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Show Wa Wa Soif a concave Cylinder, made of any com- and inflexible 3 fince tho’ they have interpact Matter, be tightly ftopp’d at one End, mediate Spaces, yet no Force or Weisht and fill’d with ater at the other, and then can any way comprefs or croud them nearer that alfo be clos’d in the fame manner; if this together. Pipe be fufpended in the Air, fufficiently cold, From the Whole it follows, that Water dethe contain’d Vater will be froze, and the void of any heterogeneous Admixture, confifts Stopples at both Ends, or at leaft at one, will of exceedingly minute, penetrative, fluid, flipbe thrown out, and a Rod of Ice appear pery, folid, ponderous Particles, and confethereat, in Continuation with the Tube. quently approaches nearto the Nature of MerA. Stone-cutter complain’d to Mr. Boyle, cury: And hence that Obfervation of the that fometimes through the Negligence of the antient Chymifts ; hat Mercury is the only Servants, the Rain being fuffer’d to foak into Body in Nature that diffolves ; alluding to the Marble, the violent Frofts coming on, would menftruous Virtue of Water. burft the Stones. Water is the moft infipid of all Bodies ; for Another Tradefman complain’d, that even the Tafte we fometimes obferve therein, does Implements made of Bell-metal, being carelefSly expos’ to the Wet, have been broken and {poil’d by the Water ; which having enter'd at the little Cavities of the Meal, was there afterwards froze and expandedinto Ice : not arife from the mere ater, but from Salt, Vitriol, or other Bodies mix dwith it ; and accordingly, all the /aters that are favoury, as thofe of Italy, &8c. and whichare recommended by Phyficians for medicinal Ufes, are And Cabeus tells us, he faw a huge Veffel of always found to depofit a Quantity of fome of exceeding hard Metal fplit afunder by con- thefe Foffils. gealed Water. Nor does it appear by any Experiment, that If it be ask’d, how a Bodyfo light, fluid, Waterhas the leaft Smell, providedit be pure; volatile, and which fo eafy a Fire iuffices to fo that Water might remain imperceptible to rarefy, fhould be fo ftubborn and incompref- us, were it not for our Senfe of Touching. fible? We fee no other Caufe to affign, but the Homogeneity of its Parts. If Water be confider’d as confifting of {phe- rical or cubical Particles, hollow within-fide, and of a firm Texture, here will be enough to Water therefore appears to be perfectlyindifferent, as to the affuming of all Forms. Ceutivoglio maintains, ‘That if it happens to fallin a Place where there is, ex. gr. pure Cinnabar, or any other Matter, the Water will join with them all, and become what account for the Whole. Its Firmnefs andSimilarity will make it reft fufficiently, and its they are. Vacuity renders it light enough, &c. From what has been faid, we may fettle fomething as to the Nature of the component Particles of Water. 1. The Particles whereof Water confifts, are, asto our Senfes, infinitely fmall, as it appears from their prodigious penetrative Power, 2. They are exceedingly fmooth and flippery, void of anyfenfible Afperities ; as ap- pears from their being {0 eafily feparable from other Bodies they adhereto. 3. Theyare extremely folid ; as appears by their cohering with other Bodies into a folid Form. _ 4They are perfectly tranfparent, and, as fuch, invifible. This we gather, 1, From hence, That pure Water inclos’d in a clean ‘Which Opinion falls in with that of Thales and Paracelfus aboye-mentiond. And hence it is that Wateris call’d a fecond Mercury. Of the folutive Powerof Water. Water confider’'d as a Menfiraum, diffolves, 1. All Szits, as Sugar, Borax, €§c. which Air only diffolves by virtue of the Water it contains ; which Fire only liquefies, and Earth leaves untouch’d: So that Water alone is the proper Menfiruum of Saits. The Particles of Salts, as it has been obferv’d, caninfinuate themfelves into the Interftices between the Particles of Water ; but when thofé Interftices arefill’d with anySalt, the fame Water will not any longer diffolve Veflel, hermetically fealed, projeéts no Sha- the fame Salt ; but a Salt of another kindit dow; fo that the Eye-fhall not be able to dif cover whether the Veffel have Water in it or not. 2. In that the Cryftal ofSalts, when will, by reafon its Particles being of a different Form, will enter and occupy the Vacancics left by the former. And thus again, it will the Wateris feparated from them, lofe their diffolve a third or fourth Salt, €c. So when Tranfparency. Waterhas imbib’d its Fill of common Salt, it 5. Theyare very rigid, and inflexible ; as will ftill diffolve Nitre ; and whenfaturated appears from their not being compreffible. with Heat, it will diflolve Sal Ari ac 5 and Des Cartes fuppofed the Particles of Water of fo on. ; an Eel-like Form, to account for their Lubri2. It diffolves all faline Bodies ; it being the city: But, on this Footing, they could not be conftituent Quality of a faline Body to! incompreffible. ‘ uninflammable and diffoluble in // ater. Hence Itis obfery’d, that when Salt is infus’d in Water may diffolve all Bodi Be Water, it does not fill the Veffel in Proportion heavieft and moft compact, as Metals, i to its own Bulk ; whenceit follows, that there much as thefe are capable of being reducd matt be fome little Spaces between its Particles to a faline Form; for thefe may be to admit thofe of the Salt. And hence again mately diffolv’d by Water, as to be we gather, that the watery Particles are folid therein. WA 