W A T
[ 35° ]
WAT
Water is of the utmoft Ufe in divers of the Mechanical Arts and Occafions of Life ; as, in the Morion of Mills, Clocks, and other Machines — And the Laws, Properties, &c. of this Fluid with rcfpctt thereto ; as its Motion, Gravitation, 'Prcfjion, Elevation, ABion, ckc. And the Conftru&ion of divers Engines fubfervient thereto, or founded thereon ; as Syphons, 'Pumps, ckc. make the Subject of Hydraulicks and Ilydrojlaticks. See Hydraulicks 5 fee alfo Fluid, As- cent, &c.
The Quantity of Water on this fide our Globe, Dr. Cbcyne fufpefts to be daily decrcafing ; ' fome part thereof being ( continually turned, into Animal, Vegetable, Metalline, or
- Mineral Subftances • which are not eafily diffolv'd again
- into their component Parts.' — Thus, if you fcparate a few
- Particles of any Fluid, and fatten them to a folid Body, or
- keep them afunder one from another, they are no more
1 fluid ; to produce Fluidity, a considerable Number of fuch
- Particles is rcquir'd.' See Fluidity.
- Moft of the Fluids or Liquors we know of, are form'd
' by the Cohefion of Particles of different Figures, Magni-
- tudes, Gravities, and attractive Powers, fwimming in pure
- Water, or an aqueous Fluid; which feems to be the com-
- mon Bafis of all. Wine is only Water impregnated with
- Particles of Grapes 5 and Beer with Particles of Barley :
- All Spirits feem to be nothing but Water, faturated with
- faline or fulphurous Particles : and all Liquors are more
- or lefs fluid, according to the greater or fmaller Cohefion
- of the Particles, which fwim in the aqueous Fluid. And
- there is hardly any Fluid without this Cohefion of Partl-
- cles : not even pure Water it fclf ; as is apparent from the
- Bubbles which fometimes will ftand on its Surface, as well
- as on that of Spirits and other Liquors.' Philof. Princifi.
of Retig.
Afcent of Water. See Ascent, and Capillary,
WATER-Clock.
W \TER-ZeveL W ATER-Organ.
\3 ater-MUL
WATER-O>0«f.
VJAT-ER-Searer. VJ A.TEK-Microfcoj>c
> s ^<
J
Clepsydra.
Level.
Organ.
Mill.
Spout.
Aquarius,
Microscope.
Water, in Natural Hiftory, £f?c. is diftingui/Vd into 'Pure, call'd alfo Elemental 5 Mineral ; and Artificial, or Factitious.
As to the 'Pure, we have already obferv'd, that there is, perhaps, none abfolutcly fo ; all Water being found to con- tain more or lefs Particles, fuch as arc in terreftrial Bodies ; not earthy Particles, we mean, but Oils, Salts, &c.
Mineral Waters, are thofe which contain fuch and fo many Particles of different Nature from Water, as thence to derive fome notable Property beyond whatcommon Water has : Or, Mineral Waters are thofe which have contracted fome Virtue extraordinary, by pairing thro' Beds of Minerals, as Alumn, Vitriol, Sulphur, &c. or by receiving the Fumes thereof. See Mineral.
The Kinds of Mineral Waters are various, as are the Kinds of Compositions of the Minerals they are impregna- ted withal. See Fossil.
Some are Simple, as only containing mineral Particles of one fort ; others Mix'd, of two, three, four, or more forts.
Hence, we have, i°, Metallick Waters, viz. indifferent Parts, Golden, Silver, Copper, Tin, Leaden, and Iron Wa- ters. See Metal, Ferruginous, Ciialybeat, &c.
2 a , Saline Waters, viz. Nitrons, Aluminous, Vitriolate, and thofe of common Salt. See Salt.
3 , Bituminous, Sulphurous, Antimonial, Carbonaceous, and Amber Waters. See Bitumen, £S?c.
4°, Earthy and Stony Waters, viz. Lime, Chalk, Oker, Cinnabar, Marble, and Alabafler Waters.
5°, Mercurial Waters. See Mercury, Quicksilver,^.
This Divifion of Mineral Waters is taken from their Ef- fences ; that is, from the Mineral Particles they contain : but the moft ufual and celebrated Divifion, is borrow'd from the manner wherein they affecl: our Senfes ; with regard to which there are ten Kinds ; viz. acid, bitter, bot y very cold, oily and fat, poifonous, coloured, boiling, petrifying, incrufting, and faline.
Acid Waters, called alfo Acidiilse, arife from the Admix- ture of Vitriol, Nitre, Alumn, and Salt. — Thefe are cold, and very frequent, there being not reckon'd lefs than 1000 in Germa?zy alone : Some of which are fower as Vinegar, and ufed inftead thereof; others vinous, and ferving for
- Wine ; others aftringent, &c. See Acidul-ZE.
Hot Waters, called Tberm<£, arife from the Admixture of fulphurous Particles and Fumes. — Of thefe, the hotteft is that in Japan, which no Fire can bring Water to equal; and which keeps hot thrice as long as our boil'd Water. See Thermje, &c.
