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 Real Analysis

Real Analysis: An Undergraduate Problem Book for Mathematicians, Applied

Scientists, and Engineers is a classical Real Analysis/Calculus problem book.
This topic has been a compulsory subject for every undergraduate studying
mathematics or engineering for a very long time. This volume contains a huge
number of engaging problems and solutions, as well as detailed explanations
of how to achieve these solutions. This latter quality is something that many
problem books lack, and it is hoped that this feature will be useful to students and
instructors alike.
Features
• Hundreds of problems and solutions
•  Can be used as a stand-alone problem book, or in conjunction with the author’s
textbook, Real Analysis: An Undergraduate Textbook for Mathematicians,
Applied Scientists, and Engineers, ISBN 9781032481487
•  Perfect resource for undergraduate students studying a first course in Calculus
or Real Analysis
•  Contains explanatory figures, detailed techniques, tricks, hints, and “recipes”
on how to proceed once we have a calculus problem in front of us.
 Real Analysis
An Undergraduate Problem Book
for Mathematicians, Applied
Scientists, and Engineers

Gustavo da Silva Araújo

State University of Paraíba, Brazil
Luis Bernal González
Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
José L. Gámez Merino
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
María E. Martínez Gómez
Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain
Gustavo A. Muñoz Fernández
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Daniel L. Rodríguez Vidanes
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Juan B. Seoane Sepúlveda
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Designed cover image: ShutterStock Images

First edition published 2024

by CRC Press
2385 NW Executive Center Drive, Suite 320, Boca Raton FL 33431

and by CRC Press

4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2024 Gustavo da Silva Araújo, Gustavo A. Muñoz Fernández, María E. Martínez Gómez, Luis Ber-
nal González, José L. Gámez Merino,Juan B. Seoane Sepúlveda, Daniel L. Rodríguez Vidanes

Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and pub-
lisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use.
The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced
in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not
been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so
we may rectify in any future reprint.

Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information stor-
age or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.

For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.copyright.com
or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,
978-750-8400. For works that are not available on CCC please contact mpkbookspermissions@tandf.
co.uk

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

ISBN: 978-1-032-50461-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-51026-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-40074-5 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9781003400745

Typeset in CMR10 font

by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

Publisher’s note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors.
Contents

Preface vii

Author Bios ix

1 The Field of Real Numbers 1

2 The Field of Complex Numbers 85

3 Sequences of Real Numbers. Convergence 110

4 Continuous Functions 177

5 Differentiable Functions 223

6 Riemann Integral 283

7 Numerical Series 418

8 Power Series. Function Sequences and Series 475

Bibliography 519

v
Preface

This text does not intend to be a theoretical guide with exercises, but a
complement and help to all the classical undergraduate Calculus textbooks by
providing a carefully chosen collection of exercises that, with detailed worked
out solutions, would certainly enlighten the student in their understanding of
the subject of one variable Calculus.
Certainly the topic of Real Analysis is a very vast and wide one. The study
of Calculus dates back, at least, to the time of the Greek mathematician and
philosopher Eudoxus of Cnidus (IV century BC), who rigorously developed
Antiphon’s method of exhaustion (a precursor to the integral calculus) using
(without developing it rigorously) the idea of limit in order to approximate
areas of irregular geometric figures. However, the modern formalization of
Mathematical Analysis did not come until two millennia later, when Descartes
and Fermat developed Analytic Geometry in the middle of the XVII century,
the subsequent development of Infinitesimal Calculus by Leibniz and Newton
in the XVIII century and (already in the XIX century) the work of Cauchy in
which he established formalism and rigor in Calculus as we know it, essentially,
today and through the sequences bearing his name.
More authors should be named in these aforementioned time periods together
with their respective seminal contributions to the area. We cannot forget the
Bernoulli family (XVIII century) to whom, among many other results, we owe
the famous L’Hôpital’s rule. Nor can we overlook the enormous contributions
of Euler and his magical numerical series, in addition to, among many other
contributions, having established the current notation we nowadays use to
represent a function, or the number e. Furthermore, it is a must to remember
Bolzano and Weierstrass (XIX century) and, in particular, the famous theorem
that bears their names. This theory could have not been developed without
the help of Cantor (XIX–XX centuries), his theory of the infinity and his
famous ternary set. Darboux and Riemann (XIX–XX centuries) also deserve
a special place, since the version of the integral that we study here is due to
them (although there are other, more advanced versions of the integral, but
they are not studied in an initial course in real analysis, such as, for example,
the Lebesgue integral). In the XX century, Mathematical Analysis diversified
into more varied and essential topics, such as the study of function spaces
(functional analysis), complex analysis, measure theory or operator theory,
among others.

vii
viii Preface

This problem book is divided into eight main chapters or topics, that are those
typically included in any first year Calculus textbook, namely:

(1.) The Field of Real Numbers.

(2.) The Field of Complex Numbers.
(3.) Sequences of Real Numbers. Convergence.
(4.) Continuous Functions.
(5.) Differentiability.
(6.) Riemann Integrability.
(7.) Numerical Series.
(8.) Power Series. Function Sequences and Series.

Of course, this book serves as the perfect guide to students who wish to have
a thorough understanding of the theory involved in Calculus by means of
a very rich and extended selection of problems (easy ones and “less easy”
ones!) including the typical tricks or recipes that usually appear in Calculus
problems and less conventional techniques that are useful in order to tackle
them successfully. At the same time it is also an excellent text for instructors
to find ways to illustrate the theory they deliver in class. Most of the problems
appearing in this text are extracted from the proposed problem list of the book
entitled “Real Analysis: An Undergraduate Textbook for Mathematicians,
Applied Scientists, and Engineers” [6] currently being revised by the time this
present text is in press. Although, by now, there are quite an amount of Real
Analysis (or Calculus) textbooks published around the World, we believe that
a problem book with detailed worked out solutions (and not just a mere list
of exercises with the corresponding list of answers to them) is something that,
in our experience as instructors, a student will always need. It would neither
be the first time nor the last that a mathematics instructor, during class, is
asked the question “where can I find the solutions to all the exercises?” coming
from a student. It does not matter the college we are in or the country we
live in, students always want to have the answers to the proposed exercises
and we believe that this book covers the most important type of questions
that any Calculus student could encounter while pursuing a degree involving
mathematics.
Gustavo da Silva Araújo
Luis Bernal González
José Luis Gámez Merino
Marı́a Elena Martı́nez Gómez
Gustavo Adolfo Muñoz Fernández
Daniel Luis Rodrı́guez Vidanes,
Juan Benigno Seoane Sepúlveda
Author Bios

Gustavo da Silva Araújo is an Associate Professor at the State Univer-

sity of Paraı́ba, Brazil. His primary research interests encompass real and
complex analysis, the geometry of Banach spaces, operator theory, series and
summability, mathematical inequalities, and lineability. He has authored sev-
eral papers in these areas, and also serves as reviewer for many mathematics
journals. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Federal University of
Paraı́ba in 2016.

Luis Bernal González graduated in 1980 from the Universidad de Sevilla,

Spain. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the same university in
1984. Bernal has been a permanent faculty member at Sevilla since 1980 and
was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987, and to Full Professor in 2010.
He was an invited speaker at the International Congress on Hypercyclicity
and Chaos for Linear Operators and Semigroups in Valencia (Spain) in 2009.
His main interests are Complex Analysis, Operator Theory and, lately, the
interdisciplinary subject of Lineability. Bernal has authored or co-authored
more than 130 papers in these areas, many of them concerning the structure of
the sets of the mathematical objects discovered. He has been plenary lecturer
at many international conferences.

José L. Gámez Merino graduated from Universidad Complutense de

Madrid (Spain) in 1989 and obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mathematics from
the same university in 1997. He is an expert in Real Analysis. Gámez is, cur-
rently, an Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematical Analysis
and Applied Mathematics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Marı́a E. Martı́nez Gómez is currently an Assistant Professor at the De-

partment of Applied Mathematics, Materials Science and Engineering and
Electronic Technology, Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain). In 2017, she grad-
uated in Mathematics from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and
defended her Ph.D. Thesis in 2021. Her areas of expertise include Real and
Convex Analysis and Set Theory.

ix
x Author Bios

Gustavo A. Muñoz Fernández graduated in Mathematics from Universi-

dad Complutense in 1994 and in Physics from UNED in 2001. He earned his
Ph.D. in Mathematics from Universidad Complutense in 1999. Muñoz is cur-
rently the Academic Secretary of the Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute
(IMI) and a Full Professor at the Department of Mathematical Analysis and
Applied Mathematics at Universidad Complutense. Muñoz has co-authored
more than 70 publications including a research book and several textbooks.
The scientific interests of Muñoz are related, mainly, to geometry of Banach
spaces, polynomials in normed spaces and algebraic genericity (lineability).

