The classical experiments of Thenard, of Th. de Saussure, of Messrs.
Boussingault, on the quantity of carbonic acid in the air, are well
known to every one: they need only to be organized, repeated, and
multiplied.
J. Reiset, who has conducted a long and tedious series of experiments on
this subject, has adopted a process that seems to offer every guarantee
of accuracy. The air that furnishes the carbonic acid is aspirated
through the absorption apparatus by two aspirators of 600 liters
capacity. The temperature and pressure of the air are carefully
measured. The carbonic acid is absorbed by baryta water in three bulb
apparatus. The last bulb, which serves as a check to control the
operation, remains clear, and proves that no binoxide of barium
is formed. The baryta water used is titrated before and after the
operation, and from the difference is calculated the quantity of
carbonate formed, and hence of the carbonic acid.
These tedious experiments, which varied in duration from 6 to 25 hours,
require at least two days of continuous labor. They were repeated
193 times by Reiset in 1872, 1873, and 1879. They were made in still
weather, and in violent winds and storms.
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