How to Do Chemical Tricks — The Alchemist's Ink, Chameleon Liquids, Magic Dyes, Wine Changed into Water
The Alchemist’s Ink.
Dissolve in water a small quantity, about as much as will lay on a ten-cent piece, of chloride of cobalt, which is of a bluish-green color, and the solution will be pink; write with it and the characters will scarcely be visible; but if gently heated they will appear in brilliant green, which will disappear as the paper cools.
Dissolve in water a few grains of prussiate of potash; write with this liquid, which is invisible when dry; wash over with a dilute solution of iron, made by dissolving a nail in a little aqua fortis; a blue and legible writing is immediately apparent.
Chameleon Liquids.
Put a small portion of the compound called mineral chameleon into several glasses.
Pour upon each water at different temperatures and the contents of each glass will exhibit a different shade of color.
A
very hot solution will be of a beautiful green color; a cold one a deep purple.
Make a colorless solution of sulphate of copper; add to it a little ammonia equally colorless, and the mixture will be of an intense blue color; add to it a little sulphuric acid, and the blue color will disappear; pour in a little solution of caustic ammonia, and the blue color will be restored.
Thus may the liquor be changed at pleasure.
Magic Dyes.
Dissolve indigo in diluted sulphuric acid, and add to it an equal quantity of solution of carbonate of potash.
If a piece of white cloth be dipped in the mixture it will be changed to blue; yellow cloth, in the same mixture, may be changed to green; red to purple; and blue litmus paper to red.
Nearly fill a wine glass with the juice of beet-root, which is of a deep red color; add a little lime water and the mixture will be colorless; dip into it a piece of white cloth, dry it rapidly, and in a few hours the cloth will become red.
Wine Changed into Water.
Mix a little solution of subacetate of lead with port wine; filter the mixture through blotting-paper, and a colorless liquid will pass through; to this add a small quantity of dry salt of tartar; distill in a retort, when a spirit will arise, which may be inflamed.