Daniel L. Rodrı́guez Vidanes is currently an Assistant Professor within the

Department of Applied Mathematics to Industrial Engineering at Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). He defended his Ph.D. thesis on 2023 under the
supervision of professors Juan B. Seoane Sepúlveda and Gustavo A. Muñoz
Fernández from UCM (Spain), alongside Krzysztof C. Ciesielski from West
Virginia University (WVU, USA). His academic journey includes over 20 sci-
entific international publications. Additionally, he also co-authored a research
book on the geometry of spaces of polynomials. Daniel’s scholarly pursuits are
deeply rooted in various domains within mathematics. His research interests
span the analysis of real functions, functional analysis, geometry of Banach
spaces, spaces of polynomials, and lineability.

Juan B. Seoane Sepúlveda earned his first Ph.D. at the Universidad

de Cádiz (Spain) jointly with Universität Karlsruhe (Germany) in 2005. He
earned his second Ph.D. at Kent State University (Kent, Ohio, USA) in 2006.
His main interests include Real and Complex Analysis, Operator Theory,
Number Theory, Banach Space Geometry, and Lineability. He has co-authored
about 200 papers up to this day, together with several books. Seoane is cur-
rently a Full Professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), where
he also holds the position of Director of the Master’s Studies in Advanced
Mathematics. He has delivered invited lectures at many international confer-
ences and research institutes around the world.
Chapter 1
The Field of Real Numbers

Exercise 1.1. Decide if each one of the following statements is true or

false:
30
X 30
X 20
X 20
X
j4 = j4, 2 + j2 = 2 + j2,


(i) (iii)
j=1 j=0 j=1 j=1

100 100 100

!2
X X X
2 = 200, 2
(ii) (iv) k = k .
j=0 k=1 k=1

Solution to Exercise 1.1.

(i). True.
(ii). False.
(iii). False.
(iv). False.

Exercise 1.2. Express with summation notation:

1 1 1 1
(i) + + + ··· + ,
1·2 2·3 3·4 10 · 11
(ii) 1 + 40 + 900 + 16 000 + 250 000 + 3 600 000,
(iii) 1 − 2x + 3x2 − 4x3 + 5x4 ,

(iv) a0 x4 + a1 x3 + a2 x2 + a3 x + a4 ,
(v) a5 − a4 b + a3 b2 − a2 b3 + ab4 − b5 ,
(vi) a5 + a4 b + a3 b2 + a2 b3 + ab4 + b5 .

DOI: 10.1201/9781003400745-1 1
2 Real Analysis

Solution to Exercise 1.2.

If the expression of any of your summations does not match the ones below,
do not panic!, there are many ways to do it. The important thing is that the
expression is equivalent to that of the statement.
10
1 1 1 1 X 1
(i). + + + ··· + = .
1·2 2·3 3·4 10 · 11 j=1 j(j + 1)
5
X
(ii). 1 + 40 + 900 + 16 000 + 250 000 + 3 600 000 = (k + 1)2 10k .
k=0
5
X
(iii). 1 − 2x + 3x2 − 4x3 + 5x4 = (−1)i+1 ixi−1 .
i=1
4
X
(iv). a0 x4 + a1 x3 + a2 x2 + a3 x + a4 = an x4−n .
n=0
X5
(v). a5 − a4 b + a3 b2 − a2 b3 + ab4 − b5 = (−1)m a5−m bm .
m=0
X5
(vi). a5 + a4 b + a3 b2 + a2 b3 + ab4 + b5 = a5−l bl .
l=0

1 1 1
Exercise 1.3. Knowing that = − for each j ∈ N, find
j(j + 1) j j+1
n
X 1
the sum of where n ∈ N.
j=1
j(j + 1)

Solution to Exercise 1.3.

1 1 1
We know j(j+1) = j − j+1 for each j ∈ N, hence

n n  
X 1 X 1 1
= −
j=1
j(j + 1) j=1 j j+1
       
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= 1− + − + ··· + − + − ,
2 2 3 n−1 n n n+1

where in the last summation observe that the terms are canceling consecutively
(this is known as a telescopic sum), and the only terms that do not cancel are
 The Field of Real Numbers 3
1
1 and − n+1 . That is,
n
X 1 1
=1− .
j=1
j(j + 1) n+1

Another, although a little bit more elaborate, way to do it is as follows:

1
X 1 1
For n = 1, we have = . Therefore, assume that n ∈ N is such
j=1
j(j + 1) 2
that n ≥ 2, thus
n n  
X 1 X 1 1
= −
j=1
j(j + 1) j=1 j j+1
n n
X 1 1 X
= −
j=1
j j=1 j + 1
 
n n−1
X 1 X 1 1 
=1+ − + . (1.1)
j=2
j j=1
j+1 n+1

In the first summation of (1.1) we apply the change of variable k = j − 1 (we

leave the second summation as it is, but we simply write k instead of j since
the value of the sum does not change), and we obtain
n n−1 n−1
X 1 X 1 X 1 1 1
=1+ − − =1− .
j=1
j(j + 1) k+1 k+1 n+1 n+1
k=1 k=1

Exercise 1.4. Find an explicit expression for the following sums (n ∈

N):
n
X
(i) (2j − 1). Hint: Use the equality j 2 − (j − 1)2 = 2j − 1 where
j=1
j ∈ N.
n
X
(ii) j. Hint: Recall (i).
j=1

n
X
(iii) Use a similar strategy to calculate j2.
j=1
4 Real Analysis

Solution to Exercise 1.4.

(i). First, observe that for each j ∈ N,
j 2 − (j − 1)2 = j 2 − j 2 + 2j − 1 = 2j − 1.
Then, it is enough to notice that the summation
n
X
j 2 − (j − 1)2 =


j=1

= 1 + (4 − 1) + (9 − 4) + · · · + (n − 1)2 − (n − 2)2 + n2 − (n − 1)2

is a telescopic sum and only the term n2 does not cancel. Hence,
n
X
(2j − 1) = n2 .
j=1

Another more elaborate way to do it is the following: On the one hand,

1
X
j 2 = 1. Therefore, assume that n ≥ 2. Recall that j 2 − (j − 1)2 = j 2 −
j=1
j 2 + 2j − 1 = 2j − 1 for all j ∈ N, thus
n
X n
X
j 2 − (j − 1)2


(2j − 1) =
j=1 j=1
n
X n
X
= j2 − (j − 1)2
j=1 j=1
n−1
X n
X
= n2 + j2 − (j − 1)2 . (1.2)
j=1 j=2

In the last equality we have used for the second summation the fact that when
j = 1, we have (j − 1)2 = 0. Now, in the first summation of the third line of
(1.2) we make the change of variable k = j −1 (we leave the second summation
as it is, but we write k instead j since the value does not change), and we
obtain
X n Xn Xn
2 2
(2j − 1) = n + k − (k − 1)2 = n2 .
j=1 k=2 k=2
(ii). We are using part (i) above:
n
X n
X n
X n
X
n2 = (2j − 1) = 2 j− 1=2 j − n.
j=1 j=1 j=1 j=1
n
X
Leaving only the summation j on one side yields
j=1
n
X 1 2
n(n + 1)
j= n +n = .
j=1
2 2
 The Field of Real Numbers 5

(iii). First, we are going to apply a similar method to the one used in
part (i). Observe that j 3 − (j − 1)3 = 3j 2 − 3j + 1 with j ∈ N. Indeed,

j 3 − (j − 1)3 = j 3 − j 3 + 3j 2 − 3j + 1 = 3j 2 − 3j + 1.

Then,
n
X n

X
j 3 − (j − 1)3 = 3j 2 − 3j + 1


j=1 j=1
Xn n
X n
X
=3 j2 − 3 j+ 1
j=1 j=1 j=1
Xn Xn
=3 j2 − 3 j + n. (1.3)
j=1 j=1

Observe that the first summation of (1.3) is a telescopic sum:

n
X
j 3 − (j − 1)3 = 1 + (8 − 1) + (27 − 8) + · · ·


j=1

+ (n − 1)3 − (n − 2)3 + n3 − (n − 1)3 ,

and the only term that does not cancel is n3 . Now, applying part (ii) on the
right-hand side of (1.3), we arrive at
n
X 3n(n + 1)
n3 = 3 j2 − + n.
j=1
2

n
X
Leaving only the summation j 2 on one side, we obtain
j=1

n  
X
2 1 3 3n(n + 1)
j = n + −n
j=1
3 2
2n3 + 3n(n + 1) − 2n
=
6

2
n 2n + 3n + 1
=
6
n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
= ,
6
where in the last equality we have factorized 2n2 + 3n + 1 by solving the
quadratic equation.
6 Real Analysis

Exercise 1.5. Some of these statements about natural numbers n and

p are true and others false. Decide which one is which and justify your
answer.
(i) n2 is even if, and only if, n is even.
(ii) (n + p)2 is even if, and only if, (n − p)2 is even.

(iii) If np is odd, then n + p is even.

(iv) If n2 + np + p2 is even, then np is even.
(v) If n2 + np + p2 is even, then n and p are even.

Solution to Exercise 1.5.

(i). True. Observe that it is an equivalence, so we have to prove two things.
The left to right implication and the right to left one.
(⇐) First, we are going to prove the right to left one; that is, we have to
show that if n is even, then n2 is even. To do so, we will use the direct
method. Assume that n is even, then there is a k ∈ Z such that n = 2k.
Now, squaring the equality n = 2k, we have

n2 = (2k)2 = 4k 2 = 2(2k 2 ) = 2k ′ ,

where k ′ = 2k 2 ∈ Z, that is, n2 is even.

