistern again till it floats the Vessel and fills the Cistern or Pond full as much as it falls short of the weight of Water first contained in the Cistern so much is the weight of the floating Body PARADOX IV. That in the ascension of Water in Pumps c. There needs nothing to raise the Water but a competent weight of an external fluid The truth of this Paradox sufficiently appears from what hath been before delivered however to make it plainer if possible I shall add that if a tinged Liquor be sucked up about an Inch into a Tube and whilst the upper Orifice is covered with ones Thumb it be depressed in Water till the superficies of the external Water is above the Surface of the internal and then a considerable quantity of Oyl be poured upon that and when ones Thumb is taken off the upper Orifice of the Pipe the external Fluids will by their Pressure raise the tinged Liquor above the Surface of the Water tho' not quite so high as the Oyl From whence it appears that a Liquor may be raised in a Tube by the Pressure of an external fluid and that lighter than it self in Specie which may illustrate what we have said of the rising of Water in Pumps where by the Pressure of the Atmosphere the Water is buoyed up when the Pressure of the incumbent Atmosphere is taken off the internal superficies by the rising sucker and makes way for the Water to ascend within the Pipe I took likewise a small Tube whose Diameter was the sixth part of an Inch and having immersed it an Inch in Quick-silver I put my Thumb upon the upper Orifice and kept it there till I had immersed the Tube eighteen Inches in Oyl by the weight of which pressing against the Quick-silver it was not only kept from falling out of the Pipe but raised a little and as when the Tube was raised some of the Mercury would fall out so when it was depressed the Mercury would be buoyed up by the greater weight of the external Liquor upon it And indeed that the Water in a Pump may be raised by the Pressure of an external fluid will appear more fully to him that shall consider that in the Torrecellian Experiment the Pressure of the external Air is able to raise Mercury in a Tube twenty nine or thirty Digits which is equiponderant to a Cylinder of Water thirty three or thirty four foot high paradox V PARADOX V. That the Pressure of an external fluid is able to keep an Heterogeneous Liquor suspended at the same height in several Pipes tho' those Pipes be of very different Diameters This is evident from what is represented in Fig. 6. Plate the second See Fig. 6. Plate 2. for if the Orifice of that Vessel A B C D be closed up with a Cork and that Cork have four holes in three of which the Pipes are fixed and in the fourth the Tunnel and if when so much Water hath been poured in as reaches to the Surface E F Oyl be poured through the Tunnel till it reaches to the Surface G H it will depress the Surface of the Water down lower and the Oyl not being able to get into the Pipes L. M. N. by its weight it will cause the Water to rise to O P Q the Surface of the Water which before rested at E F being depressed down to I K upon which imaginary Surface the Water contained in the Tubes answerable to their Bulk making an equivalent Pressure with a Cylinder of external Oyl of the same Bore the Water must consequently be buoyed up to the same height in all except the last Pipe be very small but the
difference on that account being easily distinguished it will be no difficult matter to make an allowance N. B. when the Oyl is poured through the Tunnel it will be requisite to put some Cotton Wool in it to break the force of the falling stream lest the violence of it should prejudice the Experiment PARADOX VI. If a Body placed under Water paradox VI with its uppermost Surface parallel to the Horrizon how much Water soever there may be on this or that side above the Body the direct Pressure sustained by the Body for we now consider not the Lateral or the recoiling Pressure to which the Body may be exposed if quite environed with Water is no more than that of a Column of Water having the Horizontal superficies of the Body for its Basis and the Perpendicular depth of the Water for its height And so likewise If the Water that leans upon the Body be contained in Pipes open at both ends the Pressure of the Water is to be estimated by the weight of a Pillar of Water whose Basis is equal to the lower Orifice of a Pipe which we suppose to be parallel to the Horizon and its height equal to a Perpendicular reaching thence to the top of the Water tho' the Pipe be much inclined towards the Horizon or tho' it be irregularly shaped and much broader in some Parts than the said Orifice As for the first part of our Paradox it is proposed by Stevinus in more general Terms and thus demonstrated See Fig. 7. Plate the second where supposing A B C D to be a solid Rectangular figure of Water whose Basis E F is parallel to the Horizon and whose height G E is a Perpendicular from the Surface of that Water the bottom D E E F and F C cannot be charged with a greater weight than what is respectively Perpendicular because none of them can receive an Additional weight from the Water Collaterally but it must diminish the weight of Water Perpendicularly incumbent on that other bottom else there must be a greater weight upon the Basis D E F C than is contained in the Surface A B. C D which is impossible To which instance of the learned Stevinus I shall add the following For if Oyl be suck'd up into the Pipe represented by Fig. 8 Plate the second and when it is at a convenient height in the longer Leg you nimbly stop the upper Orifice till it be depressed so low into the Water that the Oyl is but little above the Surface of the Water it will rest near that station when the upper Orifice is unstopped and if it be depressed lower than that the weight of the incumbent Pillar of Water will force its way into the Pipe so far as answers the weight of a Cylinder of Water of an equal Bore with the Oyl contained in the Pipe and on the contrary if the Pipe be elevated above its first station as much Oyl will rise out of the Pipe and emerge as answers in weight to the part of the incumbent Pillar of Water removed by that means from gravitating upon it And to this I shall add that tho' Water is not contained in Pipes yet it presses as regularly upon subjacent Bodies as if it were which will be evident if a Vessel of the shape of the Funnel delineated in Fig. the 6th be imployed for the Liquor contained in the small Stem of that will be able to sustain the whole incumbent Water In confirmation of which we made use of such a Vessel as Plate the third figure the first represents See Plate 3. Fig. 1. and filling the parallel Leg with Oyl and the other as well as the Ball with Water the Oyl was elevated no higher in the longer Leg than if the less Leg had been an uniform Tube of the same Diameter and when the Experiment was reiterated with Oyl in the Ball and Water in the long Leg the weight of that Oyl was not able to raise the Water in the long Leg to an equal superficies with it self the Liquors in both these Experiments which was contained in the capacity of the Ball being sustained by the concave sides of the Glass And the like Experiment being tryed with Quick-silver which was poured into the shorter Leg C D till it rought almost to the bottom of the Ball and as high in the longer Tube A B upon an affusion of Water into the longer Leg the Mercury was buoyed up into the Ball till it rought to H E G where if more than what was Perpendicularly incumbent on the Tube C had pressed upon it the Water would not have been able to keep it at such a height But to confirm the second part of our Paradox See Plate 3. Fig. 2. we made use of a Glass such as Plate the third Fig. the second represents and having filled the Glass half full of Water we stopped it with a Cork in which the Pipes there delineated were fixed and likewise the Tunnel the bottom of each of the Pipes being each immersed considerably in Water and then pouring in Oyl through the Tunnel we observed that the Water was elevated to an equal height from the lower superficies of the Oyl which pressed on the Water in which Experiment tho' the Pipes contained more Water by being included yet that Water pressed no more upon the imaginary Plain than an erect Pipe of equal Bore with the lower superficies of the Water contained in it would have done And if Oyl of Turpentine be poised in a Pipe in an erect Posture and then by inclination a greater portion of it brought under Water yet the external Water will raise the Oyl contained in it and the same was evident when Oyl of Turpentine being contained in three Pipes of such figures as Plate the third Fig. the third represents for in all such cases See Fig. 3. Plate 3. where the Pipes are in an inclined Posture or some Parts of them larger than ordinary part of the weight of the Liquors contained weigh upon the sides of the Vessel and no more presses upon the subjacent Liquor than is answerable to an erect Pipe of equal Bore with the lower Orifice and of equal height with an erect Tube answerable to the length of one end of that Pipe from the other To make out what Stevinus hath asserted viz. That if a Cylinder of Water be placed upon a subjacent Body the Basis will sustain a weight equal to that Circular Basis and to the Perpendicular height of it we provided a Vessel of Laton See Fig. 4. Plate 3. of the figure represented by Fig. twelve Plate the third which being furnished with a close bottom C D made of a flat piece of Wood covered with a soft Bladder and greased on the lower side near the edges that leaned on the rim of Wood G H contiguous every where to the inside of the Latten that it might be easily lifted up from off the rim and yet at other times lye
yard or more in depth as also a Syphon with two Legs F K and K G to which is joined a Pipe E K and to each of the Legs of that Syphon we tyed a Glass Pipe sealed at the bottom and having Water contained in each to the height there delineated Things being thus prepared Oyl of Turpentine must be poured into the Tube A B. C D but that it may not take up too much of the Oyl the bottom of the Vessel to X Y may be filled with Water till it reaches above the top of the Syphon F K G and then by the weight of it the Water in the Pipe will be raised through the Syphon and run into the lower Vessel H. In which Experiment the Water is raised through a Syphon by pressure tho' at the same time there be a free communication of Air through the Pipe E K without danger of a Vacuum In which Experiment if the Reason be asked why the Water does not rather run out of the Bipe H into G than the contrary It may be answered That tho' externally the Oyl is deeper upon the surface of the Water in the Pipe H and consequently presses more upon it yet the Tube G on the other side instead of having that pressure of Oyl hath a Cylinder of Water of an equal length which being heavier than Oyl raises the Water out of that Tube more forcibly than it is raised out of the other And for the like Reason when once the Water is raised in Syphons tho' there be a longer Cylinder of Air upon that end which is immersed in the lower Vessel yet there is a greater weight on the other because besides the incumbent Atmosphere there is a considerable Weight of Water But if the Syphon be above 34 or 35 Foot high the Water will not flow through it the pressure of the external Air being unable to raise Water to such a height And one thing observable in these Experiments is That if when the Water is running through these Syphons a small hole be made upon the top of a Syphon the Air pressing upon the Water within the Pipe as well as without it it will cease to run tho' the hole be no bigger than one made with a Needle which hole if it be stopped with a Needle the pressure of the external Air will by that means be taken off and the Syphon be rendred fit for use PARADOX XI paradox XI That a Solid Body as ponderous as any yet known tho' near the top of the Water it will sink by its own weight yet if it be placed at a greater depth than that of twenty times its own thickness it will not sink if its descent be not assisted by the weight of the incumbent Water To demonstrate what is contained in this Paradox See Plate 4. Fig. 3. we must fill the Glass A B C D see Plate the 4. Fig. the third almost full of Water the length of it being near three Foot in which Water if we suppose the Weight E F to be placed upon the surface G H it will sink by reason of its specifick Gravity the Water incumbent on other parts of that Plain being not equiponderant but if we suppose it to be placed upon the Surface I K the Pillars of Water being above nine times as thick as it they will counterballance it for which Reason were there no Water upon it it would subside no further and were a method contrived to keep the Water from pressing upon it the like would happen supposing it to lean upon the Surface L M. And to shew that were the weight so depressed free from incumbent Water it would not subside I shall add the following Experiment let then the Brass Body E F See Plate 4 Fig. 4 see Plate 4. Fig. 4. be the cover of a Brass valve the valve being fastned with Cement to the Glass Pipe O P the Body E F must by pulling a hair fired to the button of Valve Q close the Orifice of it and then it being convey'd under Water a foot deep the Cement and sides of the Glass O