tion, an elastic fluid. Such a substance was always found in these cases; but when the explosion raised the weight and blew out the stopper, nothing of this kind remained.
The effects here described both of elastic force and its cessation on cooling, may evidently be referred as much to carbonic acid and perhaps other gases as to water. The strong sudden hissing observed as occurring when only a little of the products escaped, may have been due to the passage of the gases into the air, with comparatively but little water, the circumstances being such as were not sufficient to confine the former, though they might the latter; for it cannot be doubted but that in similar circumstances, the elastic force of carbonic acid would far surpass that of water. Count Rumford says, that the gunpowder made use of, when well shaken together, occupied rather less space than an equal weight of water. The quantity of residuum before referred to, left by a given weight of gunpowder, is not mentioned, so that the actual space occupied by the vapour of water, carbonic acid, &c., at the moment of ignition, cannot be inferred; there can, however, be but little doubt that when perfectly confined they were in the state of the substances, in M. Cagniard de la Tour's experiments[1].
When allowed to remain a few minutes, or even seconds, the expansive force at first observed, diminished exceedingly, so as scarcely to surpass that of the air in a charged air-gun. Of course all that was due to the vaporization of water and some of the other products would cease, as soon as the mass of metal had absorbed the heat, and they would concrete into the hard substance found in the cylinder: but it does not seem too much to suppose, that so much carbonic acid was generated in the combustion, as would, if confined, on the cooling of the
- ↑ See vol. xv. p. 145, of this Journal.