(⇒) Second, we are proving the left to right implication; that is, we are
showing that if n2 is even, then n is even. Once again, we are using the
direct method. Assume that n2 is even. We know that n is a natural
number, so it is either even or odd. We can express the latter claim in
the following way: n = 2k + r with k ∈ Z and r ∈ {0, 1}. Squaring
n = 2k + r gives us:

n2 = (2k + r)2 = 4k 2 + 4k + r2 = 2(2k 2 + 2k) + r2 = 2k ′ + r2 ,

where k ′ = 2k 2 +2k ∈ Z. Since we are assuming that n2 is even, it is clear

that r2 must be 0. So, as r2 = 0, we have r = 0. Thus, n = 2k + r = 2k
with k ∈ Z, that is, n is even.

Since we have verified both implications, the statement is true.

 The Field of Real Numbers 7

(ii). True.

(⇐) First, we are proving the right to left implication using the direct
method. Assume that (n − p)2 is even. If n − p ∈ N, then by (i) we
have that n − p is even. If n − p ∈ Z \ N, then n − p = 0 provided that
n = p, or n − p = (−1) · (p − n) if n < p. Now, if n < p, then p − n ∈ N;
hence, by (i) we have that p − n is even. Therefore, in any case we have
that n − p is even, which implies that n and p have the same parity.
That is, n = 2k ′ + r for some k ′ ∈ Z and r ∈ {0, 1}, and p = 2k ′′ + r
with k ′′ ∈ Z. Thus,

(n + p)2 = (2k ′ + r + 2k ′′ + r)2 = 2 · 2(k ′ + r + k ′′ )2 = 2k ′′′ ,

where k ′′′ = 2(k ′ + r + k ′′ )2 ∈ Z, that is, (n + p)2 is even.

(⇒) Finally, we are proving the left to right implication using the direct
method. Assume that (n + p)2 is even, then by (i) we have that n + p
is even. The latter implies that n and p have the same parity; that is,
there exist k, k ′ ∈ Z and r ∈ {0, 1} such that n = 2k + r y p = 2k ′ + r.
Hence,

(n − p)2 = [2k + r − (2k ′ + r)]2 = 2 · 2(k − k ′ )2 = 2k ′′

where k ′ = 2(k − k ′ )2 ∈ Z, that is, (n − p)2 is even.

(iii). True. We will prove it using the direct method.

If np is odd, then n and p are odd. That is, there are k, k ′ ∈ Z such that
n = 2k − 1 y p = 2k ′ − 1. Therefore,

n + p = 2k − 1 + 2k ′ − 1 = 2(k + k ′ − 1) = 2k ′′ ,

where k ′′ = k + k ′ − 1 ∈ Z, that is, n + p is even.

(iv). True. We are going to prove it by contrapositive. Assume that np is odd
and let us see show that then n2 + np + p2 is odd.
Since np is odd, we have that n and p are odd; that is, there exist k, k ′ , k ′′ ∈
Z such that n = 2k − 1, p = 2k ′ − 1, and np = 2k ′′ − 1. Hence,

n2 + np + p2 = (2k − 1)2 + (2k ′′ − 1) + (2k ′ − 1)2

= 4k 2 − 4k + 1 + 2k ′′ − 1 + 4(k ′ )2 − 4k ′ + 1
= 2(2k 2 − 2k + k ′′ + 2(k ′ )2 − 2k ′ ) + 1
= 2k ′′′ + 1,

where k ′′′ = 2k 2 − 2k + k ′′ + 2(k ′ )2 − 2k ′ ∈ Z, which means that n2 + np + p2

is odd.
(v). True. We will prove it by contrapositive, that is, assume that one of the
numbers n, p is odd, and let us see that n2 + np + p2 is odd. If n and p are odd,
then we have that np is odd. Assume that n is odd and p is even (analogously
8 Real Analysis

when n is even and p is odd). Then there are k, k ′ ∈ Z such that n = 2k − 1

and p = 2k ′ . Hence,
n2 + np + p2 = (2k − 1)2 + 2k ′ (2k − 1) + 4(k ′ )2
= 4k 2 + 1 − 4k + 2k ′ (2k − 1) + 4(k ′ )2
= 2(2k 2 − 2k + k ′ (2k − 1) + 2(k ′ )2 ) + 1
= 2k ′′ + 1,
where k ′′ = 2k 2 − 2k + k ′ (2k − 1) + 2(k ′ )2 ∈ Z, which implies that n2 + np + p2
is odd.

Exercise 1.6. Prove that

xn − y n = (x − y)(xn−1 + xn−2 y + · · · + xy n−2 + y n−1 )

for each n ∈ N \ {1}, x, y ∈ R. Write the right-hand side of the equal-

ity using summation notation. This formula is known as Cyclotomic
Equation.

Solution to Exercise 1.6.

We shall prove the Cyclotomic Equation using the direct method, and in order
to do so, we begin by writing the term xn−1 + xn−2 y + · · · + xy n−2 + y n−1
using the summation notation:
n−1
X
xn−1 + xn−2 y + · · · + xy n−2 + y n−1 = xn−1−k y k . (1.4)
k=0

Multiplying the summation of (1.4) by x − y, we have

n−1
X n−1
X n−1
X
(x − y) xn−1−k y k = xn−k y k − xn−1−k y k+1
k=0 k=0 k=0
n−1
X n−2
X
= xn + xn−k y k − xn−1−k y k+1 − y n . (1.5)
k=1 k=0
n−1
X
Now, rewriting the second summation of the second line of (1.5) as xn−k y k ,
k=1
we have that
(x − y) xn−1 + xn−2 y + · · · + xy n−2 + y n−1

n−1
X n−1
X
= xn + xn−k y k − xn−k y k − y n
k=1 k=1
n n
=x −y .
 The Field of Real Numbers 9

Pn j
Exercise 1.7. Infer from the Cyclotomic Equation the sum j=0 x
n
X
where x ̸= 1. Do calculations in the expression (1−x) jxj to deduce
j=1
n
X n
X
j
the sum jx where x ̸= 1. Analogously in (1 − x) j 2 xj to deduce
j=1 j=1
Xn
the sum j 2 xj where x ̸= 1.
j=1

Solution to Exercise 1.7.

n
X
First, we will calculate xj with x ̸= 1. To do so, we are using the Cyclo-
j=0
tomic Equation of Exercise 1.6 for n + 1:

xn+1 − y n+1 = (x − y) xn + xn−1 y + · · · + xy n−1 + y n .

Taking y = 1 we have that

n
X
xn+1 − 1 = (x − 1) xn−1 + xn−2 + · · · + x + 1 = (x − 1) xj .


j=0

Thus,
n
X xn+1 − 1
xj = .
j=0
x−1
n
X
Second, we will calculate jxj with x ̸= 1. Observe that the value of
j=1
the sum is trivial if n = 1. Hence, assume that n ≥ 2. Doing calculations in
n
X
(1 − x) jxj , we have
j=1
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 ORDER II.—METALLIC SALTS.

SALTS OF IRON.

208. GREEN VITRIOL, IRON VITRIOL, or COPPERAS, is a mineral

salt formed on a decomposition of pyrites (236) by the moisture of
the atmosphere. It is also called SULPHAT OF IRON.
Its colour is bright green, and its taste very astringent; a solution
of it in water dropped on oak bark instantly produces a black spot.
Although copperas is occasionally found in grottoes, caverns, the
galleries of mines, and other places; yet, being much in request by
dyers, tanners, and the manufacturers of ink, it is artificially
prepared from pyrites. This mineral being moistened and exposed to
the air, a crust is formed upon it, which is afterwards dissolved in
water; and from this the crystals of vitriol are obtained by
evaporation.
The principal use of vitriol is in dyeing woollen articles, hats, and
other manufactures, black. It is the basis of ink, and is used in the
manufacture of Prussian blue. If it be reduced to powder by the
action of fire in a crucible, and mixed with powder of galls, it forms a
dry portable ink. Sulphuric acid (24) may be obtained from this kind
of vitriol by distillation. The residue, after the process is completed,
is used as a red paint; and when washed, is employed for the
polishing of steel.

SALTS OF COPPER.
 209. BLUE VITRIOL, or SULPHAT OF COPPER, is a blue salt
formed by a combination of copper with sulphuric acid (24).
This substance, though sometimes found in a state of concretion,
or in the form of powder disseminated over the surface of stones
that have been in contact with water impregnated with it, is more
frequently an artificial preparation obtained from evaporating the
water which runs through copper mines. In the mines of Neussol, in
Hungary, at the depth of 380 feet beneath the surface of the
ground, are several vats, placed at different distances, for the
purpose of collecting the water impregnated with copper, and which
flows into them through a kind of gallery above. From this water the
vitriol is afterwards separated by evaporation. A process somewhat
similar is pursued in our own country.
In the principal blue vitriol manufactories established in France,
the operation is thus carried on. Pieces of copper are first dipped
into water, and their surface, while wet, is covered with a stratum of
powdered sulphur. The copper thus prepared is put into an oven,
and heated to redness. After some time, it is taken out, and, while
hot, is plunged into a vessel filled with water. These operations are
repeated several times, till the whole of the copper is dissolved, and
the water becomes loaded with vitriol. Thus saturated, the water is
placed over a fire till all the fluid particles are dissipated, and the
vitriol alone is left.
Blue vitriol is used by artists and manufacturers in various ways. It
is employed in dyeing: and enters into the composition of black
colours, to which it gives depth and solidity. Blue feathers are
stained by plunging them into a hot solution of it. The beautiful
grass-green colour of the shops, called mineral green, is made from
blue vitriol; and fowling-pieces and tea-urns are browned by
washing them with a preparation of it.

