A System of Instruction in the Practical Use of the Blowpipe. Unknown

The blowpipe most generally used in chemical examinations is composed of the following parts: (Fig. 1.) A is a little reservoir made air-tight by grinding the part B into it. This reservoir serves the purpose of retaining the moisture with which the air from the mouth is charged. A small conical tube is fitted to this reservoir. This tube terminates in a fine orifice. As this small point is liable to get clogged up with soot, etc., it is better that it should be made of platinum, so that it may be ignited. Two of these platinum tubes should be supplied, differing in the size of the orifice, by which a stronger or lighter current of flame may be projected from it. Metals, such as brass or German silver, are very liable to become dirty through oxidation, and when placed between the lips are liable to impart a disagreeable taste. To avoid this, the top of the tube must be supplied with a mouthpiece of ivory or horn C. The blowpipe here represented is the one used by Ghan, and approved by Berzelius. The trumpet mouthpiece was adopted by Plattner; it is pressed upon the lips while blowing, which is less tiresome than holding the mouthpiece between the lips, although many prefer the latter mode.

      Dr. Black's blowpipe is as good an instrument and cheaper. It consists of two tubes, soldered at a right angle; the larger one, into which the air is blown, is of sufficient capacity to serve as a reservoir.

      A chemist can, with a blowpipe and a piece of charcoal, determine many substances without any reagents, thus enabling him, even when travelling, to make useful investigations with means which are always at his disposal. There are pocket blowpipes as portable as a pencil case, such as Wollaston's and Mitscherlich's; these are objectionable for continued use as their construction requires the use of a metallic mouthpiece. Mr. Casamajor, of New York, has made one lately which has an ivory mouthpiece, and which, when in use, is like Dr. Black's.

      The length of the blowpipe is generally seven or eight inches, but this depends very much upon the visual angle of the operators. A short-sighted person, of course, would require an instrument of less length than would suit a far-sighted person.

      The purpose required of the blowpipe is to introduce a fine current of air into the flame of a candle or lamp, by which a higher degree of heat is induced, and consequently combustion is more rapidly accomplished.

      By inspecting the flame of a candle burning under usual circumstances, we perceive at the bottom of the flame a portion which is of a light blue color (a b), Fig. 2, which gradually diminishes in size as it recedes from the wick, and disappears when it reaches the perpendicular side of the flame. In the midst of the flame there is a dark nucleus with a conical form (c). This is enveloped by the illuminating portion of the flame (d). At the exterior edge of the part d we perceive a thin, scarcely visible veil, a, e, e, which is broader near the apex of the flame. The action of the burning candle may be thus explained. The radiant heat from the flame melts the tallow or wax, which then passes up into the texture of the wick by capillary attraction until it reaches the glowing wick, where the heat decomposes the combustible matter into carbonated hydrogen (C⁴H⁴), and into carbonic oxide (CO).

      While these gases are rising in hot condition, the air comes in contact with them and effects their combustion. The dark portion, c, of the flame is where the carbon and gases have not a sufficiency of air for their thorough combustion; but gradually they become mixed with air, although not then sufficient for complete combustion. The hydrogen is first oxidized or burnt, and then the carbon is attacked by the air, although particles of carbon are separated, and it is these, in a state of intense ignition, which produce the illumination. By bringing any oxidizable substance into this portion of the flame, it oxidizes very quickly in consequence of the high temperature and the free access of air. For that reason this part of the flame is termed the oxidizing flame, while the illuminating portion, by its tendency to abstract oxygen for the purpose of complete combustion, easily reduces oxidated substances brought into it, and it is, therefore, called the flame of reduction. In the oxidizing flame, on the contrary, all the carbon which exists in the interior of the flame is oxidized into carbonic acid (CO²) and carbonic oxide (CO), while the blue color of the cone of the flame is caused by the complete combustion of the carbonic oxide. These two portions of the flame—the oxidizing and the reducing—are the principal agents of blowpipe analysis.

      If we introduce a fine current of air into a flame, we notice the following: The air strikes first the dark nucleus, and forcing the gases beyond it, mixes with them, by which oxygen is mingled freely with them. This effects the complete combustion of the gases at a certain distance from the point of the blowpipe. At this place the flame has the highest temperature, forming there the point of a blue cone. The illuminated or reducing portion of the flame is enveloped outside and inside by a very hot flame, whereby its own temperature is so much increased that in this reduction-flame many substances will undergo fusion which would prove perfectly refractory in a common flame. The exterior scarcely visible part loses its form, is diminished, and pressed more to a point, by which its heating power is greatly increased.

      The Blast of Air.—By using the blowpipe for chemical purposes, the effect intended to be produced is an uninterrupted steady stream of air for many minutes together, if necessary, without an instant's cessation. Therefore, the blowing can only be effected with the muscles of the cheeks, and not by the exertion of the lungs. It is only by this means that a steady constant stream of air can be kept up, while the lungs will not be injured by the deprival of air. The details of the proper manner of using the blowpipe are really more difficult to describe than to acquire by practice; therefore the pupil is requested to apply himself at once to its practice, by which he will soon learn to produce a steady current of air, and to distinguish the different flames from each other. We would simply say that the tongue must be applied to the roof of the mouth, so as to interrupt the communication between the passage of the nostrils and the mouth. The operator now fills his mouth with air, which is to be passed through the pipe by compressing the muscles of the cheeks, while he breathes through the nostrils, and uses the palate as a valve. When the mouth becomes nearly empty, it is replenished by the lungs in an instant, while the tongue is momentarily withdrawn from the roof of the mouth. The stream of air can be continued for a long time, without the least fatigue or injury to the lungs. The easiest way for the student to accustom himself to the use of the blowpipe, is first to learn to fill the mouth with air, and while the lips are kept firmly closed to breathe freely through the nostrils. Having effected this much, he may introduce the mouthpiece of the blowpipe between his lips. By inflating the cheeks, and breathing through the nostrils, he will soon learn to use the instrument without the least fatigue. The air is forced through the tube against the flame by the action of the muscles of the cheeks, while he continues to breathe without interruption through the nostrils. Having become acquainted with this process, it only requires some practice to produce a steady jet of flame. A defect in the nature of the combustible used, as bad oil, such as fish oil, or oil thickened by long standing or by dirt, dirty cotton wick, or an untrimmed one, or a dirty wickholder, or a want of steadiness of the hand that holds the blowpipe, will prevent a steady jet of flame. But frequently the fault lies in the orifice of the jet, or too small a hole, or its partial stoppage by dirt, which will prevent a steady jet of air, and lead to difficulty. With a good blowpipe the air projects the entire flame, forming a horizontal, blue cone of flame, which converges to a point at about an inch from the wick, with a larger, longer, and more luminous flame enveloping it, and terminating to a point beyond that of the blue flame.

      To produce an efficient flame of oxidation, put the point of the blowpipe into the flame about one third the diameter of the wick, and about one twelfth of an inch above it. This, however, depends upon the size of the flame used. Blow strong enough to keep the flame straight and horizontal, using the largest orifice for the purpose. Upon examining the flame thus produced, we will observe a long, blue flame, a b, Fig. 3, which letters correspond with the same letters in Fig. 2. But this flame has changed its form, and contains all the combustible gases. It forms now a thin, blue cone, which converges to a point about an inch from the wick. This point of the flame possesses the highest intensity of temperature, for there the combustion of the gases is the most complete. In the original flame, the hottest part forms the external envelope, but here it is compressed more into a point, forming the cone of the blue flame, and likewise an envelope of flame surrounding the blue one, extending beyond it from a to c,