Additional experiments on the formation of alkaline and earthy bodies by chemical action when carbonic acid is present

• Published in: Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1843
• Subjects: Carbonic acid
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1837.0084; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspl.1837.0084

The author gives a detailed account of several experiments in which sugar, water, and yeast only were employed, and from which he deduces the conclusion that alkaline and earthy matters are formed by chemical action. In one set of experiments, some of which were made in silver, others in china, and others in glass apparatus, after the vinous fermentation had gone on during five days, the quantity of ashes obtained was, in the silver apparatus eighteen, in the china nineteen, and in the glass fifteen times greater than the previous quantity. A further examination of these ashes showed that they consisted of potass, soda, lime, and a residue not acted upon by muriatic acid. The author states that, however irreconcilable to our present chemical knowledge this important conclusion may at first sight appear, yet when it is taken in connexion with the decomposition of other vegetable matter, and with the phenomena which accompany the growth of plants, it may not excite surprise; and may be regarded as in harmony with the phenomena of natural science. He concludes by offering suggestions towards extending the inquiry into the subject of the formation of bones of animals by the action of the powers inherent in their organization.