Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 49

3. Mustard-seed, 14 _lbs._; cloves and capsic.u.m, of each 1-1/4 _lb._; mix, and grind them to powder in a pepper-mill. _Dose_, 1/4 to 1/2 _lb._ per _hhd._

_Uses, &c._ The above formulae are infinitely superior to those commonly met with in trade; and are quite harmless. A portion of any one of them added to cider, or perry, soon allays fermentation, when excessive, or when it has been renewed. The first formula is preferred when there is a tendency to acidity. The second and third may be advantageously used for wine and beer, as well as for cider. That of the third formula greatly improves the flavour and the apparent strength of the liquor, and also improves its keeping qualities. See CELLAR-MANAGEMENT, FERMENTATION, &c.

=ANTI-FRIC'TION METAL.= _Prep._ 1. From tin, 16 to 20 parts; antimony, 2 parts; lead, 1 part; fused together, and then blended with copper, 80 parts. Used where there is much friction or high velocity.

2. Zinc, 6 parts; tin, 1 part; copper, 20 parts. Used when the metal is exposed to violent shocks.

3. Lead, 1 part; tin, 2 parts; zinc, 4 parts; copper, 68 parts. Used when the metal is exposed to heat.

4. (Babbet's.) Tin, 48 to 50 parts; antimony, 5 parts; copper, 1 part.

5. (Fenton's.) Tin with some zinc, and a little copper.

6. (Ordinary.) Tin, or hard pewter, with or without a small portion of antimony or copper. Without the last it is apt to spread out under the weight of heavy machinery. Used for the bearings of locomotive engines, &c.

_Obs._ These alloys are usually supported by bearings of bra.s.s, into which it is poured after they have been tinned, and heated and put together with an exact model of the axle, or other working piece, plastic clay being previously applied, in the usual manner, as a lute or outer mould. Soft gun-metal is also excellent, and is much used for bearings. They all become less heated in working than the harder metals, and less grease or oil is consequently required when they are used. See ALLOYS, FRICTION, &c.

=ANTIGUG'GLER.= A small bent tube of gla.s.s or metal inserted into casks and carboys, to admit air over the liquor whilst it is being poured out or drawn off, so that the sediment may not be disturbed.

=ANTIHECTIc.u.m POTERII.= Fuse together 4 parts of regulus of antimony, and 5-1/2 of fine tin; pour it on a metal plate, reduce it to powder, and deflagrate it in a red-hot crucible with 15 parts of nitre; keep it hot for some time, then wash it, and dry it with a gentle heat.--_Dose_, two to ten grains in hectic fevers.

=ANTILITHIC.= See LITHONTRYPTICS.

=ANTIMO"NIAL= (-mone'y-'al).[67] [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._ ANTIMONIA'LIS, L.

Pertaining to, composed of, or containing antimony. In _medicine_ and _pharmacy_, applied to preparations or remedies (ANTIMO"NIALS; ANTIMONIA"LIA, L.) in which antimony, or one of its compounds, is the leading or characteristic ingredient.

[Footnote 67: Antimon'ial (--Mayne) is a barbarism.]

=ANTIMO'NIATED.= _Syn._ ANTIMONIA'TUS, L. Mixed or impregnated with antimony; antimonial.

=ANTIMON'IC ACID.= _Syn._ ACIDUM ANTIMON'Ic.u.m, L.; ACIDE ANTIMONIQUE, Fr.; ANTIMONSaURE, Ger.

_Prep._ 1. Pure metallic antimony, in coa.r.s.e powder, or small fragments, is digested in excess of concentrated nitric acid, until the oxidation and conversion is complete; the excess of nitric acid is then removed by evaporation nearly to dryness, and the residuum thrown into cold distilled water; after which the powder (ANTIMONIC ACID) is collected on a calico filter, washed with distilled water, and dried by a gentle heat. Pure.

2. Metallic antimony (in powder), 1 part; powdered nitre, 6 or 8 parts; are mixed and ignited or deflagrated in a silver crucible; the ma.s.s, when cold, is powdered; the excess of alkali washed out with hot water, and the residuum (ANTIMONIATE OF POTa.s.sIUM) decomposed with hydrochloric acid; lastly, the precipitate (ANTIMONIC ACID) is washed and dried as before.

That obtained by the first process is dibasic, and has the formula H_{2}Sb_{2}O_{6}, while that produced by the second process is tetrabasic, and has the formula H_{4}Sb_{2}O_{7}; the former is called simply antimonic acid, the latter metantimonic acid.

_Prop._ Antimonic acid is a soft white powder, sparingly soluble in water, reddens litmus, and is dissolved, even in the cold, by strong hydrochloric acid and by potash. The hydrochloric solution, mixed with a small quant.i.ty

of water, yields, after a while, a precipitate of antimonic acid; but if diluted with a large quant.i.ty of water, it remains clear. Ammonia does not dissolve it in the cold. By heating with a large excess of caustic potash it is converted into metantimonic acid.

