Note 52 — Chapter III · OXYGEN AND THE CHIEF ASPECTS OF ITS SALINE COMBINATIONS

The mutual interaction of hydrates, and their capacity of forming salts, may be taken advantage of for determining the character of those hydrates which are insoluble in water. Let us imagine that a given hydrate, whose chemical character is unknown, is insoluble in water. It is therefore impossible to test its reaction on litmus. It is then mixed with water, and an acid—for instance, sulphuric acid—is added to the mixture. If the hydrate taken be basic, reaction will take place, either directly or by the aid of heat, with the formation of a salt. In certain cases, the resultant salt is soluble in water, and this will at once show that combination has taken place between the insoluble basic hydrate and the acid, with the formation of a soluble saline substance. In those cases where the resultant salt is insoluble, still the water loses its acid reaction, and therefore it may he ascertained, by the addition of an acid, whether a given hydrate has a basic character, like the hydrates of oxide of copper, lead, &c. If the acid does not act on the given insoluble hydrate (at any temperature), then it has not a basic character, and it should be tested as to whether it has an acid character. This is done by taking an alkali, instead of the acid, and by observing whether the unknown hydrate then dissolves, or whether the alkaline reaction disappears. Thus it may he proved that hydrate of silica is acid, because it dissolves in alkalis and not in acids. If it be a case of an insoluble intermediate hydrate, then it will be observed to react on both the acid and alkali. Hydrate of alumina is an instance in question, which is soluble both in caustic potash and in sulphuric acid.

The degree of affinity or chemical energy proper to oxides and their hydrates is very dissimilar; some extreme members of the series possess it to a great extent. When acting on each other they evolve a large quantity of heat, and when acting on intermediate hydrates they also evolve heat to a considerable degree, as we saw in the combination of lime and sulphuric anhydride with water. When extreme oxides combine they form stable salts, which are decomposed with difficulty, and often show characteristic properties. The compounds of the intermediate oxides with each other, or even with basic and acid oxides, present a very different case. However much alumina we may dissolve in sulphuric acid, we cannot saturate the acid properties of the sulphuric acid, the resulting solution will always have an acid reaction. So also, whatever quantity of alumina is dissolved in an alkali, the resulting solution will always present an alkaline reaction.