3. It diffolves all faponaceous Bodies, 7. ¢. all alkalious Salts and Oils blended together : Thofe two Bodies make a Sapa, which is a _WA Laftly, it does not diffolve Refins ; as we conceive a Refin to be no other than aninfpiffated or concentrated Oil. It has been difpnted, whether or no Water faline Body, but not a Salt. Now Oil itfelf is not diffoluble in Vater, but the Admixture be convertible into Air, there being numerous of the Sale here, rendring it faline, Water Inftances of at leaft an apparent Tranfinutation. In the Vapours daily raisd, we find Water readily diffolves ic. All the Humours in the human Body are rarefy’d to fuch a Degree, as to take Place in apparently e, tho’ none of them are Salt the Atmofphere, and help to compofe a conitfelf. ‘The fame maybe faid of the Juices of fiderable Part of what we call 4ir, and even all Vegetables, excepting the Oils, which ac- to contribute to many ofthe Effects afcrib’d to Air. cordingly diffolve in ater. But fuch a Vapour has not the Character of Salts are the active Inftruments of Nature, being eafily reduc’d and yet thofe do not act, unlefs diffolv'd either true, permanent ir, into Water again. So in Digeftions and Diby Water or Fire, A Cryftal isa Glebe of Salt, or Metal, or ftillations, tho’ Water may be rarefy’d into both together. If nowyoutake Sea-Salt well Vapours, yet it is not really chang’d into ir, dry d, it will be white, and not tranfparent ; but only divided by Heat, and diffus’d into diffolve it in /Vater, and after exhaling the very minute Parts; which meeting together, Water, it will become tran{parent, by reafon prefently return to fuch Water as they conftituted before. of the Water interpos’d betweenits Parts. Yet Water rarefy’d into Vapour in an Aoli4. It diffolves Gla/s itfelf; for this, if melted with Salt of Tartar, becomes foluble in pyle, will, fora while, have anelaftic Power, the great and laft Characteriftick of true Water. 5. It diffolves all gummous Bodies; this Air, and ftream out perfectly like a Blaft being Part of the Definition of a Gum, that it of Air. ‘The elaftic Power of this Stream is diffolves in Water, in Contradiftin&tion from manifeftly owing to nothing elfe but the Hear, a Refin; but oleaginous Bodies it leaves un- that expands andagitates the aqueous Particles touch d, nay, and what is more extraordinary, thereof ; and when the Heat is gone, the Ela~ it repels them ; and byrepelling, drives the fticity, and other aerial Properties difappear. oily Particles into Eddies. Rapid Winds thus made, feem to be no Lf an hundred Drops of Oil te thrown upon Water, all the feveral Drops, which before more than mere Water broke into little Parts, and put into Motion ; fince by holding a folid, were perfectly difperfed, will foon gathertogether again, and leave the Water alone: So fmooth, and cold Body againft it, the Vathat there fhould feem to be fome R.epugnance pours condenfing thereon, will prefently cover between ater and Oil, and fome Attraction the Body with /Vater. Indeed, tho’ no Heat intervenes, Motion between the Particles of Water, as alfo bealone, if vehement, may, perhaps, fuffice to tween thofé of Oil. Add, that Water feems to repel all oleagi- break /Vater into minute Parts, and make nous, fatty, and adipofe Bodies wherein Oil themafcend upwards in form of Air. Mr. Boyle obferves, that between Lyous and predominates ; and hence alfo it is, that the fatty Parts in our Bodiesefcape beingdiffolv’d Geneva, where the Rhoneis fuddenlyftraiten’d by Waer: And it is, in all Probability, by by two Rocks very near each other, that this means that Fat is collected in the adipofe rapid Stream dafhing with great Impetuofity againft them, breaks part of its Water into Cells of all Animals. Nor does Water diffolve Sulphur; for tho’ minute Corpnifcles, and gives it fuch a Motion, youboil Su/pbur ever fo long in Water, yet it that a Mift maybe obferv’d at a confiderable Diftance arifing from the Place, and afcend will {till remain untouch’d. Nordoes it diffolve terrene or earthy Bodies, ing high into the Air. : water is an Affemblage of Bodies, but rather unites and confolidates them; as in Water can fcarce be faid to havethe we fee in Tiles, &c. Water however mix’d with Alkali Salts, principal Part; “tis an univerfal Colluvies of diffolves Oil and oily Bodies: ‘Thus, though all the Bodies in Nature, fuftain’d and kept mere Water pour’d on greafy Wooll, be re- {fwimming in Water asa Vehicle. Dr. Lifer confiders it as the Fundor pell’d thereby, and contributes nothing towards cleanfing of the fame; yet mix ftrong out of which all Bodies arife, He gives, in Lixivium or an Alkali Sale with the Water, fome meafure, into the Opinion of Zbales and then it readily diffolves, and abforbs all Van Helmont; and imagines the, Sea hat is ereafy and oleaginous ; and thus it is have been the only Element created at the Woollen Cloths are fcoured. But neither will Beginning, before any Animal or Vegetable ; Water alone do, as being immifcible with or even before the Sun himfelf. Frefb-water, he fappofes, to have arofe acOil, norwill any other fort ofSalts; for Seawat with all its Salts, will never wafh out cidentally after the Creation of thefe, and to to the Vapours ofPlant anyoily Impurities. So in the ordinary Me- owe its Ori thods of Scouring and Fulling, the Stuffs Breath of Animals, and the Exhala : are wafh’d in ftale, putrefy’d, human by the Sun. Dr. Halley is of another Op Urine, which is known to be a thorough , that the Saltnefs ofthe Alkali. 9 L |