P will keep the Water off the upper part of the Body E F and consequently the imaginary Surface V W will only be pressed upon by the sole weight of the Body E F but the other Parts of that Surface by the incumbent Cylinders of Water so that the Body E F will be bore up without the assistance of any thing else but the Water buoying up against it but if the Tube be raised till the Body E F be above the Surface I K and near X Y the weight of it being greater than the weight of the incumbent Pillars of Water the Body will be no longer supported but if upon the first immersion when the Body E F is let down to the Surface R S a weight L be suspended at it that will not be able to sever the Body from the Valve from whence it appears that there is no need in our Physico-mechanical Experiments to fly to a Fuga Vacui to explain the Reason why two exactly polished Marbles when contiguous are so hard to be separated To what hath been said under this Paradox I shall add that when the weight L is suspended at the button Q the Body E F will be separated before it rises to the Surface I K. APPENDIX I. Objections to evince that the upper Parts of Water press not upon the lower Objections answered answered The first Objection is that if the upper Parts of the Water pressed upon the lower the lower would be condensed but to this it is answered that Water consisting of Parts tho' minute yet very solid it does not therefore follow since in a heap of the powder of Diamonds the lower are no more compressed than the superficial ones besides it hath not been found that Water was capable of being compressed by any force we could use And tho' it be further urged that Plants grow in the Sea without being depressed yet that happens because the Pressure is not only incumbent but Collateral likewise and so contributes to sustain it and the rather because the Collateral Pressure is greater than the incumbent Another Objection is that a Bucket of Water weighs no more when full in Water than the Bucket it self out of it nor so much But the Reason of this is very plain for supposing A B C D to be a Well See Plate the fourth See Plate 4. Fig. 5. Figure the fifth in which the Bucket which is contiguous to the Plain I K is suspended by the string E F the Water in the Bucket G if it be made of Wood which is lighter in Specie than Water and the incumbent Pillar of Water not pressing upon the Surface H equally as the Water on the Surface I K the Water below must buoy it up And tho' the Bucket was made of something heavier than Water yet the whole weight of it will not be perceived
by the hand above but only the Surplusage of weight which surmounts the weight of an equal bulk of Water And tho' the School-men tell us that this Phaenomenon depends on the indisposition of Water to weigh in its own place yet I have found that Lead being convey'd into melted Butter contained in a wooden Box and that being suspended in Water by a Silken-thred at the end of a ballance we observed that this was as much indisposed to weigh as Water in Water no more weight than what surmounted the weight of an equal bulk of Water being made sensible by the ballance But when it was partly raised out of the Water or wholly a greater weight was requisite to counterballance it for supposing that part of the Bucket N to be above the Surface of the Water L M a great force is requisite to sustain it the weight of Water incumbent on the Surface P Q being not able to ballance it and consequently the bottom of the Bucket H will scarce be pressed upwards half so strongly as before But if the Bucket be raised to O the Water being not at all contiguous to it cannot contribute to the supporting of it All that is further contained in this Appendix being only a Repetition of what hath been already delivered on this subject I shall pass it by as needless to be repeated again APPENDIX II. Why Divers and others who descend to the bottom of the Sea are not oppressed by the weight of the incumbent Water From what hath been already delivered it appearing that Water weighs in Water and consequently presses upon Bodies contained in it I shall therefore before I propose my own opinion briefly take notice of the following And first Monsieur Des Caries tells us See Plate 4. Fig. 6. that if the Body of a Man were placed in the bottom of the Vessel B so as to stop the Orifice A he would feell the weight of the Water C B A incumbent on him but if he were placed at B he would not be sensible of that weight because should his Body descend the Water betwixt B and C would not descend with him but supposing the Orifice A to be stopped with a solid that would feel the weight of the Water because it hindred the descent of the Water betwixt B and A but since the Principles already laid down overthrow the foundation of this Explication I shall only add that were the matter of fact true the Reason would be that when his Body was at A the Man would sustain the weight of the incumbent Water without any subjacent Water at A to buoy up against him whereas at B the subjacent Water buoys up as much as the other presses down or more But Stevinus Hydrostat Lib. 5. Pag. 149. says Omni Pressu quo corpus dolore afficitur pars aliqua corporis luxatur sed isto Pressu nulla corporis pars luxatur isto igitur Pressu corpus dolore nullo afficitur Sed Exemplo clarius ita intelliges esto A B C D See Plate 4. Fig. 7. aqua cujus fundum D C in quo foramen E habeat Epistomium sibi insertum cui dorso incumbat homo F quae cum ita sint ab aquae pondere ipsi insidente nulla pars corporis luxari poterit cum aqua undiquaque aequaliter urgeat Which solution might hold if the question was only why the Body of a Diver is not pressed down to the bottom of the Sea But as for what he says viz. That the equality and uniformness of the Pressure makes it less sensible I am of his opinion for tho' in the Air the Pressure of it is not perceivable for a like Reason yet if ones hand be applyed to the top of a Receiver and the Air exhausted the Pressure of the incumbent Atmosphere will cause a sensible Pain And to shew that the uniformity of the Pressure and the firmness of the Bodies of Divers may enable them to bear the Pressure of the Water I shall add that having included a Tad-pole in an Instrument See Plate 4. Fig. 8. such as Fig. 8. Plate the fourth describes the Plug was so far depressed that the Air in the end of the Pipe was compressed into an eighth part of the space it possessed before so that the Pressure upon the Water was equal to the weight of a Cylinder of Water three hundred foot high yet the Tad-pole moved up and down as nimbly as before being not at all indisposed tho' its Body appeared to be compressed into less room than before CHAP. VII An Hydrostatical discourse c. ALL that is contained in this discourse being chiefly a Repetition of what hath been before delivered in other Parts of the Author's Works and now only repeated to obviate some Objections of Dr. More 's and the truth 's laid down by our Author in his Hydrostatical Paradoxes and Physico-mechanical Experiments being so plain and these Objections so trivial it would but be needless to encrease the bulk of the Book with what may with more Reason be avoided CHAP. VIII A new Essay Instrument and the Hydrostatical Principle it 's founded on c. Communicated in the Transactions of June 1675. The first Section Shewing the occasion of making this Instrument and the Hydrostatical Principle it 's founded upon A new Hydrostatical Instrument and its uses proposed HAving several years ago made of a Bubble with a long Stem to estimate the specifick Gravity of Metals by its easie or more difficult immersion with them I applyed it likewise to estimate the weight of other Solids by observing how Solids suspended at this Bubble would depress it variously according to their specifick Gravities It being a general Rule in Hydrostaticks that any solid Body in Water loses so much of its weight as a parcel of Water of the same Dimensions would weigh in the Air so that Gold being specifically heavier than Copper it must lose less of its weight in the Water than Copper because proportionably the Ignobler Metal possesses the space of a greater quantity of Water whose weight by weighing it in that fluid is lost in the weight of the Body suspended at the Bubble And consequently an ounce of Gold must cause that Bubble to be immersed deeper in Water than an ounce of Brass or Copper would the Brass by Reason of its larger Dimensions losing more of its weight than the Gold The second Section Describing the Construction of this Instrument This Instrument may be made of any Metal or other matter which will float in the Water without soaking it in but the best for the uses hereafter mentioned are those made of Glass tho' they are not so lasting as those that consist of Copper or Silver This Instrument is made of three Parts a Ball the Stem and that which holds the Pipe The Ball consists of two Metalline Plates each of the fashion of a Convex Glass and the Cavity within must be so large that the
of stuff being quire drained of its Ore and laid on a heap in the Air in thirty years it afforded Metal again And the same Gentleman told me that having caused the Water which washes the Earth away from the Ore to lay down that Earth by stopping the current of it till its own weight made it subside that Earth being twelve years exposed to the Air yielded a good quantity of Metal And Relations agreeable to these I have received from another Of the growth of Lead It hath been observed that Lead Ore cleared of its Metal and laid in heaps for some years yields Metal a second time And J. Gerhard in Decade questionum p. m. 22. says Fessularum mons in Hetruria Florentiae civitati imminens lapides Plumbarios habet qui si excidantur brevi temporis spatio novis incrementis instaurantur And Agricola speaking of the growth of Mines in general testifies the same but I am told that this happens not in all Mines And tho' it be believed that the Reason why the passages into some Mines grow narrower is to be attributed to the growth of the Metal yet I am apt to believe that it may be caused by the powerful expansion of some frozen Water in the Earth that encompasses those passages and whereas it is urged as an Argument of the growth of Metals that Lead increases its weight by being exposed to the Air on the tops of Churches yet I am inclined to believe that it rather proceeds from a Cerusse formed by corrosive Parts uniting with the Parts of the corroded Metal and chiefly for this Reason viz. Because I have observed that the Wood which lyes about that Lead abounds with an Acid Spirit capable of corroding Lead and that when they have been long exposed to this Acid a white Lead may be scraped off better than the common Cerusse and this is found on that side the Lead which is next the Wood and not on that exposed to the outward Air. And I have observed that even Alablaster and white Marble will yield an Acid Spirit so that we question whether Lead fixed to the feet of Statues may not by the help of that acquire a greater bulk and increase of weight Of the growth of Iron We are told not only by Pliny and Srabo but Fallopius and Caessalpinus that in the Island of Elva not far from the coast of Tuscany Iron hath been observed to grow and Agricola attests the like to be observed in Germany And Johan Gerherd tells us that he was informed that not far from Amberga the Ore exposed to the Air for some time in heaps requires Metalline Parts Of the growth of Silver I have been told that Silver grows in the form of Vegetables and in a Voyage to Pern I find the following relation viz. That in the Mines of Potosi it is observed that Earth that was dug out of the Grooves and Shafts and thrown aside hath such a propensity to the Production of Metals that after some years it would yield Metal Of the growth of Gold Tho' there is no Gold to be found on the coast of Guyny in Congo and other Parts of Africk where Writers mention it to be found yet I am told that in Hungary the Master of that famous Gold Mine of Cremnitz hath observed that the whole Mountain abounds with Particles of Gold and that when they have cleared a great deal of the Soil in one Place of its Metalline Parts they throw it into the hole again and observe that in a little time it will yield Gold as before and Johan Gerherd gives us an Instance of the growth of Gold in Germany Postscript Dr. Brown tells us that he observed the passages in several Mines grown up especially in moist places and that the yellow Soil near Cremnitz yields some Gold Whether the increase of Metals depends on the influence of the Air or some other cause till further and more strict Observations have been made I shall not undertake to determine but shall only add that a Marchasite having been shut up in Vacuo it acquired a Vitriolate Efforescence betwixt blue and green CHAP. X. A Hydrostatical way of estimating Ores Ores Hydrostatically estimated TO help me to make an estimate of the proportion of Metalline or the Mineral ingredients of Bodies I weighed a piece of Rock-Crystal or white Marble first in Air and then in Water by which I found that its weight to an equal bulk of Water was as 2 ¾ to 1 or as 11 to 4 and then by weighing Metalline Bodies such as Magnets and Emeri I found that the weight of these in Water was more than that of Crystal the proportion of the latter being as four to one by which Tryals