1438. Alcohol

1438.    Alcohol. Officinal alcohol ( U. S. Ph.) contains 85 per cent, by weight, or 89 per cent, by volume, of pure alcohol; its specific gravity is .835, or 38.45° Baum'e.

1439. Stronger Alcohol

1439.    Stronger Alcohol. Alcohol fortius ( U. S. Ph.) has 92 per cent, by weight, or 94.65 per cent, by volume, of pure alcohol; and a specific gravity of .817, or about 42° Baum'e.

1440. Amylic Alcohol

1440.     Amylic Alcohol. A peculiar oily, nearly colorless acrid liquid, known also as Fusel oil, obtained by distilling fermented grain or potatoes, by continuing the process after the ordinary spirit has ceased to come over. Its specific gravity is .818, and its boiling point 268° to 272° Fahr. ( U. S. Ph.)

1441. Absolute Alcohol

1441.    Absolute Alcohol. To procure absolute or anhydrous alcohol, take the bladder of an ox or calf, soak it for some time in water, then inflate it and carefully free it from the attached fat and vessels; this must be done on both sides. After it is again inflated and dried, smear over the outer surface twice, and the inner surface four times, with a solution of isinglass. Then nearly fill it with the spirit to be concentrated, leaving only a small space vacant; it is then to be securely fastened, and suspended in a warm situation, at a temperature of about 122° Fahr., over a sand bath, or in the neighborhood of an oven or fire. In six to twelve hours, if the heat be. properly conducted, the spirit will be concentrated, and in a little time longer may be rendered nearly free from water (anhydrous) or of the strength of 97 or 98 per cent.

This alcohol will be sufficiently pure for all the common purposes of the manufacturers, and is an excellent spirit for making varnishes, etc..

The same bladder will serve more than one hundred times; and in fact a common bladder, thoroughly cleansed from fat, and washed and dried, may be used without any further preparation. The bladder should be kept very nearly full, or else a portion of the spirit will escape through the empty part. To prevent this accident, a bottle with a double neck, of the shape represented in the engraving, may be employed. By this means the bladder may be kept always full.

A, A bottle with two necks, the upper furnished with a ground-glass stopper.

B,  Loop of cord to hang up the apparatus.

C,    Bladder containing spirit, filled by means of the bottle, A.

D,  Neck of bladder accurately secured to the lower neck of the bottle, A.

After the first or second time of using the bladder, it gives alcohol sufficiently pure for most experimental purposes. Before hanging the apparatus up, it is better to enclose and suspend it in a coarse netting, which will prevent any accident arising from the strain on the neck of the bladder. Should weaker spirit than that directed in the preceding formula be used, to procure alcohol by either method, it must be previously concentrated, or the operation repeated a second time.

Absolute alcohol is used to dissolve resins by the varnish maker; essential oils, by the perfumer; pyroxyline (gum cotton), by the photographer; and by the pharmaceutist to prepare tinctures and for many other purposes.