Metantimonic acid is more readily dissolved by acids than antimonic acid, and is dissolved by ammonia, after a while, even at ordinary temperatures.

It is also perfectly soluble in a large quant.i.ty of water, and is precipitated therefrom by acids. It is very unstable, and easily changes into antimonic acid, even in water.

=ANTIMONIC ANHYDRIDE= (Sb_{2}O_{5}). _Syn._ ANTIMONIC OXIDE, ANHYDROUS ANTIMONIC ACID, PENTOXIDE OF ANTIMONY. Antimonic or metantimonic acid, heated to a temperature below redness, loses water and yields the anhydride, Sb_{2}O_{5}. Antimonic anhydride is a yellowish-white powder, tasteless and insoluble in water and acids. Boiled with a solution of caustic potash, it is dissolved. If fused with carbonate of pota.s.sium, carbonic anhydride is expelled, and a salt is produced from which antimonic acid is precipitated by acids.

=ANTIMONIOUS ACID.= See ANTIMONY, TETROXIDE of.

=AN'TIMONETTED.= _Syn._ ANTIMO"NIURETTED; ANTIMONIA'TUS, L. Combined with or containing antimony. See HYDROGEN, &c.

=AN'TIMONY= (-te-mun-e). _Syn._ METAL'LIC ANTIMONY*, REG'ULUS OF A.; ANTIMO"NIUM, A. METAL'LIc.u.m, STIB'IUM, METAL'LUM ANTIMO"NII, A.

REG'ULUS, &c., L.; ANTIMOINE, Fr.; ANTIMON, SPIESSGLANZ, SPIESSGLAS, SPIESSGLANZMETALL, Ger.; ANTIMONIO, It., Sp. The term formerly applied to the native sulphide or greyish-black semi-crystalline ore of antimony; but now solely appropriated to the pure metal.

_Sources._ Metallic antimony, in combination with silver and iron (NATIVE ANTIMONY), with sulphur (GREY SULPHIDE OF A.), or with nickel (NICKELIF'EROUS SULPHIDE OF A.) is found in Bohemia, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, France, England, Borneo, and America; and oxidised, combined with oxide of iron, &c. (ANTIMO"NIAL, O'CHRE, RED ANTIMONY, WHITE A.[68]), forming ores, either small in quant.i.ty or of little value, in various parts of the world. Of these the only one in sufficient abundance for smelting is the common sulphide known as 'grey antimony' or 'stibnite.'

[Footnote 68: White A. occurs in considerable quant.i.ties in Borneo, and is used after roasting as a white pigment for iron and other surfaces.]

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_a_, _b_, Grate and fire-place.

_c_, Bridge.

_d_, Air-channel.

_e_, Concave s.p.a.ce for ore, resting on a solid bed _f_, formed of sand and clay.

_g_, Door for introducing the ore, and abstracting residuary slag.

_h_, Pipe to convey away the liquid metal.

_i_, Chimney.]

_Prep._ Native antimony is freed from impurities by fusion. The sulphide, after being melted from the gangue, is commonly oxidised by exposure on the concave hearth of a reverberatory furnace, and is then reduced to the metallic state by fusion in crucibles with coal-dust, crude tartar, or some other deoxidising agent. To free the product from iron, it is generally fused, or re-fused, with a little antimonic oxide; and when the ore contains a.r.s.enic, iron, or its oxide, and an alkaline carbonate or sulphate, are used in the same way. It is seldom prepared on the small scale. The following formulae are in use, or are recommended:--

1. On the SMALL SCALE:--

_a._ From tersulphide of antimony, in coa.r.s.e powder, 2 parts; iron filings, 1 part; fused together in a covered crucible, at a heat gradually raised to dull redness.

_b._ From the teroxide or the oxychloride of antimony, fused together, as before, with twice its weight of crude tartar.

_c._ (Ph. Castr. Ru. 1840.) Sulphide of antimony, 16 parts; cream of tartar, 6 parts; both in powder; throw the mixture, in small quant.i.ties at a time, into a vessel (an earthen crucible) heated to redness; when the reaction is over (having closely covered the vessel), fuse the ma.s.s, and after a quarter of an hour pour it out, and separate the metal from the slag.

_d._ From sulphide of antimony, 8 parts; crude tartar, 6 parts; nitre, 3 parts; as last.

_e._ (Wohler.) Sulphide of antimony, 10 parts; nitre, 12 parts; dry carbonate of soda, 15 parts; deflagrate together; powder the resulting ma.s.s, and wash it thoroughly with boiling water; lastly, smelt the dried residuum with black flux. All the preceding are nearly pure; the impurity, if any, being traces of copper, lead, or iron.

_f._ (Berzelius.) From metallic antimony, in fine powder, 2 parts; teroxide of antimony, 1 part; fused together. The product will be pure provided the antimony employed is free from lead.

_g._ (Muspratt.) From antimony, 9 parts; peroxide of manganese, 1 part; fused together; the resulting metal being re-fused with 1-10th of its weight of carbonate of soda.

