About this book
While a bit outdated in many of the more complex descriptions of several of the phenomena described, this book is nonetheless still fun and relevant for a person interested in basic chemistry or physics tricks, and the devices built in the book can be easily replicated with more modern materials. The book is split up into many little experiments, tricks, with an explanation on how it works, what's happening, and how to reproduce the effects at home.(summary by Kyle Van DeGlast)
Chapters (64)
1Chemical Affinity, Sympathetic Inks
2Alum Baskets, Easy Crystallizations
3Charcoal Coated with Gold, Silver
4Combustion
5Chemistry of the Air
6Amateur Air Pump, Asphyxia, Balloon in a Vacuum, Boiling Cold Water, A Sucking Tube, Cupping
7The Barometer, A Novel Barometer
8Compressed Air
9Noiseless Bell, The Bursting Bladder, Weight of the Air
10Spoons Which Will Melt in Hot Water
11Effect of Compression
12To Cover Iron with Copper
13The Elements
14Potassium, Metallic Colors
15Crystallization of Metals
16Crystallization, Beauties of Crystallization
17To Crystallize Camphor
18A Solid Change to a Liquid
19Magic of Heat, Sublimation by Heat, Heat Passing Through Glass, Metals Unequally Influenced by Heat
20Spontaneous Combustion, Inequality of Heat in Fire-Irons, Expasion of Metal by Heat
21The Alchemist's Ink, Chameleon Liquids, Magic Dyes, Wine Changed into Water
22The Chemistry of Water
23Two Bitters Make a Sweet
24Visible and Invisible
25To Form a Liquid from Two Solids, Restoration of Color by Water, Two Liquids Make a Solid, Two Solids Make a Liquid, A Solid Opaque Mass Makes a Transparent Liquid, Two Cold Liquids Make a Hot One
26To Make Ice
27Curious Change of Colors, The Protean Lights, To Change the Colors of Flowers, Changes of the Poppy, Changes of the Rose
28Marking Indelibly
29Visible Growth
30Colored Flames
31Water of Different Temperatures in the Same Vessel
32Warmth of Different Colors
33Laughing Gas
34Magic Vapor, Gas from the Union of Metals
35Green Fire, Combustion of Three Metals
36To Make Paper Apparently Incombustible
37Heat Not to be Estimated by Touch
38Flame Upon Water, Rose-colored Flame Upon Water
39Currents in Boiling Water, Hot Water Lighter than Cold, Expansion of Water by Cold
40The Cup of Tantalus
41The Magic Whirlpool
42Fire Under Water
43To Light Steel
44A Test of Love
45An Egg Pushed Into a Wine Bottle
46A Chemical Fountain
47Weighing Gases
48In Water but not Wet
49Image of a Volcano
50Reciprocal Images
51Imitation of Animal Tints
52Melting a Coin
53Explosive Gas
54Cold from Evaporation
55Self-Dancing Egg
56Flash of Fire in a Room
57Cast Iron Drops
58Explosion without Heat, Fiery Powder
59Illumination
60Sun and Spirit
61Stars in Waster
62Parlor Ballooning
63Marvelous
64Mutability, the end
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