SALTS OF ZINC.
 210. WHITE VITRIOL, or SULPHAT OF ZINC, is a whitish,
yellowish, or greenish white salt, formed by a combination of zinc
(241) with sulphuric acid (24).
Although the white vitriol that is used in commerce is chiefly an
artificial preparation, this salt sometimes occurs in a natural state, in
mineral repositories that contain blende (241); and it appears to be
formed by a decomposition of that ore. It is found at Holywell, in
Flintshire, and in some parts of Cornwall.
When white vitriol is artificially prepared, the blende is roasted,
and thrown, while red hot, into a vessel filled with water; in which it
is allowed to remain about eighteen hours. This process is repeated
several times; and, after the solution has become clear, it is removed
into leaden vessels, and the water is evaporated by means of heat.
On cooling, it crystallizes. After this the crystals are melted in a
copper vessel, and the surface of the solution is skimmed with a hair
sieve. It is then poured into a wooden vessel, and stirred till it
becomes cool, and acquires a sufficient degree of consistence, when
it is formed into loaves for sale. In this state it has the appearance
and colour of refined sugar. White vitriol is chiefly manufactured in
Germany.
It is used in medicine; and is employed in great quantities by
varnishers, to make their oil varnishes dry more readily than they
otherwise would. A fine white colour, called zinc-white, which is
more durable than white lead, is prepared from it. Dyers use a
considerable quantity of white vitriol to render deeper the colours
produced by madder, cochineal, and other substances.
A pleasing experiment is made by mixing in a phial a small
quantity of solution of white vitriol with a little liquid ammonia.
Though each of the fluids is transparent when separate, yet the zinc
will now be immediately precipitated in a white mass; and, what is
peculiarly deserving of remark, if then shaken, it will almost as
instantly be re-dissolved.
 CLASS III.—COMBUSTIBLES.

SULPHUR FAMILY.

211. COMMON SULPHUR, or BRIMSTONE, is a yellow, dry, and

brittle substance, which, in burning, yields a suffocating fume: the
smell of this, under the denomination of sulphureous, is well known.
Sulphur is found in a pure or native state in nearly all volcanic
countries: it is about twice as heavy as water; and is sometimes
crystallized in the form of octohedrons, whose bases are rhombs. It
exists abundantly in a state of combination with several metallic
substances, and is also formed in putrid animal remains.
A great proportion of the sulphur which is used in commerce is
obtained by the process of roasting copper, and other ores,
previously to their being smelted. It passes off in the form of vapour,
and, on being received into chambers constructed for the purpose, is
there deposited in a powdery state. The substance thus formed is
the flour of sulphur of the shops. It is afterwards melted in large
pans, and cast in wooden tubes, to make the hard, or roll brimstone.
Nearly all the sulphur used in France comes from the Solfatara of
Italy. This volcanic country every where exhibits indications of the
agency of subterraneous fires. Nearly the whole ground is bare and
white; and, in every part, is warmer than the atmosphere during the
greatest heat of summer. A sulphureous vapour is constantly emitted
from the earth, and sulphur is condensed in various parts, and in
great abundance. This is collected, packed in casks, and exported to
Marseilles, where it undergoes certain preparations that are
necessary towards purifying and rendering it fit for sale.
 A considerable quantity of sulphur is employed in the composition
of gunpowder (206). Its readiness of taking fire is the reason of its
being employed in the making of matches. Sulphur gives a blue
colour to artificial fire-works. Its vapour is used for the whitening of
silk and wool, and also for the bleaching of straw used for making
ladies’ hats.
Modellers employ sulphur to make moulds for various kinds of
casts; and artists are enabled, by means of it, to take sharp and
beautiful impressions of medals and engraved stones. The mode of
doing this is very simple. The sulphur is put into an earthen vessel
called a crucible, and placed on a hot fire. It soon melts; and if kept
some time over the fire, becomes thick and dark-coloured. When
poured into water in this state, it is as soft as wax. It may now be
easily worked between the fingers into any given form: and, if
pressed upon a seal or engraved stone, will be found to retain a
perfect impression of it. It is this property of sulphur of which Mr.
Tassie, of Leicester-fields, London, has availed himself, to furnish
extremely elegant impressions of many antique gems.
Sulphur was much used by the ancients in medicine; and it is now
occasionally administered both as an external and internal remedy.
The compounds formed from it are employed to considerable extent
in various processes of dyeing and calico printing. Many of the
mineral waters, those, for instance, of Harrowgate (299) and Moffat
(300), are indebted to sulphur for their most valuable qualities.
This substance has the property of becoming electric by rubbing.
On exposure to a gentle heat, it melts; but if the heat be increased,
it is entirely consumed, and passes off in vapour. When ignited, and
the combustion is slow, it burns with a suffocating and acid fume,
and blue flame; but when the combustion is quick it burns with a
white and vivid flame. If exposed to a sudden, though gentle heat,
by holding it, for instance, in a hand when that is warm, it will
sometimes break in pieces with a crackling noise.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that, if a bar of iron be heated to
perfect whiteness, and then touched with a roll of sulphur, the two
bodies combine, and drop down together, in a fluid state, forming
what is called sulphuret of iron, a compound of the same nature as
iron pyrites (236). A piece of iron rolled out very thin may be
apparently melted in the hand, by putting it, when heated to
whiteness, upon a thick piece of solid sulphur. It is, however,
necessary, that this experiment be performed with great care; and
under a chimney, or in a place where there is a current of air, to
carry off the suffocating vapour.
Useful as sulphur is, in various ways, its most important
application is supposed to be for the production of sulphuric acid, or
spirit of vitriol (24). One mode in which this acid is obtained for the
purposes of commerce, is by burning a mixture of sulphur and nitre
(206) in large chambers lined with lead. In this process the nitre
supplies a considerable portion of oxygen (21) to the sulphur, and
the air of the atmosphere furnishes the rest. Thus a substance
which, in a natural state, is one of the mildest that we are
acquainted with, is by this operation converted into a corrosive and
dangerous, though useful fluid. Its taste is strongly acid: and, when
applied to animal or vegetable substances, it soon corrodes, and
destroys their texture.
The properties of sulphuric acid have rendered it extremely
valuable for numerous purposes, both in the arts and in the
laboratory. It has been long employed by chemists, as one of their
most useful and frequent agents.
The fluid that is put into the bottles for procuring instantaneous
light is no other than sulphuric acid; and it is poured among
filaments of asbestos (which it will not corrode), for the same
purpose as ink is sometimes poured upon cotton. The matches are
slips of wood dipped in a mixture of equal weights of sugar or
charcoal powder, and what the chemists call hyperoxy-muriat of
potash. These are to be rubbed together in a mortar, but with great
care, as by strong friction the mixture is apt to explode. To obtain a
light, nothing farther is requisite than to dip a match, thus formed,
into a bottle containing the acid.
 BITUMEN FAMILY.