Oily and Fat Waters, arife from a bituminous and fulphu-
reous Matter 5 as Amber, Petroleum, Pitch, Naphtha, &c. See Naphtha, Petrol, &c.
Sitter Waters are produced from an impure Sulphur, Bi- tumen, Nitre, and Copper. — Such is the Lacus Ajphaltitesi,
Very cold Waters, have their rife from a Mixture of Ni-< tre and Alumn ; or of Mercury, Iron, $$c The Depth of the Source or Spring too, has fome effeft.
Waters which change the Nature of Bodies. Of thefe
there is great Variety.
i°, Near Armagh in Ireland, is a Lake, wherein a Staff being fix'd fome Months, the Part that ftuck in the Mud will be turn'd into Iron ; and that Part incompafs'd with thei Water into Hone ; the reft remaining as before, — Thus Gy~ raldus, and Maginus ; but Brietius denies it.
2 , In the Northern Part of Uljier is a Spring, which in the Space ot feven Years petrifies Wood, or converts it into Stone. — The like are found in divers other Parts, as in Hun- gary, Burgundy, &c. Vitrwuius mentions a Lake in Cap- fadocia, which converts Wood into Stone in one Day. See Petrifaction.
% °, There are Waters fuppofed to tranfmute or turn Iron into Copper. See Transmutation.
4°, Others are faid to change the Colour of the Hair.— * Gyraldus mentions a Spring in Ireland, wherein if a Perfon were wafh'd he inftantly became grey.
Poifonous Waters are occafion'd by their creeping thro" Arfenical, Antimonial, and Mercurial Earths, or being im- pregnated by their Fumes. — Such is the Lacus AJpbaltites, and divers others about the Alps, ckc. which immediately kill thofe who drink : But thefe are moft of 'em fill'd up with Stones ; which is one Reafon fo few are known.
Saline Waters are generated two ways ; either they are deriv'd from the Sea, by fome fubterraneous Paffage ; or are generated from Mineral Salts, which they meet withal in their paflage ere they arrive at their Springs. See Sea, and Salt.
Boiling or Bubbling Waters, are produced either by a ful- phureous, or a nitrous Spirit, mix'd with the Water in the Earth : If it be fulphurous, the Water is hot ; if nitrous, cold. For all the Waters that boil as if hot are not fo, but fome few are cold : We read both jof Thenn<e and Acidities that boil.
There are divers otherWdters that have very lingular Pro- perties, not reducible to any of thefe Gaffes : Such, i°, is that Spring in Portugal, which abforbs all Bodies call into it, tho the lighteff : And not far from it there was antiently another, in which no Bodies, not the hcavieft, could fink.— 2 , In Andalufta, we are affur'd by Eufeb. Niercmbcrgenfis t there is a Lake which foretels approaching Storms, by mak- ing a terrible bellowing, that may be heard 18 or 20 Miles diftance. — 3 , In Granada is a Well whofe Water diffoives Stones. — 4 , We read of a Spring in Arcadia, which ren- dcr'd thole who drank of it abftemious. — 5 , In the Ifland of Chio is a Spring, which converts thofe who drink of it into Fools. — 6°, There are Springs in divers Parts of England, Wales, Spain, &c. which ebb and flow daily with the Flux and Reflux of the Sea ; and fome are even faid to ebb and flow againft the Tide. — Add, 7 , Stalaclical Waters. See Stalactical. Bath- Water. "? CBath, and Bathing.
■S^to-Water. > See pSpAW. "Petrifying-^ ater.j tpE, TR1FYIN G.
Water, in Chymiftry, by the Chymifts called more ufually Phlegm ; is the fourth of the five chymical Principles, and one of the pafiive ones. See Principle, and Phlegm.
It is never drawn pure and unmix'd ; which, Dr. Jthiincy obferves, makes it ulually a little more deterfive than com- mon Water.
This Principle, probably, contributes much to the Growth, of Bodies, in that it both renders and keeps the aclive Prin- ciples fluid ; fo that they are capable of being convcy'd by Circulation into the Pores of the mixed : and alfo becaufe it tempers their exorbitant Motion, and keeps them together 5 fo that they are not fo eafily and foon diflipated.
In all fuch Bodies whofe active Subftances are join'd and united pretty clofely together, as in common Salt, Tartar, all Plants that are not odoriferous, and in many animal Bo- dies ; this Principle is the firft that comes in Diftillation : But when Water is mixed with volatile Salts, or with Spirit of Wine, or is in any odoriferous Mixture ; then the vola- tile Particles will rife and come away firft. See Principle, Element, &c.
WATERS, in Medicine, Pharmacy, Chymiftry, &c. call'd alfo Artificial, Medicinal, ckc. Waters ; are a Kind of Li- quors, procured or prepared by Art from divers Bodies, principally of the Vegetable Tribe ; having various Proper- ties, and ferving various Purpofes.
Thefe Waters arc cither Simple, or Compound.
Simple
