See also:

• BORON (symbol B, atomic weight I I)

BORON (See also:

• SYMBOL (Gr. o-uµ(3oXov, a sign)

symbol B, atomic See also:

• WEIGHT

weight I I)  , one of the non-metallic elements, occurring in nature in the See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of boracic (boric) See also:

• ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid, and in various borates such as See also:

• BORAX (sodium pyroborate or sodium biborate)

borax, tincal, boronatrocalcite and See also:

• BORACITE

boracite . It was isolated by J . See also:

• GAY, JOHN (1685-1732)
• GAY, MARIE FRANCOISE SOPHIE (1776-1852)
• GAY, WALTER (1856– )

Gay Lussac and L . See also:

• THENARD, LOUIS JACQUES (1777-1857)

Thenard in 18o8 by See also:

• HEATING

heating See also:

• BORON (symbol B, atomic weight I I)

boron trioxide with See also:

• POTASSIUM [symbol K (from kalium), atomic weight 39.114 0=16)]

potassium, in an See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron See also:

• TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube . It was also isolated at about the same See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time by See also:

• SIR

Sir H . See also:

• DAVY, SIR HUMPHRY

Davy, from boracic acid . It may be obtained as a dark See also:

• BROWN
• BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
• BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
• BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
• BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
• BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
• BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
• BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
• BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
• BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
• BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
• BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
• BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
• BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
• BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
• BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
• BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
• BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
• BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
• BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
• BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
• BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
• BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)

brown amorphous See also:

• POWDER (through O. Fr. puldre, modern poudre, from Lat. pulvis, pulveris, dust)

powder by placing a mixture of Io parts of the roughly powdered See also:

• OXIDE

oxide with 6 parts of metallic See also:

• SODIUM [symbol Na, from Lat. natrium; atomic weight 23.00 (0=16)]

sodium in a red-hot crucible, and covering the mixture with a layer of well-dried See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• SALT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zout, Ger. Salz, Scand. salt; cognate with Gr. &Xs, Lat. sal)
• SALT, SIR TITUS, BART

salt . After the vigorous reaction has ceased and all the sodium has been used up, the See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

mass is thrown into dilute hydrochloric acid, when the soluble sodium salts go into See also:

• SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution, and the insoluble boron remains as a brown powder, which may by filtered off and dried . H . See also:

• MOISSAN, HENRI (1852-1907)

Moissan (See also:

• ANN

Ann . Chim . Phys., 1895, 6, p .

296) heats three parts of the oxide with one See also:

• PART

part of See also:

• MAGNESIUM [symbol Mg, atomic weight 24.32 (0 = 16)]

magnesium powder . The dark product obtained is washed with See also:

• WATER

water, hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid, and finally calcined again with the oxide or with borax, being protected from See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air during the operation by a layer of See also:

• CHARCOAL

charcoal . Pure amorphous boron is a See also:

• CHESTNUT (nux Castanea)

chestnut-coloured powder of specific gravity 2.45; it sublimes in the electric arc, is totally unaffected by air at See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary temperatures; and See also:

• BURNS, JOHN (1858– )
• BURNS, ROBERT (1759-1796)
• BURNS, SIR GEORGE

burns on strong ignition with See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of the oxide B2O3 and the nitride BN . It combines directly with See also:

• FLUORINE (symbol F, atomic weight 19)

fluorine at ordinary temperature, and with See also:

• CHLORINE (symbol Cl, atomic weight 35`46 (0=16)

chlorine, See also:

• BROMINE (symbol Br, atomic weight 79-96)

bromine and See also:

• SULPHUR

sulphur on heating . It does not react with the See also:

• ALKALI

alkali metals, but combines with magnesium at a See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low red See also:

• HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat to form a boride, and with other metals at more or less elevated temperatures . It reduces many metallic oxides, such as See also:

• LEAD
• LEAD (pronounced iced)

lead monoxide and cupric oxide, and decomposes water at a red heat . Heated with sulphuric acid and with nitric acid it is oxidized to boric acid, whilst on See also:

• FUSION

fusion with alkaline See also:

• CARBONATES

carbonates and hydroxides it gives a borate of the alkali See also:

• METAL
• METAL (through Fr. from Lat. metallum, mine, quarry, adapted from Gr. µATaXAov, in the same sense, probably connected with ,ueraAAdv, to search after, explore, µeTa, after, aAAos, other)

metal . Like See also:

• SILICON [symbol Si, atomic weight 28.3 (0= 16)]

silicon and See also:

• CARBON (symbol C, atomic weight 12)

carbon, very varying values had been given for its specific heat, until H . F . See also:

• WEBER, CARL MARIA FRIEDRICH ERNEST VON (1786–1826)
• WEBER, WILHELM EDUARD (1804-1891)

Weber showed that the specific heat increases rapidly with increasing temperature . By strongly heating a mixture of boron trioxide and See also:

• ALUMINIUM (symbol Al; atomic weight 27.0)

aluminium, protected from the air by a layer of charcoal, F . See also:

• WOHLER, FRIEDRICH (1800-1882)

Wohler and H .