212. NAPHTHA, or ROCK OIL, is a yellow or brownish bituminous

fluid, of strong penetrating odour, somewhat greasy to the touch,
and so light as to float even on spirit of wine.
By exposure to the air, the consistence of naphtha is increased,
and it passes into petroleum (213).
There are copious springs of naphtha at Baku, on the shore of the
Caspian Sea; and also in some parts of Italy, particularly at Monte-
Chiaro, near Piacenza. At Pitchford, in Shropshire, extensive strata or
beds of sandstone are saturated with this mineral fluid, which is
obtained from the stone by distillation, and is sold, as a remedy
against sprains and rheumatism, under the name of Betton’s British
oil.
By the Persians and Russians naphtha is used internally as a
cordial. On the shores of the Caspian it is burned in lamps, instead
of oil; and, in some parts of Italy it is employed in the lighting of
churches and streets. When mixed with certain vegetable oils, it
forms an excellent varnish.
It is the property of naphtha to take fire on the approach of a
light, and to burn with great readiness and a white flame, leaving
scarcely any residuum. The town of Broseley, in Shropshire, was
formerly celebrated for a burning spring, which was first discovered
in the month of June, 1711. Its original issuing from the ground was
announced by a terrible noise in the night, which awakened several
persons who lived near the spot. Some of these, on going out to
ascertain the cause of the alarm, perceived, about two hundred
yards from the river Severn, an extraordinary shaking of the earth,
and a little bubbling of water through the grass. On digging round
the spot, the water sprang up to a great height, and a candle which
one of them held in his hand, set it on fire. This circumstance
excited great curiosity; and many persons, from different parts of
the adjacent country, came to visit what was called the “burning
well.” To prevent this spring from being destroyed, an iron cistern
was placed upon it, with a small hole in the cover, through which the
water might be viewed. When a lighted candle was put into this
hole, the water immediately took fire, darting and flashing in a
violent manner, much in the same way as spirits do in a lamp, but
with greater agitation. It would sometimes burn for forty-eight hours
successively, and without any sensible diminution: and a tea-kettle,
full of water, by being placed upon the hole, has been made to boil
in nine minutes. In 1747, this spring had been lost for many years;
but another was shortly afterwards discovered, the issuing of which
was announced by a rumbling noise under ground, similar to that
which had been formerly heard. This, however, also disappeared in
the year 1756, by the sinking of a coal-pit in the neighbourhood.
213. PETROLEUM, or MINERAL OIL, is a fluid bitumen, of
somewhat greater consistency than naphtha: of black, brown, or
sometimes dingy green colour.
By exposure to the air it assumes the consistence of tar, and is
then called MINERAL TAR (214).
This substance exudes spontaneously from the earth, or from
clefts of rocks, and is found in nearly all countries, particularly in the
East Indies, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and England. In the
neighbourhood of Rangoon, in Pegu, there are several hundred wells
of petroleum. These are of square form, of considerable depth, and
each lined with cassia wood staves. The oil is drawn from them pure,
and in a liquid state, and is conveyed thence in small jars. The whole
annual produce of this district is estimated at more than 400,000
hogsheads.
At Colebrook Dale, in Shropshire, there is a spring of petroleum.
This was discovered at the depth of about thirty yards beneath the
surface of the earth, in digging an archway for the conveying of
coals from a very deep pit. The petroleum was at first found to ooze
from between the crannies of the rock, but it soon afterwards
poured forth in a considerable stream. The utility of this fluid having
been made known, large iron pipes were formed from the spring
into pits sunk for the purpose of receiving it. From these pits it is
conveyed into immense caldrons, where it is boiled until it attains
the consistency of pitch. Since the first discovery of this substance,
three different springs of it have broken out. One of these is near
the celebrated iron bridge; and the fluid that issues from it is almost
pellucid, but, at the same time, is thicker than treacle.
Petroleum easily takes fire, and, in burning, yields a strong, sharp,
and somewhat unpleasant odour; and a thick and disagreeable
smoke. In cold weather it congeals in the open air.
In Pegu, and other parts of the East, petroleum is used in place of
oil for lamps. Boiled with a species of resin, it is employed for
painting the timber of houses, and covering the bottoms of boats
and other vessels. In the latter respect it is considered to be
particularly efficacious, by protecting the timber from the attacks of
marine worms. It is also used by the inhabitants of eastern countries
as a lotion in cutaneous eruptions, and as an embrocation in bruises
and rheumatic affections. The ancient Egyptians used it in the
embalming of dead bodies. In some countries lumps of earth are
soaked with petroleum, and are employed as fuel.
214. MINERAL TAR, or BARBADOES TAR, is a fluid kind of
bitumen, somewhat thicker than petroleum, and nearly of the
consistence of common tar. It is viscid, of a black, brownish black, or
reddish colour.
In burning its smell is disagreeable, but less pungent than that of
most other kinds of bitumen. Its weight is somewhat greater than
that of water.
In the West Indies, where this substance is principally found, it is
applied to many of the purposes for which the preceding species is
used; but its principal repute has been obtained from its being
thought useful in disorders of the breast and lungs, though this
application of it is considered very improper. It is likewise used as an
external remedy in paralytic disorders.
215. ELASTIC BITUMEN, or MINERAL CAOUT-CHOUC, has a strong
resemblance to Indian rubber. In some instances it is elastic, and so
soft as to adhere to the fingers, and in others brittle, and so hard as
nearly to resemble asphalt (216).
Its colour is yellowish, reddish brown, or blackish. One kind of this
mineral, when fresh cut, nearly resembles fine cork, both in texture
and colour.
This extraordinary substance, which will expunge the marks of
black lead in the same manner as Indian rubber, was first
discovered, about the year 1786, in cavities of the lead mine of
Odin, near Castleton, in Derbyshire, and it has not hitherto been
found elsewhere. Elastic bitumen appears to be a peculiar
modification of petroleum, in its passage to asphalt: and probably
owes its elasticity to its cellular texture, and to the moisture with
which it is combined.
216. ASPHALT, or SOLID BITUMEN, is a brittle substance, of black
or brownish black colour, and of consistence somewhat harder than
pitch.
It has nearly the same weight as water, is smooth to the touch,
does not stain the fingers, and has little or no smell unless it be
rubbed or heated. When heated, it melts, swells and inflames; and,
if pure, burns without leaving any ashes.
The ancients were well acquainted with this substance, which is
nothing more than mineral tar (214) in an indurated or hardened
state. It is found on the surface of volcanic productions, and floats,
in solid pieces, and in considerable abundance, on the Asphaltic
Lake, in Syria, which has thence received its name. This lake is also
called the Dead Sea, from a notion that the odour arising from the
asphalt destroys even birds which fly over it: Maundrell, however,
states that this is not true, as he saw several birds fly about and
over it, without experiencing the slightest injury.
Asphalt is also found near ancient Babylon; and there is reason to
suppose that the mortar so celebrated amongst the ancients, and
with which the walls of Babylon and of the Temple of Solomon were
cemented, was nothing more than a preparation of asphalt. We are
informed by Herodotus that a composition of heated bitumen, mixed
with the tops of reeds, was used by the ancients as a cement. This
account is confirmed by modern travellers, who assert that the
remains of buildings have been discovered in which bitumen was
formerly thus employed. It is presumed to be the same substance
which, in our translation of the Old Testament, is called pitch, and
which was used by Noah, as an exterior and interior coating of the
ark; by the mother of Moses as a coating for the little vessel in
which he was exposed; and on various other occasions.
As an article of modern utility, it is to be remarked that the
Arabians dissolve asphalt in oil, and, with the mixture, smear their
horse harness, to preserve it from the effects of weather, and the
attacks of insects. In a state of solution it is applied, in several
eastern countries, as a covering for timber and the bottoms of ships.
It is occasionally used in the cleansing and healing of ulcers, and
other sores. In France it is manufactured into a substance which is in
considerable request for greasing the wheels of carriages. It is used
by the makers of watch-dials, who mix it with lamp black, and oil of
turpentine; but its chief use is as an ingredient in certain varnishes,
and particularly in the varnish used by copper-plate engravers. It is
frequently adulterated by a mixture with common pitch; but this is
easily discovered by the smell.
Besides the countries and places already mentioned, asphalt is
found in several parts of America, in the island of Trinidad, in the
province of Neufchatel, and many parts of the Continent of Europe.

COAL FAMILY.

