Inorganic chemistry : theoretical and practical with an introduction to the principles of chemical analysis an elementary text-book / by William Jago.

  • Jago, William, 1854-1938
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Inorganic chemistry : theoretical and practical with an introduction to the principles of chemical analysis an elementary text-book / by William Jago. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    TEXT-BOOK OK INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. I. Definition of Chemistry.—Phenomena are con- tinually taking place around us to which we give the name of ‘ chemical actions.’ For instance, a piece of bright iron speedily rusts when exposed to damp air; milk, as a result of exposure to the atmosphere, turns sour and acquires properties strikingly different from those possessed by that fluid when first obtained from the cow ; coal, wood, and a host of other bodies, which are classed together as com- bustibles, burn on a light being applied to them, leaving in most cases no visible residue beyond a small quantity ot ash. It is the function of the chemist to investigate these changes, and ascertain, as far as he can, the nature of the substances participating in the action and its causes. Chemistry, then, may be defined as ‘that scienco which treats of the composition of matter, of changes produced therein by certain natural forces, and of the action and reaction of different kinds of matter on each other.’