I was enabled to guess that these stones contain Metalline Parts in them And by the same method I discovered Metalline Ingredients in some Bodies which are not generally looked upon as such as Lapis Hematites and American Talc And as it is generally a certain sign that a Body contains mineral ingredients proportionably as it is heavier than Crystal so it is no less certain that Bodies lighter than Crystal are not impregnated with a Metalline Ore as Jet Succinum Sulphur Vive common Sulphur English Talc Venetian Talc and black Lead whose weight to Water is but as 1 1◠100 to 1 and which by certain Tryals I have found to be a kind of Talc As for the advantages that may be reaped by estimating Ores they may either respect Jewellers Physicians or Chymists as when the Metalline Ingrediens are but small or Mineralists whose business it is to extract the Metal when by this Hydrostatical way it appears to be sufficiently impregnated But because there are some cruder Metalline Ingredients in some Bodies as Antimony Bismuth Lapis Calaminaris and Pyrites which may deceive an unskilful Mineralist who estimates them this way it may be convenient to make use of other Tryals to distinguish them And since some mineral Ores when tryed in the lump appear to be poorly stocked with Metalline Parts it may be of use to beat them to powder and to separate the Metalline Parts by washing or else by fire for by that means I once found that a Metalline Ore which was wrought for Lead afforded a sufficient quantity of Silver to answer the charge of working it and to this caution I must add the following viz. That since Marcasites are generally heavier than common Crystal and by some looked upon to be plentifully stocked with Metalline Parts because of their weight and the glittering of their Parts yet they may easily be undecived by placing them in a hot fire for by that means the Sulphureous Parts will be consumed and leave behind them a black Calx but tho' Marcasites abound not with Metalline Parts proportionable to their bulk yet I have found by experience that some of them have afforded not only Copper Silver and Gold but sometimes a quantity of running Mercury
vitrify'd Sand as filled a Retort and two or three fluxing Additaments of small price sixteen grains of pure Gold And tho' by some it is thought strange that there should be a necessity of fixing Gold yet I have elsewhere made it appear that by a small addition of another Substance Gold may be sublimed without a naked Fire and form several Crystals like Rubies And if Sands as well as Earths and Stones abound with Mineral Ingredients it may be convenient to take an account where such Substances are found and likewise to take a Sample of them as also of the Ores of different Mines and to try them Hydrostatically for I have observ'd that in English Lead Ores of several kinds those in which thirty pound of Lead is only to be got out of an hundred of Ore are looked upon as not worth working those that yield half their weight of Metal are indifferent and other Ore which yields from fifty five to sixty in the hundred is looked upon to be very good but those that afford eighty Pound in the hundred are accounted very rich but I have not met with any that afforded more than seventy five in a hundred weight Which Ore seemed to consist wholly of Metal and was made up of Parts of a Cubical Figure and much resembling Dies placed one by another But besides what hath been already proposed to be inquired after concerning Metalline Fossils not only its Proportion is to be consider'd but the plenty or scarceness of the Mineral the easiness or difficulty of coming at it as also its depth and freeness from Waters its nearness to plenty of Fuel its nearness to Water to drive Mills and to transport it c. are to be consider'd likewise before one begins to work a Mine An Explication of the Instruments employed in these Experiments and those in the following Chapter aa The Beam See Plate 1. Fig. 00. bb the Dishes cc the Frame to suspend the Beam upon which d a sliding Socket e its Arms containing f a Pulley over which g another Pulley passes h a Line fastned to i a moveable Weight by which the Beam is raised up or let down k a Hair to suspend l the Body to be weighed in the Water held in m the Glass Cistern n the Bucket for Liquors o the Box of grains p the Forceps to manage them q the Pile of Weights r the Handle of the Ballance ssss the Table CHAP. XI Medicina Hydrostatica FROM what is contain'd in the fore-going Chapter it appearing that white Marble or Crystal may be a Standard to distinguish mineral Substances from other Bodies I shall here subjoin the way of weighing sinking Bodies in Water The method of weighing Bodies And first the solid Body to be examin'd is to be suspended by a Horse-hair at one of the Scales just now described and there to be counterpoised then the Weights being taken out by deducing from the weight of the Body in Air the weight of it in Water by the Remainder divide the whole weight of the given Body in the Air and the Quotient will shew the Proportion in specifick Gravity betwixt the examin'd Solid and as much Water as is just equal to it in Bulk For Example if the Weight of a Cubick Inch of Rock-Crystal be 1169 grains in the Air and 738 in Water the Remainder will be 431 grains by which the 1169 grains being divided the Quotient will be found to be 2 × 71 100 or near enough 7 10 for the proportion of the Gravity of white Marbles to Water In which Direction it is requisite to observe first Cautions requisite to be observ'd That what we have said implys that the Body weighed must be heavier than Water Secondly Horse-Hairs are more convenient than other strings because they are nearer to a specifick Gravity with Water Thirdly Where the Figure of a Body disabled us from suspending it by tying a hair about it we platted a sort of net of Hairs to hold it in Fourthly So much of the Hair as is above the Water must be counterpoised by a Weight in the other Scale Fifthly Sometimes instead of the Scale I counterpoised the opposite with a weight of Lead and suspended the Horse-Hair at the String but when I did not take off the Scale I caused it to be perforated in the middle Sixthly Care must be taken that the Water below touches not the bottom of the Scale and that the Body be freely suspended and wholly immersed in the Water Seventhly Care must be taken that no Bubbles of Air be contained in the Pores of the Body weighed since the success will be apt to fail in some Tryals upon that account And these circumstances being observed it will be easie to know by the method proposed the difference betwixt the specifick weight of other Bodies heavier than Water It being agreeable to that Hydrostatical Paradox of Archimedes That a Body heavier than Water weighs less in Water than in the Air by the weight of as much Water as is equal to it in Bulk or Magnitude And The first Use of this method of weighing Bodies By this Method we found That the weight of Lapis Hematites to Water was as four 15 100 to one and by subliming it with Sal-Armoniack we found by the Astringency of it that it abounded with Metalline Parts of a Martial Nature which was further confirmed by observing that a grain of it turned an Infusion of Galls black Lapis Lazuli was to its bulk of Water in weight as three to one A Load-Stone which besides Magnetical hath Medicinal Vertues appeared to be as four 93 100 to one Lapis Calaminaris was as four 169 100 to one In which Concretes the Medicinal Virtues seem to depend on the plentiful mixture of metalline Ingredients but some Bodies which abound less with Mineral Substances may be as operative by reason of some more active Particles But This Hydrostatical method of weighing Bodies Use II may be further serviceable in distinguishing Stones from Plants or other petrified Substances as Coral which weighs in proportion to Water as two 68 100 to one and therefore appears to be a Stone being heavier than Crystal A monstrous Pearl taken out of an Oyster which weighed 206 grains was to Water as two 51 100 to one A Calculus Humanus which weighed six drams and a half was in proportion to Water as one 76 100 to one and another that weighed four drachms and a half was to Water as one 69 100 to one These Stones tho' the productions of Distempers have been accounted better than Oriental Bezoar in their Effects Choice Bezoar Stones which weighed three drachms in the Air being weighed in Water one of them was as one 47 100 to one another somewhat lighter was as one 53 100 to one a third which was taken out of another Stone which being weighed in the Air weighed six drachms wanting nine grains was in proportion to Water as one 55 100 to
one So that these have a much less specifick Gravity than Fossil Stones A third use of this Hydrostatical way of weighing Bodies Use III may be to distinguish several Species of Bodies into subordinate Species as the Load-stones of several Countries are different in weight for I have observed Norwegian and the English Load-stones to be heavier in specie than those that came out of Italy in which the Island of Elba abounds with Mines whereof one intire Mass weighed a great many hundreds of Pounds Fourthly Use IV This method may enable us to distinguish counterfeit Stones from those that are real and good since when they are Hydrostatically weighed there will appear a manifest difference not only in adulterated Coral but Bezoar and other valuable Stones Fifthly Use V By this means we may be enabled to distinguish betwixt genuine Concretes used in Medicine and those that are not genuine as also whether precious Stones abound more or less with Metalline Ingredients But tho' sometimes Stones that are transparent may not be so plentifully impregnated with Medicinal and Mineral Effluvia yet considering the Activity and great subtlety of some Pigments the latter may be as powerful And that every sensible part of a Body may be impregnated by a small quantity of Pigment will appear from the following Experiment viz. If five grains of Zaphora be mixed with one ounce and half of Venice Glass finely powdered and kept in fusion in a furnace with a violent hot fire it will give the whole a fine blue colour and if the proportion of the Zaphora be as one to six the Glass will be too deeply tinged to make a handsome Gem. And to shew further that a small quantity of Metalline matter may be sufficient to impart a virtue to Glass and even Gems I shall add that eight grains of the powder of a German Granate being kept in fusion with an ounce of Crystalline Glass it gave it a Tincture like that which Steel gives to pure Glass From what hath been said it appears how the proportion of solid substances to Water may be Hydrostatically-distinguished but since there are other substances which cannot be so weighed being either subject to dissolve in Water or not fit to be suspended by a Hair by reason of their form being either powders or liquids to make an estimate of these I contrived the Bucket formerly mentioned and represented in Fig. 00 Plate the first which being suspended in Water and counterpoised we put a known weight of Quick-silver in it by which means comparing its weight in Water with its weight in Air and dividing the greater number by the difference of its weight in Air from what it was in Water and which was thirty four grains we found the Quotient to be fourteen and about 1 10 so that the Mercury made use of in this Tryal was as 14 11 100 to 1 but common Mercury which is sold in the Shops we have found to weigh not above thirteen and a half to one and indeed I have found a notable disparity in the weight of most common Mercuries especially those drawn from Gold for the Mercury being combined with that Metal becomes heavier than common Mercury By the same measure we may know the specifick Gravity of any Liquors which are heavier than Water and which are unapt to mix with it such as Oyl of Cinamon Cloves Guajacum c. And by the assistance of the same Bucket we may be able likewise to weigh Powders and estimate their goodness if we put a known weight of them in the Air into the Bucket and pour in gently as much Water as will fill up the Pores contained betwixt them and be sufficient to expel the Particles of Air contained betwixt the small Parts of it but in all these Tryals it will be requisite to suspend the Scales of the Gibbet delineated in the preceding Figure that the Scale may hang the steddier whilst the Body is a weighing But since there are several saline Bodies as Sublimate Mercurius dulcis Vitriol Rock-Allom c. which cannot be weighed in Water in such cases instead of Water we may substitute Oyl of Turpentine which tho' it be of a different specifick Gravity from Water yet by carefully weighing a parcel of any substance which is genuine in that Liquor it may serve for a Standard to estimate the goodness of other parcels of the same substance by and it will be no very difficult matter for one well skilled in numbers by comparing the specifick Gravity of Oyl of Turpentine and Water together to know what proportion the Body weighed in Oyl would bear to an equal bulk of common Water Another way which may be taken to estimate the specifick Gravities of Liquors is by making use of a Body that will subside in all Liquors but Quicksilver for thus by first weighing that Body in Air and then in several Liquors and having noted the difference betwixt the solid and each of the Liquors it is not difficult to find the specifick weight of each and the proportions betwixt them And since it is but one solid that is compared thus to the differing Liquors whatsoever their Number is it will not be difficult to compare the specifick Gravities of the Liquors betwixt themselves and to discover by the weight of the first that of any other which ever one pleases But in making choice of such a solid Body as may serve our present purpose care must be taken that it be such as will not be subject to be consumed by Effluvia or too large for a tender Ballance nor so big as to require too much Liquor to cover it and lastly it ought to be of such a Nature that it may not be liable to be corroded by sharp and corrosive Liquors or easily broke but such as may be easily obtained that what Experiments are tryed with it may easily be tryed by others and communicated to Posterity The Bodies made use of in trying these kind of Experiments and which came nearest what we thought requisite for such Tryals was when we examined common Water Rain-Water Spirit of Wine Wine Brandy Vinegar and the Liquors drawn from it Cyder Beer Ale Urine Waters distilled from Vegetable and Animal substances Amber But to estimate the weight of heavier Liquors we employed a Glass-Bubble Hermetically sealed and filled with Mercury But this being both hard to be obtained and harder to be preserved I made use of the following Body in such Experiments as are to be recorded for Posterity viz. A Globe of Rock-Crystal which was suspended by a hair which passed through a small hole in it and which we employed to discover the difference of those Liquors which we could obtain greater quantities of but for others we employed an Hexagonal Prism with a kind of Pyramid at the end and this Body being of such a Figure we were able to employ it in small Cylinders in which a small quantity of Liquor would surround it and cover it