217. The component parts of coals are principally carbon or

charcoal (48), and bitumen (216).
Some kinds of coal are laminar, and others compact. They in general burn freely,
with a bituminous odour, and leave a considerable residuum.
 This invaluable mineral is found in beds, or strata, frequently
betwixt clay slate (257) and sandstone (267), and seldom betwixt
those of limestone (140). It chiefly occurs in the northern
hemisphere, particularly in countries which lie nearly in the same
latitudes with Great Britain; in Siberia, Germany, Sweden, France,
Canada, and Newfoundland; and in some of the northern parts of
China. It is stated to be abundant in New Holland; but we have no
distinct account of coal in the continent of Africa. No fewer than
seventy different kinds of coals are brought to the London market,
the value and prices of which greatly differ. Of these the coals called
Wall’s-end, from the name of the pit, near Newcastle, whence they
are obtained, usually bear the highest price.
218. COMMON COAL, or PIT COAL, is of black colour, and has
generally a slaty structure and foliated texture.
When handled it stains the fingers; and when burnt it cakes more
or less during combustion. Its component parts are usually charcoal
(48) and bitumen (216), with a small portion of clay, and sometimes
with pyrites, or sulphat of iron (236). What is called slaty coal
contains a greater portion of clay than other kinds.
Some foreign writers have ascribed the great wealth possessed by
this country to the coals which are here produced in such
abundance, and which facilitate, in a very essential degree, nearly all
its manufactures, and consequently are a means of promoting its
commerce to an extent which is possessed by few other countries.
All our great manufacturing towns, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds,
Glasgow, &c. are situated either in the midst of coal districts, or in
places to which coals are conveyed, with little expense, by canal
carriage.
Coals are principally obtained from the neighbourhood of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland, and Whitehaven. The particular
places whence they are obtained have the name of collieries, and
the mines from which they are dug are called pits. The deepest of
these are in Northumberland, and are worked at more than 900 feet
below the surface of the earth. At Newcastle there is a coal-pit near
800 feet in depth, and which, at that depth, is wrought five miles
horizontally, quite across, and beneath the bed of the river Tyne, and
under the adjacent part of the county of Durham. At Whitehaven the
mines are of great depth, and are extended even under the sea, to
places where there is above them sufficient depth of water for ships
of great burthen, and in which the miners are able sometimes to
hear the roaring of the water. On the contrary, in some parts of
Durham the coal lies so near the surface of the earth that the wheels
of carriages lay it open, and in such quantity as to be sufficient for
the use of the neighbourhood.
The beds of coal are of various thicknesses, from a few inches to
several feet; and in some places, it is found advantageous to work
them at a very great depth, although their thickness does not
exceed four or five feet. The thickest bed of English coal, of any
extent, is that of the main coal in Staffordshire, which measures
about thirty feet. In many places there are several beds above, and
parallel to, each other, separated by strata of slate, sandstone, and
other minerals. Coal is never found in chalk, and very rarely in
limestone.
At Whitehaven, the principal entrance to the coalmine, both for
men and horses, is by an opening at the bottom of a hill, through a
long passage hewn in a rock. This, by a steep descent, leads to the
lowest bed of coal. The greatest part of the descent is through
spacious galleries, which intersect other galleries; all the coal having
been cut away, except large pillars, which, in deep parts of the mine,
are three yards high, and about twelve yards square at the base,
such great strength being there required to support the ponderous
roof. There are three distinct and parallel strata of coal, which lie at
a considerable distance above each other, and which have a
communication by pits that are sunk between them. These strata are
not always regularly continued in the same plane. The miners
occasionally meet with veins of hard rock, which interrupt their
further progress, and, at such places, the earth, on one side of the
vein, appears to have sunk down, while that on the opposite side
has its ancient situation. These breaks the miners call dykes (4).
When they come to one of them, their first care is to discover
whether the coal, in the part adjoining, be higher or lower than that
in which they have been working; or, to use their own terms,
whether it be cast down or cast up. For this purpose they examine
attentively the mineral strata on the opposite side, to see how far
they correspond with those which they have already passed through.
If the coal be cast down, they sink a pit to it: but if it be cast up, the
discovery of it is often attended with great labour and expense.
In general the entrance to coal mines is by perpendicular shafts,
and the coals and workmen are drawn up by machinery. As the
mines frequently extend to great distances, horizontally, beneath the
surface of the earth, peculiar care is necessary to keep them
continually ventilated with currents of fresh air, for the purpose, not
only of affording to the workmen a constant supply of that vital fluid,
but also to expel from the mines certain noxious exhalations which
are sometimes produced in them.
One of these, denominated fire damp, is occasioned by the
generation of hydrogen gas, or inflammable air (45). This gas, when
mixed with the common air of the atmosphere, explodes, with great
violence, on the approach of a lighted candle, or any other flame;
and has, at different times, occasioned the loss of many valuable
lives. It is a singular circumstance, that although it is immediately
set on fire by a flame, yet it cannot be kindled by red hot iron, nor
by sparks produced from the collision of flint and steel. Hence a
machine was, some years ago, adopted in the mines near
Whitehaven and Workington, in which a wheel formed of steel, and
in shape somewhat like that of a razor-grinder, was turned round
with very rapid motion against a series of flints, and in such manner
as to yield to the miners sufficient light to carry on their work in
places where the flame of a candle would occasion the most
dreadful explosions. Sir Humphrey Davy has lately invented, for the
use of mines where this gas is prevalent, what is called a safety
lamp. This is a lamp enclosed in a wire cylinder, the interstices of
which are so extremely small as, whilst it gives light, will not explode
the gas.
 Another injurious exhalation in coal mines arises from the
formation of carbonic acid gas, or fixed air (26), and is called choke
damp. It is the property of inflammable air to rise to the upper
parts; but this, on account of its weight, occupies principally the
lower parts of mines, and occasions death by suffocation, though it
is by no means so fatal as the former. In some mines a prevention of
injury arising from each of these gases is attained, by ascertaining
the particular crevices in the coal from which they issue, confining
them at those places within a narrow space, and, if possible,
conveying them out of the mines, through long pipes, into the open
air.
There is yet another danger attending coal mines which requires
to be provided against, and this is inundation. Many mines have
been destroyed by the flooding of water, which springs up within
them. The modes by which this was formerly extracted were
extremely laborious, and, in numerous instances, entirely
inefficacious. By means, however, of the fire or steam engines now
in use, the quantity of water raised from mines is perfectly
astonishing. Four engines in one of the collieries at Whitehaven
discharge more than twenty hogsheads per minute, or upwards of
30,000 hogsheads in every twenty-four hours.
The coal trade, which at present affords so important a nursery for
our seamen, and, in numerous other respects, yields advantages of
the most beneficial description to this country, was entirely unknown
a few centuries ago. Coals were not generally adopted as fuel until
the beginning of the reign of Charles I. They were, however, noticed
in documents anterior to the reign of Henry III., for, that monarch, in
the year 1234, renewed a charter, granted by his father, to the
inhabitants of Newcastle, by which they were permitted to dig coal
upon payment of 100l. per annum. Coals had been introduced into
London before 1306; for in that year, the use of them as fuel was
prohibited, from the supposed tendency of their smoke to corrupt
the air. About the beginning of the sixteenth century, the best coals
were sold in London at the rate of 4s. 1d. per chaldron, and at
Newcastle for no more than 2s. 6d. During the ensuing century,
however, they were received into such general use, that, in 1648, on
a scarcity of coal in London, many of the poor are said to have died
from want of fuel. The whole quantity of coals imported into London
has been estimated, on an average of four years, ending in March,
1815, to amount to 1,170,000 chaldrons per annum.
Some writers have imagined coal to be the remains of antediluvian
timber, which floated upon the waters of the deluge until several
strata of mineral substances had been formed: others conceive it to
have been antediluvian peat bog. It is called pit coal, from the
circumstance only of its being obtained from mines or pits; and, in
London, for no better reason than its having been conveyed thither
by sea, it has the name of sea coal.
Its uses as fuel are too extensively known to need here any
observations. By the distillation of coal an inflammable gas is
produced, which has of late been introduced for the lighting of
manufactories, and lighting several of the streets and shops of the
metropolis. This gas is conveyed by pipes, from the reservoir in
which it is collected, to great distances; and the light which it yields
is peculiarly brilliant and beautiful. It was at the foundery belonging
to Messrs. Boulton and Watts, at Birmingham, that the first public
display of gas lights was made, in the year 1802, on the occasion of
the rejoicings for peace. In 1805 the cotton mills of Messrs. Phillips
and Lee, at Manchester, were lighted with gas, to the exclusion of
lamps, candles, and every other source of artificial light. In the
beginning of 1816 it was estimated that, at the three gas-light
stations, in Peter-street, Westminster, Worship-street, and Norton
Falgate, London, twenty-five chaldrons of coals were used daily; and
that these were sufficient to supply with gas 125,000 large lamps. At
the works in Dorset-street, Fleet-street, the daily consumption of
coal was about three chaldrons, which afforded gas for 1,500 lamps.
The production of the gas light is easily effected in miniature, by
putting common coal, pounded small, into the bowl of a tobacco-
pipe, and closely covering this with clay made into a stiff lute with
water. When the clay is dry, the bowl of the pipe must be put into
the fire, and there heated gradually. In a few minutes a stream of
gas will issue from the end of the pipe. This may be set on fire with
a piece of paper, and will burn with a bright flame. When the gas is
no longer disengaged, there will be found in the bowl of the pipe the
remains of the coals, in the form of coke.
It is estimated that one chaldron of good coals will afford from
17,000, to 20,000 cubical feet of gas; and that one of the large
burners in the shops of London, consumes about four cubical feet
per hour.
Soot is produced from the smoke of burned coal, and is used as a
manure for cold, moist, and clayey meadows and pastures: and
pounded coal has been applied to the same purpose in some parts
of the Continent. By a process called charring, coal is divested of its
humid, acid, and bituminous particles, and is converted into a kind
of cinder called coke. This is employed in cases where intense heat
is requisite, as for the smelting of iron ore; and likewise where acid
and bituminous particles of coal would be detrimental, as in the
drying of malt.
What is usually termed culm is the refuse or dusty coal, produced
in working the common coals. It contains much earthy matter, will
not kindle in an ordinary fire-place, but produces considerable heat
and flame in a furnace, where a strong current of air is introduced.
In England it is exempted from the high duty imposed on other
coals, and is sold at a very low price. It is used for burning lime,
making salt, and in steam engines.
219. CANNEL COAL is of black colour, with little lustre, is not
laminar, but breaks in any direction, like pitch, and does not stain
the fingers.
This highly inflammable kind of coal is found abundantly in the
neighbourhood of Wigan, in Lancashire, where there is an entire
stratum of it about four feet in thickness. It is also found near
Whitehaven, in some of the pits at Newcastle, and in some parts of
Scotland. Doubts have been entertained respecting the name of this
coal; but when it is recollected that in Lancashire, whence it is
chiefly brought, the word candle is usually pronounced with the
omission of the letter d, and that, in many instances, the coal is
used by the poor as a substitute for candles, these will be
immediately removed. In Scotland it has the name of parrot coal.
No kind of coal takes fire so readily, nor burns with so cheerful
and brilliant a flame as this: and its not soiling the fingers, like pit
coal, renders the use of it peculiarly pleasant; but it does not cake,
and soon burns away. When first kindled, it crackles and splinters
very much; and, on this account, would be dangerous, were it not
easily prevented from so doing by being previously immersed for a
little while in water. Cannel coal has much the appearance of jet. It
admits of being turned in a lathe, and takes a good polish; and
snuff-boxes and trinkets made of it have in many instances been
sold as jet (222). Of all the kinds of coal that are used for gas-lights,
none are said to be so useful as this.
220. STONE COAL, KILKENNY COAL, WELSH COAL, or GLANCE
COAL, is of a dark iron-black colour, with a metallic lustre and
foliated texture; and consists almost entirely of charcoal.
Unlike most other kinds of coal, this occurs both in stratified
masses, and in lumps, nested in clay. It is found in several countries
of the Continent, in Wales, Scotland, and near Kilkenny in Ireland.
When laid on burning coals, it becomes red hot, emits a blue
lambent flame in the same manner as charcoal; and is, at length,
slowly consumed, leaving behind a portion of red ashes. No smoke
nor soot is produced from this coal; but, on the contrary, it whitens
the places where the fume is condensed; and the effluvia which it
gives out are extremely suffocating.
This coal is chiefly used in the drying of malt.
221. BOVEY COAL, BROWN COAL, or BITUMINOUS WOOD, is of
brown colour, and in shape exactly resembles the stems and
branches of trees, but is usually compressed. It is soft, somewhat
flexible, and so light as nearly to float when thrown into water.
 The greatest abundance of this coal occurs at Bovey, near Exeter,
from which place it derives its name. The lowest stratum is worked
at the depth of seventy-five feet beneath the surface of the earth. It
is also found in Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.
As fuel, the Bovey coal is used only by the poorest classes of the
community, as, notwithstanding its burning with a clear flame, it
emits a sweetish but extremely disagreeable sulphureous gas, which
is injurious to the health of the inhabitants. It is principally used for
the burning of lime, and for the first baking of earthen ware.
222. JET, or PITCH COAL, is a solid, black, and opaque mineral,
harder than coal, and found in detached masses from an inch to
seven or eight feet in length, having a fine or regular structure, and
a grain resembling that of wood.
It has sometimes been confounded with cannel coal (219), but it
is easily distinguished by its superior hardness: Jet cannot without
difficulty be scratched with a knife, whilst cannel coal may be
marked by the simple pressure of the nail.
The name of jet has been derived from Gages, a river of Lycia,
whence the ancients are said to have obtained this substance. It is
frequently cast ashore on the eastern coasts of England, together
with pieces of amber and curious pebbles, particularly near
Lowestoft in Suffolk, and in some parts of Yorkshire, where many
persons employ their leisure in searching for it, and forming it into
various kinds of trinkets. Jet is found in several countries of the
Continent.
It is stated that in the district of Aude, in France, there are more
than 1,000 persons constantly employed in the fabrication of jet into
rosaries, buttons, ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, snuff-boxes, and
trinkets of different kinds. Near fifty tons weight of it are annually
used for this purpose; and articles to the value of 18,000 livres are
said to be sold in Spain alone. In Prussia the amber diggers call it
black amber, because it is found accompanying that substance; and
because, like amber, it is faintly electric, or attracts feathers and
other light objects when rubbed. They manufacture it into various
ornamental articles, and sell these to ignorant persons, as black
amber, at a great price.
In different parts of the globe the trunks of trees, which have
been long buried, have passed into the state of jet; and, in almost
all these trees may be traced the distinctive characters of the species
to which they belong. They are more or less brittle, more or less
unctuous, according to the species, the degree of alteration, and the
nature of the soil. All of them have a smooth and glassy fracture, but
all are not adapted for the tool of the workman. When, for instance,
the texture of the tree presents only a mass of dry fibres, the jet
obtained is dry and brittle; and cannot be used in the forming of
trinkets. But, if the texture be unctuous the fibre acquires a
considerable degree of softness, is susceptible of being properly
wrought, and receives a perfect and beautiful polish.
A fictitious kind of jet is made of glass; and several varieties of
mineral pitch, and cannel coal, are imposed upon ignorant
purchasers for jet.
When jet is once set on fire it burns with a green flame, and
continues to burn for a considerable time, exhaling a strong
bituminous smell. If the heat be rendered greater, it melts.

