CHAPTER XI

CHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR PRINCIPLES

THE APPLICATION of Chemistry to the production of magical effects is of ancient date. Among the earliest technical records are to be found descriptions of experiments upon a chemical basis. Not always strictly magical, it is true; but, very often, of a nature well adapted to the requirements of magic, as we regard it today. Of the former kind, the experiment sometimes described as being designed "To terrify with a great Noise without Gunpowder" is an example. "To seem to turn Water into Wine," however, is one of the very old experiments which are not yet out of date, and probably will survive for many generations to come. Indeed, so far as chemical magic is concerned, many of the older books strike one as being very nearly as up-to-date as are some of the most modern. The ancient textbooks, of course, contain descriptions of hypothetical effects, presumably supposed to have a chemical basis, but which, in the light of common sense, can be regarded only as survivals of superstition. Such an experiment, or series of experiments, is that "Of Magical Lights, Lamps, Candles, etc.," quoted in "The Conjuror's Repository," a book published toward the end of the eighteenth century. The weird and wonderful effects attributed to the burning of certain oily compounds prescribed in the description given, seem to a modern reader the conceptions of a disordered intellect. Still, there is every reason to suppose that the authors who wrote that kind of nonsense had implicit faith in the nostrums they mentioned. We are bound to believe that, in describing some impossible and horrible thing as "both easy and pleasant to do," they had every confidence in their own veracity. Not only so, they had equal confidence in the reliability of those other persons, from whom their information had been derived. Needless to say, the writers could never have tried the experiments for themselves; or the failures they must inevitably have experienced would, at least, have convinced them that the word "easy" was out of place in their account of the matter.

The first chemical principle in the list is the Apparent Transformation of Substance. In most cases, the transformation is not only apparent, but also real. An illustration of this fact is seen in the experiment, already mentioned, of turning water into wine. The transformation is brought about by effecting a real change of chemical combination. The effect, however, is only apparent, in the sense that the supposed water and wine are not both what they appear to be. The water, perhaps, may be genuine-perhaps not. But, in any event, one may feel certain that what is apparently wine has nothing of the grape in its composition. Still, even that characteristic is not uncommon among commercial vintages, unrelated to the practice of magic.

What we mean, then, by the "apparent" transformation of substance is the changing of what appears to be a particular material or product (e.g., water) into what appears to be one of entirely different nature or composition (e.g., wine). This principle is often employed in combination with mechanical devices, whereby the chemical changes are supplemented and rendered more impressive. By such means, the effect produced is made far more striking than would be the case were chemistry alone employed. It may be accepted as a general rule that, with a mechanical amplification of some suitable kind, skilfully contrived and efficiently manipulated, any form of chemical change is likely to become far more valuable in magic than it could possibly be made apart from such embellishment.

The principle of Ignition by chemical means is especially familiar in connection with chlorate of potash and sugar, the igniting reagent being sulphuric acid. Undoubtedly, the cleanest and safest method for bringing the acid into contact with the other ingredients, as and when required, is that of confining it within capillary tubes of glass, sealed at either end. One of these tubes, together with a pinch of chlorate mixture, being twisted up in a scrap of "flash-paper," a slight pressure serves to break the tube and, thus liberating the acid, to ignite the whole.

The principle of chemical ignition, however, is by no means confined to this special device in magic. There are many other reactions, by which heat or flame may be produced, and which are equally adaptable to the magician's requirements. Notably, the spontaneous combustion resulting from the application of water to potassium is commonly used in connection with "fire-bowls," as they are called. These appliances are, generally speaking, made in the form of shallow dishes, the edges of which are deeply recurved, and their centers fitted with upright metallic points. A pellet of potassium being impaled upon the central pin, the bowl is turned edgewise up and a sufficient quantity of water and sulphuric ether poured into the hollow rim. So long as the bowl remains edge up, nothing happens beyond evaporation of ether. But as soon as the vessel is turned into a horizontal position, the water comes into contact with the potassium; the hydrogen liberated by the chemical combination that ensues is ignited by the resultant heat and in turn sets fire to the ether.

Whatever form of chemical ignition is adopted, the means for conveying the flame to the material finally burned must receive some consideration. Usually the ignition is applied to some readily combustible substance, such as the flash-paper or ether already mentioned. In some special cases, handkerchiefs or other fabrics of cotton are treated with the nitro-sulphuric acid used in making flash-paper--thus being converted into a true gun-cotton. These, of course, are readily fired by chemical reagents. But when some slow-burning substance has to be ignited, the semi-explosive combustion of such mixtures as that of sugar and potassium chlorate is too short in duration to act with certainty. Instead of setting fire to the substance that requires burning, the sudden flash may only produce smoldering. Therefore, it becomes necessary to supplement the chemical device by some material, sufficiently rapid in combustion to be instantly lighted, but not so rapid as to burn out before the intended substance has caught fire. For this purpose, there is probably nothing better than an ordinary match. Consequently, if the latter is used, mechanical ignition may be found no less convenient and far less complicated than any chemical method.

Change of Color by Chemical Reaction is, properly speaking, and apart from change of substance, a principle seldom used in practical magic. It relates exclusively to change of color without change of form or substance; and must not be confused with such incidental color changes as occur in experiments that relate to the apparent changing of one substance to another. The general mode of application consists in treating a fabric or other material with some chemical which, when acted upon by another and thus modified either in chemical composition or physical condition, changes its former hue completely. The blue coloration of litmus in the presence of an alkali, and its change to red when acted upon by an acid, may be quoted as an example of such effects in general. Again, the bleaching action of sulphurous acid, either in the form of vapor or in its nascent state, as liberated by chemical reaction is a well-known means for destroying color. It is commonly used in experiments with supposed ink and water, the acid being liberated from sodium hyposulphite, as a rule. In fact, many of the reagents used in producing apparent change of substance or composition are equally applicable to change of color alone.

Invisible Writing is a principle almost as old as the hills. Ovid, for instance, mentions several devices by which messages can be written invisibly, even upon a vehicle so unsuspicious as the skin of a lady's serving-maid, and rendered legible by the person for whom they are intended. The ancient textbooks of magic contain numerous recipes for secret writing; a large proportion, however, being manipulative in character rather than chemical, come under the heading of preparation. Still the principle of invisible writing by chemical agency was perfectly familiar to the ancients, as the recipes for "Sympathetic Inks" and so forth clearly prove. In a general sense, it may be said that this present principle is but a special application of that relating to color changes in general. Chemical reactions which are applicable to change of color upon a larger scale, will often apply equally well to the writing of messages with colorless liquids, which may be colored by special treatment.

Molecular principles, in so far as they relate to magic, are so nearly allied to those of chemistry that it is difficult to dissociate one from the other. We have an illustration of this general difficulty in the color changes produced in litmus by the action of acids and alkalies, respectively. Although the litmus becomes blue in the presence of an alkali and red when made acid, there is no reason to suppose that any definite chemical change accompanies the change in color. Again, when the mixture of two chemical solutions produces a solid compound, the physical difference is undoubtedly due to a change in chemical combination. The change of color in litmus, and the change of state from liquid to solid in the chemical mixture, are both molecular in character. Yet the first cannot occur in the absence of chemical reagents, while the second is absolutely dependent upon chemical combination. Therefore, it is advisable to limit the molecular group of magical processes to those in which chemistry has clearly no prominent part.

Previous | Next | Contents