less so it might be said to be of a Magnitude proportionable for if it weighed but 128 grains less in Water it might be said to be of such a bulk of Water but if it weighed 256 wanting thirty two grains that being an eight of a whole Cubick Inch of Water the bulk of the Body may be said to be ⅞ of a Cubick Inch. And if the Body weighs one ounce thirty two grains amounting to 512 grains or one ounce and a half forty eight grains amounting to 768 grains the bulk of the Body will be equal to two or three Cubical Inches And if after the Division there remains a Fraction it will not be difficult to estimate it and to know the exact bulk of the Body since the Cubical Inch consists of such aliquot Parts as are easily and regularly divided and subdivided And thus we may easily know the bulk of a Body that is heavier than Water but if it be specifically lighter it will be a difficult matter The method Mersennus proposes is this viz. First weigh the Body to be examined in the Air. Secondly take a piece of Lead of a determinate weight and able to sink the other Body in Water Thirdly weigh the Plate in Water and the weight it loses in Water will be the weight of Water equal in bulk to the Body weighed Fourthly tye together the Plate of Lead and the lighter Body and note the weight of the Aggregate Fifthly weigh the Aggregate in Water and substract the weight of it there from its weight in the Air and the difference will be the specifick weight of the said Body in Water Sixthly from this difference substract the formerly found specifick Gravity of the Plate alone in Water and the remains will give you the weight of the lighter Body in the same Liquor And then dividing the obtained weight of the light Body in Water by 256 grains and it will give you the solid content of that naturally floating Body To illustrate this method I shall subjoin the following Experiment I. The Oaken Cube in Air weighs seven drachms thirteen grains and a half 193 ½ II. The weight of the Lead in Air four drachms 240 III. The weight of the Lead in Water three drachms and a half ten grains 220 which being substracted from its weight in Air leaves for its specifick weight in Water 020 IV. The Aggregate of the two in Air is 433 ½ V. The weight of both together in Water is 162 which being substracted from its weight in Air gives the difference of both the Aggregates 271 ½ VI. The difference betwixt the weight of Lead alone in Air and in Water or which is all one the specifick weight of the Plate alone viz. 020 Being substracted from the difference of the Aggregates in Air and in Water gives for the weight of the Cube proposed which wants but four and a half of the weight of a Cubical Inch of Water 251 ½ The same method that hath been taken with solids not subject to dissolve in Water may be taken with Alloms c. Which is only by employing Oyl of Turpentine instead of Water for a Cubical Inch of that weighing 221 grains and ⅛ the difference of the weight of a solid in the Air and in that Oyl being divided by that Number the Quotient will give you the solid contents of the Examined Body But to discover the weight of Bodies which are apt to imbibe too much of the Liquor they are weighed in we may guard them from it by a thin coat of Bees-Wax and having first taken the weight of the Wax in Air and then fastned it to a Plate of Lead substract the weight of as much Water as is equal in bulk to the Wax and proceed with the Body contained and the Plate of Lead as before taught and having thus obtained the Weight of the proposed Body in Water by dividing it by 256 grains by the help of the Quotient we may obtain the solid contents of the proposed Body Another way I devised for to learn the solid contents of a Body without imbibing Water into it was by finding the weight of a Cubick Inch of Mercury and also the specifick weight of the Vessel and then pouring upon the Body contained in that Vessel as much Silver as it would hold by knowing the weight of that Quick-silver from the weight of the whole which the Vessel would contain one might be acquainted to how much Mercury the matter contained was equal Having thus proposed a Hydrostatical way of trying Bodies I shall leave it to others to contrive an Instrument more apt for such uses than I have done And shall to what I have said add that these kind of Experiments do not always equally answer in success being apt to be diversifyed as well by the want of uniformity in the Qualities and specifick weight of Bodies of the same Denomination as by the difference in Water in intensely Hot and Cold Weather as also upon the account of less exact Ballances But another reason is the difference of weights of the same Denomination for we are told by a diligent Mathematician that cum omnia grana vel semina quae reperiri solent in atriis venalibus Lutetiae and stateram expendisset vix granum ullum inter ejusdem Speciei grana grano alteri exacte respondisset in incertis Ludere noluit And the same Author tells us that 688 Roman grains are but equal to 576 French grains and this estimate of their difference by another Ballance was found to be thirty six grains false And the same Author receiving two accounts of the number of grains contained in a Roman ounce the one told him there were 612 the other 576. And tho' our weights as well as those made use of by Gheraldus have twenty four scruples in an ounce yet he divided his scruples into twenty four grains whereas we divide ours but into twenty And Mersennus p. 37. lib. 16. tells us that cum autem dixi Chelinum undecim dici denariorum credunt tamen alii decem duntaxat nil assero And. To what hath been said I shall only add that tho' this method of weighing Bodies be not Mathematically exact yet it comes as near Physical exactness as we can expect and may be of use till some more nice way of Tryals be found out A Table representing not only the Weight of several Bodies in Air and Water but their Proportions in Weight to an equal Bulk of Water A Weight In Air in Gr. In Water in Grains Proportion AMber 306 12 1 4 100 to 1. Agat 251 156 2 64 100 to 1. A piece of Allom-stone 280 ¾ 152 ¼ 2 18 100 to 1. Antimony good and supposed to be Hungarian One 391 295 4 7 100 to 1. B    Bezoar stone 187 61 1 48 100 to 1. A piece of the same 56 ½ 22 1 64 100 to 1. A fine Oriental one 172 60 1 53 100 to 1. Another 237 61 1 34
100 to 1. C    Coral red 129 ¼ 80 ¼ 2 63 100 to 1. Crystal 256 140 2 21 100 to 1.  Weight In Air in Gr. In Water in Grains Proportion Cornelian 148 103 3 29 100 to 1. Calculus humanus 2570 1080 1 72 100 to 1. Coco-shell 331 85 1 34 100 to 1. Native Crabs Eyes 77 ½ 36 ½ 1 89 100 to 1. Crabs Eyes Artificial 90 ½ 54 2 48 100 to 1. Calx of Lead 138 ½ 123 8 94 100 to 1. Copper Stone 65 ½ 49 ½ 4 09 â—â—0 to 1. Common Cinnabar 802 702 8 1 50 to 1. Cinnabar of Antimony 197 169 7 3 100 to 1. Cinnabar Native 197 171 7 57 100 to 1. Coral White 336 204 〈◊〉 54 1002 to 1. Another piece fine 139 85 2 17 100 to 1. Calculus humanus 302 97 1 47 100 to 1. Copper Ore 1436 1090 4 15 100 to 1. Copper Ore Rich 413 314 4 17 100 to 1. Cinnabar Native very sparkling 226 194 7 6 100 to 1. G    Gold Ore not Rich brought from the East Indies 1100 682 2 63 109 to 1. Another Lump of the same 1151 717 2 65 100 to 1. Granati Minera 217 147 3 1 10 to 1. Granate Bohemian   4 36 100 to 1. H Weight In Air in Gr. In Water in Grains Proportion Haematites English 1574 1156 3 76 100 to 1. I    Ivory 173 2 83 1 91 100 to 1. L    Lapis Manati 450 293 2 26 100 to 1. A Fragment of the same 218 ½ 123 2 29 100 to 1. Another 345 197 2 33 100 to 1. Another from Jamaica 2011 1127 2 27 100 to 1. Lapis Lazuli one piece 385 256 2 98 100 to 1. Lead Ore 686 590 7 14 100 to 1. Another    Lapis Calaminaris 477 380 4 92 100 to 1. Lapis Judaicus 261 ½ 164 2 69 100 to 1. M    Marcasites 814 631 4 45 100 to 1. Another from Stalbridge 243 189 4 ½ to 1.  Weight In Air in Gr. In Water in Grains Proportion Another more shining than ordinary 287 227 4 18 100 to 1. Mercury reviv'd from Ore    Manganese a piece 321 230 3 13 100 to 1. Mineral Cornish like a shining Marcasite 145 129 9 6 100 to 1. O    Osteocolla 195 108 2 24 100 to 1. Ore Silver choice from Saxony 458 366 4 9â— 100 to 1. Another Piece 1120 960 7 to 1. Ore Lead from Cumberland Rich 1872 1586 1 â— 54 100 to 1. R    Rhinoceros horn 8563 4260 1 99 100 to 1. Rock-Chrystal another Piece 256 140 2 20 100 to 1. S    Saphir     Weight In Air in Gr. In Water in Grains Proportion Seed-Pearl    Sulphur vive 371 185 2 to 1. Germane very fine 306 152 1 98 100 to 1. Slate Irish 779 467 2 49 100 to 1. T    A Piece of Talc like Lapis Amianthus 596 334 2 28 100 to 1. Talc Venetian 802 508 2 73 100 to 1. Talc Jamaican 1857 1238 3 to 1. New English Tin Ore Mr. Huberts 812 613 4 8 100 to 1. Tin Ore black Rich. 1293 984 4 18 100 to 1. Another piece Choice 2893 2314 5 to 1. Tutty a piece 104 83 5 to 1. Tin-glass 468 419 9 56 100 to 1. V    Vitrum Antimonii per se 357 ½ 282 ½ 4 76 100 to 1. Vitriol Engl. a very fine piece 1093 512 1 â—8 100 to 1. Vnicorns horn a piece 407 195 1 91 100 to 1. THE WORKS Of the HONOURABLE ROBERT BOYLE Esq EPITOMIZED BOOK V. PART II. CHAP. I. An account of a strangely Self-moving Liquor communicated in the Transactions of November 26. 1685. Of a Self-moving Liquor AN Ingenious Mathematician having mixed several Ingredients in an Earthen Pot over Coals the matter took fire and began to blaze furiously which obliged him to stiffle the flame and remove it from the fire and when it was cold he several times successively and at some distance of time observed that the Liquor moved variously and briskly and some seeds being thrown upon it they formed a sort of scum part of which being removed and the Liquor placed in a warm Laboratory I observed the following Phaenomena 1. The scum which remained on it being broke part would be carryed to the left hand and part to the right by the motion of the Liquor 2. When it came from under the scum it moved very briskly as if its motion upwards had been checked by it 3. The Liquor consisting partly of Oyl and partly of Bituminous Ingredients their motion might not only be the better discerned but some of those Oyly Parts rising up to the top of the Liquor would diffuse themselves orbicularly and form a great Halo adorned with the vivid colours of a Rain-Bow and these would continue till they lost themselves successively under the scum 4. The motions of this Liquor were frequently Vortical which appeared by the motion of some Parts of the scum And the Liquor all this while was actually Cold. 5. Some of this Liquor being poured into a Cylindrical Glass it moved not as before but being poured into a shallow wide-mouth'd Glass it moved more briskly and variously than before in the Earthen Vessel 6. It moves more briskly or slow as the Weather varies in temper and in all hath continued its motion ten days and it continued this motion when poured out of a Vial into a convenient Glass seven or eight weeks after but very languidly and soon began to slacken its motion in point of swiftness and from the first to the last time this Liquor was observed to move it was about five Months CHAP. II. Of the preserving of Birds and other small Faetus's Of preserving Birds c. IN order to make Observations about young Faetus's I preserved Chickens taken out of the Shell at several times and on several days after Incubation by keeping them in Spirit of Wine to which I sometimes added Spirit of Sal-Armoniack prepared with Quick-lime and that the Liquor might not be discoloured I usually remove them twice into fresh Spirits before I design to preserve them in it CHAP. III. A Conjecture concerning the the Bladders of Air found in Fishes Communicated in the Transactions of May 25. 1675. Of the Bladders of Fishes TO shew whether a Fish moves in the Water by expanding or by a constriction of himself and whether the Bladder within him be contracted and expanded according to the several depths he swims at we contrived the following Experiment viz. To put several Fishes into a Bolt-head filled with Water and whose Stem is drawn out very fine and sealed up when filled with Water for if when the Fish sinks the Water in the small Tube subsides we may conclude he contracts himself and if when he rises the Water rises also we may conclude that