Sainte-Claire Deville obtained a See also:

• GREY, CHARLES GREY, 2ND EARL (1764-1845)
• GREY, HENRY GREY, 3RD EARL (1802-1894)
• GREY, LADY JANE (1537-1554)
• GREY, SIR EDWARD
• GREY, SIR GEORGE (1812–1898)

grey product, from which, on dissolving out the aluminium with sodium hydroxide, they obtained a crystalline product, which they thought to be a modification of boron, but which was shown later to be a mixture of aluminium borides with more or less carbon . Boron dissolves in molten aluminium, and on cooling, transparent, almost colourless crystals are obtained, possessing a lustre, hardness and refractivity near that of the See also:

• DIAMOND

diamond . In 1904 K . A . Ktihne (D.R.P . 147,87.1) described a See also:

• PROCESS

process in which See also:

• EXTERNAL

external heating is not necessary, a mixture of aluminium turnings, sulphur and boric acid being ignited by a hot iron See also:

• ROD (O.E. rodd, probably related to Norw. rudda, stick, rodda, stake)
• ROD, EDOUARD (1857-1910)

rod, the resulting aluminium suiphide, formed as a by-product, being decomposed by water . Boron hydride has probably never been isolated in the pure See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition; on heating boron trioxide with magnesium filings, a magnesium boride Mg3B2 is obtained, and if this be decomposed with dilute hydrochloric acid a very evil-smelling See also:

• GAS

gas, consisting of a mixture of See also:

• HYDROGEN [symbol H, atomic weight x-oo8 (0=16)]

hydrogen and boron hydride, is obtained . This mixture burns with a See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

green See also:

• FLAME (Lat. flamma; the root flag- appears in flagrare, to burn, blaze, and Gr. d, XEryew)

flame forming boron trioxide; whilst boron is deposited on passing the gas mixture through a hot tube, or on depressing a See also:

• COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold See also:

• SURFACE

surface in the gas flame . By cooling it with liquid air Sir W . See also:

• RAMSAY, ALLAN (1686-1758)
• RAMSAY, ALLAN (1713-1784)
• RAMSAY, ANDREW MICHAEL (1686-1743)
• RAMSAY, DAVID (1749—1815)
• RAMSAY, SIR WILLIAM (1852– )
• RAMSAY, SIR WILLIAM MITCHELL (185r– )

Ramsay and H . S . See also:

• HATFIELD

Hatfield obtained from it a gas of See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition B3H3 .

The mixture probably contained also some BH3 (W . Ramsay and H . S . Hatfield, Proc . Chem . See also:

• SOC

Soc., 17, p . 152) . Boron fluoride BF3 was first prepared in 1808 by Gay Lussac and L . Thenard and is best obtained by heating a mixture of the trioxide and fluorspar with concentrated sulphuric acid . It is a colourless pungent gas which is exceedingly soluble in water . It fumes strongly in air, and does not attack See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass . It rapidly absorbs the elements of water wherever possible, so that a See also:

• STRIP

strip of See also:

• PAPER
• PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

paper plunged into the gas is rapidly charred .

It does not See also:

• BURN, RICHARD (1709-1785)

burn, neither does it support See also:

• COMBUSTION (from the Lat. comburere, to burn up)

combustion . A saturated solution of the gas, in water, is a colourless, oily, strongly fuming liquid which after a time decomposes, with separation of metaboric acid, leaving hydrofluoboric acid HF•BF3 in solution . This acid cannot be isolated in the See also:

• FREE

free condition, but many of its salts are known . Boron fluoride also combines with See also:

• AMMONIA (NH3)

ammonia gas, equal volumes of the two gases giving a See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

white crystal-See also:

• LINE

line solid of composition BF3•NH3; with excess of ammonia gas, colourless liquids BF3.2NH3 and BF3.3NH3 are produced, which on heating lose ammonia and are converted into the solid form . Boron chloride BC13 results when amorphous boron is heated in chlorine gas, or more readily, on passing a stream of chlorine over a heated mixture of boron trioxide and charcoal, the volatile product being condensed in a tube surrounded by a freezing mixture . It is a colourless fuming liquid boiling at 17–18° C, and is readily decomposed by water with formation of boric and hydrochloric acids . It unites readily with ammonia gas forming a white crystalline solid of composition 2BCI3.3NH3 . Boron bromide BBr3 can be formed by See also:

• DIRECT

direct See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

union of the two elements, but is best obtained by the method used for the preparation of the chloride . It is a colourless fuming liquid boiling at 90.5° C . With water and with ammonia it undergoes the same reactions as the chloride . Boron and See also:

• IODINE (symbol I, atomic weight '26.92)

iodine do not combine directly, but gaseous hydriodic acid reacts with amorphous boron to form the iodide, BI3, which can also be obtained by passing boron chloride and hydriodic acid through a red-hot See also:

• PORCELAIN

porcelain tube . It is a white crystalline solid of melting point 43 C.; it boils at 210° C., and it can be distilled without decomposition .