GRAPHITE FAMILY.

223. BLACK LEAD, or PLUMBAGO, is an inflammable mineral,

which consists of carbon, or charcoal (48), combined with iron, in
the proportion of about nine parts of the former to one of the latter.
It is of dark iron-grey colour, with a strong metallic lustre, and so
soft that it is easily scratched with a knife. To the touch it is soft and
greasy; and, when handled, it stains the fingers. In weight it is
about twice as heavy as water.
The name of black lead has very improperly been given to this
substance from its appearance only, as it has no alliance whatever
with lead. It is usually found in kidney-shaped lumps of various size,
and occurs in several countries of Europe, but no where of such
excellent quality as in Borrowdale, Cumberland, where it has the
name of wadd. The vein of black lead lies between strata of slate,
and is from eight to nine feet thick. This mine is not opened more
than once every three or four years, the quantity thus obtained
being found fully sufficient for the demand. The only other mine of
black lead in Britain is in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Artists in water-colours, if deprived of this mineral, would find
great difficulty in making their sketches; as the marks that are
erroneously made with it are more easily expunged than those of
almost any other substance. Hundreds of thousands of pencils are
every year formed of black lead. For this purpose the mineral is
sawed into slender square pieces. These are fixed into grooves, of
the same shape, cut in cedar, or some other soft wood; another
piece of wood is then glued upon this, and the whole is worked into
a circular form. The finer kinds of black lead are prepared for use by
being boiled in oil before they are cut. The coarser kinds, and the
refuse of the sawings, are melted with sulphur, and then cast into
coarser pencils for carpenters. These may, in general, be easily
distinguished by their sulphureous smell. The pencils that are
manufactured in England are more esteemed on the Continent than
any others.
The powder produced in the sawing of pencils is employed for
numerous purposes. It is used for giving a bright gloss to cast-iron
grates and stoves, and defending them from rust, and from the
action of fire. It may also be advantageously applied to the inner
surface of wooden screws, to packing presses, the axles of various
sorts of machines, to slides, and other wood work, which are subject
to friction. In this respect it is far superior either to grease or soap.
The makers of razor-strops occasionally employ black lead in the
composition which they spread upon leather for the sharpening of
razors; and, on the Continent, it is sometimes used for blackening
the hair. A coarser kind of black lead is used for making the vessels
that are used by chemists, called crucibles.
 RESIN FAMILY.

224. AMBER is a substance usually of golden yellow colour, semi-

transparent, and of shining and somewhat resinous lustre. It is
occasionally seen of yellowish white colour, and nearly opaque.
The origin of amber is unknown. From the ants and other insects
which it frequently contains, there can be no doubt that it has once
been in a fluid state: and some writers have thought that it is a
resinous juice, gradually modified by the action of sulphuric acid
(24); but this is entirely conjecture. The ancients called it electron,
and attributed its formation to the sisters of Phaëton, who,
lamenting the death of their brother, were converted into poplar
trees; these, it was said, instead of tears, yielded every year this
substance; which, issuing from them in a fluid state, ran into the
river, and there became hardened.
Amber is usually found in rounded and detached pieces, on the
south coast of the Baltic, on the eastern shores of England, and in
small quantity, on those of Sicily and the Adriatic; and a substance
greatly resembling it is occasionally found in gravel pits near London.
The only mines of amber at present known are in Prussia. These are
worked in the usual way, by shafts and galleries, to the depth of
about 100 feet. The amber is imbedded in a stratum of fossil wood,
and occurs in rounded pieces, from a few grains to three and even
five pounds in weight. The largest piece of amber ever known to be
discovered in a detached state was found near the surface of the
ground, in Lithuania, about twelve miles from the Baltic Sea. It
weighed more than eighteen pounds, and was deposited in the
cabinet of the King of Prussia at Berlin. Very lately a mass of amber,
weighing thirteen pounds, was also found in Prussia. For this piece
5000 dollars are said to have been offered; but the Armenian
merchants assert that it might have been sold in Constantinople for
more than 30,000 dollars.
Anterior to the discovery or general dispersion of precious stones
from India, amber was considered of great value as a jewel, and was
employed in all kinds of ornamental dresses. The ancient Romans
were so partial to this substance that Pliny, reprobating the great
demand for it, says, the Roman females would give larger sums for a
puppet or figure in amber, resembling a man or woman, however
small its size, than they would for the finest man or the most valiant
soldier. Under the Emperor Nero, persons were sent from Rome, for
the purpose of collecting and purchasing amber; and so much of it
was at length obtained, that it was used for ornamenting the nets
and cordage employed in the theatres for preventing the wild
animals from approaching the populace there assembled. It was
likewise used to ornament the armour, the biers, and funeral
apparatus of such persons as were killed.
Amber is now chiefly in request by Greek and Armenian
merchants, but it is uncertain where they dispose of it. Some
persons conjecture that it is purchased by pilgrims previously to their
journey to Mecca; and that, on their arrival in that place, they burn it
in honour of Mahomet.
The kind most in esteem is of a bright golden yellow colour. This is
occasionally manufactured into snuff-boxes, small vases, necklaces,
bracelets, cane-heads, and other ornamental articles, many of which
are purchased by the Turks, Russians, and Poles; but the general
demand for them has of late very much decreased. Some years ago
the German artists paid great attention to this substance; and many
experiments were made for the purpose of discovering means of
removing its defects, and improving its beauty. It is said that they
possessed the art of liquefying it to such a degree, that it could be
run into moulds without injuring its beauty; and that specimens of
this liquefied amber are preserved in the Electoral Cabinet at
Dresden. There are still considerable manufactories of amber at
Stolpen, Konigsberg, Dantzic, and Lubeck.
Amber, when wrought into ornaments, is first split on a leaden
plate, and then turned on a particular kind of whetstone. The
polishing of it is performed with chalk and water, or chalk and oil;
and the work is finished by rubbing the whole with clean flannel.
Without great attention it becomes very hot, and either flies into
pieces, or takes fire during the operation.
After having been roasted or melted, amber is readily soluble in
oil, and, in this state, constitutes the basis of several kinds of
varnish. It was formerly much used in medicine, but, in this respect,
it is now almost wholly neglected. Some persons, however, have still
an absurd notion that a collar or necklace of amber, tied round an
infant’s neck, will enable it to cut its teeth in safety. Oil of amber
combined with liquid ammonia constitutes a white soapy liquor
called eau-de-luce.
It has already been mentioned that insects are occasionally found
in amber. These are generally in a very perfect state, and consist of
flies, small moths, &c. Grains of sand, pieces of iron pyrites, and the
leaves of plants, are also sometimes found in it. Insects, sand, and
other substances, are likewise remarked in a species of gum, called
gum animè, which, in colour, appearance, and qualities, so nearly
resembles amber, that it is almost impossible to distinguish the two
substances from each other. Large productions, which were formerly
supposed to have been made of amber, such as a column ten feet
high in the Florentine Museum, are now usually considered to have
been formed of this gum; and many of the large beads of what are
sold as amber necklaces are made of it.
If a piece of amber be fixed on the point of a knife and lighted, it
will burn entirely away, emitting at the same time a white smoke,
and a somewhat agreeable though sickly odour. When rubbed it has
the property of attracting light bodies; hence one of the ancient
Greek philosophers attributed to it a certain kind of life. From the
name of electron, which was given to it by them, in consequence of
this property, we derive our word electricity.
 CLASS IV.–METALLIC SUBSTANCES.