artificial Spaw whose Taste not only agrees with that of the Natural Spaws but it will like Tunbridge or the German Spaw turn a Tincture of Gauls Purple EXPERIMENT V. The Bezoar Stone being a Medicine of great use not only in malignant Feavers but the Plague and by reason of its dearness apt to be counterfeited I shall add the following way of distinguishing betwixt good and bad viz. by disgesting about fifty grains finely powdered with six drachms of Spirit of Nitre in a digestive Furnace for after they have been mixed some time the Spirit begins to dissolve the Powder and extracts a red Tincture which being placed in a North-ward Window about eight and forty Hours shoots into Chrystals much like those of Salt-Petre To shew that the purging or astringent Qualities of Bodies depend on the Disposition of the Patient as well as of the Agent I shall intimate that a certain Lady having eat a Toast with Cinnamon upon it was so violently purged for about two days that it brought Convulsions and a Spasmus Cinycus upon her which was not removed in three Years A Physician to whom I communicated several things sent me the following Account in a Letter from Dublin dated Feb. 27. 1682. viz. That he found the good Effects of Ens Veneris in removing the Subsultus Tendinum in a Febris Petechialis which was fatal to many for about fourteen Months The Method I took in this Feaver was if the Patient was costive first to prescribe a Glister and a large blistering Plaster between the Shoulders keeping it running 'till the Declension of the Distemper all this time I prescribed Emulsions of Aqua Aronis Card. Bened. Citri totius Syr. Gratorum cum Aceto Orange and Butter-milk Posset c. I avoid the use of all those things that quicken the Circulation of the Blood and I rather prescribe Blistering to prevent than cure Affections of the Genus Nervosum because the Matter being once fixed in those Parts they become ineffectual A designed Chymical Medicine Considering that the Menstruums usually employed in opening and preparing the Body of Steel were Acids I tryed to do it in the following method Having dissolved fresh filings of Steel in a warm place in a sufficient quantity of Spirit of fermented Urine highly rectifyed per se the filtrated solution had a taste different from all other Chalybeat preparations and being set in a cold Window in three days precipitated a powder of a green colour yet the decantated Liquor by Evaporation would not in the least Cristalize This Preparation hath effects quite different from those Preparations made by Acids and is much more agreeable to some Persons A designed Chymical Medicine That I might try whether a Metalline Sulphur might be obtained from Steel I pitched upon a Menstruum void of Sulphur that if the Preparation should yeild Sulphur it might not be suspected to come from the Menstruum Wherefore I dissolved Steel in Spirit of Sea-salt and upon Evaporation obtained very curious Cristals from which we drew by Distillation in a Retort a good quantity of Liquor which came over in the form of Steams which had a very Sulphureous smell which being rectifyed and mixed with Aqua Fortis would dissolve Gold and give it the colour of Silver which may intimate to us how much the Vitriols of Metals may differ according to the difference of the Menstruums which dissolve them since our green Vitriol affords Liquors different from that made with Oyl of Vitriol Besides which it may be worth while to note that though neither common or Roman Vitriol will dissolve in Spirit of Wine which is Inflamable yet our Vitriol would readily and here it will not be unnecessary to hint by the by that a solution of our saline Vitriol may not improbably be of use in Wounds being a very powerful Astringent and fit to prevent the breeding of Worms in Wounds disposed to abound with such in cold Climates But what we cheifly designed in this Experiment and what is most to be taken notice of is that the dry substance raised by the fire was distinguished by accidents into three kinds of substances First a Powder which when exposed to the Air turned yellow Secondly a deep coloured substance betwixt red and brown of Parts much grosser than the former Thirdly a substance of a shining red whose Parts were very fine and subtle The Caput Mortuum was changed into a Talky substance consisting of Lamelloe situated and connected much after the same manner as the thick Plates which make up Muscovia Glass CHAP. VII Experiments and Observations Solitary EXPERIMENT I. A notable Comminution of Gold into Powder that will sink in Water A Comminution of Gold into Powder WE dissolved a grain of refined Gold in Aqua Regia adding about two spoonfuls of Water to the Solution in which Mixture a small piece of Metal being suspended it in a few days afforded a deep coloured Precipitate which was so light that it was a considerable time in subsiding and as easily raised in the form of Mud upon an Agitation of the Vessel where it was to be noted that tho' upon an Agitation the Liquor at the first seemed Opacous yet in a little time it appeared to be of a fine Purple colour so that the Particles of Gold were so far divided as by being scattered through two ounces of Water to give a Tincture to it EXPERIMENT II. A Proof of the Metalline Nature of Granates The Metalline Nature of Granates c. In Confirmation of what I have elsewhere delivered viz. That the Virtue of Gems depends on a Mixture of Metalline Juices with the Particles of those Gems whilst in fluid forms I shall take notice that a Granate of a dark colour being applyed to a Load-stone it so strongly attracted it as not without violence to be separated from it EXPERIMENT III. I am told by an Ingenious Gentleman that he saw a flat Saphir in the East-Indies which had a small Cavity in the middle of it filled with a fluid substance which was not so apt to petryfie as the rest EXPERIMENT IV. To prove that Fishes hear under Water I shall here lay down a Relation which I received from an Ingenious Gentleman who in a Garden near Genoa observed the Gardiner to assemble the Fishes in the Pond together by a certain noise which he made EXPERIMENT V. To illustrate and confirm what hath elsewhere been observed concerning the various colours refracted by the minute and Parts of Solids I shall here note that a Globe of Rock-Crystal being sawn in two the new superficies refracted the Rays of the Sun so as to exhibit colours more lively than those of a Rain-Bow which were refracted this way or that as the superficies of the Stones were differently situated in reference to the Sun-Beams and the like Phaenomena succeeded the like Tryals with a Touch-stone Which Experiments may confirm what hath elsewhere been delivered concerning colours of Bodies depending on a
are to work upon contribute much to their Effects appears from the Effects of Lightning For I have seen two tall drinking Glasses so alter'd in their shape by the influence of Lightning that the one was a little widened near the bottom and the other so far bent that it stood awry the Beams of Lightning being able in the twinkling of an Eye to melt Glass tho' in Glass Furnaces the Fire is sometime before it can produce that Effect And I once saw Lead melted by Lightning which left the Glass unaffected and likewise other combustible stuff that was near it and tho' it left these Things untouched yet it threw down part of a Wall belonging to the House by passing through it And it is a common Observation that Thunder either by giving a determinate Concussion to the Air or transmitting some Effluvia turns Beer sowre but having sealed some up in Glasses Hermetically the Thunder was not able to affect the Liquor contained in them and it is a common practice to prevent Beer from sowring upon Storms of Thunder to place Chafing-Dishes of Coals under the Barrels the sulphureous steams being by that means so alter'd as either not to be able to penetrate the Barrel or not able to alter the Liquor Another Way by which considerable Effects are caused by Effluvia is by exciting such a Motion in the Body they work upon as to make one part of it act upon another Instances of which may be brought from inanimate Bodies as well as living ones since some vigorous Loadstones destroy the attractive Virtues of an Excited Needle in a trice or give it a Virticity quite contrary to the former without touching it and these magnetical Emissions which must needs be very minute since they are subtle enough to penetrate Glass are able to take up a considerable weight of Iron so that I have seen a light one which would take up Eighty times its weight But the chief Instances I shall now insist on are those wrought upon Animals for it is evident that our Organs of smelling are chiefly affected by such minute Particles of Matter as the finest Odours consist of nor do they always affect us as Odours since violent smells whether stinking or sweet are able to cause very troublesome Head-achs And the smell of a very pleasing Perfume may produce in a humane Body which before was well and strong both faintness swoons loss of sensible Respiration Intumescence of the Abdomen seeming Epilepsies Convulsive motions of the Limbs c. And I had a Sal-Armoniack which would in a little time remove Hysterick fits and recover People who by the by-standers were judged to fall down in Epileptical fits which sudden effects seem to depend on the consent of the Genus Nervosum But besides these effects of Odorous Bodies upon Women I know a Man of a strong Body and a sanguine Constitution who will be put into a violent Head-ach by the smell of Musk and another to whom the smell of Roses was as offensive and I know a Lady who would presently swoon at the smell of Roses if they were not speedily removed And as these slight smells have proved offensive so it is not much less considerable that the smell of Sal-Armoniack cures the Head-ach Besides the aforementioned effects of Effluvia it is observed that Women have miscarryed upon the stink of a Candle carelesly extinguished And I not only know a Gentleman who will Vomit upon the smell of Coffee but a Physician who will Vomit and Purge if he does but smell at Electuarium Lenitivum And I know another whom the smell of the grease which is about the wheels of a Hackney-Coach will make sick and cause to Vomit if it does but pass by him And not only smoak is offensive to the Eyes and Lungs but the invisible steams of Sal-Armoniack And besides the aforementioned instances of the effects of Effluvia upon the Genus Nervosum I shall add one of their Effects on the humours for I know an Apothecary who upon the smell of Roses hath such a Colliquation of Humours in his Head that they set him a coughing make him run at the Nose and give him a sore Throat and also by an affluence of humours make his Eyes sore And as Effluvia may be enabled to perform several things on the account of the structure of particular Bodies so they may effect several things by Virtue of the Fabrick and Laws of the Universe for Bodies by Effluvia may be rendered fit to be wrought on by Light Magnets the Atmosphere Gravity or some other Catholick Agent of the Universe And to what instances have already been given of Bodies working upon others placed at a distance I might add the effects of contiguous Bodies as Bloodstones Cornelians Nephritick Sones Lapis Malacensis and some Amulets and other solid Substances externally applyed by Physicians as Cantharides c. CHAP. VI. Of the determinate Nature of Effluviums Of the determinate Nature of Effluviums THO' Aristotle and his followers have only distinguished the Exhalations of this Globe into those which he calls fumes and which rising from the Earth he terms hot and dry and those Vapours which rise from the Water which he calls hot and moist in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet besides these slight differences since the Earth contains several Bodies which have each of them distinct Atmosphere we may probably conceive them to have their distinct and determinate natures and even in fluid Bodies Heterogeneous Parts may swim which notwithstanding their fluidity may retain their determinate Nature since Rock-Allom and Salt-Petre being dissolved together in Water upon a gentle Evaporation will each of them shoot into Crystals of their respective and determinate Natures And that Effluvia retain their determinate natures tho' so small as to swim in the Air or Water appears since upon their Re-union they are of the same Nature with the Body that emitted them as Water raised in Vapours condenses again into drops of Water And Quick-Silver in Distillation if it be raised with a convenient fire will almost all be found in the Receiver in the form of running Mercury And if when Chymists are either making an Amalgama or forcing the Mercury away from it by the fire they hold a piece of Gold in their Mouths it will be white as if it were Silvered over And not only Sulphur but Camphire sublimed in close Vessels unites into a Substance of the same Nature as the other and tho' a Body be compounded of a Metal and another Mineral and two or three Salts yet upon the Purification of the Mixture from its grosser Parts if the remaining and finer Parts be minute enough and finely shaped the wholy Liquor will ascend and yet in the Receiver altogether recover its pristine form of a transparent fluid composed of differing Saline and Mineral Parts which is evident in the Distillation of Butter or Oyl of Antimony very well rectify'd for this Liquor