It is decomposed by water, and with a solution of yellow See also:

• PHOSPHORUS (Gr. 4ws, light, sPEpety, to bear)

phosphorus in carbon bisulphide it gives a red powder of composition PBI2, which sublimes in vacuo at 210° C. to red crystals, and when heated in a current of hydrogen loses its iodine and leaves a See also:

• RESIDUE (through the French, from the Lat. residuum, a remainder, from residere, to remain)

residue of boron phosphide PB . Boron nitride BN is formed when boron is burned either in air or in See also:

• NITROGEN [symbol N., atomic weight 14.01, 0=16]

nitrogen, but can be obtained more readily by heating to redness in a See also:

• PLATINUM [symbol Pt, atomic weight 145.0 (0=16)]

platinum crucible a mixture of one part of anhydrous borax with two parts of dry ammonium chloride . After fusion, the melt is well washed with dilute hydrochloric acid and then with water, the nitride remaining as a white powder . It can also be prepared by heating borimide B2(NH)3; or by heating boron trioxide with a metallic See also:

• CYANIDE

cyanide . It is insoluble in water and unaffected by most reagents, but when heated in a current of See also:

• STEAM
• STEAM (0. Eng. steam, vapour, smoke, cf. Du. steam; the origin is unknown)

steam or boiled for some time with a See also:

• CAUSTIC (Gr. rcavvraubs, burning)

caustic alkali, slowly decomposes with See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution of ammonia and the formation of boron trioxide or an alkaline borate; it dissolves slowly in hydrofluoric acid . Borimide B2(NH)3 is obtained on See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long heating of the See also:

• COMPOUND
• COMPOUND (from Lat. componere, to combine or put together)

compound B2S3.6NH3 in a stream of hydrogen, or ammonia gas at 115–120° C . It is a white solid which decomposes on heating into boron nitride and ammonia . Long-continued heating with water also decomposes it slowly . Boron sulphide B2S3 can be obtained by the direct union of the two elements at a white heat or from the tri-iodide and sulphur at 440° C., but is most conveniently prepared by heating a mixture of the trioxide and carbon in a stream of carbon bisulphide vapour . It forms slightly coloured small crystals possessing a strong disagree-able See also:

• SMELL (connected etymologically with " smoulder " and " smoke ")

smell, and is rapidly decomposed by water with the formation of boric acid and sulphuretted hydrogen . A pentasulphide B2S5 is prepared, in an impure condition, by heating a solution of sulphur in carbon bisulphide with boron iodide, and forms a white crystalline powder which decomposes under the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of water into sulphur, sulphuretted hydrogen and boric acid . Boron trioxide B2O3 is the only known oxide of boron; and may be prepared by heating amorphous boron in See also:

• OXYGEN (symbol 0, atomic weight 16)

oxygen, or better, by strongly igniting boric acid .

After fusion the mass solidifies to a transparent vitreous solid which dissolves readily in water to form boric acid (q.v.) ; it is exceedingly hygroscopic and even on See also:

• STANDING

standing in moist air becomes opaque through absorption of water and formation of boric acid . Its specific gravity is 1.83 (J . See also:

• DUMAS, ALEXANDRE
• DUMAS, ALEXANDRE [" DUMAS FILS"] (1824-1895)
• DUMAS, GUILLAUME MATHIEU, COUNT (1753-1837)
• DUMAS, JEAN BAPTISTE ANDRE (1800-1884)

Dumas) . It is not volatile below a white heat, and consequently, if heated with salts of more volatile acids, it expels the acid forming oxide from such salts; for example, if potassium sulphate be heated with boron trioxide, sulphur trioxide is liberated and potassium borate formed . It also possesses the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of combining with most metallic oxidesat high temperatures, forming borates, which in many cases show characteristic See also:

• COLOURS, MILITARY

colours . Many organic compounds of boron are known; thus, from the See also:

• ACTION

action of the trichioride on See also:

• ETHYL

ethyl See also:

• ALCOHOL

alcohol or on methyl alcohol, ethyl borate B(OC2H5)3 and methyl borate B(OCH3)3 are obtained . These are colourless liquids boiling at 119° C. and 72° C. respectively, and both are readily decomposed by water .