OF METALS IN GENERAL.

225. METALS, in a perfect state, are easily distinguished from

other minerals, by a peculiar brilliancy which pervades their whole
substance, and which has the name of metallic lustre; by their
complete opacity, and their great weight in proportion to that of
other mineral substances.
When taken from the earth they are found in one or other of the
four following states: 1. In a native or metallic state, 2. Combined
with sulphur, 3. In a state of oxide (21) 4. Combined with acid.
Metals, when found in a state of combination with other
substances, have the name of ores. They are in general deposited in
veins (4), of various thickness, and at various depths in the earth.
The mode of obtaining them is to penetrate from the surface of the
earth to the vein, and there to follow it, in whatever direction it may
lie. The hollow places thus formed are called mines, and the men
employed in them are denominated miners. When the veins are at a
great depth, or extend to any considerable distance beneath the
surface of the earth, it is necessary, at intervals, to make openings,
or shafts, to the surface, for the admission and circulation of the air;
and also to draw off the water which collects at the bottom, by
drains, pumps, or steam-engines, as the situation or circumstances
require.
After the metallic ores are drawn from the mine, they, in general,
go through several processes before they are in a state fit for use.
Some of them are first washed in running water, to clear them from
earthy particles. They are then piled with combustible substances,
and burnt or roasted, for the purpose of ridding them of the sulphur
or arsenic with which they may happen to be combined, and which
rises from them in a state of fume or smoke. Thus, having been
freed from impurities, they undergo the operation of melting, in
furnaces constructed according to the nature of the respective
metals, or the uses to which they are to be subsequently applied.
The knowledge of metals is a subject of great importance to
mankind. Their use in trade is so frequent, and in the arts so various
and so interesting, that few objects can be more worthy of attention
than these.
 ORDER I.—MALLEABLE METALS;

OR, SUCH AS ARE CAPABLE OF BEING FLATTENED OR ELONGATED BY THE

HAMMER, WITHOUT TEARING OR BREAKING.

226. PLATINA, the most ponderous of all the metals with which
we are acquainted, is, when purified, about twenty times heavier
than water. It is also one of the hardest and most difficult to be
melted, is of white colour, but darker and not so bright as silver, and
is found only in small blunted and angular grains or scales in the
sands of some of the rivers in South America.
If platina could be obtained in sufficient quantity, it would perhaps
be the most valuable of all metals. The important uses to which it is
applicable may easily be imagined when we state that it is nearly as
hard as iron, and that the most intense fire and most powerful acids
have scarcely any effect upon it. Platina is not fusible by the heat of
a forge, but requires either the concentrated rays of the sun in a
burning mirror, the galvanic electricity, or a flame produced by the
agency of oxygen gas.
It is admirably adapted for the uses of the philosophical chemist:
although vessels made of it must always be found expensive, from
its being necessary to solder them with gold; and although it has the
disadvantage of being subject to corrosion by the application or use
of caustic alkalies. Vessels made of it are not liable to be broken,
and are as indestructible as those made of gold. When properly
refined, its colour is somewhat betwixt that of silver and iron. Not
being liable to tarnish like silver, platina is manufactured into several
kinds of trinkets.
 Its ductility is so great that it may be rolled into plates, or drawn
into wire; and platina wire, for strength and tenacity, is considered
much preferable to that either of gold or silver of equal thickness.
Platina is also made into mirrors for reflecting telescopes, into
mathematical instruments, pendulums, and clock-work; particularly
where it is requisite that the construction of these should be more
than usually correct, as platina is not only free from liability to rust,
but is likewise subject to very little dilatation by heat. It is
sometimes beaten into leaves and applied to porcelain, in the same
manner as leaf gold; and its oxide (21) is used in enamel painting,
and might be used, with great advantage, in the painting and
ornamenting of porcelain. The platina employed for all these
purposes is repeatedly melted with arsenic, as without the aid of this
it could only be obtained in very small masses, owing to the intense
heat that is required for its fusion.
This extraordinary metal was unknown in Europe until about the
year 1735, when it was first brought from South America by Don
Antonio Ulloa.
227. GOLD is a metal distinguished by its yellow colour; by its
being next in weight to platina, softer than silver, but considerably
more hard than tin; and being more easily melted than copper.
It is found in various states, massive, in grains, small scales, and
capillary, or in small branches. It cannot be dissolved in any acid
except that called aqua regia (207), and is more than nineteen times
heavier than water.
The countries of hot climates are those chiefly in which gold is
discovered. It abounds in the sands of many African rivers, and is
very common in several districts both of South America and India.
The gold mines of Lima and Peru have had great celebrity; but, since
the late commotions in the Spanish colonies, the working of them
has been much neglected. It is from Brazil that the greatest part of
the gold which is seen in commerce is brought. The annual produce
of the various gold mines in America has been estimated at nearly
9,500,000l. sterling.
 The principal gold mines in Europe are those of Hungary, and next
to them those of Saltzburg. Spain is probably very rich in gold.
Considerable mines were worked there in former times, particularly
in the province of Asturia; but, after the discovery of America, these
were given up or lost. Gold has been found in Sweden and Norway,
and also in several parts of Ireland, but particularly in the county of
Wicklow.—Among the sands of a mountain stream in that county,
and among the sand of the valley on each side, lumps of gold are
occasionally found. Pieces have been discovered which weighed
twenty-two ounces, but they are generally much smaller, from two
or three ounces to a few grains. It is said that lumps of gold, of large
size, have been used as weights in some of the common shops, and
that others have been placed to keep open the doors of cottages
and houses in some parts of Ireland, the owners not knowing what
they were. Gold is also occasionally found in Cornwall, and some
other counties of England. Wherever it occurs it is commonly
observed in a state of alloy with copper or silver, and in the form of
grains, plates, or small crystals.
Gold was formerly obtained in Scotland. It is asserted that, at the
marriage of James V. there were covered dishes filled with coins
made of Scottish gold, and that a portion of these was presented to
each of the guests by way of dessert. Very extensive operations for
the discovery of gold were carried on during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, at Leadhills, in Lanarkshire, under the direction of an
Englishman whose name was Bulmer. The trenches, the heaps of soil
that were turned up, and other marks of these operations, are yet
visible near the road between Leadhills and Elvanfoot. It is said that
300 men were then employed; and that, in the course of a few
years, a quantity of gold was collected, equal in value to 100,000l.
sterling. Not many years ago similar operations were commenced
under the superintendence of a celebrated manager of the Scottish
lead mines. The gold was found immediately under the vegetable
soil; and the method of obtaining it was to direct a small stream of
water, so as to carry the soil along with it, to basins or hollow places,
where the water might deposit the matters carried down by the
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