believe that there are such by the common Observations of a great many learned Men and able Physicians and to favour this common Observation viz. That there are such Substances which have peculiar effects which can be ascribed to no manifest Qualities I shall urge the effects of Poysons taken in a very inconsiderable quantity And I am told that something that fell from a Spider into a Man's Eye caused him to lose his sight to which I shall add that Spiders are observed to kill flies much sooner than cutting off their Heads or running them through with Pins will do it To which instances we may add that most Poysons are cured by appropriated Antidotes and as perfumes cause ill symtoms in many Histerick Women so the fumes of Feathers burnt relieve them And I have found that the smell of Spirit of Harts-horn or Sal-Armoniack hath recovered People made sick by fragrant Odours But beyond all other Arguments is experience for Galen tells us That the ashes of a burnt Craw-Fish will cure the biting of a mad Dog and that their effects are much more considerable if to ten Parts of burnt Craw-Fish we add five of Gentian and one of Frankincense And Diascorides commends them against the same Disease that the Pergamenian does And tho' the stings of Scorpions usually produce very acute Pains and formidable Symtoms yet the mischief is easily remedied either by crushing the Body of the Scorpion upon the Hurt or by anointing the Part with Oyl of Scorpions tho' the Liquor appears not to have any sensible Qualities to which their Efficacy may be ascribed And to these Instances I might add that Verginian Snake-weed cures the sting of a rattle Snake and the Jesuit's Powder is a specifick in Agues And tho' it be argued against the Virtues of specifick Medicines that they are altered by the ferment of the Stomach and other strainers of different Textures and that a great deal is carried off by Excrements or is assimilated and converted into the Substance of our Bodies yet to these things it may be answered that not only Oyntments Plaisters Periapta c. work upon the mass of Humours but even those Medicines which are allowed to work by manifest Qualities perform what they do upon the account of their Particles alterering and differently disposing the Humours of our Bodies and in doing of that they are liable to the same objections offered against specifick Medicines Besides it is observable that Rhubarb will tinge the Urine of those that take a considerable Dose And there is a Fruit called prickled Pears in the English American Colonies which passes by Urine so much unaltered that the People think when strangers to it that they piss Blood And Elaterium so much impregnates the Milk of a Nurse that it will Purge the Child that takes it And I remember that in the confines of Savoy and Swizerland when the Cattle fed on a Herb called wild Garlick the butter would sensibly taste of it And in Ireland they have a kind of Sea-Fowl which feed upon Fishes which is so little altered as to make some question whether it be Flesh or Fish And tho' it be further urged against Specifick Medicines that so little is dispersed through the habit of the Body that it can have no considerable effects yet their Efficacy may answer for their smallness in quantity For I am told that the Negroes have a Poyson which tho' it work slow is nevertheless Mortal and this they conceal under the Nails of their Fingers and drop into the Aliment of those they have spite to And I know a Vegetable Substance half a Grain of which will be too violent a Purgative and sometimes Mortal And tho' English Vipers are looked upon as no Poyson yet by the Wound of a single Tooth I knew one who was taken with violent Vomitings To which may be added the terrible effects of Scorpions in the Island of Java And we see that several Women otherwise strong and lusty will fall into Swoons upon the smell of Musk or Civet tho' all the Effluvia that affect them would not amount to the hundredth part of a Grain and by Effluvia perhaps not more plentiful these Symptoms may be again removed And the Portions of Crocus Metallorum in Wine or of Quick-Silver in Water tho' small have very considerable effects so that when a Child who obstinately refused all Medicines drank small Beer impregnated with Mercury he was much relieved in a violent worm Fever That their Operations may be Mechanically solved is proved in the following Propositions Having said thus much of specifick Medicines I shall now proceed to lay down some things in the following Propositions to shew that they be mechanically explicated But first I shall premise that I would not have the Body to be considered as a dull lump of matter but as an admirably contrived Mechanical Engin consisting of Parts exquisitely contrived and adapted to their particular Uses and that the effects of Bodies upon it may be considered in reference to that Disposition of their Parts This being premised there is no need to think that all specificks act after the same manner or the same way and sometimes the specifick may operate by a joynt and in a compound way But to proceed to the following Propositions PROP. I. Prop. I. Sometimes the specifick Medicine may cure by discussing or resolving the Morbifick matter and thereby making it fit for Expulsion by the greater common shores of the Body and the Pores of the Skin Thus the Blood impregnated with Medicinal Particles may act upon gross Humours which obstruct the Parts and are not to be resolved without specifick Solvents which by their figure and agitation may get in betwixt and separate those Viscous Parts so Blood impregnated with Sal-Armoniack dissolves Copper not by manifest Qualities but by Virtue of the Shape Bulk Solidity and other Mechanical affections of its Parts which concur to enable it to disjoyn the Parts of a Body of such a determinate Texture And indeed there are not only a great number of Menstruums very different from one another but their effects evidently appear not to depend upon manifest Qualities since it several times happens that a Menstruum less Acid may dissolve this or that Body which a much stronger Menstruum will not work upon so Water will dissolve the white of an Egg which Spirit of Wine will coagulate and so will Spirit of Salt and Oyl of Tartar it self and thus dephlegmed Spirit of Urine will more readily dissolve filings of Copper than Spirit of Vitriol and yet the latter will speedily dissolve Crabs Eyes tho' the other leaves them untouched so Quick-Silver will dissolve Gold in the cold tho' Aqua Fortis assisted by Heat leaves it untouched yet Aqua Fortis will dissolve Iron and Quick-silver will not And Brimstone will be dissolved by common Oyl tho' not by Aqua Fortis And I know a Liquor of which one may safely drink a Wine
more clearly understand how a Superadded Form modifies the Actions of a Body we need but reflect on the Parts of a Watch from whence the Forma Totius proceeds where we may see how the Spring by being bent acquires a Tendency to expand and how the Wheels moderate that Expansion From whence we may gather how the Parts of a Body which united make the Forma Totius concur in superadding several New Qualities to the whole So a piece of Lead is Vitrify'd by the Action of the Fire by which Action the Parts which before were pliable become brittle and being otherwise rang'd as to Situation give way to the Rays of Light and becomes Transparent And Salt-Petre by the Addition of Coal and Sulphur instead of burning by degrees and leaving an Alkalizate Salt behind it flashes all away at once Compound may act by Virtue of one single Ingredient VII Besides the Actions of a Body which are specifick in respect of the whole it may have several Operations depending on the separate and particular Properties of an Ingredient This may appear from what hath been deliver'd above But to make it more clear I shall again intimate what hath been before deliver'd viz. That the Parts of a Watch retain several of their Pristine Qualities when put together as they did before To which another Instance might be added from what is elsewhere said of Gun-powder To which it may be added That several Ingredients in Physical Compositions retain their own Qualities tho' the Composition hath in General a Particular Effect upon the account of its Mixture As for Instance Ambergreece retains its Smell as well as Aloes its Taste when made up into Pills with other Ingregredients and Opium likewise its Soporifick Qualities tho' mix'd with so great a number of Ingredients as those of Venice-Treacle Another Example we have in the Precipitate of Gold and Mercury by Heat which tho' it hath a red Colour different from both the Ingredients yet the Mercury retains its Salivating Faculty The most noted often esteem'd the Specifick Form VIII That is often call'd the Specifick Form in several Natural Bodies which is not the Presiding but only the most Eminent To prove this we are to consider what hath been already observ'd As First That the Signification of the Word Form is made use of Arbitrarily and without sufficient Distinction Secondly That Forms are only Respective and the Result of a Determinate Coexistence of the Parts of Matter Thirdly That they are attributed to Bodies upon the account of some particular Qualities as Unctuousness in Oyls c. or some particular Use Pourthly Agreeably to these a Body must be endued wich several of those Qualities upon the Account of which Bodies are referr'd to different Classes As in Vitrum Antimonii in which besides those Qualities by which it is referr'd to Glass it hath a Vomitive and Purgative Faculty by which it is brought into another Class in Physick Fifthly It is not requisite that these Forms should depend on one another since neither the Vomitive nor Purgative Faculty depend on the Form of Glass they both being inherent in the Calx before it was Vitrify'd and would be preserv'd tho' the Glass without an Addition of other Matter should be turn'd into a Regulus Sixthly To these Observations we may add That the Qualities of Bodies are said to be less or more Noble in respect of their different Uses As in Glass of Antimony tho' the Glass may be taken for the Noblest Form by an Artist yet it s other Antimonial Qualities are more Eminent amongst Chymists and Physicians Seventhly From these Considerations we may gather that the most Predominant Form is not always that which denominates the Form of a Body but sometimes that which is most Eminent that is most regarded Some are rather Concurrent Forms than Subordinate IX The Forms just now mention'd are rather to be esteem'd Concurrent than Subordinate And indeed where the Denominating or most regarded Form may be so vary'd they rather seem Concurrent than Subordinate in respect of the Body whose Attributes they are So that the Subjection of some sort of Forms seems very difficult to be explain'd And indeed we are so apt to mistake Names for Things since by only denominating some Bodies which have Particular Operations we are apt to attribute what is the sole Effect of Modification to that Metaphysical Conception which we have of an Aery Form rather than to the Body consider'd as a Physical Agent endued with a Mechanical and Adventitious Texture And it is so far from Appearing that there is any thing of Supereminency or Dominion of one Form in all the Operations of a Compound Body that in some Simple Bodies the Specifick Form is not in the least concern'd in the Effects of them as Water will scald by Virtue of its Adventitious Heat which is contrary to those Qualities attributed to its Form as such And so Springiness may be added to or taken away from Silver without altering the Specifick Form of the Metal nor does the Form of a File consider'd as Metal affect what is attributed to it upon the Account of those Asperities Nor is the more than usual Hardness the Product of the Substantial Form but an acquir'd Temper given it by the Smith It would be an easy Matter to add several other Instances But to conclude Tho' the uncertain Signification of Terms hath made the Foregoing Discourse the more Difficult and Dark yet I hope it may serve to detect some receiv'd Errors and promote a truer Theory concerning these Matters CHAP. V. Experiments and Thoughts about the Production and Reproduction of Forms Bodies distinguish'd into Spaecies how IT was not without Grounds that I intimated in the preceding Chapter about Qualities that Bodies are in a great measure distinguished into several Species by a sort of Tacit Agreement there being as yet no Diagnosticks sufficient to distinguish the several Species of things but they are rather taken for distinct Species by being known by such Names than any true Characteristicks As for instance some well skill'd in the Writings of Aristotle hold that Water and Ice are not esteemed distinct Kinds of Bodies they both having the same Nature yet Galen not without Reason favours the contrary Opinion since they differ both in respect of Fluidity and Firmness as well as Transparency Besides Ice and Salt beaten together will freeze other Liquors whereas Water and Salt will not where there seems to be difference enough to denominate them Two distinct Species of Bodies as well as that Must Vinegar Wine Spirit of Wine or Tartar should be esteemed so or that a Chick should be thought different from the Egg which was hatched Yet some Aristotelians have been very doubtful whether the Natures of them be different or not as also whether Clouds Hail Rain or Snow differ in Specie from Water tho' the Writers concerning Meteors usâ—â—â—ly treat of them as different And if so
