Combustion chamber for hydrogen, after Martinus van Marum

In this combustion chamber, which is part of a combustion apparatus like in Cabinet I [219], hydrogen was combusted. Such combustion apparatus were intended for demonstrating the combustion theories of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. To prove that the mass of all the substances involved in the combustion, stays the same, it was important that the oxygen necessary for the combustion could be checked. Therefore, Van Marum devised this glass globe with a narrow neck at the bottom. After the globe had been filled with oxygen, it was placed with its neck in a bowl filled with mercury. The mercury seals off the globe from the air outside the globe. Then hydrogen was added and the combustion process was started. The combustion process generates water, which collected on top of the mercury. For each gas, hydrogen and oxygen, two gas-holders could be connected to the combustion chamber. As soon as the first set was empty, the combustion continued using the second set, and the first set could be refilled. In this way, the combustion process could be continued endlessly.