Some encomiums upon the excellent treatise of chemistry by Berzelius : also objections to his nomenclature, and suggestions respecting a substitute, deemed preferable, in a letter to Professor Silliman / by Robert Hare.

  • Hare, Robert, 1781-1858.
Date:
[1834]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Some encomiums upon the excellent treatise of chemistry by Berzelius : also objections to his nomenclature, and suggestions respecting a substitute, deemed preferable, in a letter to Professor Silliman / by Robert Hare. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    Laving a sour taste, or which redden litmus, should be deemed acids in obedience to usage. I should think it preferable, if in adopt.ng these definitions the termination in ide was considered as applicable to all compounds ot electronegative principles with other substances, whether pro- ducing: electronegative or electropositive combinations, and that the terms acid, and base, should be considered as severally indica- ting the subordinate electronegative, and electropositive compounds. In that case oxybase, chloribase, fluobase, bromibase, lodobase, cy- anobase, sulphobase, telluribase, selenibase, would stand in oppo- sition to oxacid, chloracid, fluacid, bromacid, lodacid, cyanacid, sulphacid, silenacid, telluracid; yet for convenience, the generic termination ide might be used without any misunderstanding; and so far, the prevailing practice might remain unchanged. Resort to either appellation would not, agreeably to custom, be necessary in speaking of salts or other compounds analogous to them ; since it is deemed sufficient to mention the radical as if it existed in the com- pound in its metallic state. Ordinarily we say, sulphate of lead, not sulphate of the oxide of lead. This last mentioned expression is resorted to, only where great precision is desirable. In such cases, it might be better to say sulphate of the oxybase of lead. So long however as the electronegative combinations of oxygen are designated as oxacids, and the electropositive as oxides, it seems to be incorrect, not to use analogical terms in the case of analogous compounds, formed by the other pre-eminently electro- negative principles; and assuming the definition above stated, to be justified by modern practice, it follows, that in order to entitle the electronegative and electropositive ingredients of the double salts of Berzelius, to be classed, the latter as bases, and the former as acids, it is not necessary to appeal to the highly interesting and important experiments of Bonsdorf, confirmed in some instances by the testimony of Berzelius himself, proving that the attributes of acidity exist in the one case, and those of alkalinity in the other. My definition is founded upon the conviction that these character- istics have not latterly been deemed necessary to acids, and that in bases, they never were required ; having, as respects them, only served as a means of subdivision, between alkaline oxides and other bases. Chemistry owes to Berzelius much valuable information respect- ing the compounds formed by the substances which he calls halo- gene; especially respecting the combinations formed by fluorine, with boron, and silicon, and the double salts, as he considers them, formed by fluorides and fluorures and chlorides and chlorures &c. While in the highest degree interested in the facts which he has ascertained, it will be inferred from the pre- mises, that I do not perceive that any adequate line of distinction can be drawn in this respect between his double salts of the halo- gene elements, and the simple salts formed by oxacids and oxy~ bases.—Agreeably to the definition which I have ventured to pro- pose, his chlorides, and fluorides, should be chloracids and flu-