J. Dorman Steele

Fourteen Weeks in Chemistry J. Dorman Steele

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 Excerpt: ... the livelong day to meet our constant wants. The object of Organic Chemistry is to treat of these plant-products and the various substances derived from them. Organic bodies differ from inorganic in several points. 1st. While inorganic bodies deal with 65 elements, organic are composed principally of only four, C, H, O, N--which are therefore called "Organogels"--and a very little mineral matter constituting the ash. 2d. While inorganic bodies consist of only a few atoms, and are therefore very simple in their construction (Ex.: HO, CO2, KO), organic contain a large number, and are extremely complex. Ex.. Sugar=C12H12O12; Oil of cedar = GsHg; Fibrine = 3d. While inorganic bodies are formed and remain fixed in one state under the influence of chemical affinity, organic grow rapidly, change constantly, and when life ceases, as rapidly decay, and are transformed into inorganic substances. 4th. Owing to their complex structure, and the presence in very many of the negative N, they form most unstable compounds. In this we see the reason of their rapid decay. The vital principle alone holds them together, frequently in opposition to the laws of chemical affinity; and the instant that is removed, the tendency is to seek new affinities and form new compounds. Number Of Organic Bodies.--This is almost endless, and yet is constantly increasing. The labor ol modern chemists is largely devoted to this subject, and the field opens and broadens with every discovery. The methods of classification are unsettled, and new and conflicting theories yet contend on this border-ground of chemical knowledge. Various organic bodies are now formed artificially by the skill of the chemist, and many others are broken up into simpler forms. Ex.: Alcohol = water and carburett...