2. On the LARGE SCALE--commercial:--

_a._ See _above_ (before 1 _a_.).

_b._ From sulphide of antimony, 100 parts; iron (in very small sc.r.a.ps), 40 parts; dry crude sulphate of soda, 10 parts; powdered charcoal, 2-1/2 parts; fused together.--_Prod._ 60 to 65 parts of antimony, besides the scoriae or ash, which is also valuable.

_c._ (Berthier.) Sulphide of antimony, 100 parts; hammerschlag (rough oxide or iron from the s.h.i.+ngling or rolling mills), 60 parts; crude carbonate or sulphate of soda, 45 to 50 parts; charcoal powder, 10 parts; as last.--_Prod._ 65 to 70 parts.

_Prop., &c._ Bluish-white, l.u.s.trous, with a lamellar texture, and a crystalline or semi-crystalline fracture, with fern-leaf markings on the surface, when pure (star antimony); extremely brittle (may be powdered); imparts brittleness to its alloys (even 1-1000th part added to gold renders it unfit for the purposes of coinage and the arts); melts at 809-810 Fahr., or just under redness; fumes, boils, and volatilises at a white heat, and, when suddenly exposed to the air, inflames with conversion into the teroxide, which is deposited in beautiful flowers or crystals; when perfectly pure and fused without contact with air or foreign matter, it bears an intense heat without subliming (Thenard); allowed to cool slowly from a state of perfect fusion, it crystallises in octahedrons or dodecahedrons; tarnishes, but does not rust by exposure to air or moisture at common temperatures; hot hydrochloric acid dissolves it, with the formation of TRICHLORIDE OF ANTIMONY; nitric acid, when concentrated, converts it into ANTIMONIC ACID; and when dilute, into TRIOXIDE OF ANTIMONY. Sp. gr. 67 to 68.[69]

[Footnote 69: When perfectly pure, 6715--Ure.]

_Tests._ Metallic antimony may be recognised by the above properties; its oxide, salts, &c., by the following reactions:--1. Sulphuretted hydrogen gives, with acid solutions, an orange-red precipitate, which is sparingly soluble in ammonia,[70] and insoluble in dilute acids; but readily soluble in pure pota.s.sa and alkaline sulphides, and in hot hydrochloric acid with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas:--2. Sulphydrate of ammonium gives an orange-red precipitate, readily soluble in excess of the precipitant, if this latter contains sulphur in excess; and the liquor containing the re-dissolved precipitate gives a yellow or orange-yellow precipitate on the addition of an acid:--3. Ammonia and pota.s.sa, and their carbonates, give (except in solutions of tartar emetic) a bulky white precipitate; that with ammonia and its carbonate being insoluble in excess of the precipitant; that with pota.s.sa, readily so; whilst that with carbonate of pota.s.sium is only soluble on the application of heat:--4. A rod of zinc throws down metallic antimony, as a black powder, from all its solutions not containing free nitric acid. If the experiment be made with a few drops of a solution of antimony containing a little free hydrochloric acid, and a small platinum dish or capsule be employed, the part covered by the liquid is soon stained brown or blackish, and the stain is irremovable by cold hydrochloric acid, but may be easily removed by warm nitric acid:--5. By ebullition of the acidulated liquid along with copper gauze, foil, or wire, as noticed under 'Reinsch's Test.'[71] The peculiar violet-grey of the deposit is characteristic, and may easily be distinguished from that given by a.r.s.enical solutions:--6. Mixed with dilute sulphuric acid and poured on some metallic zinc in a gas-generating flask, provided with a small bent tube (see _engr._), it yields ANTIMONETTED HYDROGEN (Marsh's test), recognised by burning with a bluish-green flame, and furnis.h.i.+ng dense white fumes which adhere readily to any cold substance (as a porcelain plate) held over it; or, if the plate be depressed upon the flame, a deep black, and almost l.u.s.treless spot of metallic antimony; the fumes and spots in both cases being insoluble in water, and in dilute solution of chloride (crude hypochlorite) of soda. On heating the centre of the tube to redness with a spirit lamp, the bluish-green colour of the flame lessens in intensity, and a mirror of metallic antimony, of silvery l.u.s.tre, forms inside the tube at the ignited part. On pa.s.sing dry sulphuretted hydrogen through the tube, still heated by a spirit lamp, this mirror a.s.sumes a reddish-yellow colour, approaching black in its thicker parts; and by exposure to a feeble stream of hydrochloric acid gas, almost immediately, or in a few seconds, disappears, being carried off by the gas, which, if pa.s.sed into a little distilled water, yields a solution of chloride of antimony, which may be further submitted to any of the usual tests.[71] If the substance be in the solid state, it must be reduced to powder and dissolved in water; or if insoluble in that menstruum, a solution must be obtained by digestion in either hot hydrochloric or nitrohydrochloric acid, before proceeding to examine it by this method.