small an Accident as Moâ—â—â—â— oâ— whatever distinguishes Wind and Exhalaâ—â—â—… is enough to entitle them to distinct Species of Bodies a Greater Right may be presumed 〈◊〉 Paper and Rags Glass and Wood-Ashes should be esteemed so too as also Soap Sugar Gunpowder c. For it is not a sufficient Objection that most of these Bodies are Factitious for the present state of a Body denominates its Species however it came by that Nature as the Salt which is made in the Isle of Man by the Sun acting upon the Sea-water is as much Salt as that which is artificially made by the Heat of the Fire by boiling Sea-Water in Chauldrons and Silk-Worms and Chickens hatched by the heat of Ovens or Dunghils are equally as much Silkworms or Chickens as those produced by the heat of the Sun or warmth of a Hen. The Products of Art the Effects of Nature Besides the Objection that most of the forementioned Bodies are Factitious is less valid since they seem equally performed by Nature the Artificer being only concerned in putting Natural Agents together which take the same Measures in causing their Effects as if they had casually been brought together by Chance As in Chymistry the Agent which is Fire operates upon the Subjects it hath to work upon as Fire and not as it is barely an Instrument of a Chymist and therefore tho' the Application belongs to the Chymist the Action is as much Natural as the Productions of Aetna or Vesuvius where by the internal Action of the Fire Stones are Calcined and Metals not only colliquated but Metalline Flowers and Ashes dispersed about the adjacent Parts And I am not without Probability inclined to believe that several Minerals as well as other Bodies which lie near the Center of the Earth are rather the Productions of Subterraneal Fires changing the Textures of other Bodies than that they have lodged there since the first Creation of things for we see that Lead becomes Minium and Tin Tutty in a very small time and the Fumes of Sulphur uniting with those of Mercury convene into that delicate red Mass called Vermilion which hath so far the similitude of a Mineral that it hath been called by the same Name of Cinnabaris So that we may easily conceive how in the Bowels of the Earth certain Mineral Fumes penetrating and uniting with a stony Concretion Minerals may be formed From whence it may appear that a Congeries and Union of Accidents is as sufficient to discriminate the several Species of Bodies as the imagination of Substantial Forms The Artificial Production of Vitriol correspondent to the Natural But to illustrate the Mechanical Origin of Forms we may take notice of the Artificial Production of Vitriol which is so like the Natural that it makes us able to guess what Measures are taken in the Natural Production of it And since Vitriol is not a meer Salt but rather to use a Chymical Term a Magestery it is requisite to observe that according to the sense of that Word it is not prepared by a Separation of Principles but by the changing the Form of a whole Body by an Addition and intimate Union of a Saline Menstruum Agreeable to which Notion it is to be noted that an Acid Spirit and a Metalline Substance may be drawn as well from Artificial as Natural Vitriol and consequently both must be equally natural Vitriols in the strict sense of that Word But these are not the only Characteristicks of the Natural Agreement of Factitious and Natural Vitriol since Vitriol of Mars whether prepared by Oyl of Vitriol or Spirit of Salt hath both the Colour Transparency Brittleness aptness to Fusion and Styptical Taste with the Vitriol of Marchasites as also several other Qualities as to turn an Infusion of Galls into Ink a Vomitive Faculty when taken in a small Dose as also to be endowed with Crystals of very Curious Figures and a Disposition to run per Deliquium as Guntherus Belichius hath observed common Vitriol made use of in Germany to have And here we see that the same Qualities may arise from the Union and Association of Two Ingredients which are to be found in Common Vitriol without the Incomprehensible force of Imaginary Substantial Forms or a Generation of a Form distinct from the Ingredients and their Essential Modification or a Texture of Parts of convenient Shapes and Sizes Neither is there such an Intimate Mixture as the Schools imagine of these Two Ingredients but a Juxta-Position and new ranging of their Parts in respect of Order and Position Which is evident since by Distillation the greatest part of the Vitriol may be drawn off leaving the Metalline Substance behind and that most of its Qualities depend upon the Position of its Parts is plain since through a good Burning Glass the Sun Beams will so alter their Order and Texture as to turn it red CHAP. VI. Doubts and Experiments concerning the Curious Figures of Salts The Figures of Salts to be accounted for with the help of a Plastick Power THO' I am not willing to acquiesce in the Doctrin of Substantial Forms since to me they are Incomprehensible Yet I am as forward to own That I acknowledge the Admirable Wisdom of our CREATOR no less because He hath thought fit that the Changes and Alterations in Matter should depend on Accidents easy and intelligible at least with less Difficulty to be conceiv'd than the incomprehensible Doctrin of Substantial Forms And tho' the Curious and Delicate Shapes of Salts be Generally us'd as Arguments of the Great Plastick Skill of Substantial Forms yet I must own I think them very slight things compar'd with Organiz'd Bodies and therefore I would not have it inferr'd That because the Figures of Salts may be accounted for without the Assistance of Plastick Powers that therefore the Bodies of Animals may That Substantial Forms are not necessary to the Production of those Curious Figures in Salts I am induc'd to believe First Because a Concrete of no less Curious Figured Parts than other Vitriols may be made by a bare Connection of Metalline and Saline Bodies Secondly because according to the different Quantities of Liquor or the space of Time they shoot in their Figures vary According to which Agricola lib. 12. p. 462. de re Metallica speaking of the Cords that are immerg'd into Vitriol-Water for the Crystals to stick to says Ex his pendent restes lapillis extentae à quo Humor spissus adhaerescens densatur in translucentes atramenti sutorii vel cubos vel acinos qui Vvae speciem gerunt Crystals obtain'd from an Alkaly I remember also that having a long time thought that the Method usually taken in preparing Alkalyes such as Salt of Tartar c. was the reason why they are gather'd in the Form of Calx I took care to dissolve Alkalyes well purify'd in Water slowly evaporating it till crusted over with an Icy Crust which being preserv'd entire lest they should want a
smaller Parts and rais'd in the form of Vapours by Heat yet it is so far from being turn'd into Air that in Chymical Distillations it falls down into the Receiver in the form of a Liquor And likewise Volatile Spirits and Salts tho' their Parts swim up and down in the Receiver for some time yet the former presently condense into a Liquor and the latter into Salts And further it may again be urg'd that tho' the Parts of Water may be put in such an Agitation as in some measure to counterfeit the form of Air yet since the quick Coalition of those Parts into a fluid Form argues the impossibility of giving them a due Texture requisite to add to Air the Springiness observable in it it is a strong Argument against the Possibility of effecting such a Change And that a bare Motion and Agitation of Parts is not sufficient to add Springiness to a Body appears from the foregoing Experiment concerning a piece of Match included in our Receiver where the Agitated Parts of Smoak were by no means capable of hindering the Expansion of the Bladder contain'd in it And tho' Josephus Acosta tells us that Grates of Iron have been so much corroded in the Air as to be turn'd into a Substance which would crumble into Powder like parched Straw and tho' the Accurate Varenius hath observ'd in the Issands call'd Azores that by the Sharpness of the Air even the Tiles of the Houses have been corroded yet are they no Arguments that such corrosive Humors may put on the form of Air since such Phaenomena may be accounted for by the Mixture of corrosive Steams mix'd with it which are so far from being endow'd with the true Qualities of Air that they may notwithstanding they are mix'd with the Air retain their own Natures which is evident in subliming of Sal Armoniack And I have had a subtle Saline Body which would not only rise it self retaining it's own Nature but would also raise the Substance of Gold along with it whose Parts would also retain their own Natures and stick to the Top of the Receiver like pure Gold I remember that once having ty'd a Bladder to the Neck of an Aeolipile when the Water was forc'd out into it so as to distend it we slip'd it off and having ty'd it close put it into our Receiver where we observ'd that upon the Exsuction of the Air it was considerably expanded And tho' the Bladder when taken out of the Receiver continu'd in the Cold for some time yet the included Substance continu'd near as fully distended But notwithstanding the Plausibleness of this Experiment I could not but suspect that the Distension rather proceeded from the Air which upon the first working of the Aeolipile came out with it than from any parts of the Water converted into Air. But to proceed to what may be alledg'd to Countenance the Change of Water into Air If a good Aeolipile be plac'd upon hot Coals the Water will sometimes spring three or four foot high into the Air and when taken off the fire will continue to emit copious Streams And if when it is taken from the fire almost empty the Neck be immers'd in Water as soon as it begins to suck in Water it will raise Store of Bubbles which seem to proceed from Water too much expanded by the Heat of the Aeolipile and if when that Aeolipile is almost full of Water a live Coal be held before the Neck it will manifestly be kindled by very vehement Steams which flow out of it which will have the more powerful Effects the nearer the Coal is held to the Mouth of the Aeolipile But since by holding a Knife before these Steams they will be condensed upon it into Water and thence appear not so much to have acquir'd the Nature of Air as to have their Parts put into a violent Motion I shall add a Relation from the Industrious Kircher of a Famous Hudraulick Engine See Figure the 15th which he made by the Order of Innocent the Tenth The Account of it in his own Words is the following Cum eodem tempore quo haec scripsi Summi Pont. Innocentii X. Mandato Organi Hydraulici in Horto Quirinali constituendi Cura mihi commendata esset Aeoliam Cameram insigni sane Successu construi jussimus ea quae sequitur Ratione Erat Longitudo seu Altitudo Camerae A H quinque Pedum Latitudine tres fere ex Lateribus constructa in Medio duo continebat Diaphragmata C D E F in Modum Cribri pluribus Foraminibus pertusi Paulò infrà Canalis G Aquam advehens inserebatur in H eidem Epistomium parabat Exitum Aqua itaque per Canalem G maximo Impetu ruens vehementissimum Ventum mox intus excitabat qui Ventus nimiâ Humiditate imbutus ut purior â—xiret sicciorque Diaphragmata illa in Cribri Modum pertusa ordinata sunt Intra haec enim Aquae vehemens Agitatio rupta fractaque Aerem puriorem per Canalem A subtiliorem emittebat Verum cum postea inventum sit Aerem plus aequo humidum interioribus Organi Meatibus maximum Detrimentum inferre Hinc ut Aer aquosus siccissimam Consistentiam acquireret ordinavimus Canalem plumbeum Q R in Haelicem contortum Vasi S aliquantulum capaciori in modum Vrnae efformato insertum Intra Vrnam enim plumbeam Canalem tortuosum illisus Aer humidus ita ab omni Aquositate defaecabatur ut ex Furno in Organum derivatus dici potuerit Vrna S Canalis tortuosi Q R ultimum Orificium Z inseritur Anemothaecae Organi Et hunc Modum Organis Hydraulicis omnium aptissimum reperi And I rather cite this Account because it is deliver'd as Kircher's own Observation and had I when I was at Rome taken notice of these Engines and found that the Effluviae which blew the Organs were not again condensed into Water I should be apt to believe it not impossible to turn Water into Air it being altogether impossible That the Air lodg'd in the Pores of the Water should supply so large a Quantity of Air as is requisite to blow the Organs I therefore was induc'd to think that it might proceed from some Parts of the Water put into a very brisk Motion since I had observ'd as I pass'd betwixt Lyons and Geneva that the River of Rhone being on a sudden straitned betwixt two Rocks which are so near that a Man may stand with one Foot upon one and the other Foot upon the other some Parts of the Water were put into so violent a Motion as to be rais'd into the Air a considerable Height and at a distance to appear like a Mist tho' I must confess it difficult to conceive how such Vapours should pass through a leaden Pipe of such a Length since we see that Vapours are condensed into Liquids in a much less time in the Heads of Alembicks and the Necks of Aeolipiles when once the Motion of their
Pump D. D. is joyn'd by a Screw to the Stop-Cock C. E. A Vessel which fluctuates in the Receiver in which an Animal being put and the Pump fill'd with Water and joyn'd to the Stop-Cock by a Screw the Water contain'd in the Pump will by lifting up the Sucker be forc'd into the Receiver and by that means condense the Air without an addition of new and by drawing the Sucker down again the same parcel of Air will be again expanded so that Observations may be made how much the thickness or thinness of Air contributes to the preservation of the life or health of Animals PLATE VII An Instrument to distil in Vacuo See Fig A. A. A Brazen Vessel the lower part of which is shut and the upper open B. B. A piece of Tin exquisitely adapted to the Tube so as to prevent the External Air from entring in being adapted to the Edges of it A. A. D. D. C. C. A Tube fix'd in the middle of the Tin Plate B. B. D. D. A Brazen Vessel whose Orifice is contiguous to B. B. E. E. A Stop-Cock fix'd to the Perforation in the Plate B. B. F. F. A Tube-reaching from the Stop-Cock to the Pneumatick Engin. G. G. A metalline Vessel enclosing the Junctures of the Vessels with the Diaphragma and also the Stop-Cock that by keeping them immers'd in Water they may be free from External Air this is cemented to the Vessel A. with Soder The manner of using this Engin is the following viz. The Tin Plate being remov'd and the Ingredients to be boil'd being put into the Vessel A. A. then re-applying the Tin Plate A. A. and the Vessel D. D. and the Tube F. F. being apply'd to the Pneumatick Engin and the Air pump'd out the Vessel G. G. having been first fill'd with Water we shut the Stop-Cock and remove the Tube F. F. and then the exhausted Vessel being placed on the Fire Vapours will ascend through the Tube C. C. which will be condens'd in the upper Vessel and what Quantity of Air is there generated will appear by the Mercurial Gage H. in the Top of the Vessel But here it is to be noted that round pieces of perforated Paper being laid upon the Orifices of the Vessels A. A. D. D. they will be more exactly joyn'd with the Tin Plate The Junctures of the Tube F. F. both with the Pneumatick Engin and Stop-Cock are to be guarded with Cement and the Stop-Cock must be so contriv'd as to stand so far without the Vessel G. that it may be conveniently turn'd When any thing is to be conveigh'd into the Vessel the Tin Plate E. E. and the Stop-Cock may be laid aside Which may be done without any great Dissiculty for the Key being made up of two parts the one of which M. is turn'd in the Stop-Cock by a Chink into which the End of the other part O. O. which fills the Pipe N. N. fix'd to the Vessel G. G. is receiv'd so that one End being prominent outwardly whilst it is turn'd it may communicate Motion to the other Part M. But whilst the Tin Plate B. B. is is to be taken out of the Vessel G. G. it must be drawn outward Fig. 2. Another Instrument for the same Vse with the former B. B. A small Tube both Ends of which are polish'd that it may be exactly adapted to the Orifices of the Vessels A. and D. A. A. D. D. Two Vessels made of Glass so joyn'd by the Tube B. B. that Vapours may pass from one to the other E. E. F. F. G. G. I. Are of the same Use with the first Figure and the Instrument is to be evacuated by the same Method only the Glass Vessel must be placed in Balneo Mariae or on Sand and the Vapours so rais'd will condense in the Vessel D. D. CHAP. III. ARTICLE I. Several Ways to help the Production of the Air. EXPERIMENT I. Air produced from Bread TO try whether a piece of Bread which was moist and a little kneaded would yield Air I included it in Vacuo with a Mercurial Gage July 12th 76. but it yielded none On the 12th some broke in the Receiver and raised Mercury 3 Inches high and at Night it was rais'd an Inch higher tho' no external Air got in July 13th it ascended higher On the 26th Day it expanded it self so powerfully as to separate the Receiver and it's Cover the Smell of it being acid So that Air may be drawn out of Bread by such a Menstruum as Water EXPERIMENT II. JVly the 11th Bread being burnt by a Burning-Glass in Vacuo yielded Air which came from it with an Explosion whence we may guess that could Air be separated more easily from it it would produce very considerable Effects EXPERIMENT III. Septemb. 22. I Enclos'd in a Receiver From Grapes Eight Ounces of dry'd Grapes bruis'd in 7 Ounces of Water the Receiver being large enough to contain 22 Ounces Septemb. 23. Tho' the Receiver was cover'd with Water all Night the Mercury was rais'd two Inches Septemb. 30. In seven Days it was rais'd thirteen Inches Octob. 5. In five Days more it was 25 Inches high Octob. 18. The Mercury ascended slowly some Air making it's way out of the Receiver Grapes without Water did not yield Air so plentifully See Art IX Exp. I. EXPERIMENT IV. July 12. I Shut up 10 Ounces of Raisins of the Sun bruis'd From Raisins in as much Water as was sufficient to make them ferment July 14. In 48 Hours rais'd the Mercury ten Inches at Night the Mercury was 5 Inches higher the next Day it was almost as high as when buoy'd up by the Atmosphere July 16. In the Morning the Receiver and it's Cover were separated by Air which got through the Water which the Receiver was cover'd with The same Raisins were shut up in Vacuo again July 18. In the Morning the Air broke out July 19. They were enclosed in the empty Receiver July 21. The Receiver was so full of Air that some of it forced it's way out and they were inclosed in the exhausted Receiver again July 22. The Receiver was almost full The 23d in the Morning it forced it self out When the Parts of the Water have work'd upon Grapes 5 or 6 days they yield Air very fast tho' at the first they do not EXPERIMENT V. August 13. 1677. PLums were shut up in one Receiver From Plums and Pears in two others August 16. They were all full of Air and one which contain'd Pears and lay open to the Sun-Beams rais'd the Cover in 24 hours EXPERIMENT VI. Octob. 16. 77. From bsed Grs. I Enclosed two Ounces of bruised Grapes in a Receiver large enough to hold 20 Ounces of Water .. Octob. 17. The Mercury was raised half an Inch. Octob. 18. The Mercurial Cylinder was raised half an Inch more The 20th it encreased 2 Inches The 22d 4 Inches The 27th near 6 Inches Jan. 2. 78. It was not quite 10 Inches
so close upon it that the Water should not be able to get out between them To the midst of this bottom was fastned a long string for a use to be hereafter mention'd the Instrument being thus prepared the Water was poured in at the top of the Pipe A B which pressing upon the false bottom C D against the subjacent rim G H contributed to render the Vessel more close and to obstruct its own passage whereupon we tyed the upper end of the string I K to a beam and put so many weights into the opposite Scale as were sufficient to raise the false bottom C D from the rim G H. And then deducting from that weight the weight of the false bottom and the Water contained in the broad Cylindrical Box B E C H. G D F we found that the Pressure which was made upon C D was much greater than what reading Stevinus would make one expect and than all the Water contained both in the Pipe and Cylinder would have been had it been contained in an uniform Cylinder paradox VII PARADOX VII That a Body immersed in a fluid sustains a Lateral Pressure from the fluid and that increased as the depth of the immersed Body below the Surface of the fluid increaseth This appears from what is represented by Plate the third Fig. the fifth See Plate 3. Fig. 5. where Oyl being sucked up into the Pipes G F K and they sufficiently immersed in the Water contained in the Vessel A B C D so that the Surface of the Oyl I K may be but a little above the Water the Imaginary Pillar of Water H G will suspend it there but if the Pipe be raised the Oyl becoming too heavy to be kept up by so short a Cylinder the incumbent Cylinder will force it out of the Orifice G but if the Pipe be further immersed the Water will raise the Oyl in the Tube and fill part of the Cylindrical cavity below it To this Experiment I shall add See Plate 3. Fig. 6. that having stopped the Mouth of the Vial ABCD represented by Fig. six Plate the third with a Cork and Cement and bored with a hot Iron a hole to receive the Pipe G H and the other E F I stopped the Orifice G with a Cork and Cement likewise and then pouring in Water through the Pipe E till it rose to the Surface I the Bubble X was so nicely poised that it swam but as soon as by pouring in more Water the Surface was raised to K the Bubble X subsided to the bottom From whence it appears that the whole Water contained in the Pipe E presses upon the whole Water within the Glass otherwise it could not compress the Air in the Bubble and make it sink and likewise that it not only presses upon that subjacent but likewise upon those Parts that are latterally situated in Respect of it And that not only the upper Parts of the Water but even the Cork that is below the Surface of the Water I is pressed by the weight of it and obliquely too appears since if the Orifice G be not closely stopped the Water will be raised through it and if instead of a Cork and Cement it be only stopped with ones Thumb one may perceive an evident Pressure of the Water against it And that the subsiding of the Bubble depended on the Pressure of the Water above it appeared since if part of the Water was poured off by inclining the Vial it would presenty emerge again And one thing in this Experiment worthy our notice was that if the Glass A B. C D was not wholly filled but the space betwixt L M filled with Air yet the Pressure of such different Fluids may be so easily communicated from one to the other that the Bubble would descend equally as if it were filled with Water paradox VIII PARADOX VIII That Water may be made to depress a Body lighter than it self as well as to buoy it up The truth of this Paradox will be easily made out by the following Experiments for if a Glass Syphon See Plate 3. Fig. 7. of the Figure represented by Fig. 7. Plate the third be filled from H to I with Oyl of Turpentine and immersed in the Glass A B C D till the Orifice A of the shorter Leg be under Water if then the Orifice E be unstopped and the whole Tube E I F G H be depressed gradually the incumbent Water H K will press the Oyl out of the shorter Leg H G into the longer E F. And For a further confirmation of this Paradox as well as the foregoing and the second I shall subjoin that having provided a Pipe of the Figure represented by Fig. 8. and sucked so much Oyl into it as filled the space L M N P See Fig. 〈◊〉 I immersed it in Water and upon the opening the Orifice O as the Pipe was gradually depressed the Oyl was pressed out of the Pipe L M to N and from thence to what height I pleased in the Pipe O P N. PARADOX IX paradox IX That whatever is said of Positive Levity a parcel of Oyl lighter than Water may be kept in Water without ascending in it Considering that since the Surface of a Vessel of standing Water is Physically speaking Horizontal the Water that presses against the lower part of the immersed Body must needs be deeper than that which presses against the upper and that this is the Reason why Bodies lighter than Water emerge I concluded that if the Water upon the upper Surface of Oyl in a Tube could be so high as to ballance the Pressure of that Water below Oyl might be suspended betwixt two Parcels of Water To try the Result I sucked an Inch of Water into a Tube and by stopping the upper Orifice and by that means suspending the Water in the Tube I removed it into a Vessel of Oyl and then opening the upper Orifice till an Inch of Oyl was buoyed up into it I removed it again into a Vessel of Water and immersed it so far in that till the Water below the Oyl was equal in height to the Water above it in which station the Cylinder of Oyl and Water being equal in weight with the Pressure of the external Water the Oyl Q. R. was suspended betwixt the Water S. R. and that below it P. Q. the Surface of the Water in the Pipe T. S. being so much above the Surface of the Water A D. as was requisite to make the Oyl and Water contained in the Pipe to press equally on the Surface G. H. with the external Water See Plate 4. Fig. 1. as Plate 4. Fig. 1. represents PARADOX X. That the Cause of the Ascension of Water in Syphony paradox X and of flowing through them may be explained without having recourse to Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum To demonstrate this See Plate 4. Fig. 2. we provided a Glass Tube A B. C D. of a convenient wideness and half a